Epson PowerLite S9 Multimedia Projector

Epson promotes its PowerLite S9 Multimedia Projector ($499 direct) as a classroom projector, citing features such as built-in closed captioning, audio-out, and monitor-out. ?This projector provides decent image quality as well, and should be suitable for its intended role, as long as your classroom is not too large and you don?t require advanced features like interactivity. One thing for sure is that it provides good value for its price.

The PowerLite S9?s light source, based on the 3LCD technology developed by Epson, is rated at 2,500 lumens. The projector provides SVGA (800 by 600 pixel) native resolution, at a 4:3 aspect ratio suitable for data presentations. From a distance of about 7 feet away, the projector was able to fill our test screen with an image about 64 inches on a diagonal that stood up well to ambient light, which should be fine for smaller classrooms.

The S9 measures 3.0 by 11.6 by 9.0 inches (HWD) and weighs 5.1 pounds. The projector is white, with rounded corners that give it a sleek profile. There's a manual focus wheel accessible through an indentation above the lens; I was able to bring it to a reasonably sharp focus. It lacks an optical zoom, in favor of a 1.0 - 1.35 digital zoom.

The S9 has a modest selection of ports: VGA (which doubles as component video), monitor-out; audio-in and audio-out; S-video; a type B USB port; and a single yellow RCA jack for composite video. USB Plug ?n Play provides easy connectivity with both Macs and Windows PCs.

Still and Video Image Testing

In our DisplayMate (www.displaymate.com) testing, the PowerLite S9 proved adequate for typical data presentations. The projector showed good detail in data images, especially in dark areas. Text was reasonably sharp, even at the smallest size. Some light gray areas showed a slight yellowish tint, and bright areas sometimes showed a yellow fringe. Colors in general seemed on the pale side?they didn?t really pop.

I tested its video using selected scenes from Terminator 2 and The West Wing. Video quality was up to showing short clips, but I wouldn?t recommend it for longer clips, let alone movies. Though color was good, better than it was for still images, artifacts appeared often enough to be distracting. ?These included moving objects that sometimes had a hint of jagged edges, and some backgrounds that had a slightly hatched or textured look. If you use a lot of movie clips in your presentations, this probably isn?t the best projector for the job.

The Epson PowerLite S9 Multimedia Projector should fill the bill as a projector for typical classroom presentations at a fairly modest price. The Dell 1210S ?($449 list, 3.5 stars) and Optoma Pro160S ??($500 street, 3.5 stars) are both SVGA projectors comparable in features and performance to the S9, and are also worth checking out.

The NEC NP-M260W ?($850 street, 4 stars) provides many more connection choices, higher resolution and better image quality, at a higher price. ?If you need interactivity in your presentations, you?ll want to graduate to the likes of the Editors? Choice Optoma TW675UTi-3D ?($1,800 street, 4 stars) or Epson Brightlink 450wi ($2,200, 4 stars). But for basic classroom use, the Epson PowerLite S9 gets the job done, and the price is right.

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