Review by A. Brooks
Rating:
I searched long and hard to find all the features I wanted in a projector and this is the one I decided on. After I found this one I had a hard time finding any reviews for it except for the one on Projector Reviews. To assist others I decided to write one as well.

First of all, I have to say I am very impressed right from the get go when I set up the projector. The picture quality is amazing. I had a slightly older projector in place already but this one blew it out of the water. I use the 826W in my home theater. However, the projector was designed for the educator in classroom and is considered a multimedia projector.

(My setup) The projector is set on a shelf behind the couch and up high. I am projecting on a 92″ 16×9 screen from about 14.5′ feet away. I had a very specific setup I wanted to maintain and the Epson Powerlite 826W fit the bill perfectly. The reason why it did is because of the 1.6 zoom. Most projectors I found in this price range and even more expensive ones come with a very limited zoom 1.2. The 1.2 zoom did not offer the flexibility needed which is a big plus especially if you ever try to change your setup.

PROS (Home Theater Setup)

2500 Lumens – very bright and perfect for daytime watching, the picture does not get washed out.

1.6 zoom – great flexibility for perfect placement.

Two VGA ports – I have mine connected to a PC, Xbox 360, PS3, HDTV box, and DVD player. All look great and have had no problems with switching between them. It will actually save your settings for each connection.

5000-6000 hour lamp life – Big, Big plus! I have not found another projector with this type of lamp life. Even the other Epson projectors, which tend to have the best lamps, don’t go this long.

Picture – WXGA resolution (Native: 1280×800 Maximum: 1600×1200 Aspect Ratio: 16:10) – with my settings I do not see any pixels. Picture and text is sharp and clear. Several color settings in the menu for theater, dynamic, presentation, whiteboard, blackboard ,sports, and photo. Additional settings for contrast, brightness, color, tint, sat, etc. You can also change the aspect ratio to 16:9 and a few others.

Fan – brightest is at 35db (you can hear it at this level but it does not distract, especially when you are watching something. I would assume if you are using it for a home theater you will have a decent speaker setup, like me, so it was no problem at all.) Eco mode 28db (at this level you can’t hear it at all and the projector is still very bright.)

Remote – nothing fancy just convenient features such as; aspect ratio button and color settings which you can change on the fly. This is helpful when you switch between components.

Internet features – I have not explored these yet because I do not plan on using them but if you are they are there at your exposal . You could also connect wirelessly with a separate adapter.

Price – I bought mine for $800.00, with all these features and quality can’t beat it.

Warranty – 2 years and you’re dealing with Epson. One of the best in customer service.

CONS

No HDMI port – It would have been nice to have a least one of these. Not that big of a deal to me because it does include two VGA ports, composite, and S-video. I have both VGA ports connected to an additional cable sold by Cables Unlimited. The cable splits the output so you can still use it as a VGA or Component. Works perfectly for me.

Contrast is only 2000.1 – This is to be expected because it is not designed to be a home theater projector. Would have like to see at least 3000.1. Blacks are slightly grey but still look good, obviously pop a little more with all the lights out .

OVERALL

I am very pleased with my purchase and would recommend to others. There are other little features that the 826W offers that I did not cover. You can check them out at Epson’s website or on Projector Central. I hope this review helps with deciding with your purchase!!