The Epson BrightLink 696Ui is an ultra-short throw, 3LCD, interactive projector claiming 3,800 lumens. With WUXGA resolution (1920 x 1200 pixels), Wired and Wireless Lan, and advanced interactivity, this is a serious projector to be considered when shopping for your business or education applications. Targeted toward the education market, the Epson BrightLink 696Ui is suitable for both higher education and K-12 classrooms, with an emphasis on higher education.
Priced at $2,799, this projector offers schools the opportunity to create interactive lessons for their students that can aid in retention of those lessons. The price may cause some to shy away from the 696Ui in favor of something more affordable – but, great news! Epson has an outstanding education program that significantly lowers the overall cost of the projector and its maintenance, such as lamp replacement. The Epson Brighter Futures Program makes this projector available for $2,099. It’s not cheap, but the Epson BrightLink 696Ui is worth it.
This projector is the “little brother” of the Epson BrightLink 697Ui. That one has more advanced features (such as Whiteboard sharing) and is priced at $3,299. It is also WUXGA resolution, but claims a wall-melting 4,400 lumens. That’s really bright! The Epson BrightLink 696Ui that is the subject of this review is bright at 3,800 lumens – so bright, in fact, that with the windows open at high noon, the projected image looked clearer and brighter than some of the other projectors I’ve reviewed while projecting those in a fully darkened room. This is one of my top (current) favorite business/education projectors, hands down.
The Epson BrightLink 696Ui was included in our 2017-2018 Classroom Projector Report, where it won an award for Best in Classroom - Best Performance Ultra Short Throw or Interactive.