The Epson EX7210 Multimedia Projector ($649 direct) is a portable, easy to set up and use business projector with a good feature set and range of ports. Its data image quality isn’t perfect, but should be fine for typical business presentations made to small groups.

The EX7210’s light source, based on the 3LCD technology developed by Epson, is rated at 2,800 lumens. The projector provides WXGA (1,280 by 800 pixel) native resolution, at a 16:10 aspect ratio. It has a similar feature set to the Editors’ Choice NEC NP-M260W ($850 street, 4 stars), a WXGA projector rated at 2,600 lumens. In addition to the zoom and focus wheels, the EX7210 also has a slider behind the lens to manually provide horizontal keystone correction.

The black EX7210 measures 3.1 by 11.6 by 9.0 inches (HWD), including feet, and weighs 5.1 pounds. It’s easily transportable in its included soft carrying case.

The EX7210’s ports include VGA-in; HDMI-in; 3 RCA plugs for composite video and audio; S-video; a type B USB port for connecting with a PC (USB Plug ‘n Play provides easy connectivity with both Macs and Windows PCs); and a type A port that fits a USB thumb drive.

Still and Video Image Testing

From a distance of about 9 feet away, the EX7210 filled our test screen with an image about 65 inches on a diagonal. The image was bright in a darkened room, and held its own even with a considerable amount of ambient light. The projector should be fine for smallish conference rooms.

In my testing using the DisplayMate suite, the EX7210’s data image quality was adequate for business presentations in which exacting color isn’t required. Tinting was an issue; in many projectors, grays can look slightly greenish; in some test images with this model, the green tint was unusually pronounced. In our text testing, white-on-black text appeared slightly fuzzy, though readable, at the two smallest sizes, with traces of red and green tinted at the two smallest sizes, while the smallest size of black-on-white text was a bit fuzzy and showed a hint of red.

The EX7210’s video quality is good enough for showing short or mid-length clips, though I’d draw the line at movies. There was some loss of detail in bright areas in our test clips, and traces of posterization—abrupt changes in color where they should be gradual. In some action scenes, and scenes where the camera was quickly panning, I saw motion artifacts in the form of a very mild hatching, though I doubt that many viewers likely to be distracted by it.

Other Issues

The projector’s single 2-watt built-in speaker provides decent sound quality and volume, loud enough to be heard in a smaller conference room.

The Epson EX7210 Multimedia Projector is a capable WXGA projector, with a good range of connectivity ports (including HDMI-in and a port for a USB thumb drive that lets you present computer-free) and some nice features like USB Plug ‘n Play and a slider for horizontal keystone correction.  Though data image quality is okay for most business presentations, the projector would not be ideal for situations in which exacting color and/or tack-sharp small text is needed.

The slightly heavier (though still portable) NEC NP-M260W ($850 street, 4 stars) and the featherweight Epson PowerLite 1775W, both Editors’ Choice projectors, offer better data image quality, while the MP-M260W is bristling with connectivity choices. But you pay more for those models, and the EX7210 has some likeable features of its own.

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