September 7th, 2012 Art Feierman
I met with Mitsubishi yesterday at CEDIA.
Mitsubishi is launching two new projectors at CEDIA. The HC7900DW, the replacement for the HC7800D that we have reviewed. I’m sure you are wondering about the W in the name. Easy, stands for a white case, rather than the black case of the HC7800D, but the real improvements are under the hood.
A big theme with Mitsubishi is their proprietary 2D-3D engine, which they claim looks very close to the quality of viewing original 3D content. That’s a really strong claim we will look into when the first of the Mitsubishi’s arrive for review. The HC7900DW is brighter than its predecessor, now claiming 1500 lumens. That’s a real plus, due to the need for a bright projector for 3D which loses roughly 75% of brightness compared to 2D. Black levels should improve based on a new, higher 150,000:1 contrast ratio.
Mitsubishi sees the HC7900DW as a versatile projector, usable in family rooms, or theaters. They also talk up their lamp life which they say will last up to 5000 hours. This HC7900DW will be available from local dealers and online dealers while our next subject, the HC8000D is targeting the home theater.
Sporting 1300 lumens, the HC8000 is also 3D capable (glasses optional), with Mitsubishi offering proprietary 3D glasses they demonstrated were brighter than the universal glasses that are also compatible. This will allow some folks who have them, to bring their glasses to your house to watch 3D, so you won’t need to buy as many pair of your own. An interesting selling point!
A 330,000:1 contrast ratio should insure impressive “ultra-high contrast black levels”. How good? Wait for the review. It is available only from local authorized Mitsubishi dealers, as has been tradition with Mitsubishi with their top of the line projectors.
That’s it for now. -art
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September 6th, 2012 Art Feierman
Screen manufacturer Elite is showing a stack of projectors in their booth, projecting onto one of their screens.
Using their processors you can double lumens by stacking 2 projectors, or you can stack four projectors for 3-D viewing with inexpensive 3D passive glasses (like the ones you get in an IMAX 3D theater. interesting!
How viable? Good question, Will people put two, or four projectors in their home? Perhaps, with spouse approval? I saw four projectors stacked, Panasonic AR100U projectors. Extremely bright On the business side Elite’s solution seems very viable if the final pricing makes sense. Time will tell. -art
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September 6th, 2012 Art Feierman
Greetings from day one at the studio. I just want to talk briefly about Stewart s
CIMA screens. Stuart has always been known for hi quality screens with famous names like Studiotek 130 (found in most movie theaters), and the Firehawk G3. (I’ve owned both.) The new CIMA screens are more affordable, and more “typical” of mass market screens, but with Stewart’s overall quality. I will have more info on the screens in future blogs and articles on the site following the show.
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September 6th, 2012 Art Feierman
Greetings, short and sweet notes:
First, we have “first look” short articles on all 5 new Epson projectors and the Panasonic. I got to work with them a week or two ago, but am finally allowed to share the info. Today, I should see a number of other new projectors, including the New Mitsubishi HC7900DW and HC8000D. I meet with Mitsubishi at 2pm. I also have meetings today with Screen Innovations, Epson, Sony, Stewart Filmscreen, and a Runco press conference. Busy day. I’ll try to keep you folks informed best I can. Had some trouble with Spreaker – my audio podcasts via twitter notification. Hope to have that working later today, as well. Hang in there, should be some fun new projectors this year. -art
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August 31st, 2012 Art Feierman
Greetings, this is going to be really short. In the blog about this new Epson Home Cinema 3020 and 3020e, I mentioned I was not sure if the dynamic iris is operational in 3D!
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.
Posted in 3D Projectors, gaming and Game projectors, News, Products | 7 Comments »
August 31st, 2012 Art Feierman
Greetings,
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?” Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in 3D Projectors, gaming and Game projectors, Industry, News, Products | 15 Comments »
August 31st, 2012 Art Feierman
Greetings,
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 Read the rest of this entry »
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August 31st, 2012 Art Feierman
Greetings everyone!
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 Read the rest of this entry »
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August 31st, 2012 Art Feierman
Greetings Projector Fans!
It’s touch and go time here. the big IFA tradeshow has begun in Germany, and as is the case most years, it’s shortly before the US CEDIA tradeshow.
Epson's new Home Cinema 5020UB looks like the older 5010
These two shows are where most new home theater and home entertainment projectors are announced.
My understanding is that here in the US, Epson like many other home theater projector manufacturers, is distributing information on their new projectors in advance of CEDIA to we members of the press, but with the restriction, that “it’s a secret” until Sept 5th, which is Press day at CEDIA.
What that means to you, is that even if Epson told me everything about any new home projectors, I couldn’t legitimately share that info with you until they lift the “embargo”.
Fortunately, that doesn’t really apply to information Read the rest of this entry »
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August 14th, 2012 Art Feierman
Greetings, I’m freshly back from Outside Lands music festival, and dropping Lisa back off at college. Mike’s returning the Sharp XV-Z30000 projector in a couple of hours, so I can get back into some serious reviewing.
The Sharp XV-Z30000 - Best In Cave or Home Theater
For those of you who read my “First Look” blog about the XV-Z30000 home theater projector, I conjectured that it was fairly bright. I didn’t get a chance to set it up side by side with any other projectors for reference (which would have made “guessing” rather accurate). In the last blog I did guess that the Z30000 projector might produce 1500 lumens in its brightest mode – Stage.
Wrong. I was just looking at Mike’s calibration and measurement summary. I was overly optimistic. Stage mode which actually looks pretty good (as mentioned) though definitely on the cool temperature side, at maximum measured just over 1100 lumens. (Now we know Mike’s meter is more conservative than our others here, but we go by Mike’s for all home theater projector reviews.) The point there is don’t be surprised if other reviewers find an extra 100 lumens or so.
Still, by our reckoning, that makes the Sharp Read the rest of this entry »
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