Epson Pro Cinema 1985 W Projector Review - Special Features 2

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Art Feierman

PRO CINEMA 1985W REVIEW - SPECIAL FEATURES: List of many Special (and not so special) Features, Zoom Lens Ratio, Split Screen, PC Free Slideshow, Easy MP Command and Control

List of Features

The Pro Cinema 1985 WU is loaded with many features, some major, some minor. Here I will list a large number of them. A sentence or paragraph will be found in the Menus section for many of them, when viewing the appropriate menu in its comment area. Some need no comment.

Auto Iris for improved black level performance (two speeds)
Color management system both Grayscale and individual color calibration controls available
Gamma adjustments - 5 preset, plus custom
8 Preset modes including Dynamic, Presentation, Theatre, etc.
Many audio inputs, audio output
2 Noise reduction levels
Overscan
Fine or Fast image processing
Split Screen - two sources at once - equal sized
Non-laser Pointer built in, controlled by remote
Closed Caption
User Logo (put your family crest in there, or the XYZ Family Theater...) to impress your friends
High Altitude Mode
Auto Source Search (or manual)
Define which audio to output
Multi-screen control brightness and color correction
Scheduling of Use, Power/Standby, Dates and Times
Screen Mirroring (covered on previous page)

Click Image to Enlarge

Zoom Lens Ratio

As commented earlier, this Epson is a very bright projector. Many competitors including Epson's G series, have many similar features, but also offer a choice of lenses. Unfortunately, projectors with lens options tend to be a lot more expensive than those without, all else being about equal. The Powerlite 1985WU has a 1.6:1 manual zoom lens.

That's as much or more zoom range than most fixed install, and large portables offer. It allows for sufficient placement range for most environments such as classrooms, conference rooms, training rooms, etc. But it may not have the needed operating range for a church, or small auditorium, and some other large rooms (including some university classrooms) if the projector cannot be placed relatively close to the screen. For example, if you need to place the projector 30 feet back from a 100" screen, that's just not going to work.

Split Screen Capabilities

This Epson not only can use Epson's Moderator software to put up to four sources on the screen at once (a local network needed) in different windows, it can also do Split Screen.

Although this image is not from the PC1985, most other Epson bright room projectors have the same split screen functionality. Shown here with one of the split-screen menus up, is a computer source on the left, HDTV on the right.

With Split screen you can display two sources at the same time. The only real downside, one that seems to be standard with split screen supporting projectors, is that you can't use HDMI 1 and HDMI2 as the sources. Only one HDMI can be used, the other source can be just about anything else, from component video, to a PC (analog computer input), to Display USB, to streaming with Miracast.

When you are split screening, you have a choice of image sizes. Both images can be the same size, or one can be about twice the size of the other. The larger one can be on the left or right, and you can switch sources from one side to the other. Overall, other than that one limitation of not using two HDMI inputs, it's very capable and flexible. I've put up my MacBook Pro signal (by outputting an analog computer, using adapter from the HDMI port), next to the HDMI source from my cable box, in order to view my fantasy football tracking on my Mac, in the smaller window while having a game playing in the larger one. Bottom line: Epson's split screen is a fun extra feature, just be sure to figure out your wiring so you can get two up there without them both being HDMI.

PC Free Presenting

The Pro Cinema 1985W offers basic PC Free presenting by way of an onboard media player. The 1985W supports image files and PDF, but is not as extensive as some, as it does not support Microsoft Office formats. This feature can be used to display those images wirelessly, or you could plug in a USB thumb drive with the images on it.

It's actually a very simple way to quickly view photos from your digital camera if they are in a standard format such as JPG. Now I mostly use for photography, either an iPhone, or my dSLR. For work purposes when using the dSLR, I shoot in Canon's raw file format (.CR2), but I usually have my camera set to also store them in a medium JPG format, so I can view the images on an Epson projector. (My G series Epson has the same feature.) I can copy my photo images from my SD card to a USB drive, OR, transmit them wirelessly from the SD card once plugged into my laptop, OR, I can plug in a basic media card device (that you can plug in SD, XD CompactFlash, micro-SD, and other cards, with a USB connector on the other end) into the 1985's USB input.

Bottom line: The PC presenting can be used for serious things, such as displaying a Powerpoint presentation as a series of JPGs, but it also works great to view your photos wirelessly from a computer, or using USB or media cards via USB input. There are auto features to run the slide show, timing and basic effects.

Easy MP Software (free) for Command and Control

Epson's Easy MP software has been around for perhaps a decade, maybe longer, as a way to control the projector from software on your computer. Although not as sophisticated as some of the advanced command and control protocols such as Crestron RoomView, it does handle the basics rather nicely and has a good feature set. The Powerlite 1985WU is, however, also compatible with Crestron RoomView and some other networking schemes. You can have the PC1985 notify you when there's an issue, or time to change the filter, or replace the lamp.