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Epson 5020UB Powerlite Home Cinema 3D Front Projector

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#1 ·
Epson 5020UB Powerlite Home Cinema 3D Front Projector

Description:
One measurement of brightness is not enough - look for both high color brightness and high white brightness.
The PowerLite Home Cinema 5020UB has:
Color Brightness - 2400 lumens1, White Brightness - 2400 lumens1
Rich, vibrant color and reliable performance - 3LCD, 3-chip technology
Amazing, true-to-life color - built-in cinema filter with an expanded color gamut
A true cinematic experience - 2D and 3D, Full HD 1080p technology
Widest horizontal lens shift in its class - vertical and horizontal lens shift for flexible, easy setup
Exquisite detail - a contrast ratio of up to 320,000:1 for the most discerning AV enthusiasts
THX display certification - ideal for a dedicated Home Theater
Ready for exciting 3D - 2 pairs of rechargeable RF 3D glasses included
2D-to-3D conversion - easily transform 2D images into spectacular 3D for unlimited 3D content
Split Screen3 (2D mode) - project two images side-by-side from two different sources
Great picture uniformity and positioning flexibility - state-of-the-art Fujinon® lens with a 2.1x zoom ratio
Outstanding support - two-year limited warranty; two-business-day replacement with free shipping4

Notes
1 Color brightness (color light output) and white brightness (white light output) will vary depending on usage conditions. Color light output measured in accordance with IDMS 15.4; white light output measured in accordance with ISO 21118.
2 Lamp life will vary depending upon mode selected, environmental conditions and usage. Lamp brightness decreases over time.
3 Consult your user manual for input combinations.
Split screen available in 2D mode only

Details:
DetailValue
BindingOffice Product
BrandEpson
EAN0010343904088
Feature2400 lumens
Amazing, true-to-life color
Widest horizontal lens shift in its class
Contrast ratio of up to 320,000:1
THX display certification
LabelEpson
ManufacturerEpson
MPN5020UB
PartNumber5020UB
ProductGroupHome Theater
ProductTypeNameVIDEO_DEVICE
PublisherEpson
StudioEpson
TitleEpson 5020UB Powerlite Home Cinema 3D Front Projector
UPC010343904088
UPCList - UPCListElement010343904088
ModelEpson 5020UB Powerlite Home Cinema
 

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#2 ·
Wonderful device with a great picture that I would recommend to anyone

review by serkeliss

This is my very first projector that I purchased and have owned and I must say that I really picked an amazing one to start my "Home Theater" with. This is, by far, the best upgrade I have made to make my dream of a Home Theater a reality. I have a fairly small area to work with and everything has to attain approval from the wife so it made picking things out and designing the room a bit difficult. She is an interior decorator/graphic designer so the design of the room weighs heavily with function (which is all I care about). This projector completed all requirements with flying colors (pun intended). We use this for all of our TV viewing experiences from standard TV, movies, Netflix, etc. It comes with a single bulb

We were able to upgrade from a 52" Samsung to a 125" projected image. We used the "Black Widow" open source paint project that you can find here and other places online after we gutted out the wall and replaced it with more drywall (going from a textured wall to a non-textured). We thought it would be best to just change out the wall than it would be to try and sand down such an enormous part of the wall and to do so evenly. We put the finishing touches on it by framing the work. We have it mounted to the ceiling and its horizontal and vertical lens shift does amazing work. We have it off center and putting the screen as low to the ground as possible and it has worked out great. We have 10' tall ceiling so having it off center kind of hurt us from being able to put it too far down to the ground, but we were able to move the image around to a satisfactory location. Very flexible with its image positioning. Another thing to keep in mind is that this thing is HUGE! I got it in and I know that you can find measurements everywhere online and I knew them going into it, but it never really hits you until the first time you open up that box. I don't know what I was expecting...maybe one of those business-like projectors you find in classrooms or on conference tables, but this thing is massive. Still, its design is beautiful. My wife calls it Wall-E, because how it looks very similar to Eve from Pixar's Wall-E. But I digress.

