The E1655U sports a clean, modern look with an all-white plastic case and a black-cased lens protruding from the front panel. Right above the lens is a quick release button for easy removal and replacement of the lens when using one of the four optional lenses. Along the front, left top edge are five indicator lights for Power, Lamp, Temperature, Lens shift and Focus status and an IR receiving eye visible to both the top and front panel. The E1655U also comes with a rubber decorative surround for the lens.
Facing the front panel of the projector, the lens is mounted dead center with the built-in speaker to left of it. Height adjustment is obtained via two screw feet in the front corners. On top of the projector, we have the aforementioned lens release button and the cover for the lamp.
The only thing on the left side of the projector (again, facing the front) is a large air intake vent and the air filter (which is removable from the rear). The right side of the projector has a hot air exhaust port that also wraps around to the rear panel and a control panel toward the front. The control panel has buttons for Power, Auto Setup, Lens Shift, Zoom, Focus, Up, Down, Left, Right, Select, Menu and Input. The screw to remove the lamp cover is also on the right side at the top edge.
Click Image to EnlargeMoving to the rear panel, we have a full assortment of connection options. Facing the rear of the projector moving from left to right, we start with a LAN port, followed by two VGA computer inputs (the second input can also serve as a monitor output). Next are DVI-D and HDMI inputs. (It should be noted that those using analog-sourced DVI-A will not be able to use the DVI-D (digital) input of the E1655U). Continuing to the next row of connectors, we find a set of BNC input jacks, as well as an S-video and composite video input. These are followed by a set of RCA stereo audio inputs, 1/8" audio input and output jacks and an RS232 control jack. Along the bottom of the rear panel are the power cord jack, a lock bar and the air filter release.
Click Image to EnlargeThanks to its power horizontal and vertical lens shift, zoom and focus, the E1655U is easy to setup up. Although it's not designed as a portable projector, its adjustment
flexibility would make it eminently usable on a movable cart. Also, this multiple adjustment capability of the E1655U will usually make keystone correction nnecessary, which is always a plus when trying to optimize sharpness. However, the E1655U does offer a competent keystone adjustment system if necessary.
The E1655U fires up quickly and has built-in test patterns that can aid in initial setup, as well as more advanced picture adjustment. There are two menus: a shortcut menu that allows to user to quickly access things like lamp control, logo display and standby mode and a normal menu that accesses all functions. The normal menu is very straight forward will be familiar to anyone who has any experience with projector menus. Just go to the Image Select submenu and choose one of the available image modes, then fine tune it with the controls available in the Image Adjust submenu. There are a number of adjustments available, including: Brightness, Contrast, Color Temp, RGB white balance (grayscale), Gamma and Sharpness.
Allows for the selection of an image more that matches the needs of the presentation.
Adjustment of the selected image mode.
Quick access for often used modes
Access to lamp control and other status info.
Settings to assist with setup
The E1655U has a built-in 7-watt speaker. While this would make it marginally acceptable for presentations with sound in smaller venues, it's unlikely that anyone that this projector would find itself in such a venue. Fortunately, the E1655U has an audio output jack to connect to an externally-powered speaker system.
The E1655U has a rather small remote, the type more usually seen with lower-priced projectors. That being said the remote has a well thought-out layout. Power and input buttons are right on top where they belong. They are followed by buttons for menu navigation and selection. The rest of the buttons are grouped in four rows and columns, with volume up/down buttons below them. Other buttons include: both menu buttons, keystone, timer, lens shift, zoom and focus, lamp, digital zoom, image mode, blank and freeze, audio mute, screen display and autoset. The remote is not backlit (as is the norm) and has gray buttons (except for the red Power button) on a white background.
Click Image to Enlarge
