Fits nicely besides our photos, fashion books and Star Wars alarm clock
I admit it. When my man, who is a director working in TV and film, mentioned he wanted a home theater projector in our living room, (which mind you currently is a very cozy studio in the Hollywood Hills), I wasn’t cheering. All I could picture was another big black hulking piece of electronic equipment smack dab in the middle of our gorgeous stone, plaster and wood living room.
We live in what I call, a boat. It is beautiful, but very, very compact, with unusual storage nooks and crannies scattered throughout — making organizing and decor a serious challenge. Created by a production designer, the interior is gorgeous, and our stained glass windows look out onto a cascading green terrace and multi-level patio, but it is sometimes perplexing at best to figure out how to orient anything.
We had agreed the TV we had in the living room was indeed creating quite a downer of a black electronic moment right in front of one of our stained glass windows and successfully moved it to a nook in the bedroom. The problem was for movie watching, playbacks of what my husband was working on on-set, and other research he had to do – the iPad just wasn’t cutting it. He pitched me the idea of a projector, showing where a screen might go, where the projector might go — and let’s just say, I was skeptical at best. Another big piece of intrusive electronic equipment? Uh, no.
Fast-forward – I researched the crap out of projectors because I thought well, it’s the only thing he really wants, and hey it’s Christmas! Hard to get men gifts that get them excited – who wants another shirt or in my man’s case, pair of shoes. Epson® kept coming up over and over again in the Top 3 lists when I was searching. Superior quality, great picture and a ton of intense technological specs. Most importantly – they made projectors that came in white instead of black.
When I contacted the marketing people at Epson® to find out more – they generously offered a projector to review. Now, again projectors are usually way out of my purview, but I thought I could give a different kind viewpoint. While most are focused on the technical aspects – the reality is – if you want this to be a home theater projector – then you have to live with it – in your home, hello. That means you have to like looking at it everyday. Having something truly functional, yet extremely advanced technologically in your home, can be a source of real delight. But it has to look right and feel organic in your space.
Griffin loves 3D
The first time I watched Gravity 3D in my own living room on an 100-inch theater screen, I was just giggling. It was so incredibly improbable to be sitting on my couch, watching a picture perfect version of Gravity in 3D. ON MY COUCH. I am not a movie person, I’m not a 3D aficionado, but holy crap. Crystal clear, theater quality Sandra Bullock popping out of my screen. Wait, did I mention I was ON MY COUCH?
Needless to say the Epson® has completely transformed movie night, binge watching House of Cards, playing video games (yep, I now am a gamer!), watching screeners during awards season, and for my man, reviewing what he needs to for work. Whenever someone is new to our house – they think the projector is an air purifier, a radio, or a subwoofer. No one ever thinks it is a full home theater projector. Then we turn it on, pull down our disappearing screen, and they get to giggle too.
As a former Manhattanite, IMHO this projector should be required for all tiny, chic spaces, of people who want to upgrade their media experiences. Why would you even get a TV when you can have one of these? The screen DISAPPEARS when you don’t want to watch it. Hello. Way better viewing than a laptop and way more compact and seamless than a hulking HDTV.
All the deets:
2D & 3D Full HD 1080p projector
Up to 3x Brighter Colors with Epson1
Color Brightness:
2500 lumens
White Brightness:
2500 lumens
2D/3D capability, Full HD 1080p technology
Lens shift – 60% vertical and 24% horizontal