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- Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 1080 -
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Hands-on Report

      The Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 1080 ($2,999) is the lowest priced 1080p projector available when you throw in the $300 rebate available through July 31st. Which just so happens to bring the price lower than the Panasonic PT-AE1000U with its current $1,000 rebate. It's great to see vendors fighting for the lowest price!

      Competing directly with the Panasonic we can highlight the major differences in a nut shell.

• The Epson is much brighter

• The Epson is little sharper

• The Panasonic is quieter

      Taking into account the differences in most cases we recommend the Epson over the Panasonic especially if you will be using a larger screen (beyond 100 inch diagonal) or will be viewing with any ambient light. Outside of the brightness issue you'll have to dig deep to find which features of the two you prefer. Below is a summary of the Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 1080 features.

• 1920 x 1080 x 3 LCD panels

• 1,200 lumens

• 12,000:1 contrast ratio

• 1 - 2.1 zoom and focus ratio

• 96% vertical lens shift

• 47% horizontal lens shift

• 170 W UHE E-TORL lamp rates at 3,000 hours

• 1.3 HDMI and component input (one each)

      Hands-on Report

      For over a week we evaluated two PowerLite Home Cinema 1080 projectors and came to a different conclusion than most if not all of the other reviewers. The first unit performed admirably outside of calibrating the projector for the best image we lost all of its claim to fame brightness. We could have gained some of the brightness back by setting the brightness control to high but doing so ups the bulb's wattage which in turn kicks the fan into high speed and makes the projector some what noisy.

      After our casual calibration we ended up with the following settings.

• Scaling 100%

• Color Mode: Theatre Black 2 (highest contrast)

• Brightness: 0

• Contrast: 0

• Sharpness: -2

• Color Saturation: -22

• Tint: 0

• Absolute Color Temperature: 6500K

• Skin Tone: 3

• Brightness Control: Low

• Auto Iris: On (didn't hear it or notice any image pumping)

• Setup Level: Normal

• Super White: Off (simply lowers the white level)

• RGB: All defaults

• RGBCMY: All defaults except for -10 red saturation

• Gamma: 2.2

      We came up with the above simply by eye using a few test patterns as we wanted to see just how good this end low-end priced (for 1080p) projector looks. We planned to get serious about tuning her up down the road. First off we played several Blu-ray movies and found the image sharp, the colors were rich and the black level nice and low.

      After a while we played the same movies on a fully calibrated projector and the Epson held up very nicely so we felt our hour or so calibrating by the seat of our pants wasn't in vain. Next we watched a few HDNet shows recorded in 1080i and you could instantly see the increased detail 1080 brings to the screen over 720. The difference between 720 and 1080 brought on that same wow feeling you had the first time you saw HD.

      We were viewing a 110-inch diagonal image at 12 feet and our general recommendation is if your seating distance is less than twice your screen's width going 1080 is well worth it.

      Once we were satisfied we were getting a real look at how the projector can perform we started to take a closer look. The first thing we checked for were bad or dead pixels and it appeared to pass that test with flying colors. Unfortunately our next test wasn't so lucky. Checking the LCD panels' alignment we noticed both red and green pixels were off by about one pixel in opposite directions. Certainly not the worse we have seen but still bad enough to bother the enthusiast.

      We requested a replacement projector to better see what one should expect when purchasing the projector. The second projector's panel alignment appeared the same which was disappointing but more so the replacement had a case of the measles. Based on how the image was focused you would see red spots appear and disappear all over the image. At times there were literally dozen of them. As they appeared on its internal test pattern we were comfortable it wasn't the source and if we had to guess some thing was amiss within the optical block or lens assembly.

      At that point we felt we knew enough. The second projector's convergence mirrored the original and didn't see any reason for further testing as it was clearly defective.   

      Our conclusion: The PowerLite Home Cinema 1080 throw a great image however if you want to fully take advantage of it you'll need a high gain screen if you plan to go over 100 diagonal inches. We may have just been unlucky but with one and half out of two units being defective we have concerns over Epson's quality control. Epson will gladly send you a replacement projector during the two-year warranty period, which makes one a little more comfortable. Although the reports we have seen of the replacements having as many or more issues than the projectors they were supposed to replace leaves us on the sidelines as far as recommending this projector.
 

- JVC DLA-RS1 -
●●●● Rating
Hands-on Report


       

      Apparently JVC got tired of playing second fiddle to Sony's Ruby ($8,999) and Pearl ($4,999) SXRD (LCoS) based projectors as they have reinvented their own D-ILA (LCoS) technology and the result is a digital projector that goes where no digital has gone before. The JVC DLA-RS1 ($6,295) specifications list all time highs for almost every LCoS category and even several DLP based projector categories. Here are a few of the many highlights.

