Projector review: Epson EH-TW 5500
A european bargain with record-breaking contrast...
The Epson EH-TW 5500 is a Full HD LCD projector that is widely available in europe, unfortunately we did not see any offers in the states. Following on from the earlier TW 5000 model, Epson's new superstar is a extremely well scoring projector, and produces some stunning imagery. It currently sells for about 4,000 GBP (UK) or 3.000 Euros (Germany) online.
Improved filter technology helps this projector further reduce the amount of scattered light in the picture, which therefore delivers deep blacks and huge contrast ratios we measured the native contrast at 5,755:1. This is record-breaking for an LCD, and the figure rises to over 32,000:1 with the help of the projector's iris.
Epson has also improved the projector's Frame Interpolation technology, which generates artificial intermediate frames in order to boost the picture's motion clarity. The results are impressively artifact-free, and the technology even produces an attractive alternative to authentic 24p judder. Still, the user can also choose to leave the judder intact, in which case the Epson once again delivers flawless results. On top of this, there's a sharpness-enhancement technology that we're actually impressed with. Although we're usually against manipulating the video signal, the Epson's Super Resolution setting applies itself so selectively that the results even rival those seen on competing DLP projectors.
Astoundingly accurate: This CIE diagram shows the Epson's gamut, which almost perfectly matches the HD color standard.
The colors are highly accurate: When in the Natural picture mode, the projector delivers a white point of 6,400 Kelvin very close, in other words, to the ideal D65 value. All we could single out for criticism was a slight green tint, and even this can be largely eliminated via the projector's RGB menu.
For more details of the Epson EH-TW 5500's picture quality and performance, read our full review at Televisions.com.
Have you tried the TW 5500 out for yourself or did you see it somwhere in the states? Any comments on the device or our review are most welcome!
A european bargain with record-breaking contrast...
The Epson EH-TW 5500 is a Full HD LCD projector that is widely available in europe, unfortunately we did not see any offers in the states. Following on from the earlier TW 5000 model, Epson's new superstar is a extremely well scoring projector, and produces some stunning imagery. It currently sells for about 4,000 GBP (UK) or 3.000 Euros (Germany) online.
Improved filter technology helps this projector further reduce the amount of scattered light in the picture, which therefore delivers deep blacks and huge contrast ratios we measured the native contrast at 5,755:1. This is record-breaking for an LCD, and the figure rises to over 32,000:1 with the help of the projector's iris.
Epson has also improved the projector's Frame Interpolation technology, which generates artificial intermediate frames in order to boost the picture's motion clarity. The results are impressively artifact-free, and the technology even produces an attractive alternative to authentic 24p judder. Still, the user can also choose to leave the judder intact, in which case the Epson once again delivers flawless results. On top of this, there's a sharpness-enhancement technology that we're actually impressed with. Although we're usually against manipulating the video signal, the Epson's Super Resolution setting applies itself so selectively that the results even rival those seen on competing DLP projectors.
Astoundingly accurate: This CIE diagram shows the Epson's gamut, which almost perfectly matches the HD color standard.
The colors are highly accurate: When in the Natural picture mode, the projector delivers a white point of 6,400 Kelvin very close, in other words, to the ideal D65 value. All we could single out for criticism was a slight green tint, and even this can be largely eliminated via the projector's RGB menu.
For more details of the Epson EH-TW 5500's picture quality and performance, read our full review at Televisions.com.
Have you tried the TW 5500 out for yourself or did you see it somwhere in the states? Any comments on the device or our review are most welcome!
