First Looks: Epson EB-S10 - Projecting Positivity

First Looks: Epson EB-S10 - Projecting Positivity

Beating the Bore

While positioned as a multimedia projector for business and education, the Epson EB-S10 deviates from the stern, utilitarian design of the quintessential projector. Sporting a consumer-friendly physique, the EB-S10 can also be a potential addition to your entertainment room. Epson chooses a glossy white color scheme over the more common black or gray for the chassis of this projector.

Ideal for travelling presenters, businessmen, and resource speakers, the EB-S10 has a compact profile in that it can be carried inside a regular-sized backpack. On the front, the projector’s manual focus lens is protected by a sliding cover and attached to a knob which can be controlled manually. On the top side, all of the buttons are neatly placed on the control panel, consisting of the power button, dedicated source search button, help key, and the navigational wheel button, which doubles as a one-stop control for keystone adjustment and zoom. Underneath, the projector comes with a lever and screw-type feet that lift the entire unit, if you want to fine-tune the projected image.

User-friendly Features

The connector panel on the rear side of the EB-S10 is as organized as the control panel. Aside from the already expected video input connectors like the VGA, S-video, and composite video, another option for video input is the Type B USB. To use it, simply hook up the projector to your computer using the bundled Type B USB cable (USB printer cable). The projector has integrated storage that contains the driver, so there’s no need to run a separate installer from an optical disc drive.

For maintenance purposes, the EB-S10 is equipped with a fan filter that sifts external dust that can potentially damage the projector’s innards. The fan filter is essentially made up of a thin sheet of foam attached to a plastic lattice, which can be easily removed for washing. Like the fan filter, the projector’s lamp module (model LAMP-ELP58) is easy to access and remove as well. You can self-replace the lamp module once it is busted.

Video and Audio Quality

The EB-S10 offers seven color modes, including Theatre and Photo, which clearly imply the media-centric nature of the projector. Presentation, Blackboard and Whiteboard modes are intended for business- and education-related usage. By and large, the projector’s image quality is more than average. With a brightness level of 2600 lumens under normal mode, the projected image remains vibrant and powerfully visible even in the presence of ambient light.

Switching from normal to eco mode reduces the overall brightness of the EB-S10, though the difference in term of visual quality between the two modes is very trivial. Activating eco mode helps in extending the lifespan of the lamp module, from the normal 4000 hours to 5000 hours. Epson’s LAMP-ELP58 is locally price at PhP 10,500.

The EB-S10 also integrates a speaker, whose audio quality is passable in general. Its loudness is adequate for a small boardroom meeting, but if you’ll watch a movie using the projector, we suggest that you must use a more powerful, standalone speaker system.

Final Thoughts

Price-wise, we compared the Epson EB-S10 to other projectors that are currently available in the market. The comparative chart below shows that the EB-S10 is the most expensive among the pack. The four projectors on the chart are almost the same in many respects, but it is quite obvious that what makes the EB-S10 the most expensive is its high brightness level.

There are a lot of things to like about the Epson EB-S10 in general. Blessed with a consumer-friendly design, compact form factor, a versatile set of connectivity, and compelling image quality, we feel that the EB-S10 will find its place in the real world, not only within the premises of the boardroom or classroom, but also in the living room of end users.