Epson remains a solid supporter of LCD technology, and this model has a WXGA (1,280 x 800) native resolution. The EB-425W has a rugged plastic body, and while it isn’t the smallest projector, it can be carried around with ease.
Supplied accessories include a remote control, D-SUB cable, network software, CD manual and a warning sticker that informs would-be thieves that the projector is password-protected (assuming it is). The remote is small for its 37 buttons, but is logically laid out. It incorporates a useful laser pointer, and has an operating range of 7m.
The projector can be networked and a wireless LAN unit is available. There’s plenty of connectivity for a range of devices, including an HDMI port, upstream and downstream USB ports. Upstream USB ports allow users to display presentations from a USB stick – but note that only JPEG, BMP, GIF and PNG files can be viewed; Word documents and PowerPoint presentations will require a computer.
This is easy to set up. Selecting a source signal is simplified by having dedicated buttons on the remote control for computer, video and USB, while the menu is easy to navigate. Unlike many menu systems we’ve used that switch off after ten seconds, this one doesn’t disappear until you’re ready.
The EB-425W’s 2,500 lumens means images are clear, even in a bright room, and quality is crisp and sharp. Colour reproduction is impressive, with Epson producing richer, more vibrant tones than others on test, while the 4x digital zoom is great for showing fine detail on charts or graphs. With a throw ratio of 0.48:1, the EB-425W offers an image size range of 40 to 116in, and can project a 93cm diagonal image from a distance of 97cm.
The mono 16W speaker delivers a beefy sound, and while it isn’t hi-fi, the output will be fine for classroom use. Lamp life is 5,000 hours in normal mode, with an Eco mode extending this to 6,000 hours, but with replacements costing around £215 exc VAT, this isn’t the cheapest to run.
Despite this, and a rather noisy fan, we found the EB-425W to be an impressive all-rounder, with a good set of features and excellent image quality.
Details | |
|---|---|
| Image quality | 5 |
Basic specifications | |
| Projector technology | LCD |
| Resolution | 1280 x 800 |
| Lumens brightness | 2,500 lumens |
| Contrast ratio | 3,000:1 |
| Keystone correction? | yes |
| Speakers? | yes |
| Speaker type | Mono |
| Speaker power ouput | 16W |
Dimensions | |
| Dimensions | 345 x 277 x 105mm (WDH) |
| Weight | 3.800kg |
Optics | |
| Max diagonal image size | 2.9m |
Video inputs/outputs | |
| VGA inputs | 2 |
| S-Video inputs | 1 |
| Composite video inputs | 1 |
| HDMI inputs | 1 |
| VGA (D-SUB) outputs | 1 |
Disclaimer: Some pages on this site may include an affiliate link. This does not effect our editorial in any way.
