Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Performance Posted on July 16, 2013 By Art Feierman 1. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Home Theater Projector Review - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector: Highlights - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector Overview2. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Special Features - HC3020 Lag Times - Gamers rejoice - Split Screen viewing - Home Cinema 3020e WirelessHD - Home Cinema 3020 Projector 3D3. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Special Features 2 - Frame Interpolation - FI - smooth motion - USB Slideshow - Home Cinema 3020 Audio Abilities - Home Cinema 3020 Projector: Dynamic Iris - Home Cinema 3020 Lamp Life - 1.6:1 Zoom Lens4. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Physical Tour - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector - Appearance - Home Cinema 3020 Control Panel - Home Cinema 3020e Projector - Input/Output5. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Physical Tour 2 - Home Cinema 3020 Menus - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Remote Control - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Lens Throw - Lens Shift - Anamorphic Lens - Wide Screen6. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Physical Tour-3 - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Remote Control 7. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Physical Tour-4 - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Lens Throw - Lens Shift - Anamorphic Lens - Wide Screen8. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Image Quality - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Out of the Box Picture Quality - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector - Flesh Tones9. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Image Quality 2 - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Black Levels & Shadow Detail - Black Levels Comparison - Shadow Detail Performance - Shadow Detail Comparison - Black Level and Shadow Detail Performance: Home Cinema 3020 Projector - Bottom Line10. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Image Quality 3 - Epson Home Cinema 3020 - Overall Color & Picture Quality11. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Image Quality 4 - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports, including 3D - pson Home Cinema 3020 Projector: Bottom Line on HDTV Sports, and also 3D HDTV content12. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Image Quality-513. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Performance - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Brightness - Epson HC3020 Calibrated: User "best" mode, based on Cinema mode = 1362 lumens - Effect of zoom on lumen output (Dynamic mode) - Home Cinema 3020 Eco-Mode vs. Full Power 14. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Performance 2 - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Pre-Calibration Color temp - Home Cinema 3020, Post Calibration, Best Mode - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Image Comparisons15. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Performance 3 - Epson Home Cinema 3020 3D Brightness - 3D Brightness - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Sharpness - Sharpness Comparison Images16. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Performance 4 - Epson Home Cinema 3020: Bottom Line Sharpness - Light Leakage - Image Noise - Audible Noise17. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector Calibration and Settings - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Color Temperature - Lumen Output and Color Temp at 100 IRE - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Basic Settings18. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector Calibration and Settings 2 - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Post Calibration Grayscale: User Mode - Home Cinema 3020 RGB Settings19. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Advanced Calibration Information - Color Management Settings (CMS) - Calibration Charts (Before and After)20. Epson Home Cinema 3020 – Projector Screen Recommendations - HC3020 Projector Screen Recommendations21. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Warranty - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector - Warranty22. Epson Home Cinema 3020 – Review Summary - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector - The Bottom Line23. Epson Home Cinema 3020 – Review Summary 2 - The Very Bottom Line on the Home Cinema 3020 projector24. Epson Home Cinema 3020 – Review Summary 3 - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector: Pros and Cons - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector: Pros - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector: Cons25. Epson Home Cinema 3020 – Full Specifications We discuss the Epson Home Cinema 3020 projector’s brightness in various modes of 2D, and provide our subjective assessment of its 3D brightness. You will find images showing the differences in brightness (and color) between the 2D modes. Further down we get into the Home Cinema 3020’s sharpness, image noise, audible noise, etc. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Brightness Lumen Output and Color Temp at 100 IRE Dynamic 1950 @ 6811 Living Room 1496 @ 7948 Natural 1386 @ 6715, 908 @ 7413 in Eco lamp mode (default) Cinema 1386 @ 6692, 908 @ 7415 in Eco lamp mode (default) Auto 908 @ 7370 (dark room) The Epson is a veritable light canon of a projector in its price range. The only home projector we’ve reviewed in the last year that sells for under $2000, that can best this Epson at its brightest, is the Panasonic PT-AR100U. That Panasonic is slightly brighter, but is 2D only. The HC3020 and HC3020e are about as good as it gets for working in “normal” rooms lacking the almost total light control one expects to have in a dedicated home theater. As a result, it has to be about the top choice for the price, if you want both 2D and 3D capabilities. 