When it comes to filling a house of worship with images and video, Epson's PowerLite 4650 XGA 3LCD projector offers a big step forward, along with a few small steps back. With a $1,999 price tag, it offers the most brightness for the dollar in a large-venue projector, but its XGA resolution can only go so far, and it lacks the ability to use interchangeable lenses. At 6.3 by 18.6 by 14.0 inches, the PowerLite 4650 weighs just 14.3 pounds, making it one of the smallest and lightest projectors able to deliver 5,000-plus lumens of light. In fact, its size and weight make it possible for one person to set it up. On the other hand, it is only available in white and lacks a handle to carry the PL4650 around. The projector can be aimed with a single adjustable leg up front and a pair in the back. To hang it from ceiling, the PL4650 has four threaded mounting screws underneath.
Inside look
As is the case with every Epson projector, the PL4650 relies on LCDs to create the image. The projector, however, tops out at XGA resolution, but is able to use input video streams of up to 1,920 by 1,200 resolution. It can display two separate video feeds side by side and uses a single air-cooled lamp. Unlike its large-venue peers, it lacks the ability to use optional lenses. That's not such a bad thing because the included lens is one of the most versatile optical devices in the projection world, and optional lenses on competitive projectors can cost a lot more than the complete PL4650 on its own. The projector can fill screens from 30 inches to 25 feet, and the PL4650's optics have a wide 2X zoom lens. It can compensate for being off center with horizontal and vertical keystone correction of up to 30 degrees. The system also has Epson's Quick Corner, Arc Corner correction and Point Correction image compensation built-in. Together, they make getting a sharp rectangular image easy, but time-consuming.
Lens Shifter
Rather than using motors to move the image's position, the PL4650 has a pair of levers above the lens that can shift it up to 38% horizontally and 70% vertically. There's a locking mechanism for when the image looks right, but the image shifting can't be adjusted with the remote control. To help streamline set up, the projector has 11 built-in test images, including ones for aiming, focusing and optimizing gray scale and adjusting color balance. The PL4650 has a nice array of internal adjustments, including the expected brightness, contrast and color saturation, as well as the ability to use an integrated Mosquito noise-reduction filter and automatically convert interlaced signals into progressive ones. It has an integrated Faroudja DCDi video processor, but lacks the ability to use full video-processing boards, like the NEC PH1000U. Like most other projectors in its class, the PL4650 has its connection panel in the back, but it includes one of the best cable covers available. The cover screws in place, matches the color of the projector, and can hide coiled cables. Epson even includes a plastic clip so that the HDMI cable doesn't get accidentally yanked out. The projector has ports for everything from HDMI, DisplayPort, and VGA to Component, Composite, S-video as well as five BNC connectors. There are both 3.5-millimeter and RCA jacks for audio, and the system has USB, RS-232 and wired LAN connection; WiFi is a $99 option.
The PowerLite 4650 is the “best buy” projector in its class today, not only for its low price tag and brightness but because it is inexpensive to operate.
Rather than having the projector's control panel on top, where it can be hard to reach during set up, the PL4650 has it in the back, next to the cables. While the PL4650 has Crestron's RoomView software built in, it can also be controlled from afar via an online connection. Just open a Web browser to the projector's IP address and a simplified control panel is displayed allowing you to do most tasks.
The PL4650's remote control is well designed, functional and can control up to nine different Epson projectors at once. While its keys are not backlit, you can extend the remote's 35-foot range by using an audio jumper cable. It cannot only select the source and bring up the logically arranged menu structure, but can change the color mode and the projected aspect ratio.
Put to the Test
With the PL4650 set to a color temperature of 7,000K and using its Dynamic mode, I used the projector for several hours connected to a PC, BluRay player and tablet to see how it stacks up. The good news is that it was able to pump out a maximum of 5,880 lumens, 13% above its 5,200-lumen specification. Despite an excellent bright white, strong reds and blues, the PL4650's greens were weak.
Switching to the PL4650's Theater mode makes skin tones and overall color balance much more realistic, but it drops the projector's output by 20%. There are also settings for Photo, sRGB and Dicom Sym, as well as one for using the PL4650 with other projectors. It was able to put an artifact-free stream of video onto the screen.
For many religious institutions its XGA resolution won't be enough. Epson also sells a WXGA PL4750W for the same price or the WUXGA PL 4855WU model for $3,000. Unfortunately, both sacrifice some brightness.
It might be slow to startup at 53 seconds, but the PL4650 shuts down quickly; its fan shuts off in 3.2 seconds. The PL4650's exhaust comes out at a sedate 160-degrees Fahrenheit, but puts out a lot of fan noise. At 10 feet from the projector, it registered 44.2 dBA, well above the BenQ SH940's 38.2dBA of noise. Rather than the super-economical $79 lamps that Epson uses on some of its projectors, the PL4650 requires a $499 lamp that's rated for 4,000 hours of use. The lamp can be swapped in a matter of minutes, and it can be done with the projector hung up side down; you'll need a small Philips screwdriver.
Money Miser
All told, the PL4650 uses 360 watts when it's being used at full blast, but has an economical sleep mode that doesn't even register on my power meter. That adds up to estimated annual expenses of $132, assuming it's used for 15 hours a week with electricity costing the national average of 12 cents per kilowatt hour.
Cheap to keep, the PL4650 costs half as much to operate as the Infocus IN5544 and many other large venue projectors. As is the case with others, there is an Eco mode, which cuts the projector's power use by 20% and can make the lamp last longer, but its brightness drops significantly. Like other LCD projectors, there's an air filter that'll need to be cleaned or changed periodically. It's easily accessible on the side and takes a few minutes. The PL4650 comes with a two-year warranty, which comes up short compared to the Canon Realis WX600's three years of coverage; the lamp is guaranteed for only 90-days. Extending coverage to three years adds a reasonable $99.
That leaves the $1,999 PowerLite 4650 as the “best buy” projector in its class today—not only for its low price tag and brightness, but because it is inexpensive to operate. In other words, it allows churches with smaller budgets to think big.