The only place in our house that we could make into a Home Theater room was the living room, which has TONS of ambient light from all angles and heights. We have the zoom maxed out as far as it can go and the projector is sitting about 12.5' to 13' back from the wall that it projects to. When you max out the zoom, you lose some brightness, but honestly, it still seemed just as bright as it did when I didn't zoom it out. It never has any direct light on it, but there is enough that can cause the image to drawn out in certain parts of the day. I would say that in any given day, with the Color Mode set to either Dynamic or Living Room, you can always see the image very well, but might have some colors washed out for about 30 minutes to an hour every day due to the light. That is more-so a limitation of projectors in general, I think. There is only so much you can do with that. If you are watching your material at night, the Dynamic and Living Room settings are, honestly, too bright for me, hurting my eyes the majority of the time. You don't want it that bright anyway because it takes away from the blacks but putting it in THX or Cinema mode have been our go to settings and it looks amazing in those low light settings. When not in Eco-Mode (like the Color Modes Dynamic and Living Room), you will find that the decibles on the thing kicks up to sound like a desktop computer, or maybe a gamer laptop running a high performance game, but when in Eco-Mode (like THX and Cinema), the thing is dead silent. I have to kind of strain to even hear anything coming from it.

It is very easy to calibrate whatever settings you would like to do and I would recommend to do so. I used the iPad's THX Calibrator App to customize the Cinema Color Mode to meet code and it looks better than ever. I will say that you might want to take a look at the pixel shift or whatever that is called. It gives the projected image a Holodeck like experience and you can shift the red and blue pixels to match each other while the green pixel line remains consistent throughout it all. I read a few reviews where some of these came from the factory with this particular problem with the pixels not being in that great of alignment, but you can usually adjust it to match how you want (and I would strongly recommend it too, to get the best possible picture you can).

The Dynamic Iris Lens option that you can enable is pretty nice and it prolongs the life of your bulb, but I have seen it work kind of aggressively. What I mean by that is I have an HTPC hooked up to it with black background on with little/no icons on the desktop. When it is showing just that, the Iris reduces the brightness down so much that sometimes you can't even see the toolbar without straining your eyes or just clicking blindly to get a window to pop up so the image will start to brighten again, but that is easily fixed by just changing the background color to something else. That is one example, but I would imagine that that could happen during a movie with scenes that have a lot of dark, then bright, then dark shots that you would be able to see the lens adjusting back and forth like a rubber band.

This has been an amazing purchase on my part and I couldn't give it any higher remarks. If you are in the market for a projector and have difficulty choosing whichever one because the variety and range of them, get this one. You will be very pleased.

ProsCons
Amazing Picture quality, brightness, and virtually silent in Eco-modeManual Focus and Manual Zoom and the Dynamic Iris Lens is slightly audible and aggresive

Ratings
Design4
Features4
Performance5
Color Accuracy5
Black Levels5
Value4
Overall5
 
#3 ·
Unbeatable Home Theater Projector Value

review by ddt0c

I conducted an exhaustive amount of research before settling on the Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 5020UB. Given that I would be using the projector in a multi-purpose family room, and not a dedicated theater room, I needed something versatile. I wanted a projector that would deliver a great movie theater experience when I wanted it, yet be flexible enough to be used every day for watching TV and playing video games, all at a reasonable price. Let me tell you, the 5020 delivers! When it comes to 'value,' you will be hard pressed to find anyone more frugal than me. This projector is the best value in home theater projectors, hands down. Below are my thoughts on the 5020's key features, setup, ease of use, and performance. Hopefully my review doesn't come across as a 'sales pitch,' I am just so pleased with my purchase nearly everything I have to say is positive!

