Adding a Subscriber section to Projector Reviews is a tricky thing.  I’m of the sort of person who hates finding out one day, that I have to pay for something that was free until today.  I figure most other people resent that as well.  Well, I value all of you enough, that I felt in launching a subscriber area I needed to offer additional content, rather than lock existing content behind a subscriber “paywall”.

For those of you who didn’t read the previous blogs:  Our new site redesign, will be a major update, look completely different, and should be live late May or June.  The previous blog even has a large image of the initial wireframe of the new homepage.

I’ve already warned in a couple of reviews, that we are collecting some data on projectors that we’ve never published.  Soon that info will be available to you in the Subscriber area.  (BTW the price isn’t set yet, but probably $12.99 a year, give or take).

Also available to subscribers will be some special offers.  I can’t tell you any yet, because I’m just negotiating, nothing concrete.  But, for example, I’m talking to 3 screen manufacturers so far, about providing a special $15-$25 additional savings when one of our subscribers buys their brand screen from a dealer (or direct if they sell direct), so the subscriber can register for the extra discount (which might be fulfilled with an itunes card, or pre-paid debit card, or… ), we’re still working on that.

I’m talking to the dealers who advertise on our site about making offers also, only for our subscribers.  And I’m talking to projector manufacturers, of course.  One idea I’ve bandied about, is a special rebate when a subscriber orders an extra pair of 3D glasses.  Anything that makes sense.  Basically I’m hoping to have 8-10 special offers, so that basically, any of our subscribers that buys a projector, or a screen, or perhaps a calibration disc, can get a value savings that’s more than the cost of our subscription! Fair enough?   I mean, even without any offers, I expect you all to find the $12.99 (+/-) value just in the extra content provided , but, I figured why not sweeten the pot.  Why not let you save  a few dollars too.

So, what’s the new content?   Perhaps the single most obvious thing is more detailed calibration information.  We will be providing Calman graphic display data  from Mike’s reviews, and we’ll be providing CMS – individual color calibration settings for most projectors we review.  We already have that information set aside for about a dozen home theater projectors, and all new home projectors that have a proper CMS…  That will all go live when the subscriber area is ready.

Want more?  Of course.  Short videos will be added to the subscriber area that will help understand features. For example I’m putting the finishing touches on a video about JVC’s “4K” e-shift2, which will show you how the different settings of e-shift2 significantly affect picture clarity.

There may also be short podcasts while I’m actually reviewing a projector.  Perhaps a 30 second audio where I mention that “I’m looking at the XYZ and ABC projectors side by side in a fully darkened room.  I’m starting with running the bond night train scene several times to look at dark shadow detail… here’s what I see…   The standard photo of the Bond night train and the same from competing projectors, of course, will still be in the main review.

Videos.  From the viewing counts I can see that many of you have watched some of our “Video Summaries of Reviews”.  To date we’ve done about 25 Projector Reviews TV videos.  It was the PR TV project that demanded the site redesign, and a subscriber area to make it complete.  Here’s the scoop.

I wanted to produce a significant number of videos a year, but the cost in time and money is hefty.  The idea was to create informational videos, such as our “How to Choose the Right Home Theater Projector for a Family Room Environment”, in 4 parts.   Or Black Level Performance – why it’s so important…   Problem has been the time and cost.  The solution was to also create video summaries of some of our reviews. So, to accomplish this the goal was to approach the projector manufacturers.  When I or other review sites publishes a review, it’s very common for the manufacturer to “buy” a Permission.  That is, they pay for the priviledge to display our award graphic (Hot Product Award, etc.) and pull a quote or two from the review to use on their website, in their advertising, etc.

Basically I offered a pretty hefty Permission fee for us to create a video summary that the manufacturer advertiser could put on their site, give to their dealers, youtube, etc…  I figured that the money coming in for the Permissions would cover the costs of all the the informational videos.

