*Official* Epson Home Cinema 8100 owners thread! - Page 2

Rangerob and Grishi.........

My lens looks the same as yours, so it looks to me its supposed to look that way.

Thanks for checking.

I see that a lot of people here are concerned about potential issues such as crooked lenses, misalignment, and projecting computer images. Once you make sure your projector is not flawed right out of the box, relax and enjoy. With a 2 year warranty from Epson, no worries.

I am enjoying my Epson 8100 everyday. I'm at over 125 hours of usage. The alignment is perfect on my screen and stays that way (Don't use the lens cap as it messes up the alignment). I'm projecting it about 20 feet away. Unit purchased in November from BB. No issues at all. It's sharp, bright, and colorful.

I copied the custom settings from Art's article.

My favorite settings from this article are: Theater 1 ECO in total darkness and Living Room with the lights on.

I am projecting on a Accuscreen 106" Manual White Screen. It is hung over my fireplace so I could not do a fixed frame.

I enjoy the projector so much that I decided to preserve the bulb by purchasing a 40" Samsung LCD during black Friday to watch the news and regular broadcasts.

My sitting area is 10 feet away and movies are awesome. The Transporter 1,2,& 3 movies are great on blu-ray on this projector.

I still can't believe how affordable high quality home theater has become.
I purchased my projector mainly for movies and sometimes sports. I could care less how my home computer projects on my 8100. I might use it every now and then for itunes buy that's it. Blu-rays on my LG are unbelievable. That's what counts.

There is definitely no buyer's remorse on this projector!

I have to go pop some popcorn as I'm slowly rewatching all my old DVD's on my new projector. Don't stress this projector! Enjoy!

Carlosht...agree, 2 yrs from Epson warr...no worries. Probably get a new one back from them faster than returning to BB or original place of purchase as most don't have it in stock anyways.

Lens out of wack...mine is ceiling mounted and sits a bit low and to the right a bit...it's normal with lens shift...lens actually moves...I watched it move when making adjustment. My picture has stayed square between sessions...have not hit 10hrs yet...jeez, I know...been busy with other things as I have family coming from Colombia, S.America for holidays and beyond.

What do you mean recenter? You have to move image up or dwn...left or right...? Is your mount settling in to place with the weight of pj? Could be the problem. Level it and recheck with a level the next day. How much is it off and is it the centering of pic or that and focus?

I am having keystone problems also. My right side is straight and my left side is slanted. I purchased from BB and I have until Dec 23rd to exchange.

when did you make purchase at bb...? I ordered mine on 22nd picked up on 29th. I get extended return until 1-31-10. Regardless, if pj is level/square with screen...it should be square.

I am noticing the same thing after using the images you attached. It looks like a 1 pixel misalignment and occurs at all lens shift positions (even neutral).

While I could easily exchange it, it still scares me that this has happened to a few people already. I fear that these are too fragile and even the excellent warranty doesn't make things great.

I just recently exchanged an HD20 for this, in hopes of improving the picture quality and getting better blacks. Unfortunately, the price to performance increase that I saw hasn't left me very excited (I paid $999 for the HD20 and MSRP for the 8100). This was coming from an HD70 that was working fine, but whose bulb was on its last legs. I really wanted a 1080p projector, but was hoping to improve the image quality at the same time. I don't think I objectively achieved those goals with either projector when considering the costs associated with upgrading.

I have a new bulb coming for the HD70 thanks to a smartly purchased $150 extended warranty from Circuit City three years ago. We will see once that arrives if I have a new appreciation for the HD70 and can live with it for another year or more until I feel the desire to try this again.

Some comparative notes that are aiding this decision (HD20 vs 8100 vs Neither):

1. Blacks are better on the 8100, but not night and day like some have mentioned. I have a dedicated room with some light colored walls, but I still felt like the blacks left something to be desired on the 8100.

2. Fan noise is reduced on the 8100 by a bit, but I still notice the noise more than I did with the HD70. Maybe it is because the HD20 was so loud that it made me pay more attention. Unfortunately now, even the 8100 on eco mode is audible when sitting 3-4 feet from it. Worse yet, the auto iris makes its own rumbling noise that can be quite distracting in quiet scenes.

3. Colors and overall PQ are better, especially when at full brightness. The 8100 would work great in a living room with windows and other ambient light.

Am I crazy? What do you guys think?

Mount is steady. That was the first thing I checked. I have a 11' diag. and the drift is about 1/2 inch in the vertical direction and a little less in the horiz.

This is no big deal to me. I'm enjoying my 8100!

After watching a movie for 2 hours I noticed that the top of the case gets extremely hot. This is my 4th projector since 1990 with the last being the Sanyo Z2. I was just wondering if the heat is caused by length of use or not. For those who use the projector for longer periods of time is there a problem with heat. I am concerned about long term performance and possible damage. Good thing for the 2 yr warranty. My projector sits on an open shelf. If anyone has another Epson or like product, is this a common thing with 1080 projectors. BTW.. the Sanyo took 90 secs for the fan to turn off while this one takes maybe 20secs. Thank you.

The projector is square to the screen. Used in same place and used the same mount as Pro 810. Purchased on 11/23.

just went to an Epson training session yesterday and it looks like they are in talks to move to a 5 year warranty by 2012.

