If you have no wifi network at your location, you have no working solution with MHL. On the other hand...
With Miracast, it's just the two devices - using wifi technology - notably what is called WiFi Direct connection. (The folks behind all of this is the Wifi Alliance.) The two devices need no network, just two "peers" talking directly.
This makes for a simple way to wirelessly transmit, for example, what's on your laptop, to your projector, in this case, the Powerlite 1985WU.
It gives you another alternative method of communicating, without having to drag along heavy, long HDMI cabling, or lighter USB cabling for those devices supporting USB Display. With Miracast, and the 1985 projector, and the right devices, no cables! Miracast is found in many Android devices, and support is part of Windows 8.1. That said, on the Apple front, (we're an Apple shop) there's no support, as Miracast is essentially a competitor to their own peer to peer network known to us Apple users as Apple TV. If I want to do the equivalent to Miracast, I would plug my Apple TV into one of the 1985's HDMI ports, and accomplish the same thing - displaying what's on my MacBook Pro, iPad, or iPhone.
MHL also requires smart devices that support it. The Powerlite 1985 has one of its two HDMI ports supporting MHL. With MHL, as mentioned, you do need a Wifi network to use. I can plug in a Roku stick or Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV stick, etc. Personally, I do use my Roku stick from time to time for Netflix or watching other channels of information. Since I
An added bonus for the Miracast is that it functions as a separate input. You are not giving up either of your HDMI ports for it, it is internal. With some projectors you would need to plug in a Miracast compatible device into an HDMI input, giving up a valuable input spot.
Longer Lamp Life
Historically high power projectors - in this day and age I'd consider a projector with 4800 white and color lumens to "still" be high power - have not had great lamp life. In other words, they'd work the lamps hard to get maximum brightness out of them in exchange for shorter life. Traditionally, such projectors are often 2000 hours at full power, and 2500 to 3000 lumens in their Eco modes.
The Powerlite 1985WU has been rated at 3000 hours at full power, and 4000 in Eco. That should prove to be bargain compared to most competitors, especially since Epson seems to charge less for lamps than most of the competition, and charge minimal amounts for the education market. I mention that because the Powerlite 1985WU should be an excellent projector for larger classrooms - such as at colleges and universities, with Epson education program lamp prices falling between $79 and $129. Talk about inexpensive - when a few years ago, $400 - $500 was normal.
In fairness, Epson's less massively bright small projectors often provide 4000 hours at full power (some 5000), and 5000 to 6000 hours in Eco. Still, the lamp life is very good for a projector in this class.