Epson MovieMate 25

The category of projectors with built-in DVD players and speakers has become crowded recently, with offerings such as Optoma’s Movietime and RadioShack’s Cinego. Epson joins the living-room fun with the MovieMate 25, and what it lacks in elegance, it more than makes up for in features and performance.

The MovieMate 25 shows how serious it is by coming with an 80-inch screen that stands on the floor and tucks away into a carrying case for easy storage. You can shine the image on the wall, but the screen provides a better picture.

With 1200 ANSI lumens, you’ll have plenty of brightness even with some sunlight. The black levels aren’t quite where they need to be, but this projector’s contrast ratio of 1000:1 is decent. The unit outputs progressive scan enhanced definition well, even if the 854 x 480-pixel resolution isn’t high definition.

The MovieMate 25 comes with an offset lens shift, an impressive feature for a combo projector at $1,199. The lens shift moves the image up, down, left, and right without requiring a dictionary underneath or adjustments to the keystone.

The sound is also impressive for a projector. The 40-watt subwoofer and pair of 10-watt stereo speakers provide solid sound, albeit not surround sound. We also like the easy-to-use illuminated remote, something you won’t find with its competitors.

As with all LCD projectors, black levels and the screen-door effect are an issue, but you can’t really beat the MovieMate 25 for price and performance. Dedicated projectors will provide a better picture, but as far as projectors with built-in DVD players and speakers go, the MovieMate dominates.