Epson Home Cinema 2040 1080p 3D 3LCD Home Theater Projector
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FrankieMN
> 24 hourI generally dont write reviews but I wanted to do this one. This is my first projector, I always dreamed to have one and as soon as I had the possibility, I bought one. I am not an expert on projectors, so this is only a personal point of view. I spent a considerable amount of time reading websites, forums, reviews, opinions and whatever else there is available on the argument to decide what projector was my ideal one. Finally, I went ahead and I bought an Optoma HD28DSE. This is a great projector, with a great image quality. However I had some issues with the fan noise (even in eco mode) and with the rainbow artifacts. I watch movies with subtitles (English is clearly not my first language), and between the words constantly changing on the screen and me moving my eyes across it to read them, made the rainbow effects something I could not stand (at least with me). So I decided to try out a LCD projector and the Epson 2040 was my choice. I have to say I am impressed by the image quality. Its very good. The smaller throw ratio (compared to the Optoma) gave me an even bigger screen (currently just above 110 inches) and absolutely no rainbow effect. I keep the projector on a shelf just above my head and in Cinema/ECO mode you cant really hear it unless you really want to. The room is dark but not perfect, and during the day a decent amount of light comes in from the outside, but its not a big deal as the projector is very bright and the image quality doesnt really change much. As everybody else mentioned in every other reviews or forums, the black are not super good and the image tend to look a bit washed. This is true but again, its not a big deal as you may think. It is not perfect as some people would like to, but it not too far. It is simply very very good, and at this price, this is probably the best solution for those (like me) who cant stand rainbows effect. I rather have it a bit washed than fight the rainbows. And anyway, as others proposed, you could install a ND (2 or 4) filter in front of the projector to improve the quality of the image. All together I think this is a great projector. Extremely good image quality. Basically no noise (Cinema/ECO mode). No rainbow effects. Two years warranty from Epson. And super cheap lamp (compared to other models in the same price range)
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JC Brooklyn
> 24 hourVery Crisp colors and detailed picture even on a sunny room movies and shows look amazing, my only concern seems to be the software at times buggy, when turning on I hear the fan noise but not picture is displayed, I use the remote to change source or display menu and no response I have to resort in to unplug the device and plug in to make it work again, I contacted Epson customer service I have a case number Im waiting for a software update to correct this but nothing so far, Ill try to contact them again to see if they help me solve and update on the outcome
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Jkm
> 24 hourLove it. Pound for pound one of the best tech purchases Ive ever made and I am a picky home theater enthusiast and have worked in movies my whole career so having quality presentation is important to me and this thing performs like a champ for the price. Its easy to use, has all the ports youd want and need and performs great with a fantastic, bright picture. I typically use for outdoor movie night setups and throw about 14 off my deck on to a 144 screen. Image quality is fantastic and we can even get started early dusk (but of course it shines best after sundown, which with a proper Blu-ray set up is as good as it gets). I just recently used the 3D for the first time after having this for a bit and I was blown away by the quality and simplicity of use. A single button press to enable 3D mode, turn on the Epson branded glasses and they saw each other automatically and just worked - no fiddling beyond that and the movie looked as good (perhaps better) as when I saw it in the theatre (3D was great from virtually any angle in a pretty decent arc in front of the screen - I tested). All of this said, plan to invest or have some kind of solid audio solution and dont expect to use the on-board audio. There is a convenient audio out radio jack so you can push the audio to another/better sound system set up (Ive been using a Klipsch 2.1 kit that frankly is also amazing for the money spent - again - I use primarily outside - but you could easily tie into the highest end home audio system). Couple of HDMI ports. Dont really need much more. If you want/use 3D I loved the performance of the Epson ELPGS03 glasses. As I said above use/setup could not have been simpler and the quality is great. There may be cheaper solutions on the glasses but you wont go wrong with these. Maybe my tune will change if/when the lamp needs replacing (I maybe have 100 hours use in at this point) but for the money Im not sure you can do better.
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faraway12
> 24 hourSo this is my first projector and I am sold. I probably read hundreds of reviews on different Epson projectors and I eventually chose this one for price and capabilities. I had a 60inch Vizio E series tv before this and I was very to go bigger without buying a bigger tv. I havent noticed any difference in quality when comparing the projector to my tv which is great. I will admit though that my tv in my bedroom which is a M series has more clarity than the projector. That being said, I know there are projectors that have better quality but I had a budget which was under 1k and I haven not been disappointed at all with this projector! If you want your 1080HD experience then this projector is the way to go. It also does really well for lights being on. I have windows and a lot of natural light that gets into my den and this projector holds up well in lighting, even in Eco mode. If you want super crisp and clean then clearly a more expensive projector like the 3000 series is the way to go. I do intend to one day upgrade to the top notch kind of projector, but for now this one is perfectly fine when considering I now have virtually a 150 tv for only a hundred dollars more than my 60. I took two pictures. One is the Apple tv screen which shows the great clarity and the other is of a movie I was watching. The quality was based on my actual internet which isnt the best, but when it is streaming well the quality is great!
