Being a reviewer I get a lot of stuff, and the majority of it isn’t of much interest to my family really, but every once in a while I get something that every one in my house loves and that’s what I’ve got for review today a projector from Epson. My entire family just loves this thing truly, from movies to games, everything is just so much better on the big screen. I’ve got a 47” HDTV and I have to say I much more enjoyed catching up on my Farscape Episodes via Netflix with the MovieMate 60 and playing games on my Xbox360 was just wild. Yes it’s not HD resolution but the picture quality is excellent, even on the sheet that I was using as a projector screen. The colors are bright an vibrant, and this thing is just so easy to use, you can set it up anywhere really and enjoy a theater like experience.

The Epson MovieMate 60 projector is meant to be a portable all-in-one style product, it even includes a carrying case and a built-in handle. The MovieMate 60 is well made and it works great, it has a DVD player built-in, a USB port, VGA, HDMI and component along with regular A/V connections. It reads several video, audio and photo formats so you can just toss things right onto a USB drive and play directly from it. I played movies from USB and DVD with no problems at all, I even hooked up my Xbox360 to it and got to play games on a truly big screen. The idea behind this product is that it’s portable and meant to be played on virtually any surface like the outside of your house in the summer or even just on a white sheet so you don’t necessarily need an expensive projector screen to use with it.

We’ll start off with the unboxing video for you:

And then the still pictures:

Here’s the box and contents including a close up of the remote. The remote is arranged nicely, the white buttons glow in the dark but there’s not back light…

Here it is in the carrying case and the foldable handle:

Top view with control panel, focus lever and lens cover:

and the back  and bottom views:

And here’s the front with the lens cover closed:

Specifications:

Epson MovieMate 60 Projector

The instant home cinema for big-screen entertainment that goes where you go.

Experience the ultimate in high-def home entertainment with Epson MovieMate 60, a powerful projector, DVD and music player combo that brings you brilliant blockbuster performance. Epson MovieMate 60 delivers all the big-screen drama, sound and excitement you desire — just plug, load and play. Get larger-than-life entertainment — anytime, day or night, with 2000 lumens of color and 2000 lumens of white light output1 and a dynamic contrast ratio up to 3000:1.

Specifications:

Projection System:
-3LCD technology 3-chip optical engine
-Poly-silicon TFT active matrix

Resolution: Native 540p (960 x 540)

Aspect Ratio:
-Native 16:9 widescreen (4:3 resize)
-Compatible with 4:3 and 2.35:1 video formats with Normal, Full or Zoom Modes

Projection Lens:
-F-number: 1.44
-Focal Length: 16.6 mm
-Zoom Ratio: Digital 1.35x

Lamp: 200 W UHE (Ultra High Efficiency) / Up to 5000 hours lamp life2
Screen Size: (Projected Distance): 0″ – 150″ wide: 2.9′ – 14.7′ (16:9 image)
Keystone Correction: Vertical ±30 degrees
Brightness: (typical): Up to 2000 lumens color, 2000 lumens white light output1 (ISO 21118)
Contrast Ratio: 3000:1
Color Modes: Dynamic, Livingroom, Theater, Game, Auto
Sound Output: Integrated 10W stereo speakers

Video I/O:
Terminal Inputs
-1 RCA (composite)
-1 RCA (component)
-2 RCA (audio L/R) stereo
-1 VGA (analog RGB/component video)
-D-sub 15 pin
-USB Type A
-USB Type B (service only)
-HDMI
-Mic input

Video Input Signals:
-DVD Region Code 1
-NTSC, NTSC4.43, PAL, M-PAL, N-PAL, PAL60,
-SECAM, HDTV (720P, 1080i),
-SDTV (525i / 525p / 625i / 625p)
-HD-DVD and Blu-ray™ (external source only)

DVD Unit: Digital Direct Progressive Scan system
Audio: DTS Digital Surround and Dolby Digital

Media and Format:
DVD Video, DVD-R/RW, DVD+ R/RW, DVD-ROM, DVD Audio, CD-R/RW, DVD-VR (without CPRM) Video CD, Super Video CD, Audio CD, MP3 (CD/DVD), WMA (CD/DVD), JPEG, DivX (CD/DVD), DivX Ultra (CD/DVD), Dual Disk

Terminal Outputs
-1 headphone stereo jack
-1 digital coaxial audio out

Compatibility: WSVGA, SXGA, XGA, SVGA, VGA, Mac®
Dimension: 13.4″ x 9.4″ x 5.0″ (excluding feet) (W x D x H)
Weight: 9.3 lb
Fan Noise: 28 – 33 dB

Price: $602.04 (from Amazon at Time of Review)

As I mentioned in the intro I used a white sheet as my projector screen and it worked great really, it’s a full size sheet so it offered a very big screen for me.

