Tech Review: Epson EH-TW3600 Projector

A while back I was lucky enough to use and review the Epson TW5500 HD Projector. A truly stunning projector but at £3000 it was out of the price range of many movie fans.

With that in mind I had the opportunity to review the Epson TW3600 Projector. At just over £1000 it is still expensive but for a HD projector it is a lot more affordable for the lovers of film.

Before going into what I thought of the projector let me give you some of the technical details.

It gives a full HD picture at 1080p with a maximum screen size of 300″. Event Hire once again provided the screen and a good quality screen is worth getting  as that really adds to the experience.

It is a 3LCD projector with a Colour Light Output of 2,000 lumens. What that means is that it has a bright clear picture that works well in daylight although it is obviously better in darker conditions.

Like the other Epson projector the TW3600 is so simple to set up straight out of the box. Plug it in, connect the Blu-ray player or games console, make sure you have them connected to a surround sound system and switch on. A quick adjustment of the focus and you are able to watch something straight away. The number of options to change the picture are many so you can quickly make the image suitable for wherever you are watching.

After having to move the furniture around to use the last projector we thought about the best way of using the new projector. Instead of trying to get the projector high in the room we went low this time and put it under the coffee table. This was Mrs Live for Films idea and it worked splendidly (see below). Suddenly we had all the convenience of watching a film on the big screen without any of the hassle of moving furniture. Just make sure that there is plenty of air flow as they generate a lot of heat.

Fan noise on the projector was very low and did not impede on the viewing experience in any way.

The TW3600 has a contrast ratio of 50, 000:1 whereas  the TW5500 had a ratio of 200,000:1. This meant that the blacks were not as black on the TW3600 as I would have liked, but having been spoilt with the TW5500 this was to be expected. If I had just reviewed the TW3600 and no other projector then I am sure the contrast would not have bothered me.

Some of the films we watched this time included The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Kill Bill vol 1, Coraline, Race to Witch Mountain, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, Black Dynamite, TRON: Legacy, Monsters, Let the Right One In, David Byrne’s Ride Rise Roar, Sleepy Hollow and more. As you can see a wide range of films and most of them on Blu-ray.

XBox 360 games also looked stunning.

All the Blu-ray films looked lovely through the projector. However, this time the few DVDs we watched did not look as good as they did through the TW5500. The picture had a slight graininess to it which I think may have been due to the contrast. It still far exceeds the picture quality on the TV and the sheer size of the image may have also contributed to any picture problems being more noticeable.

At the end of the day having a projector such as this totally changes the home cinema viewing experience. It brings the true magic of movies into the living room and the comfort of your own home. If price is a concern to you there are some great Dell projectors that provide many of the same great features for both movies and games.

If you are looking to improve your home cinema setup I highly recommend getting hold of the Epson TW3600 projector. You will not be disappointed. Furthermore, you should look at jr.com home theater systems to find complementary components to ensure optimal entertainment at your home.