HARDWARE REVIEW

Epson EH-TW7300 4K Projector Review

by Luke Walsh, December 11th, 2016

The Epson EH-TW7300 projector is one of their latest mid-range projectors that has the ability to output a 4K Ultra HD picture, it is also able to use a faux pixel shift mode to create an 3840 x 2160 image from its 1080p chip. The TW7300 can also support HDR technology, has a range of different inputs and extra functionality but did miss a few minor details.

Taking the projector out of the box, the first thing I noticed was the size. This was the first time reviewing such a beast and compared to the previous model we reviewed the Epson EH-TW5350 and Epson EH-TW5210 Review it was a bit of a shock. It measures 520 x 450 x 170mm (W x D x H) and weighs a pretty hefty 11KG but surprisingly was not as heavy as it looked. If you do plan to mount it to the wall or ceiling however, I’d make sure you have adequate support as a floating shelf will probably crumble under the size and weight.

Much like previous Epson projectors we have looked at the design is quite similar with vents on the sides by the lens to release the heat and the frame is a matte white. Colour wise the white looks quite nice but if someone is looking for it to match a cinema room of total darkness, it would make sense for Epson to make two different colour models by including black as a choice.

Adjustable feet sit underneath the TW7300 with the remote IR sensor on the front bottom right. The lens has a motorized lens cover which was a surprise as they are usually on more expensive models. On top of the motorized lens cover, the lens itself is also completely motorized which again is usually on more expensive projectors, it was great for Epson to include this in their mid range model as it makes setting up the picture that much easier. Once you have it set up on a wall or ceiling, you’ll be able to control the shift of the lens at a certain distance in any direction; up, down, left and right while also being able to control the zoom level to perfect the picture size on your wall or screen. Finally, there is also a motorised len focus so that you can create the sharpest image. If you do for whatever reason decide to move the TW-7300 about, there are 10 saveable memory settings for the lens to make it easier to pick up and use.

On the back of the projector you’ll find a number of different connections such as 2 HDMI ports (1 port being HDCP 2.2 for 4K signals), a USB port, service port, LAN port, VGA port, RS232 port and a 12v trigger port. Although the trigger port looks like your standard 3.5mm audio jack it is not and to be honest I was disappointed that you could not use this projector with a quick plug and play audio connection. The trigger port is used to set it up items like motorised screens, so when the projector is switched on it will activate the screen automatically for you. I understand that by paying £2000+ you’d want to set this up with a proper HD audio sound system through HDMI but for additional flexibility and probably not a massive cost it was a bit of a let down.

You can use the LAN port to connect to the projector over the network from you PC but even with a decent Gigabit connection, the picture quality is far too low for it to ever be useable for movies or games. There was a lag between the picture and sound making it impossible to watch. I played around with the settings in the Epson software on my machine but could never find a useable solution.

If you like big plastic remotes, you won’t be disappointed…for a projector that you are spending a fair bit of money on the remote really is ugly. The layout of the remote is perfectly fine and it’s backlit along with a plethora of buttons for pretty much everything you’ll need. Some of the buttons are also Consumer Electronic Control compatible which would be useful for those looking to use one remote for their setup. It still could be better designed, considering Epson have spent time making sure the TW7300 looks nice, the controller should match the style they have gone for (at least make it white).

Using a 0.71inch MLA D9 chip the TW-7300 projector is actually a 1080p projector which is compatible with 4K content by using Epson’s enhancement technology. The pixel shift technology moves every pixel over by 0.5 pixels diagonally doubling the resolution to 3480 x 2160. With the DCI colour gamut and a filter with 10bit processing, Epson claim the projectors brightness can reach 2300 lumens.

Picture settings, the projector has five different modes Dynamic, Natural, Cinema, Digital Cinema and Bright Cinema along with two 3D modes. It is able to produce 3D images from 2D by converting them to give a more textured 3D effect but only works in 1080p and not 4K. There is frame interpolation which creates a smooth image along with some 4K settings such a noise control, super resolution and detail enhancement.

Picture quality for the TW7300 is pretty impressive with a vivid high level of colours but the one thing that lets it down the dark black levels. It does not do too badly but when there are a lot of dynamic range in one scene you can start to see a slight wash out of blacks. Of course, on any projector including ones which are HDR are not going to be able to match the performance of an 4K TV or monitor so to manage expectations the TW7300 is still very good, but there are projectors which will still produce better blacks if that is something you must have. In terms of sharpness and colour clarity, it does exceptionally well making it produce very stunning bright, crisp images and when playing beautiful games like The Last Guardian with lots of greenery it makes it very immersive. Skin tones also look realistic and have brilliant detail giving a great overall three dimensional feel.

Games such as Battlefield 1 produce good midtones but again struggles a little with the darker areas, making it sometimes a little difficult to detect a shadowy enemy from the actual shadows. When playing Fallout 4, a lot of the colours look well considering there are a lot of browns, greys and some light tones such as blues and greens. All games do really well on the TW7300 for its price and positioning in the market. In a light room, the brightness is able to keep quite a bit of colour but as with most projectors, there is some washed out from light contamination. This happens more with natural light than it does with artificial light.

3D is another let down though, although many people probably won’t use the setting as the main sell is the 4K, there is a lot of ghosting when using the 3D functionality. The picture seems out of focus and everything becomes quite a headache when using it for too long.

Overall, the Epson EH-TW7300 is not the perfect projector but considering what it does have such as fully motorized len, 4K support and a massive amount of connection it is a bargain for a mid-range projector. It could be better at produces darker images but in a darkened room the image is still very attractive. I am personally still let down by the lack of 3,5mm connection but for gamers looking for a good mix of movie watching and high-end gaming, the TW7300 should not let you down.