Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector – Performance 4 Posted on July 17, 2013 By Art Feierman 1. Epson Home Cinema 5020 UB Home Theater Projector Review - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector Highlights - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector Overview2. Epson Home Cinema 5020 Special Features - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Special Features - Home Cinema 5020e WirelessHD - HC5020 Projector: 3D - HC5020 Gaming Abilities - HC5020 Creative Frame Interpolation3. Epson Home Cinema 5020 Special Features 2 - HDMI-Link - Epson's Fujinon 2.1:1 zoom lens - HC5020UB Lamp Life - Picture In Picture - Other Dynamic Controls4. Epson Home Cinema 5020 UB Projector – Physical Tour - Epson Home Cinema 5020 UB Projector - Appearance - Home Cinema 5020 Control Panel - Home Cinema 5020 Projector - Input/Output5. Epson Home Cinema 5020 UB Projector – Physical Tour 2 - Home Cinema 5020 Menus - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Remote Control - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Lens Throw - Home Cinema 5020 Lens Shift - Anamorphic Lens - Wide Screen6. Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector – Image Quality - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Out of the Box Picture Quality - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector - Flesh Tones7. Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector – Image Quality 2 - Black Level and Shadow Detail Performance - Black Levels Comparison - Shadow Detail Performance - Shadow Detail Comparison - Black Level and Shadow Detail Performance: HC5020 Projector - Bottom Line8. Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector – Image Quality 3 - Epson Home Cinema 5020 - Overall Color & Picture Quality9. Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector – Image Quality 4 - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports, including 3D - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector: Bottom Line on HDTV Sports, and also 3D HDTV content10. Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector – Performance - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Brightness - Post Calibration: Best Mode - Quick-Cal: Brightest Mode = Dynamic 1706 lumens - Effect of zoom on lumen output (Dynamic mode):11. Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector – Performance 2 - Home Cinema 5020 Eco-Mode vs. Full Power - HC5020 Lumen Output (Eco Lamp, Dynamic): 1357 - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Pre-Calibration Color temp: THX - Home Cinema 5020, Post Calibration, Best Mode User 1 (based on THX)12. Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector – Performance 3 - Epson Home Cinema 5020 3D Brightness - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Sharpness13. Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector – Performance 4 - Epson Home Cinema 5020: Bottom Line Sharpness - Light Leakage - Image Noise - Audible Noise14. Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector Calibration and Settings - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Color Temperature - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Basic Settings15. Epson Home Cinema 5020e Projector – Advanced Calibration Information - Color Management Settings (CMS) - Calibration Charts (Before and After)16. Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector Calibration and Settings 2 - HC5020 Greyscale Calibration based on THX Mode, placed in User Memory 1 - Epson HC5020 RGB Settings17. Epson Home Cinema 5020UB, 5020UBe – Projector Screens - Epson Home Cinema 5020UB Projector Screen Recommendations - Epson Home Cinema 5020UB - Projector Screen - Cave / Home Theater - Epson Home Cinema 5020UB - Projector Screen - Family Room18. Epson Home Cinema 5020UB, 5020UBe – Projector Screens 2 - 3D And Choosing a Projector Screen19. Epson Home Cinema 5020 – Competitors - Epson Home Cinema 5020 vs. Panasonic PT-AE8000 - Epson Home Cinema 5020 vs. Panasonic PT-AE800020. Epson Home Cinema 5020 – Competitors 2 - Epson Home Cinema 5020 vs. Optoma HD830021. Epson Home Cinema 5020 – Competitors 3 - Epson Home Cinema 5020 vs. Sony VPL-HW50ES22. Epson Home Cinema 5020 – Competitors 4 - Epson Home Cinema 5020 vs. Sharp XV-Z3000023. Epson Home Cinema 5020 – Competitors 5 - Epson Home Cinema 5020 UB vs. Epson Home Cinema 302024. Epson Home Cinema 5020 – Competitors 6 - Epson Home Cinema 5020 vs. Epson Home Cinema 501025. Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector – Warranty26. Epson Home Cinema 5020 UB – Review Summary - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector - The Bottom Line27. Epson Home Cinema 5020 UB – Review Summary 2 - Epson HC5020UB Brightness - Picture Quality of the Epson Home Cinema 5020 - Home Cinema 5020 UB Competition - Will the Home Cinema 5020 work in your room?28. Epson Home Cinema 5020 UB – Review Summary 3 - The Very Bottom Line on the Home Cinema 5020 projector - Epson HC5020UB Pricing29. Epson Home Cinema 5020 UB – Review Summary 4 - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector: Pros and Cons - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector: Pros - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector: Cons30. Epson Home Cinema 5020UB Full Specifications Epson Home Cinema 5020: Bottom Line SharpnessVery nice. True, not as purely sharp as a well designed single chip DLP projector, but for most, more than fine enough/close enough. Detail enhancement can put make for a noticeable difference. I’m a big sports fan, and it’s with pure digital content (rather than analog/digital – such as film-based movies), that you are best able to appreciate slight sharpness differences. Keep in mind though, that cable and satellite compress their signals quite a bit, which has a far greater impact on picture quality/sharpness than the differences between most projectors. Light LeakageOnce again, Epson is excellent, identical to the previous model. I don’t think this Epson leaks any visible light out its front vents. Any stray light from the optical path, through the lens seems to be well below visibility (I’m not talking about blooming which all lenses do.) Image NoiseThe Epson has no particular image noise issues. I viewed the same disastrous panning scene from the beginning of the movie RED, that I have with others. That scene is a real torture test (a slow 360 pan of a suburban neighborhood). Nothing looks great, but the Epson was good enough to be definitely visibly better than the more expensive Sony VPL-HW50ES projector. Basic image noise with default settings is typical of non-DLP projectors DLP’s always seem to have more background noise. Audible NoiseOnce again, like the 5010 before it, the Home Cinema 5020 projectors are a bit on the noisy side when it comes to full power. Epson claims 32 db, not a number to be particularly proud about, but, it doesn’t seem to be that much of an issue, as the pitch is farily low, no whining. In the past some people have reported a low rumbly sound from the dynamic iris. In communicating with a few people who had previously reported that soft low rumbling, I had suggested that in some cases the noise is magnified if there’s a sympathetic vibration from the ceiling mount, or if on a table, the table. We all know if you take a boom box that’s playing in your hands, and you put it on a table, the bass will be magnified. Same idea. A few reported that putting in some spacers with a touch of foam or a piece of cardboard between projector and mount, or projector and table top, reduced the rumbling sound. (Works at my place too.) The HC5020 projector’s overall audible noise level is pretty much just below most of the DLP projectors, and noisier than most other LCD based projectors and LCoS projectors. I sit in my captain’s chair about 3 feet from ear to projector, not a problem for me, but I know a few folks really don’t like any audible noise. (The Epson HC5020 is definitely quieter than my Sony PS3’s fan.) If you are one of the few who is especially audible noise adverse, note that the Epson claims 22db, which in reality, is very quiet. I don’t think anyone will have an issue with Eco-mode. 1. Epson Home Cinema 5020 UB Home Theater Projector Review - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector Highlights - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector Overview2. Epson Home Cinema 5020 Special Features - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Special Features - Home Cinema 5020e WirelessHD - HC5020 Projector: 3D - HC5020 Gaming Abilities - HC5020 Creative Frame Interpolation3. Epson Home Cinema 5020 Special Features 2 - HDMI-Link - Epson's Fujinon 2.1:1 zoom lens - HC5020UB Lamp Life - Picture In Picture - Other Dynamic Controls4. Epson Home Cinema 5020 UB Projector – Physical Tour - Epson Home Cinema 5020 UB Projector - Appearance - Home Cinema 5020 Control Panel - Home Cinema 5020 Projector - Input/Output5. Epson Home Cinema 5020 UB Projector – Physical Tour 2 - Home Cinema 5020 Menus - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Remote Control - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Lens Throw - Home Cinema 5020 Lens Shift - Anamorphic Lens - Wide Screen6. Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector – Image Quality - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Out of the Box Picture Quality - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector - Flesh Tones7. Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector – Image Quality 2 - Black Level and Shadow Detail Performance - Black Levels Comparison - Shadow Detail Performance - Shadow Detail Comparison - Black Level and Shadow Detail Performance: HC5020 Projector - Bottom Line8. Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector – Image Quality 3 - Epson Home Cinema 5020 - Overall Color & Picture Quality9. Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector – Image Quality 4 - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports, including 3D - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector: Bottom Line on HDTV Sports, and also 3D HDTV content10. Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector – Performance - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Brightness - Post Calibration: Best Mode - Quick-Cal: Brightest Mode = Dynamic 1706 lumens - Effect of zoom on lumen output (Dynamic mode):11. Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector – Performance 2 - Home Cinema 5020 Eco-Mode vs. Full Power - HC5020 Lumen Output (Eco Lamp, Dynamic): 1357 - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Pre-Calibration Color temp: THX - Home Cinema 5020, Post Calibration, Best Mode User 1 (based on THX)12. Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector – Performance 3 - Epson Home Cinema 5020 3D Brightness - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Sharpness13. Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector – Performance 4 - Epson Home Cinema 5020: Bottom Line Sharpness - Light Leakage - Image Noise - Audible Noise14. Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector Calibration and Settings - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Color Temperature - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Basic Settings15. Epson Home Cinema 5020e Projector – Advanced Calibration Information - Color Management Settings (CMS) - Calibration Charts (Before and After)16. Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector Calibration and Settings 2 - HC5020 Greyscale Calibration based on THX Mode, placed in User Memory 1 - Epson HC5020 RGB Settings17. Epson Home Cinema 5020UB, 5020UBe – Projector Screens - Epson Home Cinema 5020UB Projector Screen Recommendations - Epson Home Cinema 5020UB - Projector Screen - Cave / Home Theater - Epson Home Cinema 5020UB - Projector Screen - Family Room18. Epson Home Cinema 5020UB, 5020UBe – Projector Screens 2 - 3D And Choosing a Projector Screen19. Epson Home Cinema 5020 – Competitors - Epson Home Cinema 5020 vs. Panasonic PT-AE8000 - Epson Home Cinema 5020 vs. Panasonic PT-AE800020. Epson Home Cinema 5020 – Competitors 2 - Epson Home Cinema 5020 vs. Optoma HD830021. Epson Home Cinema 5020 – Competitors 3 - Epson Home Cinema 5020 vs. Sony VPL-HW50ES22. Epson Home Cinema 5020 – Competitors 4 - Epson Home Cinema 5020 vs. Sharp XV-Z3000023. Epson Home Cinema 5020 – Competitors 5 - Epson Home Cinema 5020 UB vs. Epson Home Cinema 302024. Epson Home Cinema 5020 – Competitors 6 - Epson Home Cinema 5020 vs. Epson Home Cinema 501025. Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector – Warranty26. Epson Home Cinema 5020 UB – Review Summary - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector - The Bottom Line27. Epson Home Cinema 5020 UB – Review Summary 2 - Epson HC5020UB Brightness - Picture Quality of the Epson Home Cinema 5020 - Home Cinema 5020 UB Competition - Will the Home Cinema 5020 work in your room?28. Epson Home Cinema 5020 UB – Review Summary 3 - The Very Bottom Line on the Home Cinema 5020 projector - Epson HC5020UB Pricing29. Epson Home Cinema 5020 UB – Review Summary 4 - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector: Pros and Cons - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector: Pros - Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector: Cons30. Epson Home Cinema 5020UB Full Specifications Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector – Performance 3 Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector Calibration and Settings