Oops, not so fast.  Some manufacturers were very excited and have participated, but that created a problem.  Not every manufacturer wants to “play”.  OK, so, in theory, I don’t create a “video summaries” for their projectors.  Seems reasonable, except, there are a few projectors that I would simply want to create a video for due to the importance of that projector in the market.  Making those extra videos is an expensive “money losing” option.  And from that, came the subscriber idea.

Here’s the examples:  Look to the Projector Reviews TV page.  Note lots of Epson videos – they pay for the priviledge.  Sony is another… Mind you no hard feelings, but Panasonic decided for whatever reason (including possibly budget), not to buy a Permission for the Panasonic PT-AE8000U, a projector I consider a major player.  I felt we needed to make that video, and we did.  Lisa (she produces the videos) tells me that the PT-AE8000U video, the last of a batch of 10  will be ready this coming week).  What to do?

Easy.  The Panasonic PT-AE8000U video will be available for subscribers, but since there’s no “permission” they can’t put it on youtube, on their site, etc.  Only our subscribers can view it.

Now this creates a dilemma I haven’t resolved.  If the Subscriber area was live today, no question – PT-AE8000U video would be there, but since it’s still a couple of months away, I’m warning you all now.  I may put it live on the PRTV page as a “loaner” from the subscriber area – think of it as an “advertisement” of the future goodies behind the “wall”.  If I post the PT-AE8000U video next week, be assured it will be moved behind the subscriber wall when it launches.  I think that’s fair.  as always those “paid videos” will be open to all, those not, subscriber.   In addition, we will up the number of informational videos, but some will be only for subscribers.  You might expect something like this:

A four part video, perhaps:  ”The 3D Revolution:  Choosing the right projector for an awesome 3D viewing experience”  (I’ve got to work in my title lengths.)

Part one of that Video would be on our site, and on Youtube.  Parts 2 and 3 just on our site, and Part 4, a special segment only for subscribers.   In our current site, that would be a three part video.  Extra content for a 4th section will provide extra value for our subscribers.

We’re still coming up with ideas, but we think we can easily justify your roughly $1 a month, for the additional info (and we hope), entertainment.  I don’t know yet if practical, but perhaps (no promise) an occasional scheduled  podcast where we handle some of our subscribers questions or take on topics, or do an interview.   I’m open to your ideas, just try to remember, we are a tiny organization, I am the only full time person.  Now, I get less than 20 hours a week help from Lori and Lisa (wife and college student daughter – both who would rather be doing other things.)  Other than the family, I pay Tony and Mike for their business projector reviews, and Mike to calibrate home theater projectors.  Folks that’s it!    So, go easy on “massive ideas.” Resources are limited.  Of course if we can generate enough subscriber revenue, we can increase staffing.  I’ve already started putting out feelers for a possible full time writer/reviewer for this summer, and alternately one or two more contract reviewer/writers.

That’s more than I intended to tell you so far, but there will be other updates before we launch.  Hang in there!  -art

Life is getting crazy, but I’ve been meaning for weeks to tell everyone, some details about the new Projector Reviews website, or should I say, redesigned and expanded.

There’s a lot to tell you.  The site is currently being redesigned, by a company I recently hired. Expect the new www.projectorreviews.com site should launch end of May, or June.   I’m going to tell you a good bit, but the important thing is, if you would like to make suggestions, now, is the time. Wireframes of the new Projector Reviews website will finished and coding started in a few weeks.  Comment to this blog, if you would like to help us with those good suggestions!

