Epson MovieMate 60 Projector Review

Posted on December 22, 2009 by Art Feierman

Specs Preview

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Epson MovieMate 60 Specs
Price	699
Technology	3LCD
Native Resolution	960x540
Brightness (Manufacturer Claim)	2000
Contrast	3,000:1
Zoom Lens Ratio
Lens Shift	No
Lamp Life	4000 hours low power (eco-mode), 3000 hours at full lamp power
Weight	9.3
Warranty	2 Years

This is an in-depth review of the Epson MovieMate 60, Epson's newest All-in-One projector system for home entertainment.

Epson MovieMate 60 All-In-One Projector - Overview

Less than $700 now buys you a rather versatile and pretty impressive all-in-one projector, these days. The MovieMate 60 is easy to use too. It takes about a minute to plug it in, turn it on and start watching a DVD on the built-in player, or any other source you might want to hook up. Picture quality is pretty good. A pair of 10 watt speakers puts out a very respectable quantity of sound, even if it can't get down into the deep bass ranges to shake the house.

It's been almost two years since we last reviewed an all-in-one projector. The last particularly notable one, was Epson's MovieMate 72, which they still make. The MovieMate 72 is still more expensive, and is higher resolution, with the 720p HDTV resolution as native. This MovieMate 60, although it can't quite match the resolution, is substantially brighter, and has better contrast and blacks. The older MovieMate 72 still commands a much higher price - typically selling for over $1000.

The all-in-one projector market never exploded, as some had hoped. It may be that they haven't hit the price point needed to create huge demand. I've always figured that sweet spot would be $499. Epson's not there yet, but we're getting close, and this MovieMate is a pretty cool entertainment device for the money being spent!

Attention Home Theater Enthusiasts!

If you aren't planning on a nice portable projector system to take on vacation or to drag out back for movie parties, if you aren't curious about these all-in-one projector systems like this MovieMate 60, even if you're not planning to buy one, then this review won't have much for you. On the other hand, it may be a perfect 2nd projector, for the kids, or for the backyard.

Epson MovieMate 60 Projector Highlights

Ease of use
A complete, portable home entertainment, all-in-one projector with speakes and DVD player, and very portable
Exceptionally bright - a relative "light canon"
"Out of the box" image performance is very good - it's ready to go
1/4 Full HD resolution (WSVGA?) - 960x540 while still below 720p resolution, it's higher resolution than standard DVD. A few years back you could buy stand alone 1/4 HD resolution projectors from the likes of Sanyo, for more than $2000!
Can double as a viable, portable presentation system, for multi-media, and traditional presentations (like Powerpoint)

No optical zoom lens, but digital zoom provided
Outstanding two year warranty - with overnight replacement
Limited color controls - only three color temperature options
Full set of inputs - you can hook up Blu-ray player, Satellite/Cable box, and more, plus USB port for viewing images, only one HDMI though, a second would have been nice
A fun for the whole family product, be it bonus room, family room or back yard - have a blast