Home > Consumer Reviews > Epson PowerLite S1 Multimedia Video Projector

Looking at the S1 in respect to using it for home theatre -
* it provides a brighter picture than most Home Theatre Projectors at 1200 Lumens
* the picture is very clear
* the colours are accurate and vibrant
* the contrast is average. DLP PJ's like the Infocus X1 have better contrast but u risk seeing rainbow effects with cheap DLP PJ's
* It has a short throw lens so 10 feet gets approx 100 inch diagonal screen so it can suit small rooms down to say 9 x 9 feet
* It doesnt have a genuine zoom feature so placement in a room is limited
* It is SVGA resolution but with the .5 size pixels (instead of .7 on most SVGA PJ's) screen door/pixelation is much reduced. I have it in my 12' by 11' bedroom at a diagonal screen size of approx 95' and it looks supurb.
* Fan sound is about average. It exhausts the air out the front so can be mounted close to a wall
* It doesnt have manual individual colour adjustments. The 5 preset viewing modes will be fine for most, coupled with the ability to adjust contrast/brightness.
* Try to position the PJ at right angles to the screen in order to avoid using keystone correction. The picture looks slightly better if u dont use keystone correction with this PJ.
* The PJ itself is very inexpensive and the replacement lamps are the cheapest i have ever seen. Would be good if the lamp could go more than 2000 hours but since they are so cheap its not so much of an issue.
* Many S1's are sold/have been sold so it should be easy to get replacement items such as lamps in the future.
* Doesnt have a individual component video connection. U have to use the RGB port so if u have a pc u have to share this port. Would have been good to have a seperate component video port.

There are several entry level PJ's which are providing performance at a level previously only found on PJ's much more expensive. At similar to the EPSON S1 price point you could look at Infocus X1, Hitachi CPS210, Sanyo Z1 amongst others.

In Summary Epson S1 - Bright, very clear picture, excellent colours, short throw, cheap globes

Im very happy with the S1. The most important issue above all is the picture and this PJ's picture is crystal clear, bright and vibrant.

Regards Talisman

Great product for viewing DVDs and other video sources on a big (100"+ screen). Projects the best(movie house like) picture with a component out, progressive DVD player. Buy the special component to VGA cable - it is worth it. Picture will rival plasma and projection TVs. Projects an image that will make you think you are in the movies! The unit looks very modern.

Vibrant and accurate colors, bright image, low fan noise and little pixelation (none if you set the lens a touch off focus for a softer image) make this an excellent and cost effective way to start a home theater. Picture is very competitive with the Infocus X1, however the Epson has no rainbow problems(it is LCD) which contribute to eyestrain and fatigue. I've seen them run together and I prefer the Epson image overall. The Epson has color saturation that is second to none. Bulbs cost very little too. Team it up with a home theater in a box system and start charging your friends admission!

I purchased this projector two weeks ago and I am very pleased with it. When I connect it to my computer the image is very bright and I do not need to darken the room much at all to view it. The room needs to be a bit darker when viewing TV or DVD/VHS movies. My son uses it to play GameCube games--which is really fantastic because of the size of the image! However, for some of the games (Lord of the Rings) we really need to darken the room to see the screen well.

I have used LCD projectors for the past five years in educational settings. This is the first one I have purchased and I am extremely pleased with it. The only negative comment I can make about it is that the zoom feature doesn't change the size of the image by much. I wanted to set the projector on a stand near one wall and project it to the wall on the other side. When I do this the image is bigger than the wall space and I can't change its size by much using the zoom feature. Instead I have to move the projector into the middle of the room and operate it from there. Even with this inconvenience, I still think it is an excellent projector and so far I would recommend it to anyone who wants to see beautiful color images larger than life!

How many people do you know who have 100inch tv's and paid less than $1000. I'm guessing not too many. I guess a picky person could find some faults: not as bright as a tv in a well lit room, no manual lens zoom, makes more noise than a tv. Still I really do love mine. It takes up about 1/100th of the space of a large tv, I can pack it in a backpack if I want to take it to a friend's, I can move apartments without hiring 5 movers to cary it down the stairs, I can play 4 person video games (Mario Kart Double Dash!) and everyone gets their own 50 inch tv, the colors are brilliant, and the price is decent enough.

Go buy one and you won't be unhappy.

This is a great product.

We had more than 250 digital photos submitted by our Harley Owners Group members to be used in a continuous-loop slide show during a recent party.

We mounted the S1 in a loft and projected the slide show onto a wall 25 feet away making a huge display of the photos. The S1 was on for more than seven hours, performed flawlessly, projected sharp images, was easy to hook up to a laptop computer (the source of the images). The simple operation of the S1 made set up and adjustments quick.

We later used the S1 in our living room to watch a DVD on a 70-inch movie screen. The projector was hooked into the video-out RCA jack on the DVD player. Total set up time: Less than 3 minutes. Again, flawless operation and extremely good picture.

I'd recommend the S1 to anyone looking for an entry level projector with seemingly solid construction, easy-to-understand controls and great features.