As you might guess from its name, the Epson BrightLink Pro 1430Wi Collaborative Whiteboard Solution with Touch ($2,790) is no ordinary projector. As with all of Epson's BrightLink Pro models, its standard projector capabilities are almost incidental to the collaboration features. The 1430Wi($1,883.95 at Amazon) can share the same image and allow interaction with up to 15 other devices at multiple locations over a LAN or WAN. If you need to work with people in other locations, it could be exactly what you need for successful collaboration.
The 1430Wi is one of only a few interactive projectors that can share information with other devices over a network. Aside from other BrightLink Pro models, including the Epson BrightLink Pro 1410Wi Meeting Room Productivity Tool ($1,995.00 at Amazon) , the only projector we've seen with a similar feature is the Ricoh PJ WX4141NI .
Given such a small universe of choices, it may not sound like much to say that the 1430Wi offers more features that its competition. More meaningful, perhaps, is that it starts out with all the features that make the Epson BrightLink 595Wi Interactive WXGA 3LCD Projector our Editors' Choice for a fully loaded interactive projector, and then adds collaboration features on top of that.
Collaboration Tool
Even without connecting a PC or other image source, you can use the 1430Wi as a digital whiteboard. You can also set it to share the image over a wired or Wi-Fi network connection, then connect to it over a LAN or WAN using a Windows, Mac, iOS, or Android browser, or connect from another current-generation BrightLink Pro projector. (That rules out the older Epson 1410Wi.)
Similar Products
Epson BrightLink Pro 1410Wi Meeting Room Productivity Tool
Epson BrightLink 595Wi Interactive WXGA 3LCD Projector
Ricoh PJ WX4141NI
Once connected, you'll see the same image on all the devices. If the permissions are set to allow it, you can add annotations or control any of the whiteboard features from any connected device. With a PC that lacks a touch screen, for example, you can draw or select commands with the mouse. With a tablet or smartphone that includes a touch screen, you can use a stylus or finger on the device's screen.
Other related features let you create multiple pages, switch between them, save annotated pages to files, and email them to participants. You can also print a whiteboard page using any printer that supports HP's Printer Command Language 6 (PCL 6) or Epson's own printer control commands, according to the company. In addition, Epson says that if you have an Epson multifunction printer (MFP), you can also scan an image to add it to a whiteboard page. Finally, when you're not using the 1430Wi as a collaboration tool, you can use it as a standard interactive projector.
Projector Basics
Aside from collaboration over a network, the 1430Wi offers essentially the same set of features as the Epson 595Wi. Built around a three-chip WXGA (1,280-by-800) LCD engine, it's rated at 3,300 lumens, which is easily bright enough to stand up to typical levels of ambient light even at the maximum 100-inch (diagonal) size. For smaller image sizes or lower ambient light levels, you can also adjust the brightness by switching to Eco mode, one of the lower-brightness presets, or both.
As an LCD projector, the 1430Wi has the advantage of offering the same color brightness as white brightness, so you don't have to worry about a difference between the two affecting color quality or the brightness of color images. Like almost all LCD data projectors, it lacks 3D support, but since few people need 3D for data images, that's not much of an issue. Unlike most DLP-based interactive projectors, you have to touch the screen to interact with the image, which means you need a screen with a hard backing.
At 7.5 by 14.5 by 14.8 inches (HWD) and 12.3 pounds, the 1430Wi is designed for permanent installation in a mount and can be mounted either horizontally, to project an image on a screen or whiteboard, or vertically, to project the image straight down, creating an interactive tabletop. Unlike the Epson 595Wi, you can buy the 1430Wi with or without a mount (at $2,999 with either a wall mount or table mount included).
The 1430Wi also shares the Epson 595Wi's ability to let you interact both with pens and by touch. The included touch sensor and related deflectors mount around the edges of whatever you're using for a screen and turn it into a touch screen that works just like the screen on your smartphone or tablet.
Setup
Except for the interactive feature, setup is mostly standard. Connection options for images include: two HDMI ports, one of which supports Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL) for compatible phones and tablets; two VGA ports for computers or component video; a composite video port; a dedicated USB Type A port for a document camera; and a second USB Type A port for reading files directly from a USB memory key. You can also send images and audio over a LAN connection.
Where basic setup departs a little from the norm is that you can opt to connect an included control box that has its own port for a USB memory key and also works like a wired remote. Buttons on the control box include commands for turning the projector on and off, capturing an image showing on screen, and saving the image.
You have to run the calibration for the two interactive pens that come with the projector, a fully automated step that involves pressing a button on the remote and waiting about 25 seconds. Setting up the touch feature takes more work, since you have to mount and adjust a sensor and may have to add some related hardware at other points around the screen. The process is straightforward. However, there are a lot of steps, and you may have to print the instructions out to follow them easily, since they're in a PDF file on disc. In any case, once it's set up, you have what amounts to a multipoint touch screen that supports gestures, like pinching to zoom out.
According to Epson, the 1430Wi supports up to eight interactive users at once, recognizing up to two pens and up to six finger touches simultaneously. When you're using the shared whiteboard mode, the number drops to four users at the 1430Wi's location, with two pens and two fingers at once, but also allows annotations from every connected remote location at the same time.
Big, High-Quality Image, Short Distance
Along with the more exotic features of remote collaboration and interactive touch, the 1430Wi delivers on the basics. For my tests, using a 92-inch image, measured diagonally, at the native 16:10 aspect ratio, I measured the front of the projector at 10 inches from the screen, and the window that serves as a lens at 21 inches.
Image quality is another plus. The projector handled our standard suite of DisplayMate tests nicely. Color was vibrant on our tests, and color balance was excellent, with suitably neutral grays at all shades from black to white in almost all modes. It also does a good job holding detail. White text on black, for example, is highly readable at sizes as small as 9 points, and black text on white is highly readable at 7.5 points.
Video quality isn't in home theater territory, but it's more than good enough to be watchable, with unusually good color quality for a data projector. I saw a slight hint of posterization (shading changing suddenly where it should change gradually), but only in scenes that tend to cause the problem. Beyond that, there were no issues worth mention, and the projector did a good job with skin tones and shadow detail (details based on shading in dark areas).
If you don't need the collaboration feature, there's no point in paying for it, which means the Editors' Choice Epson 595Wi will be a better fit, with virtually all the same features otherwise. Similarly, if you don't need interactive touch, you might want to consider one of Epson's lesser BrightLink Pro models, or, if you want a more portable projector, the Ricoh PJ WX4141NI. If you want remote collaboration, however, and need interactive touch, the Epson BrightLink Pro 1430Wi Collaborative Whiteboard Solution is your only choice at this writing, and it's an excellent projector as well.
The Epson BrightLink Pro 1430Wi is both a top-tier interactive projector, and a collaboration tool that lets up to 15 devices share and interact with a projected image.
Like What You're Reading?
Sign up for Lab Report to get the latest reviews and top product advice delivered right to your inbox.
This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.
Thanks for signing up!
Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!
Sign up for other newsletters
