Digital Workspace

Product Spotlight: The PowerLite 810E Turns Any Small Space Into a Large Conference Center

The short-throw projector technology needs only a single inch to display a huge, 4K image almost anywhere.

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John Breeden II is an award-winning reviewer and public speaker with 20 years of experience covering technology.

Projectors have been used for business presentations and collaboration efforts for decades. They’re invaluable for sharing information with large groups of people in a room together. But there is always opportunity for improvement. For example, some of the most recent projector models have added innovative features while also improving their reliability and ease of use.

The Epson PowerLite 810E short-throw projector is a great example of this new kind of advanced business tool.

Short-throw projectors are especially helpful for business presentations because they can produce large images with shorter distances between them and a screen, making them good for use in smaller meeting rooms. But the 810E is a new class of projector, capable of producing an 80-inch image in beautiful 4K resolution with only one inch of space between itself and a projection surface — something I did not think was possible before firing it up in my testing environment.

Of course, with such a small throw distance, you can’t set the projector facing a wall head-on. Instead, the 810E sits on the ground below or mounted above the projection surface. If using the floor, the projector can be hidden out of view or even used with an optional credenza-type case that looks very professional and has wheels for easy transport or sharing among work groups.

And while placing it right up against a wall will let the 810E produce a vivid image, you can also move it back a bit for an even bigger picture. When sitting 14 inches away from a wall, it can produce an image as large as 160 inches, measured diagonally. The images produced were extremely accurate in our testing, even when replicating very fine details.

The PowerLite 810E Integrates With Collaboration Platforms

The PowerLite’s images are also optimized for business. While the default image ratio is 16 inches by 9 inches, the 810E can also use a 21-inch by 9-inch ratio that is optimized for Zoom and Microsoft Teams. In that mode, a large number of participant windows can be arrayed along the bottom of the screen while the full content of the presentation is shown above, with a chat window displayed beside the main image. This layout lets everyone participate in a call or meeting without losing any information from the main image.

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And to add even more usefulness to the 810E for business presentations, the projector has two 8-watt stereo speakers that produce high-quality sound loud enough to easily fill a medium-sized room. Many projectors have a single, small speaker or no sound capabilities at all, so it’s nice to see Epson breaking that trend and including two big speakers to round out the 810E’s other impressive features.

The Epson PowerLite 810E short-throw projector can turn almost any environment into a theater or media room that is fully optimized for business. And it’s ready to serve wherever you can provide it with just one inch of space.

SPECIFICATIONS

PRODUCT TYPE: Short-throw laser diode projector
NATIVE RESOLUTION: 1080p with 4K enhancement
COLOR REPRODUCTION: More than 1 billion colors
CONNECTIVITY OPTIONS AND PORTS: 2 HDMI, 2.3 HDBaseT, 3 USB, RJ45 LAN, RS-232C control port, 802.11ac wireless
DIMENSIONS: 27.4 inches by 13.5 inches by 5.7 inches
WEIGHT: 27.6 pounds

Automatically Adjust Images on Imperfect Surfaces

When I initially tested the Epson PowerLite 810E short-throw projector, I did so in our optimized lab environment with a dedicated screen for images. But given that one of the best features of the 810E is its ability to roll into any environment where you need to make a stellar business presentation, it makes sense that not every room is going to be so well equipped. The walls of some rooms might have bricks or flaws such as small curves that could warp images.

And while most projectors have manual controls that can be used to slowly adjust basic image distortions, like turning a trapezoid shape back into a square, they are time-consuming and not always highly accurate.

Those using the PowerLite 810E short-throw projector, however, can make necessary adjustments quickly using the innovative Epson Setting Assistant app, which is available for free in the Apple and Google Play stores. The app can be used to automatically adjust image distortions.

LEARN: What's new with modern collaboration technology.

Once the app is installed on a phone, you simply use the PowerLite’s remote to connect the projector with the app using Bluetooth. To test this out, I set up the 810E at an odd angle against a slightly curved wall. This would have required quite a lot of manual adjustment with most projectors, but my difficult projection environment proved little challenge for the 810E, thanks to the app.

I simply used the camera on my phone to show the projector what the image looked like. The clever 810E then automatically made all of the necessary adjustments so that my projected image was perfect despite the circumstances, and it did so almost instantly.

In business, it is often said, time is money. And you won’t be spending any of either getting the PowerLite 810E short-throw projector’s images in perfect order when you employ the impressive and free Epson Setting Assistant app.

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