Sony hw50 or epson 5020

i am on same boat

I was right with you and was about to pull the trigger on the 5020 but ultimately decided that gaming is important to me so the 50-60ms response time of the Epson became too much.

if you can, then I would highly recommend seeing both of these before making a decision. On paper, the Epson looks great - until I saw one in person. Granted it was the prior model, but that got glowing reviews also.. I saw no less than 3 5010s on different screens - all calibrated - and I couldn't stand the image. There is just something about the technology that Epson uses that made me want to throw a shoe at the screen or leave the room. It was a very subjective thing - so to each their own. I was just floored that my reaction was so negative to such a highly acclaimed PJ. All three store owners said the same thing "yeah, some people have that reaction. Many love it." So it wasn't just me..

Someone would really have to convince me that the 5020 was that much of an improvement over the 5010 before I would ever look at an Epson again.

Just my personal, highly subjective opinion...You may be among those who fall in love with the image.

the key is to actually SEE these things and not go with reviews or advice (no matter how well intended) you see on the web. Nothing substitutes for seeing things for yourself.

Just my 2 cents.

What was so bad that made you want to throw a shoe at the screen?

LCD projectors in general don't appeal to me vs the look of DLP. I can't quite put my finger on it either, but I can see the difference. What's funny is I have an lcd TV that I absolutely love. I prefer my plasma more, but the LCD tv has a great bright picture that just appeals to me.

I dunno.

I think it was movement. any kind of fast action gave me a strange physical reaction...it really agitated me..
and no, it wasn't RBE. Not sure what to call it.. But it wasn't pleasant.

was it soap opera effect?

No.. maybe it was jittery movement when there as high action. it was subtle but enough to annoy the heck out of me.

Again, I saw this in three different high end stores - all claiming their projector was calibrated.

I couldn't stay in the room more than 10 seconds..

This is very unusual for me. I have never seen RBE. normally I either like, don't like or love a projectors image.. This was the only time I just couldn't stand to watch it.

Epson uses LCD technology, right?

Maybe I am just overly sensitive to that (though I spend most of my life on computers- isn't that LCD?)

Anyway, all I know is that if would win an Epson in some kind of sweepstakes, I would would sell it on ebay without opening it.

Again, that is just me.

My point though was not really to harp on Epson's PQ.. that is a subjective thing. Just because I hated it doesn't mean it wasn't a bright sharp picture that most people would drool over.

My point of writing the post was the importance of seeing these PJs for yourself ......that was the lesson I learned...

bump for new opinions

I have very similar room as the original poster. The room is mutli use so I have a white ceiling, ligher carpet and a medium shade of paint on the wall. The room is in the basement though so I do have total light control. I watch a lot of different content. For movies the room has minimal lighting so simulate the movie theater experience, however, when I watch NFL or other HDTV content we have a fair amount of directional pot lighting turned on over the seating area. I have a 110" Stewart Firehawk screen which does an excellent job of knocking down stray light. I ended up getting the Sony HW50 and am very happy with the picture on all content. Satellite HDTV and sports, Bluray and 3d. We don't do any gaming.
I did demo the Epson 5020 and last years Sony HW30 prior to purchase. They were at the same location but in different rooms so it was a close as I could get to A/B testing. I viewed the same varied content on both. In the end, for me the Sony was the choice especially knowing the HW50 was going to be brighter than last years model I was viewing. I preferred the overall picture, however, I am not a huge fan of the wide pixel spacing on LCD. That combined with the fact that the Epson I viewed had horrendous convergence really turned me off. The price difference for me when you include the free lamp was about $300 more for the SonyHW50.

Like previous posters have said in this thread (and all threads of this type), best thing is to demo the models yourself and bring your own content to view so at least that is consistent between the testing.

Get the sony. I just received mine this week and I'm really liking it. However just be prepared to buy an external emitter as the internal is near useless. AVS has the emitter for cheap, so it's not a huge deal.

The problem with the epson is the screen door is horrible. It doesn't bug some people, but coming from a dip I just couldn't stand it. The pixel structure is not pretty at all. I believe there are some closeups on zombies shootout. It didn't appear to bother him, but it would drive me insane. The pixel fill on the sony is very good. Also I have seen zero alignment issues with the sony, I didn't even go into the alignment menu. There are plenty of alignment issues reported on the epson from people on this forum.

I've seen you post a number of times for comparisons and it seems you are stuck on the fence. Out of curiosity what is your main things you are specifically looking for in your projector purchase?

