Like chalk and cheese

Abhik Sen tries out 2 new projectors and is left impressed with both - for very different reasons

Epson EH-TW8300 (Rs 2,41,339)

I like nothing better than watching my favourite movies at home, relaxing with wine and cheese, whenever I get the chance. But recently, I’ve been binge-watching The Blacklist and Daredevil on Netflix, and I only have this Epson projector to blame. The projector’s heft and range of connectivity options show it means business. The presence of motorised lenses add an extra degree of convenience.

Watching Netflix on the projector was relatively simple after connecting it to a PC. Bear in mind I was watching streamed 4K content on a “4K enhanced” projector. What it necessarily meant was that I was watching stuff at twice the resolution of full high-definition, instead of the content being downscaled to Full HD. I connected the projector to a Blu-Ray player and watched Frozen in 3D. A feature I liked was the ability to have preset lens positions — this matters a lot if you move your projector around a lot or use different-sized screens for different things. I connected the projector to my racing sim set-up and wasted a couple of hours in high-speed races on NFS.

The Epson EH-TW8300 will please all those movie/TV aficionados who are never satisfied with just a big screen. But if you’re looking for a true-blue 4K projector, be prepared to shell out double this Epson projector’s price.

Ricoh PJ-WXC1110 (Rs 69,620)

At first glance, I refused to believe the compact case held a projector. Weighing in at around 500 g, you’d be hard-pressed not to mistake this for a lunch box.  The case revealed what is commonly called a pico projector, which fitted nicely in the palm of my hand. 

I quickly connected it to an old gaming PC using the supplied RGB cable (the PC input slot is proprietary) and was soon playing Watchdogs on a much bigger screen. Next, I connected my Android phone using an MHL cable and played a “projected” version of Asphalt 8: Airborne. I decided to take some notes about the projector and the short throw of the projector (something Ricoh is known for) helped me type in OpenOffice on the PC without the need to connect an external display. I could also save the file on the projector’s onboard memory, using the supplied USB cable. But what blew my socks away was when I slipped in my DSLR’s memory card into the  projector’s SD card slot — it was fabulous to watch shots of birds and the Taj Mahal on a big screen. 

The Ricoh PJ-WXC1110 is a great device for work and watching HD content; it’s light enough to throw into your backpack for your next photography trip. It would have been better if it could run on batteries as well.