Any opinions on the Epson PowerLite Pro Cinema 1080 UB?

[Inthewind]

I'm getting ready to take the plunge! I have <$3K to spend and am torn between the Panasonic PT-AE2000U and the PowerLite Pro Cinema 1080 UB. I'm finding the contrast ratio on the Epson of 50000:1 hard to believe for the price. I'm your typical "un-educated in the ways of HT" person so any opinions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[Kevin_Wadsworth]

You can read pretty detailed reviews of both projectors over at projectorreviews.com. It sounds like his preference leans towards the Epson between those two.

[Keith from Canada]

Inthewind wrote:

I'm getting ready to take the plunge! I have <$3K to spend and am torn between the Panasonic PT-AE2000U and the PowerLite Pro Cinema 1080 UB. I'm finding the contrast ratio on the Epson of 50000:1 hard to believe for the price. I'm your typical "un-educated in the ways of HT" person so any opinions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

High contrast ratios like 50000:1 are done through Iris and AI 'gimmicks'. You want to find out what the projectors native CR is (full on/full off).

The Epson has been getting VERY solid reviews over at AVS and at projectorcentral and projectorreviews.com. However, I would think that it will be getting a solid run for its money with the new BenQ W5000 that hit the sub $3K market just a few weeks ago. I'd look at both of those if I had the cash to do so!

[Blaser]

I will have the Epson EMP-TW2000 (same as pro UB) in hands pretty soon (maybe a week). I will make my review upon receiving .
But according to what I have read, go the Epson route making sure to have it QCed, as many have reported misconvergence problems (1.5 pixel +).
It was reported upon measurement in another forum the 50K:1 CR has been exceeded with IRIS on in its brightest "dynamic" setting, but picture might be unwatchable. When calibrated you can expect 1/6 this value or less with the IRIS, and around 3-4 K:1 native contrast ratio...which is excellent as far as we are talking LCD.

[Keith from Canada]

blaser wrote:

I will have the Epson EMP-TW2000 (same as pro UB) in hands pretty soon (maybe a week). I will make my review upon receiving .
But according to what I have read, go the Epson route making sure to have it QCed, as many have reported misconvergence problems (1.5 pixel +).
It was reported upon measurement in another forum the 50K:1 CR has been exceeded with IRIS on in its brightest "dynamic" setting, but picture might be unwatchable. When calibrated you can expect 1/6 this value or less with the IRIS, and around 3-4 K:1 native contrast ratio...which is excellent as far as we are talking LCD.

960:1 is what Michael Chen (ISF) got with the UB in a controlled environment post calibration. This is the real-world, no-gimmick, perfect greyscale native contrast ratio.

You're probably thinking that this is a slam on the projector...it is not. This is the highest native CR Michael has ever seen on a projector and he's calibrated virtually every make and model conceivable. He also noted that the UB that he worked on had the panel convergence problem although he notes that problem on most of the LCD's he calibrates.

[Blaser]

I received the projector yesterday. While I don't disagree, I don't know if 960:1 is really the best this projector can do... if you google some reviews, you may find higher numbers.

To cut it short, in real life as well, this is the most beautiful looking pic I have ever seen. In the dimmest colour mode, while blacks are very dark, whites can be "blinding" (I mean very white) with exceptional clarity in my setup.
I will post my review soon.

[Mike P.]

With lots of pics!!!!

You can be confident

[Blaser]

Sorry Mike,

I edited your post by mistake. My apologies...

[Blaser]

Check THIS