The three aspects of the new site that are of greatest note are:

• Major new ProjectorReviews.com look and feel.  The new site engine will be WordPress based, rely more heavily on graphics a great User Interface,  and use of panes for showing multiple photos.  These changes will help accomplish two things.  No more incredibly long page swith 20, 30, 40 or more screenfuls, that are typical of current reviews.  Along with this the number of banners per page (not counting the microbannes) will be only about half of current levels.  So, the new site should be cleaner/less cluttered, and easier to navigate.
• Major new expansion:  Smart Home Automation. Our move into this related area, will be launched with a Dream Home – connected home automation project.  I figure everyone with a home projector would probably like to have it in a theater, and anyone with a theater, would like it automated – why not?  And once you are automating, why not the rest of your house, as long as it’s not absurdly expensive, and can save on electric and heating, and…

Thus look for our new section “Smart Home by Projector Reviews.”   The Smart Home will be an ongoing creation starting from an existing “pretty dumb” home, over the next 18-24 months, one project at a time.  We will deal with an entire house, so when done, we’ll  have wireless control of most things,

via wifi and other technologies, and virtually everything will be controllable by iPhone, iPad, Android… For a taste here’s one image  showing the living room fixer upper we bought, shortly after we replaced the flooring (first thing we did).  No, the floor, isn’t “smart, but all those lights you see will be.

• Subscriber Area:  We at Projector Reviews want to give you more information!  We realize we have a large number of occasional or regular visitors, and also newbies (no offense)  that visit regularly while shopping for their first projector.  Our new subscriber area, will primarily add new content to the total, rather than take some of the content that has always been free, and put a price tag on it.  Why not more info for free?  Great idea, but, we are “the press”, and since I know you are all internet users, you likely know well, that monetarily; the online press struggles to survive on advertising.  Oh, our site traffic has almost doubled in the last four years, but advertising revenues are pretty much stuck in low gear.  I need to add  full time reviewer, that only a subscriber  area can help pay for.  Such is life, or as Robert Heinlein made famous “There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch” (The phrase and the acronym are central to Robert Heinlein‘s 1966 science-fiction novel The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, which popularized it) – wiki  (one of my fav short SF books, a classic!  -a)

That’s what’s up here at Projector Reviews – big picture.  Now a few details about each:

To give you a “taste” of the new site, which is still in wireframe design, here’s a shrunken down image of the the upper half of the homepage wireframe:

Preliminary (partial) Wireframe of Projector Reviews new homepage

Look for lots of panes for comparing images.  For example, for our usual Fifth Element Starship image, now there will be the usual 420 wide image, but instead of 6-10 individual images from other projectors below it, those will be a single pane, and you can just scroll through to compare the same image, from different projectors, to the projector being reviewed.  When youlick for a larger version, you’ll get 2 1000 wide images across one above the other, with the image from the review projector and below it, the large image of the selected competitor.  Then you can just click to change competitor images.  Cool?

Next I want to tell you a bit about the subscriber area benefits. and the Smart Home, connected home – Dream Home project.   But, this blog is already too long, so I’ll do two more blogs – one on the new subscriber area and all the goodies it will include, and the second blog will tell you about the Smart Home Automation section and project.

And don’t forget, our 2013 Home Theater Projector Comparison report will publish in the next week!

thanks! -art

TANSTAAFL!

I had intended to do three or four blogs from the CES show.  So much for good intentions.  Part of the problem was that I didn’t see a new home theater projector that I haven’t seen before, until I visited Optoma, Wednesday afternoon – that is, half way through Day 2 of CES.

“That’s not too bad” you say, but, I am under NDA regarding the Optoma projectors (non-disclosure agreement).  You know the old saying:  ”I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you”  (or me).  I can tell you that Optoma will likely have three new projectors before CEDIA.  The first, probably in the summer.

Plenty of picos and pocket projectors, however.  I will blog about those in the next 24 hours. That said, this year pico’s come in all shapes and small sizes.

This first show blog will be a quick rundown of some of the projectors that I did see there, many of which
were announced at CEDIA and IFA back in September:

On the first day of the show, I met with Panasonic, who was showing

two previously announced projectors, the PT-RZ330 the 1080p model in black, and the PT-RW330 which is WXGA.  Both are 3500 lumens, and claim 20,000 hour life to their solid state Laser/LED light source.  Lest you think that sounds highly energy efficient, at full power these two projectors both draw 460 watts (“Normal” mode).  However, there are two low power consumption modes:  Ecosave 1 and 2, which draw 200 and 178 watts respectively.  Now we’re talking decent energy efficiency.

