Master of the data projector, Epson's attack on the home cinema market continues apace. This isn't the brand's flagship model (expect a 1080p version of the TW700 this summer) - but it is a versatile and reasonably affordable 3LCD option that, on paper at least, looks worth considering over rival DLP models.

You certainly get some bang for your buck; the TW700 is huge. Despite its attractive, shiny white shell, it's hard to imagine anyone whipping out a product this size for an impromptu viewing of Walk the Line, as we did.

With its oversized lens, the TW700 is versatile enough to fit almost any room. A combination of vertical and horizontal lens shift - which is altered manually - a 2.1x optical zoom and some effective keystone correction allows the TW700 to make an excellent short-throw projector from almost any position, even in small rooms.

It's capable of producing a 60in diagonal image from just 180cm and can be positioned off-centre and well below the level of the screen.

Crucially, however, it doesn't deliver half as good an image from 10 metres away from the screen. So while it makes a good solution for a small room, the TW700 is not going to appeal to owners of huge home cinemas.

There's also plenty more about this projector that we like. Connectivity is generally pleasing to the AV eye, although there are one or two points to bear in mind. There's only one HDMI input, which, given its status as an occasional piece of AV equipment rather than as a candidate for a ceiling-mounted custom install, is perhaps not a problem. There's also a set of component video inputs and, unusually, a way of getting a Scart-only source into the TW700. An adaptor is provided for Scart that attaches to a 'D' input, something we've only ever seen on Epson projectors.

Alongside these is a S-video input, a D-sub PC input, a 12V trigger and a RS232 serial port.

The resolution is 1,280 x 720 pixels, which means that scaling will be necessary for any source other than HD images from an Xbox 360.

Other features include an auto-iris optical system that reduces brightness during murkier footage, something that should help give a blacker image - often a problem with LCD projectors. Epson even claims that the contrast ratio reaches 10,000:1.