Epson Home Cinema 8700UB 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 8700UB, are normally limited to a grayscale calibration, along with brightness, contrast, color saturation, etc. We did not adjust the individual colors.
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Epson Home Cinema 8700UB 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 8700UB
Color Temp over IRE Range (Pre calibration – Best mode): THX
30 IRE 6753
50 IRE 6718
80 IRE 6682 100 IRE 6898
OK, those are excellently tight numbers, but, a little cool compared to the ideal 6500K target. Still, this much shift is pretty slight.
Epson Home Cinema 8700UB 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.
Dynamic |
Living Room |
THX |
Theatre |
Theatre Black 1 |
Theatre Black 2 |
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| Contrast = (0) | 1 | -1 | 0 | -3 | -2 | 0 |
| Brightness= (0) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Color Saturation= | (0) | (0) | (0) |
(0) | (0) | -5 |
| Tint= | (0) | (0) | (0) |
(0) | (0) | -4 |
| 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 |
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| All other settings at default (untouched) | ||||||
| x.v.Color has none of the above adjustable settings except Lamp mode, which is Eco by default. | ||||||
Color Temp is at default on all
Default lamp mode for TB1, TB2 and x.v.Color is Eco, but Normal was used for all measurements
Auto iris is Off by default on all but Dynamic, which is Normal by default
x.v.Color has none of the above adjustable settings
All other settings at default (untouched)
Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Post Calibration Grayscale: THX mode
Color Temp over IRE Range (Post calibration):
20 IRE 6551
30 IRE 6552
40 IRE 6566
50 IRE 6569
60 IRE 6568
70 IRE 6559
80 IRE 6567
90 IRE 6598
100 IRE 6668
Average gamma= 2.30 (best setting for a 2.2 gamma is coming - Mike's going to take another look
Those post calibration grayscale measurements are almost dazzling. Only a variation of 117 degrees over the 20 to 100 IRE range! And all of it, within 168 of 6500K. Sweet! No wonder this Epson has the most natural color yet, of any Epson UB projector reviewed!
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) | Dynamic (User 2) |
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| Offset | R = 1 |
R= -5 |
G = -1 |
G= 0 |
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B = -1 |
B= 15 |
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| Gain | R = 0 |
R= 10 |
G = -1 |
G= -10 |
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B = -2 |
B= 0 |
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| Color Saturation: | -4 | 0 |
| Tint: | -1 | 0 |
| Gamma: | 2.3 | 2.3 |
| Lumens: | 442 | 1016 |
Again, please note, in terms of brightness that the full production 8700UB (the second one they sent, measured 9.4% brighter than this first unit, that would translate into THX post calibration of about 483 lumens, and Dynamic of 1112 lumens!
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. That may not be the case, if you are using a white surfaced screen.
Brightest Modes:
This year Dynamic offers a warmer - and more ideal color temp than Living Room mode. In the past, Dynamic was over the top in terms of greens (like many, or rather, most home projectors in their brightest modes), this year, however Epson has tamed Dynamic quite a bit. Sure, greens are still slightly overdriven, but this year's Dynamic mode is far more pleasant to view than last year's - before adjustments. This year's Dynamic mode is great. With Mike's settings it really looks excellent for a brightest mode, but even looks a lot better with the defaults. This is one of those "minor" year to year improvements, that can make a real difference in your viewing enjoyment.
NEXT: Recommended projector screens for the Epson Home Cinema 8700UB