Home Cinema 710HD Projector

Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 710HD

Despite its name, the LCD-based, 720p Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 710HD is not a home theater projector, which, by definition, would mean it was intended for a traditional home theater with theater-dark lighting. Instead, like the BenQ EP5920 , it's clearly meant as a home entertainment projector, suitable for either replacing the HDTV in your family room or supplementing it when you want a really big picture to watch movies or sports, for example. It can also do that job well enough to make it Editors'


There's no bright line (pun unavoidable) between home entertainment and home theater projectors, and some, like the Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 3010e can fill either role. However, most consumer projectors, including the 710HD, are definitively one or the other.

One of the requirements for a home entertainment projector is that it has to be bright enough to stand up to a fair amount of ambient light. Another is that it must include a built-in sound system, much like a TV. It also helps, but isn't absolutely essential, if the projector is small and light enough so you can stow it away when you're not using it if you want to, or take it with you to a friend's house as needed.


The 710HD fits all of these requirements, with a 2,800 lumen brightness rating, a surprisingly loud sound system for the 2-watt speaker, and a 5.1 pound weight. The 2,800 lumen rating, in particular, is far brighter than you'd need for a typical home-theater size screen in theater-dark lighting, and more than enough for a suitably large image in a well-lit family room.