Epson VS250 Projector Review: excellent color, easy installation and simple operation

[Wyatt21]

The VS250 Projector is a portable series projector launched by Epson in September 2017. The VS series is characterized by lightness, high brightness, excellent color, easy installation and simple operation.

The entire package contains the VS250 projector, remote control, two batteries, power cord, a VGA cable, warranty card, a quick setup guide and CD. To my surprise, there is no detailed manual, quick setup is relatively simple, and more detailed content needs to be downloaded from the CD.

This projector uses a pure white shell, and the four corners of the square are rounded. It looks simple and simple, and has a great texture. The point is that it is small and light. The volume is: 11.9 "x 9.2" x 3.0 "(W x D x H), and the weight is only 5.3lb, which is almost 4.7 kg. This weight can be said to be very light, very suitable for home use or mobile office.

The front of the projector, as shown in the figure, is the cooling fan on the left and the lens on the right. The lens is protected by a lens cap and can be opened when used.

On the left side of the projector, there is an air inlet. This air inlet can be opened and there is a dust filter inside to remove the dust.

The rear of the projector is a variety of interfaces, including:

HDMI
Computer / Component video: D-sub 15 pin
Composite video: RCA (Yellow)
Audio in: RCA (White / Red)
USB connector: Type A (PC-free and other)
USB connector: Type B (USB Plug 'n Play)

These interfaces can be connected to a variety of devices, which can meet the basic needs of use. The bottom of the projector has a ceiling mounting screw hole, which can be ceiling mounted as required.

There is a small retractable foot at the bottom of the front of the projector. Use your fingers to gently lift the upper button, the small foot can be put down, and the elevation angle of the projector can be adjusted according to needs. In addition, there are two legs that can be rotated out at the bottom of the projector, and the height and tilt of the projector can also be adjusted.

There are some shortcut keys on the surface of the projector, such as the power switch key, Home key, menu key, return key, etc., which are the same as the basic operation buttons on the remote control, and can be directly operated on the machine.

Above these shortcut keys, near the lens, there are two levers, which can adjust the focus and zoom the screen respectively. However, in practical applications, these two levers are not used too much. It is only necessary to manually adjust the two levers to the best position if they are automatically offset. Finally, it is equipped with a remote control, the most commonly used Home button and Menu button to make various settings for the projector. Need special attention! Under no circumstances can you look at the light bulb inside the lens, it will cause eye damage!

In addition, please note that since the normal mode video cannot be uploaded, if you upload a small video in the GIF format, the clarity and color saturation will be greatly reduced. Therefore, the following evaluations are all displayed in the form of pictures, and are taken from the original image, without adding any filters Mirror, in order to maximize the most real picture expression of the projector. Thank you for your understanding!

basic configuration
Epson VS250 positioning is a "portable commercial and residential projector". According to the concepts of the projector introduced at the beginning of the article, its basic configuration indicators are as follows:

Technology: 3LCD
Resolution: 800 * 600 (SVGA)
Brightness: 3200 Lumen
Contrast: 15000: 1
Standard projection ratio: 4: 3, compatible with 16: 9
Bulb: 210 W UHE
Lamp life: 6000 hours (normal mode) / 10000 hours (Eco mode)
Volume: 11.9 "x 9.2" x 3.0 "(W x D x H)
Weight: 5.3 lb
Projection distance: 30 "-350 (0.88m-10.44m)
Projection method: front projection, rear projection, ceiling mounting
Epson's official website has a "projection distance calculator" function, you can enter the size, height and width of the screen you want to project, you can automatically calculate the distance between the projector and the screen. The distance between the projector I placed and the wall is 2.8 meters, which can basically project a 96-inch screen, and small houses can also cast good results.

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Image from @Epson official website, copyright belongs to original author
The following figure is a comparison of the projection distance and projection size of the home projector given on the Epson website. This is only a rough figure. Different models will differ, and it is only for your reference.

 

[Wyatt21]

In terms of the most basic function settings, the menu of the Epson VS250 projector is very simple and clear, and novices have no pressure. Click the Home button on the control panel or remote control, and the main screen like this will appear, which can be used for various settings.
There are 5 options for the color settings in the image settings. Generally, the "Dynamic" or "Presentation" mode is used for demonstration, and the "Cinema" mode is selected for viewing. The color effect is the best.

