Epson Home Cinema 8500UB Projector Calibration and Settings

We calibrate each home theater that is reviewed. It is a pretty standard calibration, there's always more that can be done by some of the "hi-end" calibrators. Our calibrations, including the Home Cinema 8500UB, are normally limited to a grayscale calibration, along with brightness, contrast, color saturation, etc. We did not adjust the individual colors.

10/22/2009 - Art Feierman

Epson Home Cinema 8500UB Color Temperature

Let's start by repeating the pre-calibration measurements of the THX mode (which is based on the REC 709 standard on the 8500UB,) but on the 9500UB you can change that to the European EBU standard, or to the SMPTE-C standard:

30 IRE – 6304K
50 IRE – 6354K
80 IRE – 6403K
100 IRE – 6505K

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Epson Home Cinema 8500UB Basic Settings

In addition to calibrating Red Green and Blue for a correct grayscale balance (6500K), there are a number of other settings that come into play. Typically Contrast and Brightness (white balance and black balance), need to be done first. Color saturation and gamma also need adjustment.

Settings for measurements (default values are in parenthesis):

All other settings at default.

Vivid
Cinema Day
THX
Cinema Night
HD
Silverscreen
Contrast = (0) -3 -2 -1 -3 -4 -2
Brightness= (0) 3 3 2 4 5 3
Color Saturation= -10 0
(-1)
 0 0 0
Tint= 0 0
(-1)
 0 0 0
Color Temp (default)= 6500 7500
N/A
 7500 6500 5500
Lamp Mode (default)=
Normal
Normal
Normal
Normal
Eco
Eco
Auto iris (default)= Normal Off Off Normal          Off Off
All other settings at default (untouched)
x.v.Color has none of the above adjustable settings except Lamp mode, which is Eco by default.

 

Epson Home Cinema 8500UB Post Calibration Grayscale: THX mode (REC 709) (stored on User 1)

User 1 (THX)   User 2 (Cinema Day)  User 3 (Vivid)

20 IRE =                         6482                       
30 IRE =                         6498                        6580                        6395
40 IRE =                         6449                       
50 IRE =                         6497                        6839                        6390
60 IRE =                         6504                       
70 IRE =                         6519                       
80 IRE =                         6506                        6870                        6639
90 IRE =                         6536                       
100 IRE =                       6543                        6718                        6363

Average gamma = 2.17           

Gamma: Set for 2.2, it measured across its range, an average of 2.17, close to the desired 2.2.

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RGB Settings

Below are the RGB settings we ended up with post calibration. While there is some slight variation in color from one lamp to the next, you should find these provide a better picture than the defaults. Plug'em in, save them in one of the 9 User memory areas, and try them out.

 To get the color temp settings above, the following adjustments were made to gain and bias:

THX (on User 1) Cinema Day (User 2) Vivid (on User 3)
Offset
R = -3
R= 0
R= -15
G = 0
G= 0
G= 0
B = 0
B= -10
B= -10
Gain
R = -1
R= 20
R= 25
G = 0
G= 0
G= 0
B = 2
B= 0
B= 20
Color Saturation: -1 0 10
Tint: -1 0 0
Gamma: 2.2 2.2 2.2
Lumens: 498 1168 1309

 

Note, I found the overall color to be better using Cinema mode, with the Color Temp set to Warm and Brilliant Color off, than the calibrated settings with Brilliant Color On, which still had a bit too much green. In eyeballing it, after Mike's calibration, I find the picture to be slightly improved with the Green Gain, set to 49, instead of 50. Reducing the Green offset to 49 as well, may be preferred by some. Mike's settings are pretty good. Even a sight change in a gain or offset (of one) does make a visible difference.   

You will want to do your own settings for Brightness, Contrast and Color Saturation, based on your screen surface type, and room conditions. I generally find that Mike's saturation measurements tend to end up a little more saturated than most people will find ideal, so I find myself dialing Color (saturation) down when viewing on my high contrast gray Firehawk G3.           

Brightest Modes:

Yes, the Epson Home Cinema 8500UB has lots of lumens available. Unfortunately, when the projector is at its brightest (which is Dynamic mode), or for that matter, anytime you select Native Lamp for the color temp, you will get an image too strong on greens (and blues). In Native Lamp, the projector does not let you adjust Gain and Offset so there is no way to improve the overall color balance, other than to definitely recommend that you use Brilliant Color on, with Native Lamp, as it does add some more red. That said, any setup with Native Lamp will still be too green, and you'll likely only use it if you absolutely need every last lumen. Otherwise you will be much better off using Standard mode, with Normal Color Temp, or its own set of Gain and Offset numbers (we didn't do one.) I've been using that setup, - Standard, with Normal, for all my sports viewing.

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NEXT: Recommended projector screens for the Epson Home Cinema 8500UB