• Native 1920 x 1080 3 panel resolution for full 1080p HD without any scaling

• 15,000:1 contrast ratio without the use of a dynamic iris

• 700 Lumens

• Both vertical and horizontal lens shift for easy installation

• Zoom lens range of 1.4:1 to 2.8:1 for easy installation

• Low fan noise rated at 25dB

• Two HDMI inputs

• $399 200 Watt UHP lamp

      What makes this projector so outstanding is its 15,000:1 contrast ratio (even higher in actual testing) is accomplished without the use of a dynamic iris. This results in whiter whites with predominately darker images and blacker blacks with predominately lighter images. Not to mention black levels very close to the best CRT based projectors.

      Add in a not previously achieved "sharp image" for LCoS and regardless of your past preference for CRT, DLP, or LCD based projectors it won't matter as you will be singing its praise. Certainly progress will continue but at this point in time it's very hard to see performance increasing or pricing decreasing enough to not make your purchase of the RS1 turn into a long and happy engagement.

      Hands-on Report

      The JVC bandwagon is still going strong even as supply has finally met up with demand. Until recently if you wanted a RS1 you had to stand in line but now you can pretty much have one shipped overnight or grab one on the way home from your local dealer.

      With all of the outstanding reviews, delighted users and hype since it was displayed last fall one on one against a Sony VPL-VW50 we have been wondering if it lives up to its advance billing? The short answer is yes. In our opinion the storm was created for several reasons. Pricing, up until now untold digital black and contrast levels and finally it offers a sharper image than previous LCoS based projectors.

      Based on its specifications there was nothing missing. Black levels good enough to impress the CRT zealots, more contrast (outside of ANSI) than the DLP group could hope for and a price far below its nearest competition. Add in the ability to easily install it in almost any environment and the waiting list just keep growing.

      So we couldn't wait to power her up and see what we have been missing all these months. Our first impression was boy the black level is terrific but what we liked even more was the fact that light images within the overall dark image really jumped out at you. You could instantly see the benefit of its native contrast ratio of 15,000:1 versus the dynamic iris most projectors use to get even close to that level of contrast. We also appreciated the fact it's much brighter than most other projectors especially at their calibrated best. The RS1 loses very little of its brightness while the exact opposite can be said for the others.

      Next as usual we displayed grayscale levels, color fields and checked the panel alignment. We had an issue with the grayscale shading and the panel alignment on a second unit we tested. With everything we had heard we planned on purchasing the RS1 for use in our theater and outside of the grayscale shading we would have enjoyed the projector in our theater for a long time. Unfortunately we had to return both units.

      Hopefully the issues we saw were unique to the two units we tested and as a whole we wouldn't write the RS1 off our recommendation list. However we think it's important to consider your options when purchasing a projector. Before purchasing be clear to know whether you can return the projector and if so will there be a restocking fee. This is especially important when you are dealing with a three-panel display such as LCD and LCoS. It also can be extremely important if you are somewhat demanding or perhaps picky? Our dealer handled the return wonderfully as we knew they would. Knowing this was important enough for us that we didn't even compare prices with other dealers. It was worth perhaps paying a little more to know we would end up happy. Although we would have been a little happier if we never saw the issue to start with.

      During the time we viewed our typical material we also noticed a few small issues. Under certain conditions the red or green pixels jump ahead when displaying scrolling small white text. Once the text stops scrolling everything is back to normal. Finally when displaying a full screen magenta image you could see vertical lines of slightly different colors across the entire screen. Again both of these issues were minor and we only saw the text issue with normal content.

      Enough with the bad let's get onto the good. The RS1 delivers an image that is better across the board in almost any way you want to measure versus anything close to its price. The image is brighter, punchier and sharper by a noticeable difference compared to most of its competition. To our thinking if the RS1 is within your budget and you acquire an issue free unit you'll end up with a state of the art projector that will keep up for years to come. Now that is certainly unique for home theater projectors.

      How much better is the RS1 than the sub $3000 LCD and DLP projectors? Different enough you'd pick the RS1 in a shoot-out. When you aren't comparing them at the same time the difference becomes smaller and perhaps the price different becomes larger.

- Optoma HD80 -
●●●● Rating
Pick of the Page
Hands-on Report

          

      Just shipping the new Optoma HD80 goes where no other 1080p DLP has gone before with a list price of $2,699. The worse we can say about the HD80 is it might require you to reconfigure your home theater as it did ours. But with the money you'll save and the performance you'll receive it should be well worth it.

