Epson Powerlite W16sk3000 Lumens Wxga Lcd 3d Dual Projection System Review

As long as its name is, and as much information as Epson has packed into the name, the Epson PowerLite W16SK 3D 3LCD Dual Project Arrangement($1,607.49 at Amazon Canada), leaves out one disquisitional piece of information: Namely, the W16SK works with passive, rather than agile, 3D glasses. That'due south particularly important for a data projector, because information technology makes 3D far more economical for an audience of more than a handful of people. The lower cost, in plough, removes the major hurdle to making 3D practical in an office or classroom. And if y'all demand 3D, it also earns the W16SK a spot on your short list.

Support for 3D is common enough to be nearly standard on DLP projectors today, and information technology'due south fifty-fifty starting to show up on LCD projectors, including the Editors' Choice Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 3020e($i,607.49 at Amazon Canada) dwelling house entertainment projector and the Epson PowerLite W16 3D WXGA 3LCD Projector($1,607.49 at Amazon Canada) that I recently reviewed. However, the 3D in virtually all of these projectors depends on active-shutter glasses.

Our Experts Have Tested 30 Products in the Projectors Category in the Past Yr

Since 1982, PCMag has tested and rated thousands of products to assistance you make better ownership decisions. (Meet how we test.)

Passive spectacles are much cheaper. Epson'south are $15 (direct) for a pack of five, while its agile spectacles for the W16 are $99 each. So even though the W16SK costs more than twice as much equally the W16, if you demand more than almost 10 pairs of glasses, the total cost for the W16SK for 3D will exist lower. And since passive spectacles don't use batteries, y'all won't exist constantly irresolute or recharging batteries either.

All this makes a 3D information projector for a relatively big audience a lot more practical with passive glasses. That's what the W16SK brings to the table.

Similar Products

Basics
The W16SK is like to the W16 in some ways. Both offer WXGA (ane,280 past 800) resolution, and both are congenital around LCD engines, which ways they share the advantage of not showing rainbow artifacts the fashion unmarried-scrap DLP projectors can. They also share the advantage over nearly DLP projectors of offer equal color effulgence and white brightness.

Both also let you connect direct to a 3D Blu-ray role player or other video device for 3D input, even though they don't fully support HDMI 1.4a. According to Epson, they too both work in 3D with a 3D estimator equipped with a Quad-buffered, Open GL 3D-compatible graphics card. However, they don't support the 3D format that computers typically use, and they don't support 3D over a VGA connectedness. To get 3D with a computer, you need third-party software for the computer, and have to connect by HDMI.

Where the two most obviously differ is that the W16 is a unmarried projector while the W16SK consists of ii projectors plus a stacking mount. The mountain holds the projectors in the right position relative to each other, so their images will exist registered, meaning they'll be precisely aligned, pixel by pixel, without one turning into an apparent ghost image of the other.

Setup
Setting the W16SK upward is surprisingly easy, considering the demand to get the images aligned. Withal, Epson doesn't supply a splitter for either VGA or HDMI connections, and information technology doesn't supply whatsoever cables, then exist sure to lodge these along with the projector. For my tests, I used a simple Y-cable splitter for VGA, connecting information technology to the computer and and so connecting standard VGA cables between the splitter and each projector. For the HDMI connection, I used a powered splitter and three HDMI cables, with one going to the prototype source and one going to each projector.

Epson provides clear instructions for every step of the installation, starting with putting the projectors in the mount and adding the polarizing filters. You and so plug in the cables, with one cable from each image source going to each projector. There's besides a supplied USB cablevision to plug into both projectors, so you tin can modify settings in both simultaneously with one remote or one projector control panel.

Each projector has independent transmission focus and zoom controls. In addition, a Screen Fit feature automatically adjusts the images to correct for whatever misregistration. Here once more, the steps are simple and conspicuously explained. They consist basically of pressing a button, following the instructions on screen to zoom the two images so one is larger than the other, and pressing the push once again.

Once two projectors are gear up, you can use them for 2d or 3D images, just as you lot would use a single projector. If you move them and then they go misaligned, you tin can rapidly realign them using the Screen Fit feature. I tried it several times, moving the table the projectors were on between each try, and it worked as promised every time.

A Word about Brightness
Epson rates the W16SK at 3,000 lumens for each projector, or 6,000 lumens for both together. Information technology'due south important to understand that you lot actually air current up with fewer lumens to work with, however, which is why you need so much effulgence to get-go with.