Settings: This projector supports automatic keystone correction, in addition, there is an option "Quick Corner" for four-corner adjustment correction. However, I think that it is very unlikely to be viewed from the side when used in the home, and this function is of little significance.

• Network settings: It is a pity that this projector needs a separate module to use wireless network projection. Therefore, Epson's unique iprojection app cannot be used.
• Eco settings: Here you can make energy saving settings. If you select Eco mode, the lamp life can be extended to 10000 hours, but the screen brightness will also be reduced. Although viewing movies in a relatively dark environment will not have much impact, it will be affected if the documents are displayed during the daytime when there is sufficient light.
  
  
• Information settings: displays basic information such as the projector version.

Color quality test
Color quality is very important for display devices, and this projector is the ultimate color charm, so what is the color expression?

• Starting from the three colors of red, blue and green, the following two pictures show that these three colors are very positive.

The following is a color transition test. It can be seen that the color transition is very gentle, and the color is very soft and transparent.

Grayscale testing.
It can be seen from the figure below that the black and white levels are clearly clear, and the contrast expressiveness is not bad.

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From the above professional side view, the color expression of this projector is very good. Then let's take a look at the color effect of the actual photo picture.

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Compared with the projected image, the above set of original images has good color reproduction, especially the color crayons are basically the same as the original images.

This picture is the sunset view of our village taken by a DJI drone. It can be seen from the computer and the projected picture. The projected picture is still very good. On the lake, the color saturation is very good.

Summary of advantages and disadvantages
advantage:

• The color of the picture is very vivid and gorgeous. One of the main selling points of the Epson VS250 projector is the attractive color expression. From the comparison of the various image quality in the front, it can indeed be seen that this projector has excellent color brightness and a wider color gamut.
• The brightness of 3200 lumens makes it possible to make a clear presentation even in daylight or office meeting rooms with sufficient light. And in this price range, it can provide 3200 lumens of brightness, which is already very cost-effective.
• The interface is relatively complete, supports HDMI connection, is compatible with notebook computers and various media players, and can meet basic work and entertainment needs.
• Support trapezoid automatic correction. I think this is also very good. If the projector is not mounted, but the position needs to be changed frequently, automatic keystone correction saves the trouble of manual adjustment, and makes the height of the projector no longer restricted.
• The installation is fast and simple, and the switch-on and turn-off time is short. And the operation is relatively simple, suitable for ordinary homes and small offices.
• Small in size and light in weight, it is suitable for mobile office and convenient to use in different rooms at home.

Disadvantages:

• The resolution is not high. Although it has a high brightness of 3200 lumens, the lower resolution of 800 * 600 leads to poor picture clarity.
• Although it has a WIFI interface, it still needs to be purchased separately to use.
• The USB interface only supports some picture projections, and other documents such as PPT, Word, and Excel cannot be recognized. This seems unpractical and inconvenient.
• There are few connection cables attached, and many need to be prepared separately.
• The noise is slightly louder.

to sum up
Frankly speaking, the evaluation of the projector is not a simple matter. I spent a few nights in this evaluation before writing it. I haven't written reports so seriously before. Haha. Mainly, I also want to give you a comprehensive analysis and evaluation of this machine as much as possible, in the hope that it will be helpful for everyone to buy a projector.
Overall, this VS250 projector is an entry-level commercial and residential projection. I personally think that it is still very suitable for soho office or small and medium-sized companies, especially the high brightness of 3200 lumens, even in a bright environment, you can get high-quality pictures.
For home users, this projector is also a good choice if it is not a demanding ordinary movie viewing, especially in terms of color performance. It is still very good for a family to watch a movie and entertain together. However, there is still a certain gap from the "home theater" level. Those who want to build high-end home theaters, it is recommended to choose 1080P or 4K projectors and configure professional curtains and supporting audio equipment. In terms of brands, it is recommended to choose manufacturers with traditional TV technology advantages. Of course, the price will be relatively high, professional high-definition home projectors are at least 10,000 yuan. However, it is the general trend for projectors to enter the home. I believe that major manufacturers will also launch more cost-effective home projectors. Interested friends can pay more attention to related dynamics, and hope that everyone can enjoy the cinema-level movie watching experience at home.