      Without any horizontal or vertical lens shift the 136% offset and rather long throw might make you pass on looking into the new HD80 which would be a shame as it performs better than the rest of the $3,000 club as well of many of its more expensive competitors.

      It uses a generation old DLP chip to keep the price down however the specifications and real-time viewing makes it state of the art. The specifications include the following.

• .95" 1080p DMD DLP chip

• 1300 ANSI lumens

• 10,000:1 contrast ratio

• 518 ANSI contrast

• 16 step manual iris settings

• 6 x 7-segment color wheel

• 1.85 - 2.22:1 throw distance

• 136% offset

• 32db noise level

• Two HMDI and one DVI inputs along with the usual array of other standards

• 300W UHP bulb estimated to last 3,000 hours

      The first thing we noticed about this projector is it's bright! After reviewing other sub $3,000 projectors we were shocked to find this one was so bright. In fact we keep looking for ways to dim the image and the manual iris adjustments came in handy to do just that and as an added bonus each time we decreased the brightness black levels improved along with the contrast.

      Going through our round of test material we saw that color uniformity was excellent and it produced a very sharp image. Both of the above have been lacking in the three panel projectors we have been looking at of late. At this point we were excited to see what kind of an image she actually throws while viewing normal content.

      So we fired up Crank (our current comparison disc) in the PS3 and viewed the three sections we use for comparison. They test for shadow details, skin tones and mixed contrast. In each occasion we were extremely impressed with the deep black of the images regardless if the entire image was dark or the image was of a mixture of light and dark. The DLP's high ANSI CR simply made the image jump off the screen.

      As much as we were impressed with the high contrast of the JVC RS1 with its dark darks and bright brights the HD80 simply increased the degree of both to another level. Add in an even sharper image and we began to wonder exactly why does this projector cost so little. Surely it's not based on its performance. At the same we find it rather bizarre that projectors can have so similar specifications and perform so radically different in actual viewing. Which is another topic that we will cover elsewhere.

     If you haven't been able to tell by now we think the new Optoma HD80 defines Bang for the Buck and gets our highest rating. Stay tuned as we will be posting out Hands-on report shortly.

      Hands-on Report

      We have a winner. We spent months looking for a new 1080 projector for our theater and with CEDIA quickly approaching it looked like we would have to wait and see what the new models will be offering and more than likely wait again for them to actually ship. All because the JVC RS1 didn't quite live up to its hype. At least the two units we received didn't. We still feel it's a great projector and a generation ahead of most everything else as long as you can find a good specimen. One lacking uniformity and convergence issues.

      Because of the HD80's offset we had to lower our screen, which wasn't a bad thing. It was mounted a little high and it gave us the opportunity of redo our screen wall. Down came the raisin and black velvet drapes that were required to hide our previous projector's light overspill. In their place we painted the screen wall Onyx (one shade lighter than black). Which turned out even better than we hoped especially pleased were the female peanut gallery who feared it would look rather harsh. Even if we say so it ended up looking rather sophisticated.

• Mode: Cinema

• Contrast: 43

• Brightness: 50

• Color: 43

• Tint: 50

• Sharpness: 8

• Gamma: 0

• DeGamma: Film

• Color Temp: Mid

• Color Space: YcbCr

• Image AI: Off

• IRIS: 15

• Brite Mode: Off

      Extended Use Report

      Coming soon...

      HDMI Current Settings

• Mode: User

• Contrast: 42

• Brightness: 51

• Color: 36

• Tint: 50

• Sharpness: 8

• Gamma: 0

• DeGamma: Film

• Color Temp: User: 122 91 87 124 127 126

• Color Space: YcbCr

• Image AI: Off

• IRIS: 16

• Brite Mode: Off

- Panasonic PT-AE1000U -
●●●● Rating
Hands-on Report

      If you are a fan of LCD based projectors you are sure to be impressed with Panasonic's latest edition the PT-AE1000U ($3,799). Each .74 inch LCD panel has a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 and with the help of its dynamic iris contrast ratio can be as high as 11,000:1. Other features include power zoom and focus along with Cinema Color Management technology that allows for easy and powerful image calibration.

      Rated at 1,100 ANSI Lumens once the image has been calibrated to D6500 the image isn't terribly bright so be sure to keep this in mind in choosing your screen material and size. Panasonic offers a 90-day no questions asked return policy which along with its competitive pricing might be enough to sway you into giving it your own test drive whether it will be your first front projector or your latest upgrade. Through September 30th Panasonic is offering a $1,000 cash rebate and a free 3-year limited warranty. Below is a summary of the PT-AE1000U's features.

