Input Lag: A Scientific Experiment (Epson 8350, 3010, 5010 & more)

Display lag refers to latency, or lag measured by the difference between the time a signal is input into a display and the time it is shown by the display.

Tired of reading review after review about the projectors coming out this winter without any mention of input lag, I have dragged an old beast of a monitor upstairs to my home theater to conduct some tests.

-A quality CRT monitor was chosen as a control; CRT technology has input lag that is negligible at best. I have seen several photos of laptops and other LCD's lately but you really need to use a CRT monitor as the control, otherwise, you're just measuring how much slower a projector is compared to your already laggy LCD monitor (which is great, but doesn't really help us compare results unless you test every projector on the market for us using the same monitor).
-You also need to set your camera to a fast shutter speed! Otherwise the numbers will blur and you cant see the exact timestamp.
-Finally, anything that can cause lag must be disabled. Any scaling, correction, keystone, if you can see it on in the menu- disable it. If the projector has a game mode you can enable this and compare it to normal mode, it usually shaves off a decent amount.

(instructions on how to preform the test can be found here: http://www.flatpanelshd.com/focus.ph...&id=1229335064)

I will start by comparing Epsons two latest projectors the 3010 and the 5010 along with the 8350 from last year which has been great to me during the past 12 months.

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Epson 8350 - Average 18.5ms lag:
Test 1 -- CRT 00:34:861 /\\ PJ 00:34:841 = 20ms lag
Test 2 -- CRT 02:42:872 /\\ PJ 02:42:842 = 30ms lag
Test 3 -- CRT 02:49:142 /\\ PJ 02:49:122 = 20ms lag
Test 4 -- CRT 02:55:102 /\\ PJ 02:55:092 = 10ms lag
Test 5 -- CRT 03:00:302 /\\ PJ 03:00:292 = 10ms lag
Test 6 -- CRT 03:05:342 /\\ PJ 03:05:322 = 20ms lag
Test 7 -- CRT 03:20:122 /\\ PJ 03:20:102 = 20ms lag

Link to photos


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Epson 3010 - Constant 100ms lag:
Test 1 -- CRT 01:50:561 /\\ PJ 01:50:461 = 100ms lag
Test 2 -- CRT 01:57:911 /\\ PJ 01:57:811 = 100ms lag
Test 3 -- CRT 02:03:581 /\\ PJ 02:03:681 = 100ms lag
Test 4 -- CRT 02:06:881 /\\ PJ 02:06:781 = 100ms lag
Test 5 -- CRT 02:10:980 /\\ PJ 02:10:880 = 100ms lag
Test 6 -- CRT 02:15:881 /\\ PJ 02:15:781 = 100ms lag
Test 7 -- CRT 02:20:971 /\\ PJ 02:20:871 = 100ms lag

Link to photos


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Epson 5010 - Average 81.4ms lag:
Test 1 -- CRT 01:42:260 /\\ PJ 01:42:180 = 80ms lag
Test 2 -- CRT 02:28:720 /\\ PJ 02:28:640 = 80ms lag
Test 3 -- CRT 07:33:314 /\\ PJ 07:33:234 = 80ms lag
Test 4 -- CRT 07:46:933 /\\ PJ 07:46:843 = 90ms lag
Test 5 -- CRT 07:55:844 /\\ PJ 07:55:764 = 80ms lag
Test 6 -- CRT 08:09:954 /\\ PJ 08:09:874 = 80ms lag
Test 7 -- CRT 08:13:304 /\\ PJ 08:13:224 = 80ms lag

Link to photos

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Updated with 5010 information. Quite disappointing eh? Tried a few games and you can definitely feel it (even when moving the mouse @ the desktop). After coming from a lowly 8350 to a $3000 MSRP projector its a night and day difference. Black levels look amazing, lag is terrible. A couple PS3 titles feel okay, but anything requiring timing (especially battlefield 3 on the PC and street fighter on the PS3) was a no go for me.

At least they shaved off few ms for $1500 difference, but not enough. My guess is its all the 3D hardware / 480hz panels. I made sure to turn off all 3D settings of course and anything else that might have adverse effect. Tests were taken with everything on too (several combinations, just to make sure I didnt leave anything out) and there wasnt much of a difference in lag at all.

Its just called "Frame Interpolation" in the options menu and yes of course it was off I actually tried a few times with it set to high and the lag was laughably bad, ive never seen so much lag in my entire life with than when that baby was set to high. They actually have a button on the remote for it.

I really want to fall in love with this projector like I did the 8350. The colors blow the 8350 out of the water, as do the blacks. I start to try to talk myself into the lag, come on you can adapt to it, you'll be watching movies half the time anyway so it woulnt matter that much. But when it comes down to it this device isnt pocket change (for most) its about $3000 after you buy a couple pairs of 3D glasses, and to me when you're spending that kind of money you cant just "settle". I could settle for a $150 lamp my wife picked out, not this.

I turned off everything for the photos you see. I tried varying combinations of options as well on my own for fun, but those are not in the photos.


The problem with buying this as a 2D projector only is you can get the RS45 for the same price which from what ive seen looks like a slightly better image and better blacks

If you need epsons throw / lens shift or want better 3D then this is the clear answer, but for most enthusiasts on here who can place a projector in the right spot and think 3D is fun but not the main attraction then the epson doesn’t really bring much to the table other than bulb life and great warranty support

Yep thats right.

I find that reaction based games are still playable, but it's becoming a chore to compensate mentally for the lag induced by the display. Gaming is about having fun and compensating for lag isn't fun. When you're playing an online game competitively against other players it becomes even less fun because it gives you a handicap.