Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector – Image Quality 1 Posted on October 10, 2013 By Art Feierman 1. Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector Review - Home Cinema 6100 Projector Highlights - Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector Overview2. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Physical Tour - Epson Home Cinema 6100 Physical Appearance - Home Cinema 6100 Projector - Control Panel - Epson Home Cinema 6100 Inputs and Outputs3. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Physical Tour 1 - Epson Home Cinema 6100 Menus4. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Physical Tour 2 - Epson Home Cinema 6100 Remote Control - Home Cinema 6100 Lens Throw - Home Cinema 6100 Lens Shift - Home Cinema 6100 Anamorphic Lens5. Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector – Image Quality - Home Cinema 6100 Out of the Box Picture Quality - Flesh Tones6. Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector – Image Quality 1 - Home Cinema 6100 Black Levels & Shadow Detail - Home Cinema 6100 Black Levels & Shadow Detail - Comparison7. Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector – Image Quality 2 - Shadow Detail Performance - Shadow Detail Performance - Comparison8. Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector – Image Quality 3 - Shadow Detail Performance - Comparison 2 - Shadow Detail Performance - Comparison 39. Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector – Image Quality 3 - Shadow Detail Performance - Comparison 4 - Shadow Detail Performance - Comparison 510. Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector – Image Quality 4 - Shadow Detail Performance - Comparison 6 - Shadow Detail Performance - Comparison 7 - Bottom Line: Black level and Shadow Detail11. Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector – Image Quality 5 - Overall Color & Picture Quality - Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports12. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Performance - Epson Home Cinema 6100 Brightness13. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Performance 114. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Performance 2 - Sharpness - Sharpness - Comparison - Next: Close up of a computer monitor, from Space Cowboys (Blu-ray) - Sharpness - Comparison 115. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Performance 3 - Epson Home Cinema 6100: Bottom Line Sharpness - Light Leakage - Image Noise - Audible Noise16. Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector Calibration and Settings - Epson Home Cinema 6100 Color Temperature - Epson Home Cinema 6100 Basic Settings17. Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector Calibration and Settings 1 - Home Cinema 6100 RGB Settings18. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Projector Screens - Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector Screen Recommendations19. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Competitors - Home Cinema 6100 vs. Epson Home Cinema 1080 UB20. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Competitors 1 - Epson Home Cinema 6100 vs. Mitsubishi HC5500, HC650021. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Competitors 2 - Epson Home Cinema 6100 vs. Sanyo PLV-Z700, PLV-Z3000 - Epson vs. PLV-Z700: - Epson vs. PLV-Z3000:22. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Competitors 3 - Epson Home Cinema 6100 vs. BenQ W5000 - Epson Home Cinema 6100 vs. Epson Home Cinema 6500UB23. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Competitors 4 - Home Cinema 6100 vs. InFocus X10 - Epson Home Cinema 6100 vs. Panasonic PT-AE300024. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Warranty25. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Review Summary - Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector - The Bottom Line26. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Review Summary 1 - Epson Home Cinema Bottom Line: - Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector: Pros, Cons, and Typical Capabilities - Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector: Pros - Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector: Cons - Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector: Typical Capabilities Home Cinema 6100 Black Levels & Shadow Detail This Epson has respectable black level performance. Remember if you want those really dark, inky blacks, there are a number of more expensive “ultra high contrast” projectors out there to choose from. Note, however, that the least expensive of those is the Sanyo PLV-Z3000 which is only a few hundred dollars more. Of course Epson has their own Home Cinema 6500UB with superb black levels, for about $800 more (at the time of this writing). This Epson on the other hand is a step down in black level performance from those projectors in general. Even those ultra high contrast projectors vary, from the stunning JVC projectors’ black levels, to that Sanyo PLV-Z3000 (which so far, has the least black blacks of those projectors but is still better than the Epson 6100). The Home Cinema 6100’s direct competition, on the other hand, mostly comes up short of this Epson. I viewed the Epson side by side with the Optoma HD806, and the Epson was a very visible winner. Comparing the Home Cinema 6100 to Sanyo’s PLV-Z700 (currently the least expensive 1080p projector), and the very similar but a tad better (in terms of black levels) Mitsubishi HC5500, the Epson performs favorably. I wish that I