Features

2D to 3D Conversion: I was a bit skeptical of this feature at first, never having owned a 3D capable device before, I wasn't sure what to expect. My initial assumption was that this would be a gimmicky feature I might play with a few times, but rarely ever use with any frequency (like Siri on my iPhone). I thought to myself, "How can a processor take a two-dimensional image and determine what depths certain pieces of the picture should be?" Apparently I need to frequent the forum more because was absolutely blown away! It is unreal how accurately the 5020 can convert a flat image into something that looks like it was originally filmed in 3D. This feature brings new life to many of my favorite programs, I find myself using all the time!

Rechargeable RF 3D Glasses: The 5020 comes with 2 pairs of rechargeable radio-frequency glasses, although 4 would have been nice, beggars can't be choosers! The glasses are a nice upgrade from previous models as I had read frustrations from users of the older IR glasses that moving your head too much or using remotes could sometimes interfere. I also like that they are rechargeable, I charged them when I first got the projector 2 months ago and have been using them on and off ever since. Regardless, I've read that you can 'quick charge' them for only a few minutes and get hours of use, which is great for those moments you forget to charge them, but want to show off your sweet new projector. The glasses are light and very comfortable to wear over extended periods of time.

Frame Interpolation: Similar to the "Motion Flow" feature on my Sony Bravia LCD TV, Epson's "Frame Interpolation" adds frames to smooth judder commonly experienced in camera pans and fast moving scenes. There are 3 settings to choose from; Low, Normal, and High. Depending on what I am watching, I usually set this to 'Low' or 'Normal' as setting it too high can give an unnatural appearance, making the picture look more like a home video (commonly referred to as the "soap opera" effect), which sounds cool, but just doesn't look right. When used appropriately, this feature does effectively reduces motion blur commonly experience on LCD displays.

Super Resolution: The "Super Resolution" feature is one of those I'm still trying to figure out, I don't fully understand how it works. It magically adds 'sharpness' without significantly increasing the amount of 'noise' through the rest of the picture, essentially, it appears to add 'resolution.' I typically have this feature set to 2-3, as setting it higher can add a bit of noise and unnecessary sharpness to purposefully out-of-focus scenes such as backgrounds.

Auto-Iris: Another feature I don't know a whole lot about, the "Auto-Iris" feature monitors the brightness of the projected image and automatically adjusts the intensity of light from the lamp. This helps adjust the brightness of the image from scene to scene. Some have commented on the noise produce by the feature, but I haven't noticed anything audible myself.

Split Screen: Another one of those potentially gimmicky features, the split-screen feature is one of those I am not likely to use all that often. Regardless, finding out that you cannot use two HDMI sources was a bit frustrating! This must be an impassable barrier as I can't imagine Epson would tolerate this on purpose. Hopefully this is something that can be overcome in the future, but until then, I guess I'll have to dig my old component cables out of storage on game day.

Epson Reliability and Support: This is where I might sound a bit 'pitchy,' but one of the intangible benefits I sought was Epson's infamous reliability and support. Everyone I spoke with couldn't say enough about how well Epson took care of their customers in the event of a problem. Although I hope to never experience it, I take comfort in knowing it is there if I need it.

Setup

Installation and setup was extremely easy. I hung the projector using a Peerless PRG-UNV-W Precision Gear Universal Projector Mount, which I used because it was low profile and white (keeps the projector close to the ceiling to maximize headroom and the white helps it blend in). My application was very straight forward, mounted 14ft back and dead center of the screen, I didn't have to take advantage of the 5020's lens shift capabilities (which are phenomenal for those needing the flexibility). The screen I chose is an Elite Screens 110" white 16:9 Sable fixed-frame, which I opted for based upon its price point and favorable reviews on Amazon. So far I am happy with both the mount and screen (I'll save additional comments on them for other reviews). Other than adjusting the LCD alignment (aka convergence), which was a bit off out of the box, I have not performed any other calibration yet, I have been very pleased with the presets available on the 5020.

When purchasing my projector, I also got the $50 white rear cable cover (V12H003011), which are available through authorized Epson resellers (or online if you want to pay up to twice as much). I realize Epson likely doesn't include this in an effort to further set the 6020 apart from the 5020, but it really makes the install much 'cleaner.' And, while I am on the topic of 'clean,' a *********** cable would also be a nice finishing touch as it would further help the projector blend in for those of us mounting them against white ceilings. Regardless, I will happily use the Amazon gift card I win writing this review to purchase one.

