Epson’s PowerLite Home Cinema 720, High Definition 720p (1280 x 720 pixels) projector is very affordable with excellent brightness and placement flexibility backed by a two year warranty including an attractive overnight replacement service. The projector has proved a popular purchase for gamers.

A good contrast ratio is an important factor contributing to a good image and the 12,000:1 contrast ratio of the Home Cinema 720 is an excellent figure amongst its peers. Lamp brightness is 1600 lumens meaning you can enjoy the large projected image even in a room open to daylight.

3LCD Technology

The projection engine of the Epson Home Cinema 1080 is 3LCD projection technology. 3LCD technology is utilized by numerous projector manufacturers (Fujitsu, Hitachi, Panasonic, Sanyo and Sony) for its compactness and image quality. The LCD microdisplay panel design produces a brighter, more life-like picture in comparison to single panel systems.

The LCD microdisplay panels used for the Home Cinema 720 projector are Seiko Epson Corporation’s (Epson) D6 series of high-temperature polysilicon TFT liquid crystal panels (HTPS). The D6 panels have a hybrid driving technology which further enhances the performance of 3LCD-type front-projectors. This hybrid technology uses internal and external drivers for driving the LCD. Externally mounted horizontal driver ICs, as used in the D6 series technology, have superior driving capabilities. When combined with the LCD driving controller IC on the panels connection tape, the result in smoother images and lower power requirements.

Crystal Clear Fine

Epson’s D6 series panels incorporate Crystal Clear Fine (C2 Fine) inorganic alignment technology which combines an inorganic liquid crystal alignment layer and vertical alignment technology (liquid crystal aligned vertically). The inorganic alignment layer reduces orientation unevenness producing smoother images while vertical alignment reduces light leakage improving contrast and deepening blacks.

Auto Iris Optical System

The Auto Iris Optical System boosts projected image quality through restricting light from the projection bulb. Blacks are deeper and grey scaling is improved however, the Epson Home Cinema 720 doesn’t have some of the additional, and more expensive, blackness deepening technologies such as dynamic control of the lamp power and gamma setting.

Placement Flexibility of Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 720

Epson’s Home Cinema 720 provides excellent placement flexibility with wide ranging horizontal and vertical lens shift ranges of +/- 47 and +/-96 percent respectively. This means you can adjust for significant offset from the screen in both the horizontal and vertical planes without being concerned about digital keystone adjustment causing video artefacts. Manual zoom is 1 – 2.1 so you have a big range of distances in front of the screen for possible positioning. For a 100 inch projected image the 720 can be as close as 10.4 feet from the screen or as far out as 22 feet if you want the projector at the back of the room.

Connections

The Epson Home Cinema 720 has a range of connection options with the single HDMI perhaps the only disappointment.

• HDMI (1.3)
• 3 RCA (component)
• 1 RCA (composite)
• 1 Mini Din (S-video)
• 1 D-Sub 9 pin (RS-232c)
• 1 D-Sub 15 pin (analog RGB)
• trigger out port (for motorized screen)

Rated projection lamp life is a comparatively good at an estimated 3000 hours. The projector uses the Epson E-TORL which explains to a degree the excellent brightness. The E-TORL is also smaller, cooler and more efficient than other projection bulb choices.

Epson Two Year Warranty

Epson provide a two year parts and labor warranty with the Epson Home Cinema 720 which is more than the fairly common one year but, is surpassed by some like Sanyo at 3 years. Of more interest perhaps is the very fast overnight replacement program if you have problems.

Resources

Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 720 Specification Sheet (pdf)

Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 720 User Guide (pdf 3.4MB)

Projection Screen Selection Guide

Tips for Extending Projector Lamp Life

Guide to Replacement Projector Lamps and Bulbs

User Reviews and Price Comparisons

Check the following online retailers for price comparisons, user reviews and product comparison ratings.

Powerlite Home Cinema 720 720P HD 1600 Lumens

Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 720 Projector Ceiling Mount Kit

Projector 1600 Lumens

Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 720 Projector

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