Epson Pro Cinema 800 Home Theater Projector - Image Quality2

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Art Feierman

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On the other hand, the Epson actually outperformed the much more expensive Marantz projector on shadow detail as seen in this side by side image, with the Epson on the left. You can see all kinds of details in the rock walls on the lower right, (and other details), on the Epson that are just gone, on the Marantz (right):

While we're looking at dark scenes, crank up your monitor to look at the star scenes from Star Wars. First, is the Epson (left) vs the Panasonic PT-AE900u (right). While the intensity varies between the two projectors on different stars, the two projectors produce a virtually identical amount of stars.

Here is a larger image, of the same shot on the left, which gives you a better idea of how rich the Epson's image is, with stars:

I might also note that when viewing the stars compared to the Panasonic, they are sharper and more defined on the Epson.

More on image sharpness further down the page!

Colors are equally good on Hi-Def sources (either HDTV channels, from my cable, or my D-VHS tape deck (1080i).

Here's a shot from the Hawaiian Tropic Pagent:

Below is the Philadephia Boathouses image from Hi-Def 1080i, from the Over America D-VHS tape:

The Epson Pro Cinema 800 home theater projector's sharpness, is excellent. The less expensive Cinema 550, is not quite as sharp (slight differences) compared to the Sanyo Z4, and Panasonic, but the Pro Cinema 800 produces images sharper than the less expensive models. That said, there are still sharper projectors out there, including the much more expensive Marantz VP12S4 and BenQ's expensive PE-8720.

Perhaps the best way to show the differences - here is a side by side, comparing the Epson (left) to the Panasonic PT-AE900u (right). Immediately below that image are two closeups of the woman and her hat. You can clearly see the extra sharpness of the Epson 800.

Epson 800. Note the silver band on the hat, and especially the three silver bars below the band, toward the left.

Now, by comparison, here is a side-by-side image from Star Wars, where you can see that the Epson, on the left, is not as sharp on the grasses, as the Marantz on the right (of course the $15,000 Marantz probably has about as much invested in its lens, as the entire cost of the Epson:

BTW (by the way), the slight loss of highlight detail in the clouds in the upper right, on the Epson (left) is due to the Epson being brighter than the Marantz. For the Marantz not to be significantly underexposed, this shot slightly overexposes the Epson, causing that loss. Also I upped the contrast and brightness of the above image after taken, to make the sharpness differences a bit easier to see.