Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 750HD - Image Quality

Posted on July 11, 2013 by Art Feierman

Picture Quality

Before we discuss picture quality I should note that the images shown are photographed under various lighting conditions and with that a variety of shutter speeds and apatures. We try and always represent in the images exactly what we are seeing on the screen. The real purpose of providing the images is show a relatively good example of how the projector performs.

The Epson 750HD is a 1280x800 resolution projector so that obviously means the highest resolution you can expect is 720p. After all, this is a 720p projector. With that said, image quality was very acceptable. Now, saying it was very acceptable does not make it sound very good, but in all truth it would be considered a top choice for someone who is not a video nut.

If you just want to be wowed by a very brilliantly lit image that is sharp enough to see some really pretty fine details then the Epson 750HD is a good choice. At a MSRP of $799, it is hard to beat since it puts out 3000 lumens. I was able to see the image very clearly and I have a window that is 8'x5' no more than 4 feet from the screen.

I should note before I begin talking about the flesh tones, contrast and black levels, that this projector was not professionally calibrated for this review. This is because most people who are looking for a $799 dollar home theater projector are probably not going to be that interested in spending close to that price just for the calibration. The best way to review this projector was to evaluate it right out of the box.

Skin Tones

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The Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 750HD did an impressive job with skin tones right out of the box. I was looking for any type of weird discoloration that might make a face look a little green, or have any type of unnatural feel to it. Was surprised to see that a projector at this price range could produce such an accurate color without any calibration. To say it was perfect would be a stretch, but considering the projector was not calibrated it really performed very well. As you can see in the first image, 007 is surrounded by harsh greens, but his shirt is white without any shade of green at all. The second image of 007 depicts the fleshtones and whether or not the image has a tendency to have a tint to it that would be unnatural. This scene as well showed no signs of that. The third image shows no signs of this unnatural skin tone as well. The image has a lot of contrast in it, but as I was saying earlier, I was looking for skin tones that would seem unrealistic.

One thing to note is that we use these images as examples because a lot less mood coloration is used to tell the story. Epic films like "The Hobbit" are colorized in almost every seen to fit a mood, and so to use those images as references for skin color would obviously not make sense. This is obvious in the fourth image above.

Shadow Detail

With such a bright image and a high contrast ratio, the Epson 750HD was able to produce an image that was pretty impressive when it came to dark scenes. I was particularly impressed with how it handled one scene in a library. The library is very lit up by the two large windows, but because the room is so large the book detail on the right of the screen would have eventually blown out the individual books and the detail would have been lost. The Epson Home Cinema 750HD was able to show this detail even in a fairly lit up environment. I took this shot during the day with light enough light in the room to read a book with no problem. Of course, no direct sunlight was hitting the screen.

The image from the hobbit is another example of the kind of detail you can see in very dark, yet high contrast scenes. A very nice image for a projector that costs just MSRP $799 at the time of this review.

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