Epson 5020UB Owners Thread...

I am also an owner of the 5020 Epson. I have seen it compared to the Sony HW50 but not the HW30, not sure why as the price is closer to the 30. Just wondering if anyone as any opinions as to which one is better as they are close in price.

Thanks.

I'll be an owner as soon as I can find one to buy. Does that count? =) In apropos of that, where the crap did you find one, ForzaMilan? Availability seems really sparse. No Best Buy store has one for sale and neither does their online shop (they claimed Epson won't send them enough to sell) and Amazon also lists the 5020UB as unavailable.

Out of curiosity, are you routing your HDMI cable through any wall plate jacks? My cable is connected to two wall plates, so I'm wondering if their built-in jacks could affect 3D capabilities.
Edited by elocanth - 1/2/13 at 8:45am

Just bought mine through Crutchfield. Haven't even hooked it up yet- maybe this weekend. Busy remodeling walls now.

I’ll be picking mine up next week and I’m still trying to figure out the screen type and size. According to the Calculator Pro (which truthfully I really don’t understand what it’s telling me) my screen and throw distance is too small. I’m looking for a 92” – 100” screen with a throw of about 14 ft.
Is this too close? Why?
thanks

I got one on Sunday, and through a Best Buy Magnolia locally. They had one in the showroom set up, but couldn't get the 3D to work! Still, they said they could get one for me and I could have it for a 30 - day no restock fee, no questions return, and sure enough they had one for me in 3 days!

As I've posted elsewhere (over in the shootout thread and another one, I'm repeating some of that here), I have a JVC RS40 that I got almost 2 years ago, so an early adopter for 3D projection. About 3 weeks ago it quit sending the IR signal out for 3D. I tried swapping out the emitter, but no luck. I'm just sttil under warranty, so will be sending it in as it is also starting to display other occasional glitches.

I've LOVED the JVC for 2D, I'm an older 16mm film collector, I watch a lot of black and white and pre-1980's movies. I want a "film" look, not "plasma" (just so you know where I'm coming from). My set-up, I have a dedicated basement home theater, light controlled, with a very large painted 1.1 gain screen, 12 feet wide by 68" tall. This means my 4x3 image is about 8 feet wide, my 16/9 10 feet wide, and I zoom out to the full 12 foot length for "scope" pictures, more or less constant image height. To me size matters!

I also love 3D, and I was never fully satisfied with the RS40 for that - too dim and LOTS of ghosts. So when the JVC quit sending the signal, I took it as a sign to investigate what was new on the 3D projection front. I'm currently planning on keeping my JVC for 2D if and when they fix it, and considering a second projector for 3D as some here are now doing. So it came down to this Epson and the BenQ 7000, but I'm one who sees rainbows very strongly, and when the opportunity to get one locally came up, I took the plunge.

Still in the initial impressions stage, but so far the 3D BLOWS AWAY the JVC 40.
Out of the box it looks pretty good in 2D too, but I've barely watched it for that. The JVC has a smoother picture but I'm thinking some calibration can improve the Epson to be an acceptable all-around projector for lots of folks, maybe even me. Again, I'm TORTURING this thing with a 23 foot throw onto a 12 foot wide 1.1 gain screen for scope, so the additional lumens over the JVC are very welcome even though I'm not a "plasma" guy. We watched PROMETHEUS and I honestly think this dark film looked as good as when I saw it at the theater (and I know that's not always praise, but I saw it at a pretty decent venue). My wife saw the improvement immediately, and she's not nearly as critical a viewer as I am.

Brightness aside, it's GHOSTING where this really shines - I really couldn't see ANY compared to the JVC. MONSTERS VS ALIENS bridge scene? OK, maybe just a hint but I had to really look for it. Now I know on a higher gain screen you might catch more, but honestly, I really couldn't notice it in normal viewing.
Zoom-in scene to the number 4 on the clock in the opening of HUGO? Always a HUGE ghost on my JVC on the white clock face. 5020? None.

Convergence and sharpness look good too, not quite as good as the JVC (I got a good one there first time out) and I'm not doing critical testing, but standing right up next to a white screen uniformity and pixels looks pretty solid.
Would hate the lack of power zoom and shift for day to day viewing, but as a 3D only unit, no problem, the controls are easy to use on the top of the projector at least. And the range of them for placement purposes is really wide, I set it on a shelf below my JVC and had it focused and level in 5 minutes.

