Posted on June 12, 2015 By Art Feierman
The Epson Pro Cinema G6550WU and Powerlite Pro G6550WU are near identical, 5200 lumens bright, and feature laden.
This is a dual review – covering both the Pro Cinema and Powerlite Pro versions of the G6550WU. There really are no performance differences, just some slight variations in the naming, and one of the Color modes. For example, Sports mode on the Pro Cinema G6550WU is Photo mode on the Powerlite Pro. All other aspects in terms of hardware and performance are identical. You may find that some dealers carry only one of the versions, others may offer both.
What we have here is a very bright projector – claiming 5200 lumens, that is designed for larger venues, or bright media rooms. These projectors are very capable, offering a selection of interchangeable lenses, a lot of lens shift, a great three year warranty with 3 years of rapid replacement program, advanced networking and a host of features, many of which we will cover here.
We previously reviewed the Pro Cinema and Powerlite Pro G6900WU, which is a bit brighter and does have two additional features. We’ll mention those later, in case you need one of those features.
I recently installed a G6550U in my living room, which is, to say the least, a very bright room. Surfaces are all light colored, sunlight floods the room in late afternoon. At night, over 30 ceiling recessed flood lighting plus other lights can light up the room. To put a projector in this room, it needed to be both bright, and paired with the right screen. It was interesting to try to create a workable projector based media environment where even LCD TVs have trouble with the room brightness at certain times of the day.
It all worked out just great. We even created three videos. The first is basically a summary of this review, but the second one covers the installation of the G6550WU and the motorized screen, while the third shows how well that combination performs during room conditions that vary from almost impossible to controlled night time lighting. Check them out. G6550WU handling tough room conditions.
Like all Epson projectors, these G6550WU models use 3LCD technology – three panels one with red, one green, one blue filter. The light from the light source (in this case an ultra high pressure lamp – UHP), is first split into 3 beams. One passes through (transmissive) each of three LCD panels, one with a red filter, one with a blue, and one with a green filter. The three beams of colored light (at this point) are recombined using a dichroic prism. The light then passes through the lens and provides a color image on the screen.
So much for the technology. On the next page we’ll look at some of the special features (and important mainstream ones). Meantime, in the next section, find a quick summary of the highlights of these two Epson projectors, the Pro Cinema G6550WU and Powerlite Pro G6550WU.
One more thing first: what are the differences between the two? Basically, two different distribution channels as one is sold for business/education/government use, the other for home. After that, best I can tell, the only other difference is that they have slightly different color modes – two of the many. But notably, the Powerpoint Pro has one the Pro Cinema lacks. That’s a DICOM mode for medical imaging which will be described on the next page.
We wish to thank Epson America for sponsoring this year’s Best Classroom Projectors report, in which this projector is considered.
© 2021 Projector Reviews