still had one of those here for side by side comparison, but since I don’t, my impression is that the Epson is definitely better than the other two. I find its blacks more satisfying. On some scenes I recall those two projectors, along with some other entry level 1080p projectors, leaving me wanting for better blacks. With the Epson, the thought is more of “not bad, not bad at all”. That’s certainly not a huge difference, but every bit helps. (You can never have too black a black!) Right now I’m watching the night time airport scene in Casino Royale, and those blacks look pretty good (at least until I switch back to my JVC RS1 a little later this evening). For those that like to compare images, we’ll start with the Starship scene from The Fifth Element. Since we can never get two exposures exactly the same, you’ll have to give your brain a workout comparing the blacks. By the way, the amount of nebulous clouds in each image is a good indication of the level of exposure. Since the Epson is showing the most, it is the most overexposed frame. Home Cinema 6100 Black Levels & Shadow Detail - ComparisonEpson 6100Optoma HD806Mitsubishi HC5500Panasonic PT-AE3000Epson Home Cinema 1080 UBPreviousNext 1. Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector Review - Home Cinema 6100 Projector Highlights - Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector Overview2. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Physical Tour - Epson Home Cinema 6100 Physical Appearance - Home Cinema 6100 Projector - Control Panel - Epson Home Cinema 6100 Inputs and Outputs3. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Physical Tour 1 - Epson Home Cinema 6100 Menus4. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Physical Tour 2 - Epson Home Cinema 6100 Remote Control - Home Cinema 6100 Lens Throw - Home Cinema 6100 Lens Shift - Home Cinema 6100 Anamorphic Lens5. Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector – Image Quality - Home Cinema 6100 Out of the Box Picture Quality - Flesh Tones6. Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector – Image Quality 1 - Home Cinema 6100 Black Levels & Shadow Detail - Home Cinema 6100 Black Levels & Shadow Detail - Comparison7. Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector – Image Quality 2 - Shadow Detail Performance - Shadow Detail Performance - Comparison8. Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector – Image Quality 3 - Shadow Detail Performance - Comparison 2 - Shadow Detail Performance - Comparison 39. Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector – Image Quality 3 - Shadow Detail Performance - Comparison 4 - Shadow Detail Performance - Comparison 510. Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector – Image Quality 4 - Shadow Detail Performance - Comparison 6 - Shadow Detail Performance - Comparison 7 - Bottom Line: Black level and Shadow Detail11. Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector – Image Quality 5 - Overall Color & Picture Quality - Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports12. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Performance - Epson Home Cinema 6100 Brightness13. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Performance 114. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Performance 2 - Sharpness - Sharpness - Comparison - Next: Close up of a computer monitor, from Space Cowboys (Blu-ray) - Sharpness - Comparison 115. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Performance 3 - Epson Home Cinema 6100: Bottom Line Sharpness - Light Leakage - Image Noise - Audible Noise16. Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector Calibration and Settings - Epson Home Cinema 6100 Color Temperature - Epson Home Cinema 6100 Basic Settings17. Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector Calibration and Settings 1 - Home Cinema 6100 RGB Settings18. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Projector Screens - Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector Screen Recommendations19. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Competitors - Home Cinema 6100 vs. Epson Home Cinema 1080 UB20. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Competitors 1 - Epson Home Cinema 6100 vs. Mitsubishi HC5500, HC650021. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Competitors 2 - Epson Home Cinema 6100 vs. Sanyo PLV-Z700, PLV-Z3000 - Epson vs. PLV-Z700: - Epson vs. PLV-Z3000:22. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Competitors 3 - Epson Home Cinema 6100 vs. BenQ W5000 - Epson Home Cinema 6100 vs. Epson Home Cinema 6500UB23. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Competitors 4 - Home Cinema 6100 vs. InFocus X10 - Epson Home Cinema 6100 vs. Panasonic PT-AE300024. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Warranty25. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Review Summary - Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector - The Bottom Line26. Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Review Summary 1 - Epson Home Cinema Bottom Line: - Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector: Pros, Cons, and Typical Capabilities - Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector: Pros - Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector: Cons - Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector: Typical Capabilities Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector – Image Quality Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector – Image Quality 2