The glasses are lighter than the JVC's, RF, and USB charge fully in about a half hour, really good synch lock in my theater as I walked around and tilted my head. Love the lack of IR competing with my remotes and no need to replace batteries. Plus it comes with 2 pairs, a good deal, and they are cheaper than the JVC's.
I'd have to say that for the price point, and if you are a rainbow-sighter as i am, this is looking to be the clear winner of the current batch for 3D. It CLEARLY out-performs the JVC's and perhaps the new Sony by a bit according to the folks in the shoot-out thread.

BUT...

I am having terrible handshake issues with my Oppo 93, especially for 3D. I now wonder if that was the issue for the folks in the Store display as well. NEVER had one with my set-up and the JVC. I have 15 foot cables, so I don't think length is the issue.
Strangely enough, it can't get the direct link between the player and projector at all, says "incompatible" or some such language rather than "no signal", but I can eventually get it when I run it through my Sony receiver, although it is spotty even then, but I think that rules out the receiver. I have Monoprice cables, 2 years old.
I've checked, Deep Color is off on the Oppo. SO now I've ordered a new 103 and new RedMere cable. IF I still have the issue, I may have to consider returning this unit, but I hope not because this looks to be a good one image wise. But the handshake is so bad now I just couldn't live with it.

S A M 33
Edited by S A M 33 - 1/2/13 at 5:38pm

curious if anyone is having terrible convergence issues. There is another thread on this over in the 3000+ forum. according to the poll, you have a 33% chance of getting a 5020UB WITHOUT any type of issue. Based on a current vote of 32 people.

Pretty terrible and i am hoping that it was just the first runs having trouble and that they got it under control. I also heard that mounting the device up side down causes the panels to misallign. If anyone has any comments on this please feel free.

It is worth noting that calibrated lumens on the Epson 5020 come out to about 680, and on the Sony HW50ES, you get just about 1000 in calibrated mode. Something to consider for sure if you are going for best picture mode vs just bright.


The HW30 is dim for my taste, however the 50 has some extra power.


I saw the Epson5020UB in store and i was happy with what i saw, but i could not view 3D as the BB techs were unable to make that work ( this was Fair lakes Best Buy in Northern VA )

black levels were very good, i watched a few of the ending scenes of Avengers, and then i watched the same thing on the HW30 and i have to say, when it comes to the LCD panels vs SXRD LCOS of the HW30\50, my eyes better enjoy the HW50 which can be had for 2999 with glasses and an extra lamp.


I am personally going to be going with the Sony HW50ES for different reasons, but i just wanted to get that info out there in case any of you were on the fence and needed more info This is NOT an Epson Flame post lol... i think the Epson is great for the money, my eyes just better enjoy the SXRD LCOS vs LCD on a projector. Also if motion is your thing, the sony handles that better hands down ( though in the clips i saw of avengers, i was not at all offended and everything looked great )


I was more considered with the alarming 33% chance to get a GOOD projector without convergence issues... if you all view the poll in the 3000+ section, it is quite alarming.

Just got mine last week from VisualApex and am very happy with the picture, especially 3D, and have no convergence issues.

Parsonsk,
I'm using a 112" 16:9 Elite Evanesce screen from about 11.5' (lens to screen distance), so the zoom is at it's max.
Thus your 92” – 100” screen with a throw of about 14 ft should work fine.

My set up is in the living room with PS3, panasonic blu-ray player DMP-BD55 and Onkyo TX-NR717.
Quite an upgrade from my old Panasonic PT-AE700 that served me well over many years.

But I'm wondering if anyone got the 12V output trigger to work?

The Elite Evanesce screen uses a RJ45 with Cat5 cable, and I found a connector cable that looked promising
http://www.markertek.com/Connectors-Adapters/Data-Connectors-Adapters/RJ45-Adapters/StudioHub/ADAPT-MINIUNBAL.xhtml
(Studio Hub ADAPT-MINIUNBAL RJ-45 Female to 1/8in - 8in)
Also Epson support told me the output trigger uses a stereo port.
So the cable fits and I have the 12V trigger option activated in the projector menue.
But nothing happens when I switch the projector on, tried both completely switching it on/off as well as the standby option.

