 An outstanding experience |
| Review Date: April 12, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Fabio Dantas Silveira, |
Manufacturer of the LCD panels used by most companies in their Home Theater projectors, until recently Epsons own offerings had remained lackluster. Their focus was mainly on high lumen, low contrast projectors for business and education, however, that has changed. With the introduction of their current line-up, Epson has unleashed an excellently valued 720p projector, capable of delivering a high quality big screen experience that will wow friends and family.
There is nothing like being able to watch your favorite movie on a 100" screen. I enjoy watching Blu-Rays on my PS3, but DVDs look great too. Playing Call of Duty 4 occasionally is also a thrilling experience, with rich colors, depth and great shadow detail. If you haven't experienced a modern high def projector and value video entertainment, you owe it to yourself to check it out. Its just light years from the washed out colors of 5 years ago. Its very watchable in all but the brightest lighting conditions and, in my view, produces a more satisfying picture than Plasma or LCD sets.
Before I purchased this model, I performed extensive research on the offerings available, reading every single review I could find and you just cant go wrong with either this or the Panasonic AX200. I opted for this one because of the slighter better colors and fewer complaints about problems from existing owners. The Panasonic offers a little more lumen output, but the Epson is more than bright enough.
If you have a little more cash, I would recommend the EPSON Powerlite Home Cinema 1080UB, as it is a superior projector not only in resolution, but in colors and black level, although it does cost over twice as much. For its price and the experience it offers, this projector is a steal and is guaranteed to offer hundreds of hours of great entertainment.
Final thoughts: my room is mostly reflexive white, and light does bounce back to the screen compromising black levels a bit. if you can, opt for matte colors. |
Never Go to the Movies Again!
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| Review Date: January 28, 2009 |
| Reviewer: M. Martin, Columbus, OH |
I have owned this projector for almost a year. If you look around, then you can likely purchase it for about $1100 BEFORE a combination $100 AND free spare lamp mail-in rebate (I cannot overstate the peace of mind that having a spare lamp creates).
I put about 90 hours on the lamp that came with the unit and have subsequently put about 500 hours on the rebate lamp (I put that in immediately to make sure it worked. My original lamp is now my back up). I have yet to buy a screen (that day is hopefully coming quickly). Therefore, I have my picture thrown on an off-white wall painted with flat paint. I currently have my picture size set at 120". I used to have it set at 135" but I found 120" to be the sweet spot for me in terms of having a big enough picture that was still sharp and crisp.
Despite my lack of a screen, the picture I get is insane for the price I paid. The colors pop (especially in Living Room mode) and HD material is amazing. DVD's look good. Blu Ray is a must. There is a caveat. Because the picture is bigger, flaws in source material will be magnified. I notice a distict difference in the sports broadcast by ESPN, ABC, and Fox versus NBC and CBS. NBC and CBS are markedly better. This, however, is due to the source material and not the projector. But I digress.
The projector can handle some ambient light. However, the fact that I am projecting on to an off-white wall and the absence of a screen hampers my projector's performance in this area. Despite this, I often still watch stuff with a low-light lamp on so my kids can play in the room at the same time. The menu system allows the picture to be customized to your viewing preferences. If you have different preferences for different lighting scenarios or even different preferences for the type of content being watched, then multiple settings can be stored and easily accessed.
I wish I could give it 4.5 stars because it lacks 2 HDMI inputs and the fan is audible in high power modes (but not distracting). The warranty is great and Epson offers overnight replacement.
The bottom line is this; 1080p is best, 720p is sufficient for most (I sometimes wonder how much better 1080 could look). This projector has gotten excellent expert reviews. If you have a room that is suitable for a projector, DO NOT spend $1300-2500 on a "small" 46-58" LCD/plasma. If you do some research and shop around, this projector, a decent screen, cables, a good receiver and speakers can be had for the same $2500. Reserve the LCD flat panel for the bedroom. Purchase this projector and never go to the movies again. |
Super Product
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| Review Date: August 19, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Steve Dallas, |
| We could hardly be more pleased with this projector. My wife thought it was going to be junk, and I bought it specifically from Amazon so I wouldn't have any trouble if we decided to return it. That's not going to happen. It came in before the screen, so we tried it just on the wall and were blown away even in those conditions. Wife loves it. Kids love it. (Our previous TV is a 50" Sony rear projection model.) We have a light-controlled environment and are using an Elite 106" screen with a 1.0 gain. Though I haven't "calibrated" it yet, I did borrow some recommended settings I found in a review, and the picture is noticeably improved. It has several picture presets built in, which is nice, and also the ability to store multiple custom settings for each input. BTW, there's quite a few picture adjustment options to fiddle around with in case, like me, you're the type who can never leave well enough alone. Oh sure, there are things to nitpick. The power switch is located in an odd spot that's a little bit difficult to get to. Aspect ration isn't quite as flexible as it was with the Sony. Skin tones are a tad on the green side, and with the higher output settings, the fan is noticeable. I wouldn't call it distracting, but it is noticeable, as is the iris shutter. And, finally, there are some noticeable motion artifacts with fast moving images. I almost hate to list all that because it makes it sound, contrary to my opening statement, like we should easily find ourselves more pleased. However, the good far outweighs the bad (minor nuisances, really), and the price is right. I do try very hard to get the best value for my dollar, and the Epsom gets high marks there. Would I like to have a 1080p model? Sure. When I win the lottery, no doubt I'll get one. In the mean time, however, my family is going to have a ball on "movie night." |
Amazing
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| Review Date: October 22, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Steven A. West, Atlanta, GA |
| I set up a home theather last year, and had budbeted about $3,000 for the TV component. As I shopped, the largest Plazmas were about 60-65 inches and would use at entire budget plus. Same basic price for a 1080p projectors at the time. Then I had a crazy idea. We purchased a panasonic 50" 1080p plasma for around $950 AND purchased this projector and an inexpensive pull down screen for about $1,200 total. We thought we would combat the concerns over ambient light by watching the plasma for daytime and normal TV, and the projector for movies and special events. I had an expert hook it all up, mounte the scrreen on the ceiling so that we just pull it down in front of the plasma when watching the projector. The Home theater expert told me when he was installing it all that once we bagan watching the projector, we would be hooked on it. He was exactly right. Unless I'm alone and just channel surfing, the Projector is the TV of choice. I am not a tech expert, and was coming from a non-hi-def 27" tv on regular cable. Now with this set up and Direct TV, the experience is incredible. I can tell no real difference in the picutre quality between the projector and the plasma, except the size of the screen on the projector is 106" and absolutly takes your breath away. The 7:1 sound and Onkyo receiver also can shake my entire house. Looking back, I would do nothing different, this is an incredible picture, especially when you consider the price. |
Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 720
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| Review Date: July 6, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Brandon Hibler, Stockton, Ca USA |
| This projector is amazing. The picture quality is wonderful, the color is vivid and has just a super sharp image. I have it mounted on the ceiling in a light controled room on a 105" 16/9 screen w/1.0 grain. It is beautiful. This epson is a great bang for the buck. |
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