These two projectors Panasonic showed are LED/Laser projectors, but they are commercial projectors.  These were previously announced.  I believe one had originally been scheduled to ship by now, but running a bit late.

Here’s more skinny on these two Panasonic projectors.  Both sport Digital-Link, which allows them to receive data over a single cable up to 328 feet long.  Both sport 2:1 zoom lenses and full lens shift.

These may not be aimed at the home, but if black levels are respectable, they could be high power home entertainment projectors.   I would, on the other hand, expect to see these projectors in sports bars, and in digital signage.   I did not get to see them in operation, but requested to review one or both of them, over the upcoming months.

Mitsubishi was again showing their HC8000 projector.

Here’s the news on that one.  It’s going to be a race to the finish. Mitsubishi says they will ship me one this coming week.   We’ll see which projector gets here first:

Mitsubishi HC8000D or the JVC DLA-X75R.  JVC said they, too were definitely shipping one of those my way, within days of the show ending.  Folks those will my next two reviews, it’s only a question of which one first!

I did see a new projector for the first time on the first day of the show – Tuesday, but that was the Epson Home Cinema 750HD, their new 720p 3D capable, $899 projector that I blogged about, morning of the 7th.  That, blog, however, was based on a telephone briefing pre-show.  The HC750HD was embargoed until Tuesday morning.  That is, I was briefed, but not allowed to publish.  Well, on Tuesday, I finally got to see the Epson 750HD in action.   They had it set up in their ballroom at the Aria Hotel, in a side by side with Optoma’s venerable (been a round for a while), GT750, a 3D 720p single chip DLP.  In the side by side Epson was touting the advanatages of having the same number of color lumens as white lumens.  (2700).  By comparison, in brightest modes, the Epson easily had richer, brighter colors although the Optoma looked respectable until you looked at the Epson.  In “best mode” the Optoma’s colors were better, but the Epson was noticeably brighter.

That’s it for now.  I’ll be blogging some more about the show, over the next couple of days.  Pico projectors are next, and also the LG “TV”.

LG's new Ultra Short Throw Projector based TV

Wait, gotta mention that one now.  LG in their massive and spectacular booth, was showing a 100″ image coming from a larger black ultra short throw projector (with a digital light source I believe) that sits less than a foot from the screen.  I like that they are marketing the projector as a TV.  Too many folks out there are barely conscious of projectors existing for the home.  LG’s marketing this one could help increase home theater projector awareness.   The room was bright, the picture not quite ready for prime time (nor ready to ship), but you get the idea.  The LG lacks 3D, but my biggest concern, is the high price.  Expected to be under $10,000 but by how much?

In a sense, the LG is trying to accomplish what Epson attempted with their Ensemble HD complete systems, which I thought were awesome.  That is, get projectors into the houses of people who otherwise believed that getting a new LCDTV is easy, and a new projector too complicated.

Of course I visited all the usual suspect booths, including SIM2, BenQ…

That’s it for my first blog post CES.  Hang in their home projector fans.  There will be more.  -art

The Panasonic PT-AE8000 is here – Mike’s calibrated it, and I’ve more than 20 hours of viewing so far, including a lot of sports, a few movies (including Avengers in 3D, and part of Avatar in 3D) mostly 2D ones.  It is my hope to publish the PT-AE8000 this weekend.  At the very, very, latest, though, one week from today, the 23rd.

Why then for the Panasonic PT-AE8000 projector? – I’m flying to the east coast that day, so, I’ll have many hours to finish the review if not already done and posted.

As to the Viewsonic Pro9000 projector, the review is about 90% written and will definitely post this evening.  This is a review that will be updated / rewritten shortly after we get a look at a full production version of the Pro9000 projector.  We’ve identified some menu issues, and some color ones on this pre-production sample, that should be fixed with the full production Pro 9000 arriving perhaps end of week.   It won’t take long to determine how much better the final version is than this early one.  We have already been told that some of the things we discovered have already been taken care of with newer firmware.