Any idea how I can check what's wrong, or if you set this up successfully, how?
Thanks

I do not use the trigger on the PJ but on my Marantz AV7005 and a Harmony 1 remote. Works great.

I'll finally be sending my JVC RS40 in for the warranty work tomorrow, so will be playing with the Epson a lot more this weekend (pretty much the only time I have to use it). I'll get a better chance to see it in more in 2D as well and post my impressions vs. D-ILA (which I'm a big fan of picture-wise).
Then I'll know if I think this can be a decent all-around projector (for me at least).

Like tothjm I couldn't see the 3D in the store either - hmmm. Since I'm having such a 3D handshake issue, I wonder if this could be a systemic problem with this model? My new RedMere cable has shipped, so I'll at least get to try that out soon and see if it makes a difference.. Still no word that my Oppo 103 has been posted.
But make no mistake, this unit puts up a GREAT 3D picture once you get it going. I'm sure the Sony is no slouch either, but nice as the JVC is, it can't touch this in 3D, and from what I'm reading here neither can the newer models.

S A M 33

I'm amazed that with 1.2 million people here in Calgary that no stores carry scrreens for comparison. All the stereo shops are trying convince me I need to spend $2000 plus to get a good picture.
I'd like to have a look at some different screens. Ie da-lite

I have this combo and I'm very happy so far with both the 2D and 3D picture out of the box with no calibration. I have only watched a couple of 3D movies(well kids did) Brave and Polar Express but I didn't notice an ghosting issues although I'm no expert.... it looked very good to me.

Sorry meant by combo I meant Oppo 103 and Epson 5020UB.

And no "handshake" issues? Meaning the projector gets the signal both 2D and 3D, picture and sound without any problems?

S A M 33

HEy guys I just got mine from B&H today! Is there a thread on initial start-up tweaking? Any advise would be great.

Had a bit more time to play this afternoon. By not hooking up the Oppo direct to the Epson and putting my Sony receiver HDMI out into HDMI 1 on the projector instead, I seemed to have helped the handshake somewhat. 2D now seems to work pretty good (it was not getting sound until I switched back and forth a couple of times), but 3D still won't display until I switch, and tends to lose sound between a 2D menu and going into 3D. Still pretty frustrating, especially I bought this PRIMARILY for 3D. New cable won't be here until at least Monday unfortunately.

Played a couple of side-by-side files I have (MAD MAGICIAN, PARDON MY BACKFIRE). The Epson didn't automatically sense the change and I had to switch it manually, but no big deal because the JVC never does either, and the button on the remote makes it simple to switch modes, easier than the JVC menus. This thing has definitely been designed with 3D more in mind.
Looked good, but not as good as full res 3D Blu ray FP (of course), more ghosting was evident and I think the images seemed a bit darker.

More later this weekend.

S A M 33

Thanks for the help w the initial settings. Few questions what the heck is convergence and how do I know if I have that issue? Does you just focus by the naked eye during a move? Thanks Jim

Focus isn't convergence. Convergence is how well your 3 color panels align. Ideally, red, green, and blue perfectly converged make pure white (the primary colors of light as opposed to say paint).
Older LCD projectors could have severe misalignment problems, but newer projectors do this much better. I had a Sanyo unit that was so bad when you held your hand up in front of the projection you could see red and green fringe on either side of the shadow.

Displaying white type on a black field or a white grid pattern will show you convergence. The Epson 5020 has a pixel alignment function in the menu. Some have said many of these units have bad convergence, but out of the box mine was pretty good, not quite as spot on as my JVC.
It's particularly important if you watch a lot of old black and white films as I do.

S A M 33

My 5020UBe was ordered December 12, but isn't expected to arrive until mid-late January. Epson wrote me and said that they did not expect the demand and didn't produce enough units. I purchased this through a high-end dealer, not a big store like Best Buy. Hope this helps.

I've read numerous posts regarding "handshakes" of the projector and the sources going to it, but want to ask isn't there a break-in period to help this "friendship" to occur? Also, isn't calibration done after a few hours have elapsed to "season" the bulb and the rest of the electronics in the projector? So, shouldn't the projector be given some time to season before any adjustments are made? Any thoughts?

how about some screen shots hey?