Brightness
| Picture Mode |
Brightness (Lumens) |
Average Color Temp |
| Dynamic |
5190 |
6437K |
| Presentation |
4460 |
6656K |
| Cinema |
4274 |
6268K |
| sRGB |
3732 |
5678K |
| Blackboard |
3165 |
6102K |
| DICOM Sim. |
3661 |
5700K |
|
|
|
|
Notes:
The brightness values in the table were with the projector's zoom at its mid-point and the lamp operated in its full power mode.
These measured lumens apply to both white brightness and color brightness. For more info on the subject of “color brightness” see our short video HERE.
[sam_pro id=1_75 codes="true"]
Although the average color temperate for 'Dynamic' picture mode may appear good at 6437K (i.e., near the ideal 6500K color temperature), in reality it varied a lot across the grey scale going from 6800K (a blue/cyan tint to the picture) at near black levels then dropping to 5625K at full white (a yellow tint to the image). The other picture modes generally had a more consistent color temperature across most of the grey scale.
Setting the projector's zoom lens to its maximum value (for shortest throw distance) increased the projector's brightness by approx. 3.5% while setting the zoom to its minimum value (for longest throw distance) decreased the brightness by approx. 4.5%.
The PowerLite 2265U has two reduced power modes. Use of the 'Eco' mode decreased the brightness by approx. 33% while use of the 'Eco2' mode decreased the brightness by approx. 41%.
Brightness uniformity was evaluated using the zoom set to maximum position, as this lens setting frequently will show the greatest brightness variation. With the projector sitting upright on a table, I measured the greatest dimming of the image at the top-right corner where the brightness was approx. 28% lower than at the center. I found this variation was not really noticeable with most program material and was only slightly noticeable, then only if you were looking for it, when I projected a full white test image.
Color uniformity when projecting a full white test image was good, with only minor color shift noted across the image.
Color Performance
I used the projector's Cinema Picture mode for my viewing of movies and TV programming usng the PowerLite 2265U. While the factory default settings produced what I consider very good performance for a business/classroom class of projector, I found the color temperature across the grey scale could easily be further improved. I used the projector's available RGB gain and offset adjustments to obtain a near ideal 6500K color temperature across the grey scale, as shown in the following figure.
The settings I used for the projector's Customized Color Temperature adjustments are shown in the following photo. Note the ideal settings may vary from unit-to-unit and especially from lamp-to-lamp.
With the above adjustments for the color temperature I would rate the overall color accuracy as Excellent for this class of business projector.
I didn't attempt to use the projector's color management system (CMS) to do a full calibration, but the Cinema picture mode's color points had good accuracy, as shown in the figure below, with their out-of-the-box settings, but could probably be improved a little with the use of the available CMS adjustments.
Contrast
Business and Classroom projectors that use 3LCD technology, as used by the PowerLite 2265U, typically have higher black levels and lower contrast ratios than do competing projectors using DLP technology. We do not normally publish contrast ratio measurements as part of our reviews, although I do occasionally make the measurements while evaluating a projector. In the case of the 2265U, I did measure the native on/off contrast ratio for when the projector was operating in Dynamic picture mode at 719:1 and when operating in Cinema picture mode, with the color temperature calibration detailed above, at 528:1. By native I mean with the auto iris turned off and also with any eco auto lamp dimming turned off. By comparison competing DLP business portable projectors will typically measure in the range between 800:1 to 1500:1.
As a result of these modest contrast ratio values, when displaying 'blacks' the PowerLite 2265U will display these as a little lighter shade of grey than will a typical DLP business projector. However, high light output projectors, such as the 2265U, are frequently used where there is at least moderate room lighting and under these conditions achieving deep blacks on the screen would simply not be possible regardless of the projector's black level performance.
The PowerLite offers a Auto (dynamic) Iris that is available in certain picture modes. I measured the on/off contrast ratio in Cinema picture mode with the auto iris engaged at 1092:1.
Be aware the above mentioned contrast ratio values do not represent the best that either 3LCD or DLP technology is capable of providing. Mid-to-higher end home theater class 3LCD projectors, including Epson's 'UB' series (UB stands for Ultra Black), can achieve native contrast ratios of upto 5000:1 or even a little higher, while the best DLP home theater projectors can reach similar values. Such levels of performance are of greater benefit for home theaters where the room lighting can be fully controlled (think 'bat cave' dark). Such projectors frequently also include a dynamic iris to improve the subjective contrast ratio and to provide deeper blacks during dark scenes in movies.
Image Sharpness
WUXGA (1920×1200) projectors, like the PowerLite 2265U, inherently offer slightly higher vertical resolution than 1080p (1920×1080), which is fine, as it allows 1080p content to be displayed natively, without any compression. Unless you have a specific need otherwise, you will most likely pair the 2265U with a 16:9 screen even though WUXGA is 16:10. The letter boxing above and below will be off the screen, but dark enough that you shouldn’t notice under normal viewing.
The optics of the Epson PowerLite 2265U are definitely respectable, with everything looking nice and sharp. If you look at screen shots of the text test images from the previous section of this review, you’ll see the 8 point type is very clear. That same 8 point type would be almost 4 times the size on an XGA projector, so that’s really good. Consider that on a 10 foot screen, with 20/20 vision, you would want to be within 6 feet to easily read 8 point type at that resolution (a limitation of typical human eyesight). So image sharpness is a big plus for this projector as compared to lower resolution models.
Audiable Noise
If this were a much less bright projector, one might have a problem with the amount of fan noise. At full power this would be fairly noisy in a small conference room. Not enough to have to shout over, but certainly enough to notice. But then one doesn’t need 5000+ lumens for the size screens you would find in a smaller room. Even under full fluorescent lighting, lighting up an 80 or 100 inch screen should not be a problem.
Epson says the PowerLite 2265U produces 29 db of audiable noise in Eco mode. The typical range of projectors in the general 5000-8000 brightness range is probably from 36 to 44 db, so overall, the Epson is likely average. The Epson rated 29 db in Eco mode, on the other hand is reasonably quiet. Consider that many home theater projectors claim 30-34 db in their full power mode, so those are a touch louder than this projector’s still rather bright Eco mode.
