2017 Best Home Theater Projector Comparison Report – $3500-$8000 Non-Winners

Comments on projectors considered in this report, that did not win awards.

Epson PC6040UB
Sony HW65ES
BenQ HT8050

I’ll keep this real short – its white-clad twin, the 5040UB, took top honors in the lower price Class. Buyers of the PC6040UB can figure out that they are paying several hundred more for this projector, even after you net out the value of the extras (spare lamp, ceiling mount, and cable cover). In exchange, they are getting a 3^rd year warranty and 3^rd year of Epson’s Rapid Replacement program, and are purchasing from a trained local installing dealer.

Basic features: 2500 lumens, 2.1:1 zoom, Lens Memory, 3D, CFI, Picture in Picture…

But that doesn’t earn it a value award in a much tougher class than the lower one. Alas, I hope the PC6040UB won’t be jealous of its lower cost twin.

This $3995 Sony projector is strictly 1080p resolution, but is otherwise an excellent projector near the low end of this price class.

The most notable advantage of the Sony HW45ES in the under $2000 Class is the addition of a dynamic iris. That gives the HW65ES great black level credentials about even with the Epson UB projectors, though I think I’d give Epson the slight edge, not one enough to care about.

Like most Sonys, expect great color right out of the box. If there’s one brand of projectors I would say don’t benefit that much from a professional calibration, it would tend to be Sony. They always have some excellent looking modes, even if they aren’t dead on target.

The basics: 1800 lumens, 1.6:1 zoom, lots of lens shift, CFI…

The HW65ES’s picture is impressive, (owners seem most pleased), but it is outgunned by JVC’s RS420, which has even better black levels, and a motorized zoom (2:1) with Lens Memory, and much of the competition is supporting 4K content.