Epson MovieMate 85HD Projector - Performance 3

Posted on February 10, 2010 by Art Feierman

Epson MovieMate 85HD: Bottom Line Sharpness

As 720p projectors go, this MovieMate 85HD is probably about typical in sharpness compared to stand alone 720p LCD home projectors, and a tiny bit less sharp, overall, than the those 720p DLP models. That said, differences are slight, and of little consequence. If you want a significant jump in sharpness for 1080p content, you'll need a 1080p projector.

Light Leakage

There is minimal leakage from this Epson. That said, the minimal amount does come out of the air vent on the right side (looking from the back). It's only an issue if you are sitting there right to the side (but the hot air from the exhaust would be the bigger issue). There is enough light leaking out past the fan, that you will almost certainly see it covering a small area to the right, if your walls are light, and the scene being projected, fairly dark.

Now that I've said all that, don't worry about it. It's not significant, not unless you've got your head planted within 2 feet of that exhaust.

Image Noise

No problems here worth considering, for an all-in-one projector. That is, to say, no overt image noise issues, and certainly none that would bother someone not a hard core enthusiast.

Audible Noise

With a 33db / 29 db full power/eco-mode claim, that makes this Epson MovieMate 85HD noisy compared to the average stand alone projector, but, in reality, it's fine for family room situations. The fan noise, though a bit loud, for example, isn't as noisy as my PS3 Blu-ray / game machine. Again, worrying about this level of audible noise normally requires someone really into performance, and that isn't a MovieMate all-in-one buyer. Consider that the just reviewed $1499 Viewsonic Pro8200, a 1080p projector only claims to be 2 db quieter at full power. (2db is just barely enough to notice). In reality, though, that Vivitek does drop more in audible noise going to Eco mode, than the MovieMate does, so in low power mode the difference in noise levels is that of slightly above average (Vivitek) to noisy (for a low power mode) for the MovieMate 85HD.