Epson MovieMate 60 – Image Quality Posted on October 12, 2009 By Art Feierman 1. Epson MovieMate 60 Projector Review - Epson MovieMate 60 All-In-One Projector - Overview - Attention Home Theater Enthusiasts! - Epson MovieMate 60 Projector Highlights2. Epson MovieMate 60 Projector Review-2 - Epson MovieMate 60 Special Features - Doubles as a Widescreen Business Projector - USB Input3. Epson MovieMate 60 Projector – Physical Tour - Appearance - Control Panel - MovieMate 60 Inputs4. Epson MovieMate 60 Projector Review 2 - Epson MovieMate 60 Menus5. Epson MovieMate 60 Projector Review3 - MovieMate 60 Remote Control - MovieMate 60 Lens Throw - MovieMate 60 Lens Shift6. Epson MovieMate 60 – Image Quality - Flesh Tones - MovieMate 60 Black Levels & Shadow Detail7. Epson MovieMate 60 – Image Quality-2 - MovieMate 60 Black Levels & Shadow Detail8. Epson MovieMate 60 – Image Quality-3 - Shadow Detail comparision9. Shadow Detail Performance 2 - comparision10. Shadow Detail Performance 3 - MovieMate 60 - Overall Color & Picture Quality11. MovieMate 60 Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports12. Epson MovieMate 60 – Performance - Epson MovieMate 60 Brightness13. Epson MovieMate 60 Sharpness - Light Leakage - MovieMate 60 Image Noise - MovieMate 60 Audible Noise14. Epson MovieMate 60 Projector System Calibration - Color Temperature - Lumen Output and Color Temp at 100 IRE - Basic Settings - RGB Settings - Color Temp over IRE Range, Best Mode (Theatre)15. MovieMate 60 – Projector Screens16. Epson MovieMate 60 – Competitors - Epson MovieMate 60 vs. Panasonic PT-AX200U - Epson MovieMate 60 vs. Optoma HD71 - Epson MovieMate 60 vs. Sanyo PLV-Z60 - Epson MovieMate 60 vs. Optoma HD65 - Epson MovieMate 60 vs. Epson Home Cinema 720 - Epson MovieMate 60 vs. Vivitek H1080FD17. Epson MovieMate 60 – Warranty18. Epson MovieMate 60 – Review Summary - Epson MovieMate 60: Bottom Line19. MovieMate 60 Projector: Pros - MovieMate 60 Projector: Cons - MovieMate 60 Projector: Typical Capabilities20. Epson MovieMate 60 Projector Specifications The MovieMate 60 performs well out of the box. Rather, it performs extremely well, as far as our expectations for a low cost all-in-one projector. This is a good thing, as the MovieMate doesn’t really have a lot of ability to adjust color, beyond color saturation and tint. The good news is that all the modes we worked with, from Theatre to Dynamic had pretty good color. Theatre did very well. LivingRoom and Dynamic both tended to be somewhat oversaturated, but that’s an easy adjustment. It’s not surprising for “brightest” modes like those to default to a bit too much saturation. The assumption is you are using those modes when some lighting is present, and that lighting would wash out the colors somewhat. Dial down the saturation, as needed. Flesh Tones One of the strengths of LCD technology is generally very good color. The Epson offers up that good color, resulting in very good skin tones. Gandalf, and Arwen, below, from Lord of the Rings exhibit quite believeable skin tones. The same is true for skin tones off of Blu-ray disc and HDTV! The Arwen photo above was a scene deep in a forest with lots of green, which softens the skin tones. The MovieMate 60 picks up on that shift to green nicely, especially where it is more evident toward the top of her face. A few additional images for your consideration: Bottom Line: Skin tone performance is pretty impressive for a true, low cost, entry level home entertainment solution! I’ve seen less accurate skin tone results from a number of projectors costing a whole lot more. But, then, I did say skin tones were very good. MovieMate 60 Black Levels & Shadow DetailThe 3000:1 contrast claim for this Epson (and yes, it does have a dynamic iris), is a low number by today’s standards. While a high contrast number is