Before using the Screen Fit feature, the image in my tests was roughly 78 inches wide. Subsequently using the feature, it was 75 inches wide, with Screen Fit scaling the prototype on 1 projector to fix the misregistration. This is manifestly needed, since the ii images need to be aligned, only it works out to a reduction in screen area of about 7.5 percent. So if you assume a true iii,000 lumens per projector, you merely get to apply about 2,775 lumens with these particular settings for the image size, or a total of nigh 5,550 lumens.

There's as well a reduction in effulgence from the polarizing filters. Epson claims they drop the effulgence by about 17 per centum, but I measured information technology at 24 percent, bringing the total brightness down to about four,260 lumens. And if you don't spend the time I did tweaking the zoom settings to give yous the largest possible terminal image, you'll become a still lower effulgence level. In one exam run I wound upwards with a 71-inch width, which works out to about iii,820 lumens.

Keep in mind too that for 3D images the left and right lenses in 3D glasses each block out the low-cal meant for the other centre, which finer cuts the brightness in one-half once again for 3D. So although 6,000 lumens would commonly be brilliant enough for a small auditorium or big classroom, in the W16SK's case the actual brightness level is more advisable for a suitably large paradigm for a medium-size conference room or classroom with typical levels of ambience light.

1 other twist on brightness relates to the screen. Passive 3D depends on polarized lite. It won't piece of work with a standard white screen, because the light from the projector loses the needed polarization when it's reflected from the screen. Instead you lot need a silverish screen like the Severtson GP169923D ($1,150 street, four stars), which I used for testing. However, screens for 3D also tend to offering a high proceeds, with a ii.4 gain in the instance of the GP169923D. That means the screen increases the brightness for the image by reflecting more of the light dorsum towards the audience and less towards the sides.

Image Quality
The W16SK's 2nd information prototype quality was a niggling short of fantabulous, only not by much. On our standard suite of DisplayMate tests, it delivered fully saturated, vibrant color in all modes, and fantabulous color balance, with suitably neutral grays at all levels from white to black in all modes. It doesn't show fine particular well, yet, with black text on white easily readable only downwardly to nine points in my tests, and white text on black taking some effort to read fifty-fifty at 12 points. This shouldn't be an event for well-nigh people, but if y'all need show images with fine detail, it could be a problem.

Video quality was far better than yous'll get with most data projectors, making information technology easily good plenty to picket a full-length movie. I saw some exceedingly balmy loss of shadow detail (details based on shading in night areas), but merely in scenes that are especially hard to handle and that near information projectors practise far worse with.

I didn't run into whatsoever motion artifacts, posterization (colors changing all of a sudden where they should shade gradually), or other issues worth mention, and the projector did a adept job with skin tones. Colors don't pop they style that would with a amend contrast ratio, but that's only some other way of saying that the W16SK isn't in the same league as a dwelling theater projector. Information technology also helps that, as an LCD-projector, it doesn't bear witness rainbow artifacts.

3D and Other Bug
The W16SK comes with only one pair of 3D glasses, so plan to buy more than. Image quality in 3D is reasonably expert overall, with good colour quality in item. I saw some crosstalk in one scene that tends to bring out crosstalk, but I didn't see whatsoever 3D-related motion artifacts in scenes that other projectors have problems with. In general, watching 3D with the W16SK was 1 of the most comfortable 3D viewing experiences I've had exterior of an IMAX theater, with a skillful sense of depth, polish motility, and no obvious issues beyond the occasional crosstalk.

One characteristic that's about non worth having is the W16SK'southward audio system, with its severely underpowered 2-watt mono speaker. If you lot need audio, plan on getting an external audio arrangement.

Given the Epson PowerLite W16SK 3D 3LCD Dual Projection Arrangement's price, there'south fiddling reason to consider it unless you are serious about 3D. Simply if yous need 3D for an audience of ten or more, it offers a complete, price-effective option. The problem holding fine particular will exist an issue for some people, but shouldn't affair for well-nigh. And for that majority, at least, the Epson PowerLite W16SK 3D 3LCD Dual Projection Organization is a potentially cost-effective solution that volition be hard to crush.

Epson PowerLite W16SK 3D 3LCD Dual Projection Organisation

The Bottom Line

The Epson PowerLite W16SK 3D 3LCD Dual Projection Organisation is a consummate 3D data projector solution that'due south designed for easy setup and uses inexpensive, passive 3D glasses.

Similar What Yous're Reading?

Sign up for Lab Report to go the latest reviews and summit product advice delivered right to your inbox.

This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Utilise and Privacy Policy. Y'all may unsubscribe from the newsletters at whatsoever time.

palmerwourn1956.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/epson-powerlite-w16sk-3d-3lcd-dual-projection-system