The menus are somewhat limited but you don’t need much really for this:

Here’s the sources you can choose from, you just hit the source button on the remote and it will search for what’s connected to it:

Here’s a couple pictures of my 4yr old sons ‘Puppy Dog’ DVD, the colors are nice and bright. (You have to remember I was taking pictures of moving video here..). I took pictures of Farscape as well that I got from Netflix, but I have no clue where they went, but I watched the entire Season 4, all six discs, on the MovieMate 60 and I loved every minute of it. Sure I have a 47” HDTV with up scaling blu-ray player and all that, but it was just so much more enjoyable on the projector honestly..

Now the fun part was playing Xbox360 on the MovieMate60… I hooked it up via the HDMI cable, yes it’s not HD but the text was readable and it looked pretty good. The colors are nice and bright but the blacks aren’t exactly very dark, but they’re passable, especially with the MovieMate 60 costing about $600. It’s not the quality of my 1080P HDTV,  it’s a bit grainy really, but it’s fun truly. The lamp is very bright, these were taken in the daytime, with just the lights out in my living room, ambient light was coming in through the closed window blinds.

I used it with USB as well and had no problems, just dropped files on my 16gig USB drive and it worked fine.

The only real issue I have with the Epson MovieMate 60 is the remote really. The buttons are glow-in-the-dark but there’s no backlighting on it which makes it very hard to see the functions at night.

The fan is a bit loud, it might bother some people, but once I was watching a movie I never even really heard the fan at all.

The sound quality from the speakers is surprisingly good and they can get nice and loud without a lot of distortion, even though they’re only rated for 10 watts. There’s not much bass to the speakers, but you can get an optional sub-woofer if you want to add some more bass to it. There is also the COAX audio out as well that you could use.

The only other projector I have is the AAXA P1 Pico Projector so I don’t have anything to compare this to, but as is I’m truly impressed by it.  I honestly wasn’t expecting much from it as it’s inexpensive in terms of projectors, but I’m happy with it. Sure it won’t replace my HDTV for some things like gaming, but for movies I’d be happy to watch all of them on it.

The MovieMate 60 does include a two-year limited warranty. Replacement lamps cost about $160 but they’re rated for about 5000 hours of use, which is a little over 208 days of continuous use, so it’ll be a while before you need to replace it.

Conclusion:

The Epson MovieMate 60 Projector brings the big screen home to everyone. It’s an inexpensive projector that offers a ton of features, it’s a product that is family oriented and if you’re family is like mine then they’ll love it.

The idea of portable full sized projector is a good one really, the fact that you don’t need an expensive special projector screen for it is a big bonus, just a regular sheet or even the side of your house will work. It’s lightweight and even includes its own protective carrying case.

The MovieMate 60 is great for family fun nights, since it’s portable you can just set it up quickly and easily and then when you’re done just put it away so there’s no need for a dedicated home theater setup or special screen.

I truly love this thing, if you’re looking for a decent, inexpensive, feature-packed projector then be sure to take a look at this one.

Pros:
+Very bright even in daytime (in house)
+Low price considering what it is and what it does
+Good sound from the little speakers
+Great picture quality
+Very easy to use and well made
+Includes carrying case and remote
+Can play everything basically…

Cons:
-Remote has no backlight
-Blacks aren’t exactly black, but it works well
-Fan might be considered loud, but it didn’t both me

Grades:
Overall
Design
Performance

This product was given to technogog for review by the company for review purposes only, and is not considered by us as payment for the review, we do not, and never will, accept payment from companies to review their products. To learn more about our review policy please visit this page HERE.