no longer a really accurate indicator of black level performance, in this case, the relatively low number is. LCD projectors do start out at a deficit compared to DLP projectors when it comes to natural contrast, and basic black level performance. Business LCD projectors, for example have very poor black level performance, as a group. This Epson does better than that, but mostly by the addition of a dynamic iris. The blacks are still weak, compared to any of the better 720p projectors and likely every 1080p model. Basically they are a moderately dark gray, but a long way from black. The typical entry level DLP projector will definitely do a bit better, although not drastically so. The better, more expensive DLP and LCD home theater projectors, however, will do far better. Is that important? To an enthusiast – absolutely. To a kid, or teenager, they couldn’t care less, for the most part. It’s important, though, to keep in mind, that, in a family room or bonus room environment, with some lights on, or some light coming in from windows, black level performance of all projectors goes to hell. While there is still a difference between excellent and medicre, the relative difference is minor with all but the most minimum amount of ambient light hitting the screen. For this type of product, sure, better blacks would be nice, but, its hardly a disqualifying issue, considering the type of usage intended. 1. Epson MovieMate 60 Projector Review - Epson MovieMate 60 All-In-One Projector - Overview - Attention Home Theater Enthusiasts! - Epson MovieMate 60 Projector Highlights2. Epson MovieMate 60 Projector Review-2 - Epson MovieMate 60 Special Features - Doubles as a Widescreen Business Projector - USB Input3. Epson MovieMate 60 Projector – Physical Tour - Appearance - Control Panel - MovieMate 60 Inputs4. Epson MovieMate 60 Projector Review 2 - Epson MovieMate 60 Menus5. Epson MovieMate 60 Projector Review3 - MovieMate 60 Remote Control - MovieMate 60 Lens Throw - MovieMate 60 Lens Shift6. Epson MovieMate 60 – Image Quality - Flesh Tones - MovieMate 60 Black Levels & Shadow Detail7. Epson MovieMate 60 – Image Quality-2 - MovieMate 60 Black Levels & Shadow Detail8. Epson MovieMate 60 – Image Quality-3 - Shadow Detail comparision9. Shadow Detail Performance 2 - comparision10. Shadow Detail Performance 3 - MovieMate 60 - Overall Color & Picture Quality11. MovieMate 60 Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports12. Epson MovieMate 60 – Performance - Epson MovieMate 60 Brightness13. Epson MovieMate 60 Sharpness - Light Leakage - MovieMate 60 Image Noise - MovieMate 60 Audible Noise14. Epson MovieMate 60 Projector System Calibration - Color Temperature - Lumen Output and Color Temp at 100 IRE - Basic Settings - RGB Settings - Color Temp over IRE Range, Best Mode (Theatre)15. MovieMate 60 – Projector Screens16. Epson MovieMate 60 – Competitors - Epson MovieMate 60 vs. Panasonic PT-AX200U - Epson MovieMate 60 vs. Optoma HD71 - Epson MovieMate 60 vs. Sanyo PLV-Z60 - Epson MovieMate 60 vs. Optoma HD65 - Epson MovieMate 60 vs. Epson Home Cinema 720 - Epson MovieMate 60 vs. Vivitek H1080FD17. Epson MovieMate 60 – Warranty18. Epson MovieMate 60 – Review Summary - Epson MovieMate 60: Bottom Line19. MovieMate 60 Projector: Pros - MovieMate 60 Projector: Cons - MovieMate 60 Projector: Typical Capabilities20. Epson MovieMate 60 Projector Specifications Epson MovieMate 60 Projector Review3 Epson MovieMate 60 – Image Quality-2 You May Also Like Optoma W460 Business and Education Projector Review Epson PowerLite 108 Projector Review InFocus IN2128HDx Business and Classroom Projector Review Sony VPL-EW435 Business and Education Projector Review Epson PowerLite 990U Projector Review BenQ HT2550 Projector Review – The Best 4K UHD Value Yet? 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