Epson Powerlite 1735W Projector

My laptop happens to be the same resolution (1280 x 800) as the 1735W. Very small (8 pt.) text was fairly sharp and easily readable on a 90” diagonal projected image.  This was true of white text-on-black and yellow text-on-dark blue backgrounds as well. Keep in mind that even emails and spreadsheets are normally at least 10 pt. type. Most formal presentations (Powerpoint, etc.) are primarily large type, with Titles of 40 pt. or larger, and “body text” typically 24 – 36 point, though sometimes 18 points. Small type around charts and graphs typically are 14 to 18 points.

The image above on the left shows (click for larger version) very small type down to 8 points black on white, up to large type. Further down is white text on a black background. Click on the second image for further down on the page, where you can see yellow type on a dark blue background (tougher to do well). Nicely done.

I should note here that there is an auto keystone feature that is enabled by default.  While this is useful for a quick setup, it has (like most keystoning) a detrimental effect on the image quality.  While keystone correction can be acceptable, and basically unnoticeable on large type presentations (Powerpoint, etc.), it can make reading small text more difficult. If doing typical “in-house” working presentations (spreadsheets, emails, Word docs, or even graphic presentations with fine lines, it’s best to turn this feature off, and suffer a slightly non-rectangular image, rather than a perfect rectangular image that is harder to read, and broken fine lines.   If you must use keystoning, you should still align the projector as much as possible to minimize its effect. Keep in mind though, that the detrimental effects of keystone correction differ depending on the amount of keystone correction used, but the loss of sharpness and precision is about equally apparent, whether you use a lot, or a little.

Switching to XGA (1024 x 768) resolution to test the 1735W’s video processing, the image quality remained quite good.  While some of the smaller text was not as sharp as it was at the native resolution and subject to edge distortion, it should be noted that it is unlikely that anyone would use text this small for a presentation, as you’d have to very, very, close to the screen to read it.

Powerlite 1735W: Bottom Line Sharpness

Wireless Networking

The 1735W allows for simple wireless connection to any desktop or laptop with 802.11 a/b/g capability.  There are two ways to connect wirelessly to the 1735W.  The first, and easiest, is to plug the supplied USB key into the rear USB port of the 1735W to record the network information.  Then plug the key into any available USB port on your computer and follow the installation screens that appear.  This only takes a few minutes and when done the computer image will project on the screen.

The second way to set up a wireless connection is to install the software from the CD provided with the 1735W.  Your computer will see the 1735W as an available wireless network and you can connect to it.

Note: Some of the main networking menu features are shown in the Menu section of the Physical Tour page.

So, why would you bother with the second way to create a wireless connection?  Well, the answer is that if you need to display videos over the wireless connection, you can’t do it using the wireless key.  Even then, you’ll want to use the software’s video player to display videos over the wireless connection.  Using another player, like Windows Media Player, results in choppy playback with any video.

Using the Epson software will give you clean, smooth playback, but you are limited to certain file types and resolutions (only .mpg, .wmv and .asf files will work) and they can’t be greater than a 30 fps frame rate or 720 x 576 resolution).  Basically, if you display high quality video (from formats other than those listed above) and/or full screen video on a regular basis, plan on using a wired connection.

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