Epson VS350W Projector - Performance

Posted on October 4, 2013 by Art Feierman

Epson VS350W Projector - Brightness

The VS350W is rated at 3700 lumens. This is extremely bright for a single lamp projector, much less one in the VS350W's price range. While we did not achieve that rating in our measurements, we did manage to measure 3209 lumens in Dynamic mode (the brightest) at full wide zoom. This output did vary quite a bit over the full zoom range. We measured 2966 lumens at mid zoom and 2631 lumens at full telephoto zoom. This performance was consistent with other recently reviewed Epson projectors. Epson's measured versus claimed lumen output is equal to or better than most of the competition. Consistent with our other reviews, all other measurements were made at mid zoom. Using Presentation mode (which would be our preferred mode to achieve the best combination of brightness and color), the output dropped to 2470 lumens, still bright enough for all but the least light-controlled venues. Photo mode and sRGB modes (which were also similar in appearance), came in at 2212 lumens. Other modes measured as follows: Theater – 2150 lumens, Blackboard – 1757 lumens and Whiteboard – 2336 lumens. As was the case with previous Epson models, the decent color accuracy in Dynamic mode makes it a more usable mode than it is with some of the competition, thus expanding both the size of room and degree of ambient light that the VS350W can handle.

Dropping the lamp into Eco brightness mode resulted in less than a 17% drop in lumen output, corresponding to a measurement of 2336 lumens in Dynamic mode, which is still very bright.

Epson VS350W Projector - Audible Noise

Due to its high brightness, the Epson Powerlite VS350W is fairly noisy (39dB in Normal lamp mode) for a multimedia projector in this class. Still, there would be no problem with the presenter being heard in a classroom or conference room. If a quieter environment is desired, dropping the VS350W into Eco lamp mode only reduces the noise level to 35 dB, the level of most multimedia projectors in their higher lamp mode. Still, with only a 17% drop in lumen output, putting the VS350W in Eco mode reduces the noise level noticeably and there are still plenty of lumens for most uses. The VS350W's built-in 5-watt speaker can overcome this lower noise level in any room size that the VS350W is likely to be used.

Epson VS350W Projector - Warranty

The VS350W is covered by Epson's standard warranty and support policies as follows: There is a two parts and service warranty on the projector and a 90-day warranty on the lamp. While that's a pretty standard warranty, Epson also includes what they call their Road Service policy. If the projector fails and you can't wait for it to be repaired, regardless of where you are in the U.S. or Canada, a phone call to Epson will send a replacement projector on its way to you. When the replacement unit arrives, you simply use the prepaid airway bill and packaging provided to send the defective projector back to Epson.

In addition, each VS350W comes with a PrivateLine technical support card with a special phone number and PIN for fast access to a support technician. I was able to try out this feature with a previous Epson product review and was connected to a tech support person in less than 30 seconds. Overall, between the Road Service plan and the PrivateLine tech support, Epson provide some of the best product support plans in the business.