Similar in concept to the Epson Duet screen that I reviewed as part of the Epson MovieMate 33 ($999 direct, 3.5 stars) several years ago, the Epson ES3000 ($249.99 direct) offers the same key feature, namely, the ability to open to more than one aspect ratio. For the original version of the Duet the choices were 4:3 and 16:9. The ES3000 goes one step—or, more precisely, one aspect ratio—further, with choices of 4:3, 16:9, and 16:10. (An upgraded version of the Duet, with 16:10 added, is still available by itself, even though the MovieMate 33 isn't.) The ES3000 offers some other nice touches too, making it a particularly attractive choice for an all- purpose portable projector screen.

Portability is a relative term, of course, or as I've been known to point out, anything can be portable if you have a big enough truck. Compared with, say, the Epson ES1000 ($129.99, 4 stars), which weighs 6.5 pounds and can fit in an airplane's overhead bin, the ES3000 looks pretty big, at 22.1 pounds by itself or 43.7 pounds stored in its hard-shell wheeled carrying case. On the other hand, it's small and light enough to move around, especially given the wheels on the 9- by 46- by 8-inch (HWD) carrying case. It's certainly transportable if not fully portable.

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Setup
Setting up the ES3000 is reasonably easy. The screen material is rolled up in a screen case that's designed to open horizontally, one half to the left and one half to the right of the stand. When the unit is in the carrying case, the stand folds so the lower part of the stand is actually folded up to sit next to the screen case.

To set up, you take the unit out of the carrying case, and unfold the stand so the hinge locks into place. Then you release the tripod foot lock and slide it down the stand until the three legs lock into place. You can then set the mechanical slide adjustment on the back of the screen case to the aspect ratio you want. There are three clearly marked positions, one for each aspect ratio, with the slide clicking solidly into each position.

Next, you push a release button on each half the screen case to release the two sides, and pull the screen open from either side—the other side automatically opens along with it. The screen will theoretically open to the right width, and stay there. On our first review unit, however, this was true only for 4:3 and 16:10 aspect ratios. For 16:9, which is the widest, the screen refused to stay at the fully open position, rewinding itself to 64 inches wide, and a 16:9.7 aspect ratio. Epson says this is essentially expected behavior, but that the bounce back on most units is closer to 1 inch on each side instead of 3 inches. Indeed, on a second unit Epson sent, the screen stayed open at 68 inches wide, for a 16:9.2 aspect ratio—close enough to a true 16:9 to make little difference when projecting an image.

Size and Other Issues
For all three aspect ratios, the screen is 39 inches high, so the correct measurement for screen size would be 65 inches diagonally (52 inches wide) for a 4:3 aspect ratio, 73.6 inches diagonally (62.4 inches wide) for 16:10, and 79.5 inches diagonally (69.3 inches wide) for 16:9. By my measurements, the 4:3 and 16:10 aspect ratios were spot on. With the second review unit, the 16:9 setting was reasonably close to what it should be, at 78 inches diagonally rather than 79.

It's worth mention that the ES3000 offers essentially the same screen size as the Duet while cutting the weight down by about 11 pounds (not counting the ES3000's carrying case). It also makes handling and setup a little easier thanks to combining the screen and stand into a single unit, rather than two units, as with the Duet. And, finally, it adds a height adjustment that the Duet lacks, which gives you a little more flexibility for setting up your projector, since it lets you adjust screen height as an alternative to adjusting image height.

The issue about the screen not staying fully open in the 16:9 position is a little troublesome. However, even when it bounces back as much as the first test unit did, it's not a killer problem, since the screen is still perfectly usable, albeit with a smaller diagonal measurement.

Ultimately, the ES3000 is a potentially good solution for anyone who needs a screen occasionally, whether in a conference room for presentations or a family room for movie nights. It's particularly useful if you want the ability to close up the screen and let it sit unobtrusively in a corner when you're not using it, and then set it up quickly when you need it. The wheeled case, finally, also makes it a good choice if you need a relatively large screen you can lug with you when and as needed.

COMPARISON TABLE
Compare the Epson ES3000 with several other projectors side by side.

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