Official Epson Pro Cinema 1080UB Thread

My Epson Pro Cinema 1080UB was just delivered. I will post my thoughts on the unit after I set it up tonight or tomorrow. I will try to post pics.

Shipping weight was over thirty pounds. I don't think the Projector itself weighs that much and I doubt the mount and bulb add that much weight.

My previous unit was a Sharp DT300, a DLP Matterhorn. Color on that unit was marred by a strong green yellow like many DLPs of the time. Comparing the DT300 to the last years Home 1080 noise wise, the DT300 is jet engine with its loud fan and color wheel whine.

I have seen other 1080 units, but I did not see the PC 1080UB before ordering. Complaints on the AE2000 scared me out of ordering, but I know I am guniea pig for the Epson users. There were too many 1080 options coming out soon that caused me to pass over the Panny.

The reason I went with the new Pro UB sight unseen were the following:
1. Warranty 3 years (Epson will replace Pj on short notice).
2. Extra Bulb
3. Mount.
4. AVS pricing!!!! Call them!!! Marc sent me the rebate form this morning. It was icing on the cake for an already excellent price.
5. Intrigued by the UltraBlack technology. This may just be marketing hype, but if Epson truly has this technology exclusively then it may be something to brag about. I will just be happy if its native contrast ratio approaches my ancient DLP.

This unit will be throwing onto a 92" Optoma Graywolf screen. I will probably be updating the screen sometime in this calendar year. Waves are issue with it and I want to go with a fixed frame screen to eliminate this.

Sorry I have not had a chance to get back here until tonight. I did not get home from work until 6pm last night and I have two little rugrats at home that need some daddy time.

Impressions:
I am flat out impressed with the Epson. I have heard complaints that it was dim but that has not been my experience. Yes the filter modes are dimmer than the non ones but the color and black level are flat out impressive.

So far I have tried out the xvColor mode with the the PS3. Coming from an out of date DLP, the Epson flat out floors that model. Contrast and black level is not issue in my setup. It is a full underground basement (no walkout) which is nearly completely light controled.

I am going to post some pics of the unboxing and setup.

I was not sure if I was going to like the mount that Epson included but after deciding to use I think I made the right decision. I could faintly see PremierMounts printed on the mount. I had to remove the extension arm since the unit was being installed in a low ceiling room, 7.5'.

The biggest challenge I had was on Wednesday/Thursday night when I tried to fish the new 25' Monoprice HDMI cable. I did not run any conduit when I finished the room a little over two years ago because I thought I had easy access to the joist space. Well I should have because the joist space I needed to run in was busy with duct work. The HDMI cable although thick was too flimsy and the end was bulky which got caught on things which should have been a straight shot. In the end, some 12ga romex that I had left over ended up being my guide.

I fired up the PJ at 10:30 last night and here is what some wanted to know.
Fan Noise
-- Low is fairly quiet but it does ramp up occassionally. I think my ceiling gets warm from the duct work in joist space near where the PJ is mounted and my Onkyo 805 puts out a lot heat
Brightness. Flat out quiet compared to the jet engine sharp with color wheel whine.
-- Vivid is definitely brighter but it skews towards the green spectrum. Dimmer in the Epson Cinema filter modes but in my environment. Dimmer is still enough for my lowend GW screen. I am happy with Epson Cinema filter modes.
Sharpness
-- With 1080i/p feeds it looks pretty sharp, but I am sure single chip DLP still is the best in this regard. I got close and the convergence seemed good, but I did not get overly anal about last night.
Color out of the box
-- Excellent, light years better than my old yellow green DLP
Light spill that shines out of the box
-- None from my seating position. Plus my ceiling is painted a very dark blue so I don't think I would notice a little light spill. My room is a dark merlot with a dark blue ceiling. The lightest thing in the room is the faux wood flooring.


Even my wife said to me today that usually when I bring something new home she can't tell the difference, but this HD projector is a definite improvement.

I will try to post some pics in the near future.

The 1080UB was definitely more bright and had more detail in low light level scenes compared to the Home 1080 I saw at my local Ultimate last week, but in comparison I think that unit was throwing on 133" screen compared to my 92" and I don't know how many hours the Home had on it compared to my new bulb.

Never saw an AE2000 in action. I don't think the image is soft, but I still think single chip DLP holds the sharpness crown.

I project a 92" image and view it at about 11' feet. Screen door is not an issue. I have to press my nose to the screen almost to see individual pixels. The pixels are extremely tiny compared to the ones I saw on my 576 DLP unit.

I never tried using my old DVI cable with the HDMI dongles. I ran a new 25' 1.3 HDMI from Monoprice. Synced up immediately.

You may be running into your DVI cable not supporting data transfer rates especially going through the dongles. A lower resolution may work, but 1080p is much more data intensive.

My initial opinion is what many have been saying over the last year. 3LCD has surpassed DLP in many areas. No more rainbows, green yellows, dithering.

The contrast and black lever are unbelievable in my setup. I never thought LCD would look this black and darker scenes are not missing detail. Glad I took chance going LCD.

Here are some pics

More pics

More...

I have not taken any of the projector in action, but as many of us know those are not good indicators for showing what a projector is capable of.

My HT has advanced light years with the three pieces of equipment I added over the the last year. First it was the PS3 which then caused upgraditis for a new HDMI receiver for lossless audio. So I bought the Onkyo TX-SR805. Well after the PS3 was upgraded via firmware to do 1080p24 it was pushing me to a display to fully appreciate Blu-ray. Add the declining 1080p projector prices and now I have the final piece, the Pro 1080UB.