This is my first projector as well.
I have a similiar setup, 8100 is on an open bookshelf.
After setup and watching my first movie (default settings, out of the box) I noticed the projector got extremely hot as well.
Assumed that this was normal?

Everything seems to work and the picture is great...
I have the same question, is it supposed to run hot?

Some pj's run 'hotter' than others. If it gets too hot it should warn and/or shut down...probably the latter. I'm not sweating the small stuff and I am a stickler with micro-issues. Mine is upside down/ceiling mount and is warm to touch but not really hot-hot. The exhaust coming out of front is just warm...not hot.

I was having a keystone issue with a cheap mount. I used a table and things now are better. This is my first projector, I am just wondering if I should expect a perfect rectangle as with a TV.

Despite the fact that the PJ is level, centered and square with the screen, one side is slightly shorter than the other. It is hard to see without a measuring tape, but I am not sure if this is a defect, or normal.

Also, with lens shift, shifting V or H actually changes the other slightly so I have to re-adjust the shift, is this expected? Thanks.

I am just wondering if I should expect a perfect rectangle as with a TV

Yes

Despite the fact that the PJ is level, centered and square with the screen, one side is slightly shorter than the other. It is hard to see without a measuring tape, but I am not sure if this is a defect, or normal.

Is it only one corner shorter/longer?? then it would be a problem with the projector.. If top and bottom on one side are both shorter, or longer, then the projector isn't square still....


Also, with lens shift, shifting V or H actually changes the other slightly so I have to re-adjust the shift, is this expected?

Yes, when you get to the limits of one, it'll affect the other....

Sorry totalwex if this is a off topic question. I have a sanyo z2 too. i am very happy with it, but i have problems with the HDCP compatibility and i want to buy another pj, full hd. i am reading in forums and i see the epson 8100 (3500 in europe). And my question is: is the epson much much better than the sanyo z2?

In one word. Yes. I had no issues as far as HDCP compatibility with the Z2 utilizing a Panasonic 55 blu ray thru a monoprice hdmi-dvi 25 foot connector. But yes there is a huge difference. Cleaner, brighter, sharper image. I'm near-sighted and I do not need to use my glasses to watch the movies from up close or 18 feet away.

Got mine yesterday! I watched some of UP and monday night football and think it looks great right out of the box...though I am no expert. My first PJ, and this thing is huge...it's nearly the size of carry-on luggage.

Well, my screen may not have been properly aligned. So I checked with just the wall. Now the image looks good. However, the middle points (vertical and horizontal) are slightly closer to the center than the end points. You cannot tell by looking at it, only by measuring the distance from the wall to corners and middle points (my screen is enclosed between two walls).

Also, vertical lens shift does affect the picture ever slightly. For example, at extreme shift, the top, or bottom, of the screen is shorter than the other end. Again, you cannot see it, only through measuring.

At this point, I think I am just a perfectionist trying to get my picture with zero overscan. I suspect most people are not like me.

If anyone is willing to measure using the pattern displayed by the PJ to confirm my results, it would be great. I am less convinced now that my projector is defective.

Congrats! I seem to be having trouble posting to this thread. In fact none of the other 8100 threads have had posts -- I just bought this unit and all of a sudden no posts. Go figure

I have approx. 50 hours on my 8100. Love everything about it, no complaints, but I heard something last night that was distracting and didn't hear before.

I haven't troubleshot yet, but think it's the iris. It makes a very slight ticking noise when the image changes. Static image does not generate a noise. I've heard it for the first time last night, can't really hear it from the front of the unit, but I sit slightly behind and under it. Like I said, never heard it until last night and watched in the color mode very often with quite background and audio.

Anyone else hear a ticking sound (sounds like a hard drive being accessed). I guess I would expect a whining noise from the servo, not a ticking unless there's a mechanical issue.

I can hear my iris and it does sound like a hard drive being accessed.

I only notice it if it is very quit not a problem during movies

Since the 8100 only has 2:2 or 2:3 pull down, unlike the 8500 of 4:4, would the 2:3 give a better image of faster moving objects than the 2:2? Would the 2:2 at 48 fps be more stable/ smoother instead?
Thanks!

Good question- I have noticed some stuttering on my 8100 in slow pans runnning it in 2:2 1080p/24 FPS. Need some more testing. Have Lumagen ProHDP in my chain but using it for vertical stretch only right now for CIH. May try sending it 1080i from BRay and let Lumagen process 1080p/60 to the PJ.

From what I understand 2:2 should be pretty similar to 4:4 because they are both simply repeating existing frames - as oppose to creating new ones like CFI.

Where is this setting at?

At this point, I think I am just a perfectionist trying to get my picture with zero overscan. I suspect most people are not like me.

If anyone is willing to measure using the pattern displayed by the PJ to confirm my results, it would be great. I am less convinced now that my projector is defective.


You should take a picture of the pattern on your screen and post it....how much off is its, mm, cm or inches.......I wouldn't trust measuring walls as they could not be perfectly square......

I've never measured the pattern, but it fits on my screen pretty well, if it isn't perfectly rectangle it'ds only off by mm's at most.....and i'm using almost max horizontal shift and some vertical......

That's a small carry-on

Where ARE the 2:2, 2:3 pulldowns located in the menu?