User Interface

The remote control that comes with the 5020 is designed fairly well, providing instant access to commonly used features and adjustments without having to access the full menu. I haven't played with the 'HDMI Link' capabilities of the remote, but being able to control a Blu-Ray player or audio receiver is a nice feature for those of use with a multitude of devices.

The menu system is very straight forward and intuitive, granting easy access to detailed adjustments. Although some adjustments are a little 'deep' (i.e. advanced settings, 3D depth, 3D brightness, etc), these aren't commonly accessed adjustments, so the inconvenience is minimal.

Performance

Brightness: The 5020 delivers 2400 lumens of white and color brightness, which is one of the brightest projectors on the market. This is important to me because I am using it in a basement family room with 2 large windows. Even with the blinds drawn, some ambient light still finds its way through during the day, however, the 5020 easily blasts through to provide an excellent picture that can be viewed in nearly any lighting condition ('Living Room' works best for me in high light situations).

Color: Out of the box, color accuracy is excellent in "Natural" and "THX" mode, but can be overpowering in "Dynamic" and "Living Room" modes, when the projector is at its brightest. Nevertheless, during the situations you might want to use brighter modes, you need the power to blast through the ambient light.

Black Level: Black level is one of those measurements that is difficult to quantify, as it's a matter of perspective and relativity. Regardless, in a darkened room with the projector in "THX" mode, blacks are truly black.

Shadow Detail: With a contrast ratio of 320,000:1 (compared to only 200,000:1 on the previous model), the variance between different shades of black is very evident. Although more difficult to see in "Living Room" mode or with higher levels of ambient light, when watching a movie in "THX" mode in a darkened room even the darkest scenes are easily viewable and the variance between shades is easily apparent.

Motion Detail: With the "Frame Interpolation" feature turned off, the 5020 acts like most other LCD displays, there is some blur during fast motion and camera pans, this is why I typically set the feature to 'Low' at a minimum, but rarely higher than 'Normal' to avoid the unnatural "soap opera" effect.

Overall Detail: The overall picture quality on the 5020 is nothing short of amazing. Like blowing up a 4x6 picture to make a poster, I was afraid that stretching a 1080p image to 110" might make the picture look less sharp (I've experienced this on many of the 60-70" LCD displays at my local wholesale club). To be honest, I was afraid I might be able to count the pixels close up! Nonetheless, I was pleasantly surprised just how good the picture looked even close up, with nearly nonexistent "screen door" effect.

Visible Artifacts: No visual artifacts or defects that I can see, the picture quality is flawless.

3D: As mentioned above, having never owned a 3D capable device before, it's difficult for me to objectively judge the 5020's 3D capabilities. However, I can tell you that I experienced some 'shutter' effect when demoing a 6010 at a local home theater shop and was afraid that the 5020 might exhibit something similar. To my surprise, it's nearly non-existent. While watching 3D content (as well as that converted from 2D to 3D), the only time I experienced any type of 'shutter' effect was during fast motion and camera pans, but even then it is not distracting.

Noise: In 'Eco' mode, the 5020 is virtually silent. Though, even with 'Eco' mode off, the projector is not overbearingly loud, similar to a typical PC fan, and is easily washed out even at very low listening volumes.

Conclusion

I am extremely happy with my purchase, I highly recommend the 5020UB to anyone who is looking for a projector that performance exceptionally well, is versatile enough to be used every day, and doesn't cost an arm and a leg. I genuinely believe that this projector is the best value for a home theater projector on the market today.

ProsCons
Outstanding performance, versatile, quiet, THX certified, rechargeable RF 3D glassesUnable to use two HDMI sources in ‘Split-Screen’ mode, some latency when switching between sources, cable cover not included

Ratings
Design4
Features4
Performance5
Color Accuracy5
Black Levels5
Value5
Overall5
 
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