• 1920 x 1080 x 3 LCD panels

• 1,100 lumens (1,000 when dynamic iris is used)

• 11,000:1 contrast ratio

• 2 x optical zoon lens

• 100% vertical lens shift

• 40% horizontal lens shift

• Fan noise rated at 22dB

• Cinema Color Management for calibration

• Two HDMI and two component inputs

• Power zoom and focus

      Hands-on Report

      After reviewing the Epson Powerlite Home Cinema 1080 we were interested to see how the PT-AE1000U would compare. They use the same 1080 LCD panels, and basically offer the same vertical and horizontal lens shift, with almost identical pricing when the available rebates are taken into account. Actually looking at the technical side there is very little difference between the two except for Panasonic's Smooth Screen technology.

      Which is pretty much the only difference we saw between the two albeit a rather large one. The Smooth Screen technology arranges pixels in a pattern that removes a great deal of the screen door effect typically seen on LCD projectors. This results in an image that appears very smooth when viewing large areas of lighter images such as the sky. Gone is the faint pixel structure that appears as noise within the image.

      The side affect is overall the image looks a little softer. The same amount of detail exists but it just doesn't appear as sharp. If you want to view images from a distance of one and a quarter screen's width or less it comes in handy as the image appears more natural. However if you view from further back the image suffers from this apparent lack of sharpness.

      Panasonic has removed the Eco mode (although you can still select it) from the projector so now it runs at the higher lamp power and louder fan speed. Our only guess is there were too many complaints about how dim it was so they simply configured it to always run in the brighter setting. During our testing this resulted in plenty of brightness for up to 120-inch diagonal screen with a modest gain. But it lost the super low noise level we had previously heard about. Making it similar to the other projectors in its class.

       We were impressed with the PT-AE1000U's image. Black levels were satisfying; there were plenty of contrast, and more user settings for calibrating than normal. If the smooth screen approach could benefit your home theater configuration it just might be the right ticket.

- SharpVision XV-Z20000 -
●●●● Rating

      The one-chip 1080p DLP based SharpVision XV-Z20000 ($9,999) projector continues Sharp's long tradition of highly rated projectors. For high ANSI contrast it doesn't get much better. The XV-Z20000 specifications include the following.

• 12,000:1 contrast in high contrast mode

• 1000 lumens

• 7 segment 5x speed neutral density color wheel

• CV-IC System III Sharp video processing

• Three position powered iris

• Optical lens shift

• 31dB fan noise

• Two HDMI and one DVI inputs

       If you want DLP's sharp image and high ANSI contrast along with top of the line performance across the board you'll certainly enjoy owning the XV-Z20000.

- Sony VPL-VW50 -
●●●● Rating
Hands-on Report

To be replaced by the VPL-VW60 this fall.
Currently the new model appears to be a marked improvement with the following highlights.

• 7,000:1 native contrast

• 35,000:1 contrast with Advanced Iris 2

• 1,000 ANSI lumen

• 22 dB fan noise

• Full screen panel alignment - plus or minus 2.0 pixels in .1 pixel steps

• HDMI 1.3 (2)

• $4,999 list price?

      Sony's third generation VPL-VW50 ($4,999) SXRD 1080p projector pretty much matches the performance of the first generation Qualia 004 ($29,999 discontinued) and the second generation VPL-VW100 ($8,999) and does it at a much lower cost including replacement lamps. Should we mention the Qualia 004's lamp lists for $3,000? However Sony did include one additional lamp free within the warranty period.

      Each generation can be defined by the following.

• Qualia 004 is the brightest and sharpest

• VPL-VW100 offers more contrast than the Qualia 004

• VPL-VW50 offers even more contrast than the VPL-100 but is not quite as sharp as the others

      The end result is one mighty fine projector for a very low price. When introduced there wasn't another projector that could compete with it in its price range and even today it's worth serious consideration. However in almost every category JVC has leapfrogged over the VPL-VW50 without using a dynamic iris allowing you to avoid the related performance baggage that comes with using a dynamic iris.

      The VPL-VW50 still has a significant street price advantage and will certainly be easier to acquire for the foreseeable future that just might make it your best choice. If you do decide to give one a try be sure to check out its convergence, as pixel alignment has been an ongoing issue since introduction.

