Epson launches the affordable EMP-TW10 Home Cinema Projector

September 2003

Sydney, 1 September 2003: Epson Australia today launched the best value widescreen (16:9 aspect ratio) home cinema projector on the Australian market - the EMP-TW10.

The EMP-TW10 is the brother of the EISA Award winning (European Imaging and Sound Association) EMP-TW100 that was released in 2002 for the true Home Cinema enthusiast. The EMP-TW10 enjoys many of the features of the EMP-TW100 but offers an unbeatable price of $2,699 RRP inc GST positioning it as a more flexible and more affordable alternative to a widescreen TV.

Data projectors normally use SVGA (800 pixels x 600 pixels), XGA (1024x768) or SXGA (1280x1026) LCD panels as they were designed for displaying data presentations in a corporate environment. All of these have an aspect ratio of 4:3, i.e. the LCD panel that supplies the picture has 4 pixels across for every 3 down. To enjoy a widescreen movie on one of these projectors, a large number of the pixels has to be turned off at the top and bottom of the LCD panel, reducing the content displayed and affecting the picture quality. In summary they aren't designed for home cinema.

The EMP-TW10 has an advanced new Epson polysilicon TFT LCD panel that has 854 pixels across and 480 down. This provides a native widescreen aspect ratio for the widescreen picture delivered by DVD players and digital television transmissions. This widescreen aspect is referred to as 16:9 aspect ratio. The Epson EMP-TW10's projected display uses all of its 409,920 pixels. The result is a bright, vibrant picture with blacker blacks, whiter whites, and more natural skin tones delivered in a native widescreen format. The EMP-TW10 uses 100% of its pixels for maximum brightness and picture quality all the time.

Bruce Bealby, Business Marketing Manager for Projectors at Epson Australia said:

"The TW10 is a breakthrough product for Epson. It delivers a true big screen experience to the home for the same the cost as a widescreen TV and the quality is simply astounding.

"Our market research tells us that people are staying in more often and they want to enjoy high quality entertainment at home. Consumers want a quality entertainment experience. The TW10 delivers excellent quality at a price most consumers' can afford. The future of home TV viewing is big screen and doesn't have to cost $10,000.

"Epson enjoys the number one market share position worldwide for LCD projectors. The TW10 is the second in a long line of breakthrough products we plan to bring to the Australian market. And we are targeting the complete home cinema market place - from first time user to the enthusiast with a full theatre set up.

"As home cinema becomes mainstream, Epson will lead the charge. Epson is the world leader in LCD polysilicon technology and the EMP-TW10 is a perfect example of that technology leadership. The home experience of these projectors is simply awesome. And at $2,699 - widescreen home cinema is finally affordable."

The EMP-TW10 is a true home cinema projector offering a high contrast ratio of 700:1 combined with 1000 lm output and component video input to deliver a stunning high quality home cinema experience. A full suite of input ports is standard on the EMP-TW10 including Component video, S-Video, Video, and RGB allowing connection of home computers, laptops, VCR's, DVD players, video cameras, and game consoles.

A simple set of controls is positioned on top of the unit allowing easy one button source selection, aspect ratio and keystone correction without having to enter an on screen menu. More complex settings such as colour mode are available through the on-screen menu and can be accessed using the buttons on the top of the projector or via the included credit card sized remote control.

Three colour settings are available depending on ambient light conditions and the requirements of the user. Theatre black mode operates at a lower brightness setting (400 lm) allowing the best combination of contrast and vivid colours and is best suited to widescreen high-resolution movies in a dark room. Theatre mode steps up the brightness slightly to 500 lm and allows a brighter image with slightly less colour depth. Dynamic mode operates at full brightness and is intended for use in conditions where there is some ambient light present such as watching a sporting event during the day or children's video games.

Epson's unique ColorRealityTM technology was developed for the high-end models and uses advanced colour processing and the Epson polysilicon LCD panel to deliver outstanding colour purity. The EMP-TW10 has ColorRealityTM technology built-in, so it produces beautiful natural skins tones, smoother colour graduation and a wider spectrum of colours than competing models in this price category.

The EMP-TW10 has a built in optical zoom lens that allows projection of an image up to 2m in diagonal size from as close as 2 meters to the screen or wall. Maximum screen size is up to staggering 7.5 meters diagonal. Put into perspective, a 7.5 m diagonal picture is 9 times the size of a 76 cm widescreen TV.

The EMP-TW10, in normal use, has an expected lamp life of 2000 hours in high brightness mode and 3000 hours in low brightness mode and replacement bulbs are available for an expected retail price of $349. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in 1995 Australian's watched an average of 2 hours and 23 minutes of television per day. At this rate an Epson EMP-TW10 lamp would last an average of 3 years between replacements.

The EMP-TW10 is available now from major retailers for an expected retail price of $2,699 inc GST.

Contacts
Richard Smith
Marketing Communications Manager,
Epson Australia
8899-3632

rsmith@epson.com.au

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