The Epson Home Cinema 2100 and Home Cinema 2150 (reviewed here), are repeats from last year, and for good reason. They are the replacement for two of Epson’s best-selling projectors, the Home Cinema 2040 and Home Cinema 2045. At $849 and $899 respectively (the HC2100 is currently $699 on the Epson website), the Epson Home Cinema 2100 and Home Cinema 2150 provide some upgrades from the previous models. With 2,500 claimed lumens, these projectors have plenty of brightness and the HC2150 even measured above its claim in its brightest mode, with its best modes coming in at around 2,000 lumens.
Before we continue, I’d like to mention that these projectors are virtually identical, save for a few key differences. The Home Cinema 2100 has a lower contrast ratio than the HC2150, no wireless capabilities, and, of course, a lower list price, but in all other ways, it is identical to its sibling. If you don’t need wireless, save yourself the cash and go with the Home Cinema 2100.
The Epson Home Cinema 2150 and HC2100 are suitable for living rooms, media rooms, and even bedrooms, and look incredibly bright and vibrant in a fully darkened room. Their 3LCD technology gives them a distinct advantage over DLP projectors in terms of handling ambient light, as 3LCD projectors produce as many color lumens as they do white ones. Keeping the curtains open, I could still watch most content, but dark films, such as the later Harry Potter movies, required the curtains to be drawn. Still, I’d say these projector are plenty bright for most room scenarios, save for the brightest of rooms.
With powerful 10-watt stereo speakers built in, you’ll be able to use your Home Cinema 2100 or 2150 in a variety of settings – when things warm up, you can even take it out back for an outdoor movie night. The sound is quite respectable, but we always suggest using a separate sound system when setting it up in your home. It’s not necessary, but if you truly value the sound design of films and desire any real bass, you’ll want to check out getting at least a pair of external stereo speakers.
Epson claims 50% of the home projector market in North America. Their home lineup far surpasses the number of home theater/home entertainment projectors provided by any of their dozens of competitors, so it’s really no surprise that they have the lion’s share. The HC2150, as a replacement for Epson’s primary “entry level” full HD projector, does not disappoint. Great performance, awesome price point, and loaded with features, the Home Cinema 2150 is one of my personal favorite home entertainment projectors.
These portable home entertainment projectors have a lot of placement flexibility, with a 1.6:1 manual zoom lens, Keystone Correction, and a generous amount of lens shift – up to 60% vertical. In terms of inputs and connectors, they’ve got everything you need for your home entertainment purposes – two HDMIs, one for MHL so you can plug in a streaming stick like Roku, Amazon, Google, etc. The HC2100 and HC2150 have support for 3D, including Blu-ray 3D, and the brightness to make it count (3D significantly reduces lumen output). Other key features include Frame Interpolation, which is great for sports viewing, and Miracast. Miracast allows you to wirelessly project your screen from a smartphone or tablet.