Stay tuned.  Regarding the PT-AE8000, also note that the Epson Home Cinema 5020 should arrive while we have the Panasonic here, which means a serious shoot-out will occur between the latest versions these perennial competitors (which, of course happen to also use the same LCD panels).

So, Viewsonic, Panasonic and Epson projectors, are all coming up in the next two weeks.  Did I mention that an Epson Home Cinema 3020 is also here, but I’ll put the Epson Home Cinema 5020 ahead of it, should it arrive soon enough.  Otherwise, the HC3020 will publish ahead of the HC5020.

Thanks and stay tuned for more home theater updates! -art

PS – Scott, one of our gamer / projector /bloggers, has the Sony VPL-HW50ES, testing it for gaming – including lag times.

The Panasonic PT-AE8000 - sold as PT-AT6000 in Europe

I’m fresh back from CEDIA, and wanted to fill you folks in on the PT-AE8000 projector, which Panasonic was nice enough to bring by our place more than 2 weeks ago.  Sadly, they didn’t let me hang on to the PT-AE8000, or you’d be reading a full review by now, instead of a blog talking more features, than performance.

Although in the brief time Panasonic had it in my theater, there was no time to do a side by side comparison with the Epson, JVC, and
Sharp projectors I had at the moment, as they wanted to go back and forth between the PT-AE8000 with a PT-AE7000 they also brought.  Alas, they had to show the PT-AE8000 projector to someone else, later that day, limiting my time.

So, what have we here?  Click for link to specs/brochure

Like many projectors this fall, the new Panny projector is essentially evolutionary.  That translates to improved performance, but a projector that basically “looks and cooks” like the older PT-AE8000.

Here are some of the key aspects that separate the PT-AE8000 from the older projector:

Start with a claimed 20% boost in brightness from 2000 to 2400 lumens.  Lamp wattage only increased 10% so I expect the latest lamp (pulse?) technology is being used to find the extra 10%.  (One of the new Epson’s gets a boost, in brightness without a lamp boost or new panels – so, similar in that regard.)

Contrast spec is way up, and the black levels did look really good.  3D in particular was most impressive.  Panasonic, like everyone else is refining its 3D performance.  Panasonic is actually correcting for the inherent offset of the glasses…it’s a long story, but they are correcting for the slight distortion of angle.  The example showed a person riding a stationary bike.  With the Panasonic’s correction the pedal arm seems to move in a perfect circle.  Comparing it directly to the 3D on the older PT-AE7000, on that one, the depth changes, so the pedal seems to arc closer at points.  Hard to describe, but I’ll figure that out by the time I review it.  Point is, the difference was very real, and much better with the PT-AE8000.  Let me finish by saying that the PT-AE8000 seems to correct for something that never “felt” quite right.

I did watch in 3D, the entire opening section of Hugo, pausing on the closeup of Ben Kingsley’s face.  It really did look great.  Excellent 3D.

Looks like Panasonic is giving us a new model that is solidly better than last year’s.  No improvements huge enough to rock our world, but a visibly better projector for sure.

-art

Let’s position it first.  The price tag will be $3999 or was it $3995?  The HW50ES will come with a spare lamp for the money.  The VPL-HW50ES, will be available through local dealers, of course, but also be a select couple of authorized online resellers as well.

So, back to the title above.  I’m of course, not implying that Sony normally doesn’t get it right, after all, in this last year, their VPL-VW95ES – their flagship 2K projector, tied for our Best In Class award $3500-$10,000, while the VPL-VW1000ES at only $24999 is simply the best projector I’ve ever had the pleasure of viewing and reviewing, and really earned our Outstanding Product of the Year.”

So, what’s got me so enthused about the HW50ES?

