Epson Home Cinema 1080UB projector, Pros, Cons, and Typical Capabilities Posted on January 18, 2008 By Art Feierman 1. Epson Home Cinema 1080UB Home Theater Projector Review - Projector Highlights2. Projector Highlights 23. Epson HC1080UB Home Theater Projector: Physical Tour4. Epson Home Cinema 1080UB Projector Review – Image Quality - Home Theater Projector: Skin Tones5. Epson HC1080UB Projectors: Black Levels and Shadow Detail - Black Levels6. Epson HC1080UB Projectors: Black Levels and Shadow Detail 27. Epson Home Cinema 1080UB – Shadow Details - Epson HC1080UB (left)8. Epson Home Cinema 1080UB – Shadow Details 29. Epson Home Cinema 1080UB – Shadow Details 310. Epson Home Cinema 1080UB – Shadow Details 411. Epson Home Cinema 1080UB – Shadow Details 512. Epson Home Cinema 1080UB – Shadow Details 613. Epson Home Cinema 1080UB – Shadow Details 714. Epson HC1080UB Home Theater Projector: Sharpness15. Epson HC1080UB Home Theater Projector: Sharpness16. Projector Overall Picture Quality - Viewing - HDTV - Picture Quality - Bottom Line:17. Home Theater Projector Review – General Performance - HC1080UB Menus - HC1080UB User Memory Settings - HC1080UB Projector - Remote Control - HC1080UB Lens Throw and Lens Shift - HC1080UB SDE and Rainbow Effect, Pixel Visibility - HC1080UB Projector Brightness18. HC1080UB Projector – Light Leakage - HC1080UB Audible Noise Levels - HC1080UBProjector Screen Recommendations19. HC1080UB Projector Measurements and Calibration - HC1080UB Living Room mode20. HC1080UB Projector Measurements and Calibration 2 - Dynamic Mode - The end result for Dynamic21. Home Cinema 1080UB Measurements and Adjustments – Bottom Line - HC1080UB Image Noise 22. Epson Home Cinema 1080UB Projector Warranty23. Home Theater Projector Review: Epson Home Cinema 1080UB LCD Projector: Summary, Pros, Cons24. HC1080UB projector vs. Panasonic PT-AE2000U - HC1080UB vs. Sanyo PLV-Z2000 - HC1080UB vs. Optoma HD80, HD8000, HD81, HD81-LV25. Home Cinema 1080UB vs. Mitsubishi HC4900 and HC6000. - HC1080UB vs. Sony VW50 and VW60 - Epson Home Cinema 1080UB vs. JVC RS1 and RS226. Epson Home Cinema 1080UB projector, Pros, Cons, and Typical Capabilities - Epson Home Cinema 1080UB Projector: Pros - Epson Home Cinema 1080UB Projector: Cons - Epson Home Cinema 1080UB Projector: Typical Capabilities - Epson Home Cinema 1080UB Summary: The Bottom Line27. Epson PowerLite Pro Cinema 1080UB Projector Specifications Epson Home Cinema 1080UB Projector: Pros Above average brightness in best mode Extremely bright in brightest modes Truly Excellent overall picture quality (after adjustment) “Eye-popping” color – plenty of “wow factor”, especially with dark rich colors Especially good handling of skin tones (after adjustment) Incredible black level performance compared to anything in its price range Excellent shadow detail Good documentation – some decent explanations of features, controls Very good menus Wide range zoom (2.1:1) and lens shift with extreme range, give it the most placement flexiility of any 1080p projector Excellent warranty 1080p 24fps support, 2 HDMI 1.3 inputs with Deep Color support Nice styling Very good remote with lots of range 10 user savable settings! Seven preset modes 12 volt screen trigger for those with properly equipped motorized screens Epson has excellent reputation for reliability and support Epson Home Cinema 1080UB Projector: Cons A bit noisy in high power lamp mode No support for an anamorphic lens Projector must be unmounted (if ceiling mounted) to change lamp Would like to see a 3rd HDMI input (but that’s pretty rare) Pixel visibility just barely decernable at closer than average seating distances (I mention this only because while I don’t see it as an issue, it has more visible pixel structure than all both a couple of the other 3LCD projectors. The LCoS and DLP’s have completely invisible structures at normal seating distances. Epson