Epson Home Cinema 8700UB – Review Summary-2 Posted on November 1, 2010 By Art Feierman 1. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector Review - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector Highlights - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector Overview2. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector Review-2 - Home Cinema 8700UB Lamp Life - Epson Super-Resolution - 2.1:1 Zoom Lens3. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Physical Tour - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector - Appearance - Home Cinema 8700UB Control Panel - Input/Output4. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Physical Tour-25. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Physical Tour-3 - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Remote Control - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Lens Throw6. Lens Shift - Anamorphic Lens7. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Image Quality - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Out of the Box Picture Quality - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector - Flesh Tones8. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Image Quality-2 - What is all this fuss about black levels9. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Image Quality-3 - black levels comparision10. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Image Quality-4 - black levels comparision11. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Image Quality-5 - Shadow Detail Performance - Epson 8700UB comparision12. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Image Quality-5 - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB - Overall Color & Picture Quality13. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Image Quality-6 - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports14. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Image Quality-7 - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector: Bottom Line on HDTV Sports15. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Image Quality-8 - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector: Bottom Line on HDTV Sports 216. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Performance - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Brightness - Lumen Output and Color Temp at 100 IRE (mid zoom): - Effect of zoom on lumen output (Dynamic mode): - Color Temp over IRE Range (Pre calibration – Best mode): THX17. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Performance-2 - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Sharpness18. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Performance-3 - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB: Bottom Line Sharpness - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Sharpness 2 - Light Leakage - Image Noise - Audible Noise19. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector Calibration and Settings - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Color Temperature - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Basic Settings - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Post Calibration Grayscale: THX mode20. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector Calibration and Settings - RGB Settings - Brightest Modes21. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB – Projector Screens - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector Screen Recommendations22. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB – Competitors - Home Cinema 8700UB vs. Epson Home Cinema 8350 - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB vs. HC6800, HC700023. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB – Competitors2 - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB vs. Sanyo PLV-Z4000 - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB vs. BenQ W600024. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB – Competitors3 - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB vs. Sharp XV-Z1500025. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB – Competitors4 - Home Cinema 8700UB vs. JVC DLA-RS15 and DLA-HD250 - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB vs. Sony VPL-HW1526. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB – Competitors5 - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB vs. Panasonic PT-AE4000 - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB vs. LG CF181D27. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Warranty28. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB – Review Summary - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector - The Bottom Line29. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB – Review Summary-2 - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector: Pros - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector: Cons - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector: Typical Capabilities30. Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 8700UB Projector SpecificationsAverage brightness in “best” mode, and very bright at its brightest, it’s got the horsepower to handle most screens in most rooms. No Epson I’ve reviewed has looked as good as this one. That makes the Epson Home Cinema 8700UB – and of course, the Pro Cinema 9700UB, a rather formidable projector and competitor. It’s still early on in reviewing this year’s crop, but, we’ve already looked at the Mitsubishi HC6800 and the Sanyo PLV-Z4000, and without a new entry for the near future from Panasonic, that’s pretty much the other 3LCD competition. On the DLP side, there’s some Optoma and BenQ competition, but BenQ’s got newer projectors they haven’t rolled out in the US (and may not). That BenQ DLP is particularly impressive, and will remain a direct competitor to the 8700UB.Sharpness of this Epson is good, but hardly exceptional. There are a couple of slightly sharper 3LCD projectors, but the Epson is typical. For those who really demand the max in sharpness, they will favor a single chip DLP. Almost all of us, however, will be perfectly happy with the Epson’s sharpness, especially for movie viewing.That’s not all the competition, there’s the LG CF181D, a projector that can’t begin to match the Epson’s black levels and dark scene handling, but is powerfully bright, and just always looks good – a forgiving projector. I digress. I mention all these others, because, they are the best of the competition, yet last year’s Epson came out on top of all of those that were out at the time, when it came to our Best In Class awards. That this Epson is an excellent projector and a great value seems pretty straightforward, what you need to do, is consider your factors – what content you like to watch, your room’s characteristics, the screen size you want, and whether the Epson is the right projector for you.Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector: ProsExcellent “out of the box” picture qualityIt only gets better with calibrationBest in Class black level performance for a projector in its price rangeImage has good sharpnessProjector lamp can be changed without unmounting the projector (door is on the top, though well hidden)Very low cost of operation – low cost long life lamp 4000/4000 hoursVery good warranty – 2 years, with 2 years of replacement programVery good menus, very good remote (good range)Creative frame interpolationSupport for an anamorphic lensAn excellent value propositionEpson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector: ConsDynamic iris can make a low rumbling sound (there are ways to dampen)CFI still seems to have minor problems with 24 fps movies coming at you over cable or satellite at 60.Slower than most projectors in locking onto a new source, when you switchEpson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector: Typical CapabilitiesDocumentationSharpnessStyling – it’s off white, has some nice trim – but not an award winner for stylingAudible noise – average, but still a good bit quieter than the DLP projectors that make up the Epson’s primary competitionFinal note. Yes, I’ve been a big fan of the Epson UB projectors since they first surfaced. I just wanted to mention that Mike and Tony – who have been writing reviews for my site, bought the older Epson 8500UB at the end of last year, and are both pleased. There most be something to it! -art 1. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector Review - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector Highlights - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector Overview2. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector Review-2 - Home Cinema 8700UB Lamp Life - Epson Super-Resolution - 2.1:1 Zoom Lens3. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Physical Tour - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector - Appearance - Home Cinema 8700UB Control Panel - Input/Output4. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Physical Tour-25. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Physical Tour-3 - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Remote Control - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Lens Throw6. Lens Shift - Anamorphic Lens7. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Image Quality - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Out of the Box Picture Quality - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector - Flesh Tones8. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Image Quality-2 - What is all this fuss about black levels9. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Image Quality-3 - black levels comparision10. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Image Quality-4 - black levels comparision11. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Image Quality-5 - Shadow Detail Performance - Epson 8700UB comparision12. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Image Quality-5 - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB - Overall Color & Picture Quality13. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Image Quality-6 - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports14. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Image Quality-7 - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector: Bottom Line on HDTV Sports15. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Image Quality-8 - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector: Bottom Line on HDTV Sports 216. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Performance - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Brightness - Lumen Output and Color Temp at 100 IRE (mid zoom): - Effect of zoom on lumen output (Dynamic mode): - Color Temp over IRE Range (Pre calibration – Best mode): THX17. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Performance-2 - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Sharpness18. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Performance-3 - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB: Bottom Line Sharpness - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Sharpness 2 - Light Leakage - Image Noise - Audible Noise19. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector Calibration and Settings - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Color Temperature - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Basic Settings - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Post Calibration Grayscale: THX mode20. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector Calibration and Settings - RGB Settings - Brightest Modes21. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB – Projector Screens - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector Screen Recommendations22. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB – Competitors - Home Cinema 8700UB vs. Epson Home Cinema 8350 - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB vs. HC6800, HC700023. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB – Competitors2 - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB vs. Sanyo PLV-Z4000 - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB vs. BenQ W600024. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB – Competitors3 - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB vs. Sharp XV-Z1500025. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB – Competitors4 - Home Cinema 8700UB vs. JVC DLA-RS15 and DLA-HD250 - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB vs. Sony VPL-HW1526. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB – Competitors5 - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB vs. Panasonic PT-AE4000 - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB vs. LG CF181D27. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector – Warranty28. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB – Review Summary - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector - The Bottom Line29. Epson Home Cinema 8700UB – Review Summary-2 - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector: Pros - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector: Cons - Epson Home Cinema 8700UB Projector: Typical Capabilities30. Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 8700UB Projector Specifications Epson Home Cinema 8700UB – Review Summary Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 8700UB Projector Specifications You May Also Like Epson PowerLite 109W Business/Education Projector Review Sony VPL-VW995ES Projector Review: Sony’s New Flagship: Expensive – But Awesome Epson’s HC4010 and PC4050 Take Off – Combining 4K Capabilities, Features and Value Hisense 100″ Laser TV Review – A 4K UHD, Smart Projector with Screen Anker Nebula Capsule Projector – The Crowd Funded Soda Can Projector Review Epson PowerLite L400U Installation Laser Projector Review Epson Home Cinema 4010/Pro Cinema 4050 4K Capable Home Theater Projector Review Optoma HD143X Home Theater Projector Review Sony VPL-VW295ES 4K Home Theater Projector Review ViewSonic LS620X Short Throw Laser Projector Review