Epson PowerLite 1965 Projector Review - Performance

Posted on February 4, 2014 by

Brightness

The 1965 is rated at 5000 lumens. This is a very high rating for such a compact projector. While we were not able to achieve this rating, we still got over 4000 lumens (4056) at full wide zoom in Dynamic mode. As explained earlier in this review, the 1965’s color is so good in Dynamic mode that it’s equal to most projectors’ Presentation mode. This makes it equal to many projectors rated much higher than 5000 lumens. We measured 3828 lumens at mid-zoom range and 3422 lumens at full telephoto zoom. With this kind of brightness, the 1965 shouldn’t have a problem displaying a viewable image in most lighting conditions.

Using Presentation mode, the output dropped to 2852 lumens. While Presentation mode offers better color balance than Dynamic, the difference in color is minimal compared to the drop in lumen output. If better color is desired, dropping into Theatre mode improves color balance noticeably, while still providing 2738 lumens. The next two modes, Photo and sRGB have excellent color as well, but drop to 2325 lumens each. Other modes were as follows: Blackboard comes in at 2142 lumens, Whiteboard at 2700 lumens and finally, DICOM SIM (a mode designed to provide increased contrast and gamma for displaying medical imaging information) was at 2320 lumens.

Dropping the lamp into ECO brightness mode resulted in a significant 36% drop in lumen output. With Dynamic mode, this still gives you 2459 lumens which should be sufficient for all but the brightest room conditions.

Noise

The Epson 1965 has decent noise ratings for a projector of this size and brightness in Normal lamp mode (37 dB). While that’s not particularly quiet, it’s not likely to be an issue in almost any presenting environment you’d find the 1965, and certainly not when presenting in the larger rooms that the 1965's 4000 lumens allows. If a quieter environment is desired, dropping the 1965 into ECO lamp mode reduces the noise level to 29 dB. If the aforementioned 36% drop in lumen output is acceptable, the 1965 would easily be quiet enough in Eco mode for comfortable video or movie viewing. To put this noise level in perspective, 29 dB is close to the noise level of some home theater projector running in its Normal lamp mode. Because the 1965 is so bright, it can easily be used in ECO mode in smaller venues with moderate light control, where the noise level is not an issue.

The 1965 has a built-in 10-watt speaker, which is enough to overcome the fan noise, and is suitable for most venues where the 1965 is likely to be found.

Wired and Wireless Networking

The 1965, with its included wireless module, allows for wireless connection to any desktop or laptop with 802.11 a/b/g capability. As is typical for a wireless network connection to a projector, the connection works quite well for anything other than video, which requires a wired network connection.

Regardless of how you’re connected to the network, you get a host of features and control options. In addition to the usual remote monitoring (including email notification) and admin features, you get the ability to have multiple projectors on the network contribute to the presentation. The EasyMP software (see the Special Features section of this review) allows the user to switch between other computers on the network, allowing display of Powerpoint or Keynote slides or other images from remote computer locations. All in all, the 1965’s networking capabilities will fill just about any company’s needs.