Epson BrightLink 485Wi Pro Reviews

Overall, Epson has produced a ultra short throw interactive projector that is easy to use, easy to set up, and is priced right. Street prices put this projector at $2199. If you’re a university, or K-12, you will want to ask your dealer about the Epson Brighter Futures program. Discounts on pricing and lamps are available for the education market. One final note, Epson has a fleet of interactive projectors in different resolutions and brightness levels. Also consider checking out the Epson 435W, which is not interactive right out of the box, but with an add-on module, can become interactive in the future.

The 485Wi offers more than enough in its core features to make it a strong contender, with a bright image, near excellent to excellent data image quality, better than par video for a data projector, 1280x800 native resolution, and a suitably short throw for an ultra short throw projector. Beyond that, it gets added points for the good quality audio with a usefully high volume, as well as for welcome conveniences that include automatic calibration and the ability to work in tabletop orientation, work with two pens at once, and annotate images from any image source. The only real limitation for the 485Wi is that you can't use it for 3D. But keep in mind that current 3D data projectors are all DLP-based, which means they don't have the 485Wi's advantage of a guaranteed lack of rainbow artifacts. Ultimately, the 485Wi qualifies as one of the more impressive representatives of the ultra short throw interactive category, and one that -- unless you need 3D -- should wind up on your short list.