It just seems like a major step up from the HW30ES for not too bad a price difference.  Better brightness, blacker blacks, 2K to 4K upscaling essentially.  (Only 2K panels, but as many of you know, there are real benefits even if, of course, if a true 4K projector can do better with either 2K or 4K content.  Still, their Reality engine does the trick.  At this point, I’d have to say, the best use of a detail enhancement engine I’ve seen in anything under $10K.   I got to see it side by side vs. an Epson 5010, and was really impressed.  Essentially you can punch the Epson 5010′s Super-Resolution to the top setting of 5, and you get similar detail enhancement overall, but at least the 5010 is not as clean when pushed that hard.  Of course I’m comparing against a last year’s model, still, it looked really good.

Also of note, out of the box picture quality looks very good, obviously very close to D65 – 6500K, the desired standard.  Apparently there’s improved color controls as well.

Did I mention that it looks like the HW30ES, which is to say, manual zoom and focus, so about the only thing missing is a lens memory type feature (found on the bigger Sony’s) for those wanting a 2.35:1 screen.  That said, as you would expect, the Sony can accept an anamorphic lens, no sled needed.  That will take the price up a bit should you want that widescreen, but not enough more to break the bank, in all likelihood.

Sony did a great job of demoing it.  I’ll try to write later (from memory) about how it looked compared to last year’s top of the line $12,000 JVC… Let’s just say dealers in the demo room were almost stunned that the HW50ES could in terms of picture quality, take on the JVC and not be embarrassed.  Not surprising.

So, folks that’s the short version.  The projector should be available in 2 months so looking forward to having it do battle with the classic projectors in the price range, as well as a couple thousands more that I expect it will beat.

This is a great addition to the Sony lineup.  As I was very aware and had seen several other projectors (Panasonic, Epson) before the  show, this was the one new projector at the show that dazzled me the most.

Hang in there, it’s going to be a blast – plenty of new home theater projectors this year to get exited about.  -art

In all of last year’s Epson’s the dynamic features were not available in 3D.

Great news:  I’ve been able to confirm that the Home Cinema 3020 and 3020e, both will be able to run their dynamic irises in 3D operation.

That’s a major improvement for 3D viewing.  Most pleased to here of this change, I and others complained a good bit about the iris not being available on the older 3010 and 5010 projectors.

That’s it, gotta get back to work.  Remember, all this is secret until Sept 5.  shhh!  -art

PS, if I didn’t mention it in the original 3020 blog, I also heard that the new HC3020 projectors will have shorter lag times, which may make the projector nice and fast, suitable for hard core gamers playing First Person Shooters, etc.  We shall see.

Epson's Home Cinema 3020 - Great family room projector

OK, pricing is still not set, best we can tell, but the Home Cinema 3020 and 3020e, probably won’t be more than last year’s 3010 and 3010e.  So far, though Epson has not indicated the new prices.  Let me clarify.  Last year’s two versions (3010 and 3010e) were $1599 and $1799.  the “e” version is the one with the wireless HDMI (5 inputs and Digital Audio this year, up from 2/0).  Last year, the base version came with two pair of 3D glasses, while the “e” version came with wireless, but no glasses.   This year all of Epson’s 3D projectors will come standard with 2 pair of 3D active glasses (newer and lighter, and rechargeable).

So, pricing may shift a bit, due to the addition of the glasses with the “e” version.

So, “what else is new?”

Let’s start with brightness.  Looks like a small lift there.  I’m looking for 2300 lumens up from 2200 lumens.  That sounds like minor improvements in design, rather than changing anything major like the lamp.  Still, for those of us who love 3D, we’ll take every extra 100 lumens we can find.

And since the Home Cinema 3020 and 3020e projectors are designed first and foremost for a family room type environment, every lumen counts, even in 2D, when there’s a decent amount of ambient light. BTW, we’re talking 2300 lumens of white, and also 2300 lumens of Color light output (see our new video about the new SID color brightness standards).

What else…?

The usual long life lamp (up to 5000 hours), the usual excellent 2 year warranty with 2 years of replacement program.  New 2D to 3D conversion abilities.  There’s more, too.

