Epson EB-455Wi Interactive WXGA - Your Experiences

[bertster]

I've yet to see one of these in action so would like any feedback anyone can give me on them in use in a classroom.

 

We need to make a purchase so are trying to decide on either Smartboard and projector, or just the interactive projector. Cost is very appealing for the Epson EB-455Wi. Presume it works with Smart software? Is the interaction limited in anyway.

 

Any info/advise would be excellent!

 

Thanks

Edited July 19, 2012 by bertster

[captaincharisma]

We have a 475Wi, there can't be that much of a difference! Our one installed above a normal whiteboard and the teachers have all loved using it. It works with Promethean software (not sure about Smart) and you get a really crisp image. The only worry is the interactive pens it comes with, I am worried they will be easily lost or broken and if that does happen you lose the whole interactive side of the projector.

[broc]

We have over 40 EB-450Wi installed, they have been in use for 18 months now. The EB-450wi was the 1st generation Epson interactive projector, I suspect the later ones are even better.

 

The pens are chunky & break easily when dropped; you need decent ceiling heights to get the screen size anywhere near the maximum. In some of our rooms the ceilings were too low & we had to install Promethean Activeboards.

 

They work well and seem very reliable so far. Good image quality, bright. Ultra short throw means reduced risk of sight damage to staff using them. They can be networked & the utility that Epson provide lets you check status & operate the projector controls remotely.

 

There are more calibration points than a Promethean board (I have no experience of Smart boards).

 

They can cope with 4:3 & 16:9 aspect ratios automatically

 

You need to be careful about the type of board you are projecting onto. Matt finish is best to avoid reflections. Direct sunlight falling onto the screen can interfere with pen operations & cause phantom mouse movemement..... it spooked the kids....

 

Make sure you check the licencing situation if you intend using with Smart software. Promethean wanted an arm & a leg to allow us to use their software on one of these devices. We abandoned ActivInspire in favour of RM EasiTeach Next Generation which will work with most interactive technologies. A site licence is available at a fraction of the cost of the Promethean licences.

[mdench]

I think we have one of those in one of our music classrooms or a similar model and the teacher thinks its great.

[Little-Miss]

I have 23 of one of the models. Seem to have gone down well.

 

Also, as i mentioned in another post, the only problem we have had is when a bright beam of sunlight hit the board we were projecting on and it sent it haywire. Guess it all works using Infra red.

[APMerry]

Has anyone else experienced problems with these projectors? We have them in most classrooms and have had about 6 die this academic year (projectors are approx 1-2 years old). They've come with a 3 year warranty so epson have just replaced them but they all seem to be developing the same fault - Projector takes a long time to turn on, the fan starts spinning heavily and the lamp light comes on after a few minutes. After changing the lamp this was still happening. Epson seem to know of the problem because as soon as you describe it to them they send someone out to replace it.

[exim]

even the replaced ones end up like this?

[APMerry]

They haven't been in long enough. The fault seems to happen after a certain amount of use and all replacements have been made in the last 9 months.

[Little-Miss]

I've had it happen to one of mine, took me ages to convince them. Got it sent off and returned repaired.