Epson Pro Cinema 6010 Projector - A First Look Review
The Epson Pro Cinema 6010 is Epson's new flagship, 2D and 3D home theater projector. Epson tells me this projector will ship in November.
9/2/2011 - Art Feierman
|
|
Epson Pro Cinema 6010
Finished in black, this Pro Cinema 6010, will be sold here in the US, only by local, authorized, installing dealers. For those of you living elsewhere, most likely the same projector will appear for the EU and the rest of the world, although it is likely to have a different model number, since that's been the case in the past!
I got to watch, and play the Epson Pro Cinema 6010. But first:
The Pro Cinema 6010 is physically impressive with its black case, huge lens housing, and large vents. Your friends will be congratulating you on your brilliant decision, before you even turn it on.
Pro Cinema 6010 Specs and Features
- Brightness: 2400 lumens (both color lumens and white lumens, as Epson measures and claims both)
- Contrast 200,000:1 - same as last year's 8700UB, which means stunning black level performance
- 3D and 2D
- WirelessHD
- 480hz LCD panels for a brighter image (and other benefits)
- Split screen capability
- New CFI, for improved smooth motion, plus various other dynamic features
- THX and ISF certified, with pre-calibrated THX mode
- 3 year warranty with replacement program
- Full anamorphic lens support (two modes)
- Comes with a spare lamp, ceiling mount, and cable cover
- Includes 2 pair of 3D glasses (active shutter) 3rd party glasses available
- 13.2 pounds
Although the price is still unknown, Epson simply says they will be extremely competitive.
Pro Cinema 6010 Picture Quality
2D was gorgeous! While it was hard to determine how bright the Pro Cinema 6010 would be in a dedicated home theater (where most will end up), due to the white-walled conference room environment where I played with it. Wow, it was it bright!
The 6010 projector claims a whopping 2400 lumens, that's a 50% increase over the old 8700UB, and it should make the Pro Cinema 6010 one of the brighest projectors anywhere near the price, in "best" mode. Logic would have it measuring something upward of 700 lumens in "best". When watched in its brightest mode, it may well prove to be the brightest 1080p home theater projector (under $15,000), we've reviewed. (Note: I'm not counting one or two real entry level models that are "cross-over" projectors - based on business projector designs - home entertainment projectors as opposed to home theater projectors, if you get my meaning).
Without a great (nor a familiar) environment for viewing, it's hard to make accurate analysis, but, I would say that the image quality seemed very similar to the 8700UB it replaces. Lots of "pop and wow", which considering previous Epsons, and the huge bump in brightness, is not in the least bit surprising. I viewed it mostly in THX mode (when in 2D), where colors looked very good, and skin tones were very good, at least!
As a 2D projector in addition to the brightness, you get a lot of new features - there's a split screen feature so that you can view two sources side by side. (note, you can't use two HDMI sources, as in reality projectors have one HDMI circuit shared by, most typically, two inputs). But you can, say use HDMI for one, and analog computer, or component video (or other inputs) for the other source. We did not look at the split screen while I was there, but, I trust it will work fine when it ships.
So, lets get back to performance. (remember I only had 2+ hours total between the two demo'd projectors, this Pro Cinema 6010, and the Home Cinema 3010).
Even if the 6010 proved to only match the older 8700UB, but with the additional brightness, this should be one of the best 2D projectors in its class, when it ships.
Pro Cinema 6010 3D Projector
I've got good news, and not so good news. Let's get rid of the not so good news right away. The Pro Cinema 6010 still needs work for 3D, which is OK.. Considering November is still a full two months away - when they plan to ship. As many of you know, I like reviewing pre-production projectors so I can have reviews up in time for the first shipments - so you folks have some independent opinions. But, two months before shipments, all new projector models tend to be very incompleted devices. I've reviewed samples and prototypes of other models less than a month before first shipments and found things missing, like the entire color management system unavailable when in HDMI, or, lower output (I even expect production projectors to be a good 10% or more brighter than the early units).
What I'm saying, is that Epson has plenty of time to work out whatever bugs remain.
So, what did I see, in 3D? As Epson warned, the projector was "not ready for prime-time" in all ways. At first, going into 3D put a real mess on the screen, but, with Epson fiddling with the engineering sample a bit, bingo: 3D! First look at the 3D when it was "working" reminded me more of the 3D LCoS projectors, than the Panasonic. There were still definitely artifacts to remove, and the 3D definitely had a bit cross-talk (which reminded me of the LCoS projectors).
I also like that the Pro Cinema 6010 has WirelessHD. That would have saved me a bunch of money, if my last projector had it, when I wanted to switch from component video to HDMI. I would have had to open a whole lot of wall, but the projector already had power to it.
One impressive thing, though was color! The Epson really did look very color accurate when in its separate 3D THX mode. And get this, in addition to the 3D THX mode, there's a brighter 3D mode as well. the thing is, their 3D THX mode is probably every bit as bright as any of those LCoS projectors, most of which are dramatically more expensive (thousands of $$$).
I've always been a huge fan of the Epson UB projectors. Well, Epson may have just dropped the UB terminology, but these projector shares the great blacks. I can't wait to get this beast into my testing room, and then, right into my home theater, where I plan to beat it up. If it performs as advertised, I may just have to beat it up for several hundred hours before returning it.
The Pro Cinema 6010 certainly should be a top contender for its anticipated price point, and I wouldn't be surprised, if a couple of those far more expensive LCoS 3D projectors have a nervous breakdown when this projector hits the streets.
I'm hoping to get one in for review this month, although most likely the 3010 will arrive first.
Hey Epson! Hurry.