3D brightness is discussed in more depth, a bit further down. Those numbers are all “right out of the box”, without any adjustments, to settings like contrast, which can affect overall brightness. Epson HC3020 Calibrated: User "best" mode, based on Cinema mode = 1362 lumensUntil 3D projectors hit the market, I don’t think we had seen more than one home theater projector (over many years of measuring), that could output anything near 1362 lumens once calibrated. With the extra demand for brightness needed for 3D, this changed things tremendously. The benefit to all of you: Here’s a projector that can put up its best picture – calibrated, and do a better job in a less than ideal setup, than most projectors could do in their brightest modes, with their poorest color. Uncalibrated, it’s about twice as bright as the average non-3D projector under $10,000, when all are in their brightest modes. Effect of zoom on lumen output (Dynamic mode) Effect of zoom on lumen output (Dynamic mode) Zoom out 2031 Mid-zoom 1950 Zoom in 1851 Home Cinema 3020 Eco-Mode vs. Full Power Home Cinema 3020 Eco-Mode vs. Full Power Full Power 1950 lumens Low (eco) Power 1263 lumens That’s a drop of almost exactly 35%. Mike measured Dynamic mode for the comparison, but yu should expect all the preset modes to drop the same 35%. 1. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Home Theater Projector Review - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector: Highlights - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector Overview2. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Special Features - HC3020 Lag Times - Gamers rejoice - Split Screen viewing - Home Cinema 3020e WirelessHD - Home Cinema 3020 Projector 3D3. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Special Features 2 - Frame Interpolation - FI - smooth motion - USB Slideshow - Home Cinema 3020 Audio Abilities - Home Cinema 3020 Projector: Dynamic Iris - Home Cinema 3020 Lamp Life - 1.6:1 Zoom Lens4. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Physical Tour - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector - Appearance - Home Cinema 3020 Control Panel - Home Cinema 3020e Projector - Input/Output5. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Physical Tour 2 - Home Cinema 3020 Menus - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Remote Control - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Lens Throw - Lens Shift - Anamorphic Lens - Wide Screen6. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Physical Tour-3 - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Remote Control 7. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Physical Tour-4 - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Lens Throw - Lens Shift - Anamorphic Lens - Wide Screen8. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Image Quality - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Out of the Box Picture Quality - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector - Flesh Tones9. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Image Quality 2 - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Black Levels & Shadow Detail - Black Levels Comparison - Shadow Detail Performance - Shadow Detail Comparison - Black Level and Shadow Detail Performance: Home Cinema 3020 Projector - Bottom Line10. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Image Quality 3 - Epson Home Cinema 3020 - Overall Color & Picture Quality11. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Image Quality 4 - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports, including 3D - pson Home Cinema 3020 Projector: Bottom Line on HDTV Sports, and also 3D HDTV content12. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Image Quality-513. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Performance - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Brightness - Epson HC3020 Calibrated: User "best" mode, based on Cinema mode = 1362 lumens - Effect of zoom on lumen output (Dynamic mode) - Home Cinema 3020 Eco-Mode vs. Full Power 14. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Performance 2 - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Pre-Calibration Color temp - Home Cinema 3020, Post Calibration, Best Mode - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Image Comparisons15. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Performance 3 - Epson Home Cinema 3020 3D Brightness - 3D Brightness - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Sharpness - Sharpness Comparison Images16. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Performance 4 - Epson Home Cinema 3020: Bottom Line Sharpness - Light Leakage - Image Noise - Audible Noise17. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector Calibration and Settings - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Color Temperature - Lumen Output and Color Temp at 100 IRE - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Basic Settings18. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector Calibration and Settings 2 - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Post Calibration Grayscale: User Mode - Home Cinema 3020 RGB Settings19. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Advanced Calibration Information - Color Management Settings (CMS) - Calibration Charts (Before and After)20. Epson Home Cinema 3020 – Projector Screen Recommendations - HC3020 Projector Screen Recommendations21. Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Warranty - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector - Warranty22. Epson Home Cinema 3020 – Review Summary - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector - The Bottom Line23. Epson Home Cinema 3020 – Review Summary 2 - The Very Bottom Line on the Home Cinema 3020 projector24. Epson Home Cinema 3020 – Review Summary 3 - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector: Pros and Cons - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector: Pros - Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector: Cons25. Epson Home Cinema 3020 – Full Specifications Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Image Quality-5 Epson Home Cinema 3020 Projector – Performance 2