Ah, let’s not forget a pair of 10 watt speakers (as before).  Great if you want to move the projector from room to room, or the summer night movie festival in your back yard!

As mentioned 2 pair of the new Epson 3D glasses are included with both projectors.

And of course, the Home Cinema 3020e comes with that wireless HDMI – it’s uncompressed, and you get five HDMI inputs as well as a digital audio input.  That’s a big improvement over last year’s 3010e who’s transmitter had only a limited 2 HDMI inputs, and no digital audio.

So, looks like we have a pair of improved projectors for Epson’s “low end” of 3D capable models.  One thing I’m not sure of is dynamic features in 3D.  Rumor has it that the 5020 and 6020 versions now support dynamic iris and other features while in 3D.  I have not been able to confirm or deny that ability for these 3020 projectors.   I really hope they have allowed at least the dynamic iris to stay engaged in 3D.  We shall see.

Good, that gives me stuff to ask Epson at my meeting with them at CEDIA next week!

Bottom line:  I expect some price shifting, but whether they will cost less than the older 3010s, I can only guess at this time.  I say that, since the Home Cinema 3020 and 3020e will be at least incrementally better, with a few more features.  We shall have to wait until Sept 5th for the official pricing!   I meet with Epson on the 6th, so I will be sharing a lot more with you from CEDIA.

Hang in there!  Lots of fun new projectors being announced and shown at CEDIA this year! -art

Epson Pro Cinema 6020 Projector - 3D, Bright, great warranty

This little blog on the new Epson Pro Cinema 6020, is a very similar blog to the one on the 5010 projector.  After all, these two projectors are about 95% the same.

Expect the Epson Pro Cinema 6020 to only be sold by local installing dealers.  Also expect the 6020 to share the same improvements in contrast and black levels as the 5020 offers.

Brightness should be the same 2400 lumens as last year’s version.  This year however, we expect the Pro Cinema 6020 to fix my old complaint of no dynamic iris, or other dynamic features when in 3D mode.  I think you can take that improvement “to the bank” – that is, I’m pretty certain about that, at least as far as the dynamic iris goes. I expect other dynamic features to also work, but, I’ll wait to see, to confirm.  As with the older projector, the 6020 projector has two THX modes!  We liked those last year, so we are glad to see them back (and now, in the 5020 as well).

Black finish of course, for your dedicated home theater, the Epson Pro Cinema 6020 is, of course 3D capable, with new 2D to 3D conversion abilities, lighter 3D active glasses, that are now RF instead of IR, and are rechargeable instead of needing batteries from time to time.

Like its sibling, the HC5020, it seems that there have been a number of small, to significant improvements, especially in 3D.  Can’t wait to meet an Epson 6020 projector close up and run it through its paces!

As in the past, this Pro Cinema projector comes with 3 years warranty, and a replacement program for all three!

Look for our review in the next month or so!   Oh, probably they’ll give us the 5020 first, but we will have the 6020 covered!   It looks like the Epson 6020 is just a 6010, with improvements in a number of areas, nothing wrong with that.  I should note that I’m expecting some improvement in lag times as well?  That will be good news for serious gamers!    Stay tuned!

BTW, The $3000+ price (expected) for the Pro Cinema 6020 will include their usual – a spare lamp, ceiling mount, and longer warranty than the Home Cinema “version.”

I will be meeting with Epson at noon Thursday, Sept. 6th at CEDIA.  Expect at least a “spreaker” podcast right after the meeting.  Blogging will probably only happen in the evening (between parties).

Stay tuned for more on Epson’s flagship Pro Cinema 6020 projector.  -art

PS. Those claimed 2400 lumens are both “white” lumens, and Color lumens measurements.  Not sure what CLO (color light output) is all about? It’s a new, very useful standard, so check out our new video on it which should be posted by tomorrow!  You’ll find it in the Projector Reviews TV tab/directory on our main site’s homepage:

Epson's new Home Cinema 5020UB Projector

OK, around here we know all about the Epson models that the Home Cinema 5020UB and Home Cinema 5020UBe will replace.  The older 5010 has been a major favorite of ours.

