• Technology

In the past, I have been very skeptical of projectors that crowd the Indian market. Primarily for the one reason that they tend to be on the expensive side of tech and certainly not one of the things startups would invest in while starting out. Secondly, the mass production flat screen TV is fast replacing projectors in offices all over in any case.

But the very intriguing Epson EH-DM3 Home projector has managed to bring me off that track. Essentially targeted at the home consumer (and maybe even the gamer), the DM3 does have its place in the enterprise scenario.

I like the DM3 because it solves the headache associated with finding the right source player. This all-in-one packs in a DVD drive and a USB input capable of playing MP3, WMA music, JPEG photos and DivX video files. Basically, it can play whatever you have in whatever you have. Together with 10W stereo speakers and a resolution of 960×540 pixels, it does that decently too.

All that is packed in a neat little box too; none of that ungainly design you see with some projectors that try to pack in too much. Here, the package comes in a black and glossy chassis (fingerprint alert!) which, though heavy because of the DVD Drive, is still light enough to be lugged around. Back of the box are the various inputs—a HDMI input (in case you want to hook up a Blu-ray player), a component video out, one coaxial audio out, a mic in and a USB slot.

Using the DM3 is a breeze, though. You actually need to plug in nothing else than the power cable to get it on its way. Playing from a PC, you can do away with the bulky VGA cable and feed through a USB cable.

Once playing, from DVD or USB, you would find that though the picture is not terribly sharp, it is still above average for non-HD projectors. Adjusting the picture is a breeze though, thanks to Auto Iris, which adjusts brightness according to ambient light.

Best picture quality is achieved when screen size is kept less than 100 inches, projected across 7 to 9 feet and preferably with no ambient light. That is understandable as it is a home projector first; using it in an enterprise scenario would translate to using it in small meeting rooms and not huge conference rooms and halls.

My verdict on the DM3 is that for Rs.49,900, it is a good buy even though the picture quality does need some improvement. Because it solves the source player issues well and on the lighter side, also because you can hook up an Xbox to it after work. And also because it gets some of the small but important things right, like a glow-in-the-dark remote and a lens cover for portable use. It is a buy call for the startup.

©Entrepreneur May 2010

Tags:
Epson, home projector, projector