Portability is becoming an increasingly important factor for consumer electronics these days. With smartphones, laptops, and tablets getting thinner every year, the trend is spreading to other entertainment devices as well. Enter the Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 2000($899), a 3LCD 1080p projector capable of both 2D and 3D video playback.
Design
The Home Cinema 2000 measures just 11.69-inches wide by 9.72-inches deep by 4.25-inches high and weighs in at 6.4 pounds. A glossy white plastic shell encases the projector. Control buttons sit atop the projector along with sliders to adjust your picture, while input and output ports are accessible on the back.
Plenty of input options are available, including two HDMI ports, one full composite input (yellow, red, white), one VGA port, one USB Type A port, and one RS-232c port (DB-9 pin).
Functionality
If you're living an Apple-centric lifestyle with a Mac, iDevice, and Apple TV, the Home Cinema 2000 is a great entry-level projector. Simply connect your Apple TV or iDevice (with a Lighting Digital AV Adapter) to the projector and you're good to go. Of course, picture quality depends on your source files. Thankfully, movies from the iTunes Store and many on Netflix are offered in HD. Movies recorded on the newest iPhones are recorded in 1080p, if you want to stream or share one over AirPlay to your projector-connected Apple TV.
Picture quality was great right out of the box. Brightness is rated at 1,800 lumens, colors are bright and vibrant, while blacks are surprisingly deep, even with plenty of ambient light in the room. The Home Cinema 2000 offers several different color modes to suit your liking. Or you can tweak the projector's settings to your needs.
The projector features a 2-watt mono speaker that is definitely suitable on its own, but it is certainly lacking at higher volumes. Fortunately, a 3.5mm audio-out jack is on the back of the projector should you decide to hook up your own speakers.
It does get considerably hot near the projector's fan, but it isn't unbearable. Fortunately, the fan operates quietly enough to not disturb your viewing experience.
Pros
Great picture quality for a sub-$1,000 projector
Light enough to be moved often
Simple to setup
Cons
Built-in speaker leaves much to be desired
The Verdict
Epson's PowerLite Home Cinema 2000 is a great buy if you're looking to enhance your home entertainment center. Armed with an Apple TV or even just an iDevice with the proper connector, you can have movie night inside, outside, or anywhere else you can think of.