So, what’s going to make the Home Cinema 5020UB worth the wait?

Here are a few tidbits, best I can confirm:  First, the new 5020 projectors look exactly like the older projectors they replace.  No cosmetics upgrade!  Still mostly off white, with a center mounted 2.1:1 zoom lens, but with much of the front trim dark gray.

Look for the 5020 to be the same 2400 lumens brightness, which should see the new Home Cinema 5020UB and 5020UBE continue to hold the title for brightest home theater projectors under $5000. Note, the “e” version comes with wireless HDMI.

But, also look for an improvement in contrast and black levels!   Nothing like great becoming even better, so I can’t wait to get one in my theater to review.

Epson it seems has “fixed” a couple of things, that weren’t necessarily broken:  Notably the 3D glasses.   It would seem that the new glasses are very light (extremely light for active glasses), and will be rechargeable.

Now this is cool:  If I understand this correctly; let’s say you want to sit down with friends and put on some 3D content.  Great, wait, no, one of the new 5020′s glasses is out of charge!  Do you call it quits and do something else (like watch 2D)?

Gamers:  I can’t confirm this in any way, but rumor has it that the lag times have been improved.  Older Epson’s it seems were a bit slow for playing high speed games like FPS (first person shooters).  No idea how much improvement, but it wouldn’t take too much to get the projector from last year’s “not quick enough” to at least “hardly the fastest, but fast enough to satisfy most gamers”.  We shall see.  At least one of my gaming bloggers will get a shot at the 5020 when it comes in for review sometime post CEDIA show.

Not a chance.  rumor has it that if the glasses need a charge, 3 minutes of charging will give a pair enough to get you through a 3 hour movie.  See, that is pretty cool!  They should last about 40 hours on a full charge!

Wireless – this is easy info from IFA, etc.   Epson has offered the 5010e which came with wireless HDMI.  I used it, I liked it, but I found it wanting for people with room setups like mine – not using a switching AV receiver.

Why?  Because the older projector’s wireless had 2 HDMI inputs and no Digital Audio input.  The new projectors’ transmitter though has 5, yes count them, 5, HDMI inputs, and also a Digital Audio input.

What else?  I’m running out of basic things I can tell you, but there is still split screen.

Ah!  I almost forgot!!!

Here are the last two gems!

THX is back.  In two previous series, Epson UB’s offered a THX mode, but last year, the 5010 was without, even while the 6010 offered it.  This year the 5020UB and 5020UBE will both have THX modes, a feature we really like seeing.

Here’s a big one:  That is, this fixes a complaint of mine when we reviewed the 5010 last year:

The Epson Home Cinema 5020 allows some or all of the dynamic features to operate in 3D mode!

Last year, for example, the dynamic iris didn’t work in 3D modes (still not bad blacks, but why did they do it that way?)

This year’s Home Cinema 5020UB and 5020UBe’s dynamic iris is definitely usable in 3D.   It should make a “dynamic” difference.  The same is also true, for example, with CFI – smooth motion – I believe.

I’m not completely sure about the CFI, but it would be nice.  I’ll confirm when I know for sure.

That folks is about it, except that this year both Epson Home Cinema 5020 projectors come standard with two pair of 3D glasses, instead of the glasses being optional!

This past year’s Epson 5010 won our 2012 Best In Class award for $2000 – $3500 projectors.  It certainly looks like the new 5020 projectors will at least be contenders for the Best In Class when we publish the next annual report in Q1.

Hang in there.  I leave for CEDIA on Sept 5.  I will be “spreaking” (audio podcasts over twitter), and blogging from CEDIA.  Hopefully fairly frequently, with info on a great many new projectors and other important products.

Hang in there -art

PS.  Next:  Epson Home Cinema 3020, 3020e