Home > Consumer Reviews > Epson PowerLite S4 3LCD Projector

Currently, I am a student teacher at a high school that is not equipped with much in the way of high technology. I have struggled with the fact that the most advanced permanent piece of technology in the classroom was a slide projector (yes, SLIDES) that I had to dig out of my parents' garage. Coming right out of the university, I was used to making presentations utilizing the Internet and Powerpoint. It had been my hope that with my first teacher paycheck (a year later, that is) I would be able to purchase a multimedia projector for classroom use. To my great surprise, my parents were able to pick up the PowerLite S4 at an Office Depot for a very good price, and gave it to me as a gift for Christmas. Being a student teacher, I am forced to move around from class to class. This is where I have found the S4 to be very able. The S4 is, as the name implies, very light. If my hands were a big larger, I would easily be able to pick it up with one hand and have no problems. While it is certainly not the highest powered projector on the market today, it certainly throws out quite a bright image. The color is vibrant and can be seen when all the light banks are on in the classroom. I prefer to have the lights off, obviously, but lights on does not destroy the image. The S4 offers many different inputs, but the projector supplies only one with the product. Another feature that I enjoy is the time it takes for cool down. As a teacher on the go, I need to be packed up and ready to move on in about 5 minutes. The S4 cools down fast, which is definitely attractive. The sliding door for the lens is very nice as well. One of the only negative experiences I've had with this projector is that I have found that the projector must be hooked up to the computer before the computer is turned on. Once I figured that out, I have not had any trouble. For teachers and presenters on the go, I highly recommend this projector.

This projector is excellent for presentations (Powerpoint) and showing DVD's. The autosensing for computer or S Video makes it easy to switch from one to the other. It is lightweight, rugged and cost effective This projector will serve anyone well who makes presentations and travels.

Unfortunately, this projector comes up very short for PowerPoint presentations because of the 800x600 resolution. As a result, the images are blurry and fuzzy. When I called Epson to explore this issue the rep said this was indeed a problem and results in the "screen door" effect.

If you intend to use this projector for PowerPoint presentations you need to get a projector with much better, at least 1024x768 or better resolution. Wish I had known that!

This product is extremely easy to set up and use. Connection to the computer was very easy, and the instructions are clear. The projector is quiet and provides a very bright image, even in a lighted room.

The projector works great. It took me awhile to figure out how to work it and I had to call Epson once, but once I got it going I was very pleased with it. It's too big to fit in my computer bag but it does come with it's own carrying case.