      Hands-on Report

      Two things struck us as we installed the Pearl. It's very quiet and it didn't look or feel cheap in any way. Our in-house projector is dramatically louder especially after a few minutes when it warms up and the fan's speed kicks up. With the projector mounted on a shelf 9 feet high well back of our seating position we actually hear the Sony BDP-S300 Blu-ray player, which is extremely quiet over the projector.

      Neither can be heard unless it is almost absolutely quiet in the theater which typically only occurs when we are tweaking the equipment certainly not when we are watching a movie! However we did notice that the side and rear speakers made their presence known far more than before especially during soft passages. The lack of projector noise added another layer of calmness to the dedicated room and the increased audio performance was an added bonus. The projector's noise level has now moved up quite a few spots on our selection criteria list.

      The previous projector we tested was the Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 1080 which we wouldn't classify as cheaply built but the Pearl weighs about twice as much and you can see why just by looking at each. Besides the higher quality of materials the Pearl comes with power lens shift, zoom and focus. Certainly not required in most cases but they do add to the feeling of a well-designed and implemented projector. Versus the let's see what we can do to cut corners approach.

      Once we had the image displayed just within the corners of our screen as usual we checked for bad pixels, panel alignment and lens chromatic abrasion. All three passed with flying colors with the understanding that 3 panel displays are never going to be perfectly aligned.

      Now it was time to see just how impressed we were with the Pearl's image. Based on prior research and spending several hours viewing test material we settled on the following settings.

• Picture Mode: Cinema

• Cinema Black Pro: Iris 1 (Recommend) and Lamp Control: Low

• Contrast: 80, (default)

• Brightness: 50 (default)

• Color: 50 (default)

• Hue: 50 (default)

• Color Temp: Low

• Sharpness: 50 (default)

• NR: Off (default)

• DDE: Film

• Black Level Adj: Off (default)

• Gamma Correction: Off (default)

• RCP (Real Color Processing): Off (default)

• Color Space: Normal

• Over Scan: Off (default)

      As you can see we didn't really have to alter many of the settings to come up with an image that we were more than happy with. We selected Low for the Color Temp to get close to 6500K and Normal for Color Space as the default Wide setting made the image's colors far too saturated for our taste. Especially skin tones.

      After viewing several chapters on a number of Blu-ray titles our initial impression was very favorable. The Pearl's black level was very low and the Iris 1 setting provided plenty of contrast. Overall the image had tons of depth and punch with a smooth yet detailed look. The image isn't razor sharp compared to some other 1080p projectors however the details are still there they simply don't jump out at you as clearly. Much like film has a smoother look than video's sharp appearance you may or may not appreciate the less than razor sharp image compared to some of the other 1080p projectors. Regardless of your preference the image is very satisfying and a treat to behold. I think this screen image shows the Pearl's smooth but detailed look very nicely.

      The Pearl will be visiting our theater for a few weeks and we look forward to screening several new Blu-ray releases and finding out if we can improve on its already stellar performance. There still are plenty of potential combinations of settings left to try although we have already thrown away several. We will be posting an Extended Use report in a few weeks so be sure to check back for our update.

      Right now we pretty much like everything about the Pearl. It's plenty bright for most screens up to 120 inch diagonal, has tons of contrast, great black level, detailed yet smooth image and finally our new found love it's very quiet!

      Extended Use Report

      The big news not that it shouldn't be expected this time of year is the VPL-VW50 is scheduled to be replaced by the VPL-VW60 shortly. Early details include a new dark blue case, updated remote and should list for the same or less than the current model. As far as performance goes the new model will support 120Hz panels.

      After several weeks of using this projector on a daily basis our early impressions were simply enforced. Overall we liked everything about this projector and felt it fit very nicely between the lower priced LCD projectors and the higher priced JVC DLA-RS1 and the much more expensive high-end 1080 DLP models like the Sharp XV-Z20000.

      For us its natural competition is the similar priced 1080 DLP projectors like the BENQ W9000. If you prefer the ANSI punch of a DLP the VPL-VW50 might not be for you. Outside of its brightness and sharpness it will outperform most of the competition across the board.

      When you take street pricing into consideration as much as we like the projector it becomes rather hard to recommend. As you can get almost the same level of performance for considerably less in the LCD models and you can get considerably better performance for a little more in the JVC DLA-RS1. So if price is an issue the LCDs becomes the better buy and if performance is really important the JVC triumphs it in virtually every category.

      Ultimately the VPL-VW50 does everything very well and is a good bang for your buck. It offers more than the lesser expensive projectors (better black level and shadow details) and if it comes in right at the top of your budget it just might be the right choice.

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