Home Cinema 1080UB Projector: Typical Capabilities Lamp life Size and weight User manual Control panel Assortment of inputs Epson Home Cinema 1080UB Summary: The Bottom LineDo I really need to keep writing, at this point? This is now my personal favorite lower cost 1080p projector. The Epson Home Cinema 1080UB is really short on “flaws”, and really strong on picture quality, brightness, and warranty, to mention a few. Other than its lack of support for an anamorphic lens (which can be dealt with by buying an outboard processor, I believe), I see little downside. To make it an even better value, I guess it could cost less, (everything could), but from a standpoint of what you get for the money, I feel it offers the best value proposition of any of the sub-$10,000 1080p projectors, for those seeking more than entry level performance. I said at the beginning, that this is one of those rare “rave reviews” of mine, and I think I delivered on that promise. If I were to compare it’s performance in terms of cars, I might say that this is a BMW M class, for the price of a Toyota Camry. If you are spending less than $3000 at the time of this writing (1/08), the Epson Home Cinema 1080UB is definitely, in my book, the king of the hill, and the one to beat. It’s going to give noticeably more expensive projectors a serious run for the attention of those who have the bucks, and are willing to spend more, because, this Epson is serious competiton for most costing significantly more. 1. Epson Home Cinema 1080UB Home Theater Projector Review - Projector Highlights2. Projector Highlights 23. Epson HC1080UB Home Theater Projector: Physical Tour4. Epson Home Cinema 1080UB Projector Review – Image Quality - Home Theater Projector: Skin Tones5. Epson HC1080UB Projectors: Black Levels and Shadow Detail - Black Levels6. Epson HC1080UB Projectors: Black Levels and Shadow Detail 27. Epson Home Cinema 1080UB – Shadow Details - Epson HC1080UB (left)8. Epson Home Cinema 1080UB – Shadow Details 29. Epson Home Cinema 1080UB – Shadow Details 310. Epson Home Cinema 1080UB – Shadow Details 411. Epson Home Cinema 1080UB – Shadow Details 512. Epson Home Cinema 1080UB – Shadow Details 613. Epson Home Cinema 1080UB – Shadow Details 714. Epson HC1080UB Home Theater Projector: Sharpness15. Epson HC1080UB Home Theater Projector: Sharpness16. Projector Overall Picture Quality - Viewing - HDTV - Picture Quality - Bottom Line:17. Home Theater Projector Review – General Performance - HC1080UB Menus - HC1080UB User Memory Settings - HC1080UB Projector - Remote Control - HC1080UB Lens Throw and Lens Shift - HC1080UB SDE and Rainbow Effect, Pixel Visibility - HC1080UB Projector Brightness18. HC1080UB Projector – Light Leakage - HC1080UB Audible Noise Levels - HC1080UBProjector Screen Recommendations19. HC1080UB Projector Measurements and Calibration - HC1080UB Living Room mode20. HC1080UB Projector Measurements and Calibration 2 - Dynamic Mode - The end result for Dynamic21. Home Cinema 1080UB Measurements and Adjustments – Bottom Line - HC1080UB Image Noise 22. Epson Home Cinema 1080UB Projector Warranty23. Home Theater Projector Review: Epson Home Cinema 1080UB LCD Projector: Summary, Pros, Cons24. HC1080UB projector vs. Panasonic PT-AE2000U - HC1080UB vs. Sanyo PLV-Z2000 - HC1080UB vs. Optoma HD80, HD8000, HD81, HD81-LV25. Home Cinema 1080UB vs. Mitsubishi HC4900 and HC6000. - HC1080UB vs. Sony VW50 and VW60 - Epson Home Cinema 1080UB vs. JVC RS1 and RS226. Epson Home Cinema 1080UB projector, Pros, Cons, and Typical Capabilities - Epson Home Cinema 1080UB Projector: Pros - Epson Home Cinema 1080UB Projector: Cons - Epson Home Cinema 1080UB Projector: Typical Capabilities - Epson Home Cinema 1080UB Summary: The Bottom Line27. Epson PowerLite Pro Cinema 1080UB Projector Specifications Home Cinema 1080UB vs. Mitsubishi HC4900 and HC6000. Epson PowerLite Pro Cinema 1080UB Projector Specifications