Epson Home Cinema 6100 – Review Summary 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 Epson Home Cinema Bottom Line:The Epson Home Cinema 6100 is not only a well thought out projector, but it is solid in every category: Placement flexibility, post calibration color accuracy, shadow detail. Black level performance is better than almost all of the similarly and lower priced projectors, with the exception of the BenQ W5000. The Epson 6100 has a pretty standard set of inputs, good menus, and respectable documentation. If it has a weakness, it is the audible noise, which is a little louder than average, but still quieter than just about any DLP competitor. You should also Epson’s excellent support reputation, and a warranty that is better than almost all the competition. All of these things combine to earn the Epson Home Cinema 6100 our Hot Product Award. These factors should also make this Epson a strong contender for a Best in Class Award (entry level 1080p projectors) in our upcoming annual 1080p Projector Comparison Report. In a nutshell, the Epson 6100 projector doesn’t seem to have any real weaknesses. It performs as intended. Our only serious recommendation is to do an end user calibration using one of the popular calibration discs, to get the most color accuracy. (Failing that, plug in our calibration numbers into your unit – it is a good place to start.) If you are limited in funds, if you aren’t into spending a significant amount more for the “last 5% of performance”, if you just want a projector that works almost flawlessly, and produces a very bright image in either a dark, dedicated home theater, or a family room with modest ambient light, then the Home Cinema 6100 is likely a great choice for you. Definitely put this one on your short list. Please note: For those of you looking to buy and have your system installed by a local dealer, you can also consider the more expensive Pro Cinema 7100. That model comes finished in black, instead of white, supports an anamorphic lens, and comes with third year of warranty. Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector: Pros, Cons, and Typical CapabilitiesEpson Home Cinema 6100 Projector: Pros Very good color accuracy even before calibration, in best mode Slightly brighter than average in “best” mode One of the brightest home theater projectors in “brightest” mode Black levels very good, about as good as any projector that doesn’t fit into the “ultra high contrast” (and more expensive) category Very good skin tones Dynamic image, with lots of “pop and wow” in almost any mode Two HDMI 1.3b compatible inputs Very sharp image Very good remote control Excellent placement flexibility with 2.1:1 zoom and lens shift Excellent menu layout Good color management controls Great lamp life – rated at 4000 hours whether in low or bright lamp modes 12 volt screen trigger One of the most affordable 1080p projectors Not a serious issue to report Excellent price/performance Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector: Cons No internal support for an anamorphic lens (would require outboard processor, or purchasing the more expensive Pro Cinema 7100 version) Could be a little brighter in “best mode”, for working with larger screens A pretty basic looking projector from a styling standpoint Epson Home Cinema 6100 Projector: Typical Capabilities Black level performance is typical for lower cost 1080p projectors Selection of inputs Shadow detail performance Documentation (lacks in-depth explanations of some features – which is typical of most projector manuals) 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 – Review Summary