Personally, I just upgraded from an RS45 to the HW50ES and my only ding against the Sony is that black levels and contrast isn't quite as good as the JVC. Having said that I'm VERY picky about this and the difference is noticeable to my eyes and in this regard I do miss the JVC. Had I known the small difference I would have lost I probably wouldn't have made the jump because I am so picky about this. HOWEVER, I'm glad I gave in and took a chance. The image on the Sony is very clean, very sharp with RC at it's minimum settings, and since I do use FI motion is quite a bit smoother to my eyes. I do sit very close to my screen and after having the 50ES the RS45 just doesn't look very sharp to me from my 1.1 screen distance now. So if I were to get the JVC over the Sony I'd probably have to get the 4810 with e-shift over the Sony for the JVC to compete in sharpness. In this case in the US I believe the RS4810 would be a bit more expensive than the 50ES (AVS has a very good price which I assume is still the case) and you also get 2 pairs of glasses and a free lamp with the projector.

I have to agree with Steve, though rather than wanting throw a shoe at it I just don't have any desire to watch anything on the 5020 I currently have in house. It constantly reminds me that I am watching an LCD picture, which to me is not a good thing. The HW50ES in my room was the far superior projector - better detail, clarity, color, blacks, and extremely quiet fan and iris.

As Steve said, do your best to get an in person audtion of both as everyone has differnt priorites and preferences. Good Luck! Dave

So...... reading between the lines you are saying you didn't much care for the Espon?

I find it very troubling that so many here seem to hate and bash the 5020. Is it really that bad of a projector? I have a 159 inch HP screen and was all set on getting the Epson because I want all the light I can get, but after reading so many comments on how much better the Sony is I'm about to go crazy! I just don't understand it. The 5020 reviews are stellar, even our projector guru Zombie seems to love it and think both are great. I mainly watch movies but my wife watches a lot of U-verse with ambient light and I'm afraid the Sony just wont be bright enough. Also the Epson has much better glasses and I plan to watch plenty of 3d, I have over 80 3d movies. This really sucks I'm so discouraged now! Maybe I should just wait another 10 months to see what else comes out.
Edited by plasmaowner - 1/17/13 at 4:56pm

Everyone has their own personal preferences. The Sony's contrast isn't as good as the JVC and I almost held back because of this and I'm glad I didn't. The lesser contrast does bother me to some extent though but when I throw up a picture on my old JVC RS45 it doesn't quite look the same anymore now that I've seen the Sony. The point is no matter what projector you choose one is going to have at least one glaring weakness when compared to other top brands unfortunately.

If 3D is a big deal for you the Sony and the Epson sound like the best non-DLP projectors to get. I certainly wouldn't want a JVC for 3D on a screen your size as 3D would be very dim. The Benq W7000 sounds like a great 3D projector and from what I've read it can fill your screen but it sounds as if contrast would be lacking in comparison to the Epson/Sony.

The biggest complaints I've read about the Epson is the screen door effect and the fact that you might have to go through a couple of projectors to get a unit with good convergence. If the SDE doesn't bother you I wouldn't worry about what others opinions are unless they mention something they hate that you know that would bother you. Do you not have a Best Buy Magnolia near you? If so my guess is they have a 5020 on display that you could demo.

Hello buddy

Thank you for reply, yes i am stuck on the fence. Last night i had a demo with epson 6020 and tuesday i will have a demo with sony hw50es. I care about image quality. bright, rich, sharpness, clear vibrant colours images. I am planning to have a dark room. Mainy i will watch bluray movies and %20 3d content.

Greetings

Good luck!

I've not spent much time with the Epson but it sounds like both are very good projectors. These are probably the best 2 choices for someone wanting 3d and 2D. The 3D viewing percentage might go up in time if you like it.

I spent all day today demoing the 6020 vs the hw50 at 3 different stores and I'll be purchasing the Sony hands down. I found 2d on the Sony to be far superior then the Epson. And that's with RC off. Setting it to 10 I was blown away. It was just as sharp as my Infocus X10 but with much better contrast and amazing blacks. I thought the blacks and contrast were better on the Sony and found the overall picture just looked much much better to my eyes. Unfortunately I was unable to few 3d on the Sony as they were having a problem with the glasses. I did however see it on the Epson and thought it looked fantastic. I was more impressed then I thought I'd be. We watched Imax under the sea and I coudn't detect any cross talk or flickering. The glasses were SUPER comfortable and fit over my glasses very nicely. There very very light.

BUT... despite how much I liked the 3d on the Epson I could not live with it's 2d performance after seeing the Sony. (Now it sounds like I'm bashing the Epson ).

A few other things. Even though the Epson is much louder in high lamp mode I didn't find it distracting. But I did find the iris pumping to be very distracting and loud. With the Sony on high its whisper quiet and I could never here any iris pumping (they were both set to high/full).

I'll be purchasing the Sony next week, hopefully I will be happy with it's 3d performance, but even if I'm underwhelmed I'll still keep it for it's amazing 2d and get a cheap DLP for 3d. Sorry for venting earlier.
Edited by plasmaowner - 1/19/13 at 5:47pm

it also costs $1000 more than the epson

i demoed the 5010 at best buy today and all i can say is WOW what a picture.the 5020 should be even better