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CMH Houston
> 24 hourI received this projector a week and a half ago, everything is set up fine on the ceiling mount. It worked great for about 6 days, then a faint bar appeared on the left side of the screen which almost looked like burn-in but it seems to be an image processing issue or defect. The bar has a thin white line that intermittently shows up on top. The warranty looks legitimate, and I will revise my review if the customer service/technical support resolves the issue promptly. Like I said the projector was great until the defect appeared. Revised, after some trouble shooting, figured out the problem with technical support. Everything appears to be working back to normal, image is great, responsiveness when playing games is great, warranty and cost of replacement bulbs is unbeatable. Highly recommended as the best all around in this price range, tried playing FIFA with a friend on a BENQ and it was almost unplayable with the delay, the Epson is pretty much just as good as an LCD TV in terms of responsiveness.
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BlockDuck
> 24 hourAbsolutely wonderful projector! I bought this for my basement cinema. Pros: - Super clear picture for Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and the TV receiver box for antenna stations. - Fan is relatively quiet. I sit right below it and dont notice it when watching a show - Vivid and true colors - Easy to mount to ceiling when you buy a universal mount - Very easy to set up - Looks great even when projecting directly onto a wall. I havent put our screen up yet, and just have it aimed at a muted green wall. - Great picture even with lights on. Our basement has two lighting areas. I usually watch it with the back area lit and the picture is still very bright and clear. Cons: - I bought a Harmony 350 universal remote. It can turn the projector on, but it cant shut it off for some reason.
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Ariel Scott
> 24 hourIm pleased to finally write a review. The plastic casing is easy to scratch or to receive scratched so double check when the box arrives. Amazon and Visual Apex were very helpful and fair about returns. Aside from that, there is no need to calibrate the projector. This projector comes right out of the box ready to display brilliant, accurate colors. Great use with Finding Nemo 3D. We are using this projector against a painted light grey wall (before considering a screen) and it works great so far. Official reviews from magazines have stated that the black levels are not great. To fix this, I simply bought a ND2 46mm lens with a round adapter used on drones and secured it to piece of word. I noticed a great difference when I put the lens near the front of the projector while watching Star Wars. Space in the movie was now deeper and better. If anyone has any opinion, please let me know. I almost went for the Epson 3000, but saved the $600 by going this route and buying a replacement bulb for future. The Epson 3000 with a replacement bulb is $600 more. The Epson 3000 actually made the film Gladiator look washed out, syrupy and needed much more calibration. The Epson 2040 can really work well in daylight and on a painted wall. I looked at both projectors (3000 vs. 2040) in a store side by side and it was hard with the naked eye to tell the difference between the images. The 3000 was almost over saturated. The 3000 is better for placement from a ceiling. The small grey space I get along the edges of the image by raising the projector a bit is not too much a bother since the eye is mainly focused on the middle of the image - plus I did not think it was with correcting for $500 to $600 more and get the 3000. Believe me I was torn between the two, but went wit the 2040 since right out of the box it is hard to believe my entire wall can be covered with an impressive image. I tested motion with Star Ward and it worked fine.
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mpalmer
> 24 hourOverall: I cannot express how truly happy I am with this projector! I received this projector in December and have been using it non-stop since! I previously had an Epson 705HD and that was a good projector but this one makes that seem like it was childs play. The image is definitely 1080p and colors are vibrant and bright. There are several color modes to choose from (Dynamic, Cinema, Bright Cinema) and I prefer to use Cinema. I have not used the 3D capability as of yet because I do not have a 3D player as of yet, but I expect that the 3D is just as amazing as the rest of the projector. I want to talk about the frame interpolation a little bit. This is something that many high-end projectors have and it is very apparent when it is on. I personally love it because it makes the images seem clearer and smoother. At times, however it makes the images look fake because of the effect of the heightened frame rate. There is also a slight problem with the processing of movement with words. When the interpolation is on and there is a sweeping landscape, or when there are words on the side of a vehicle driving through the frame, the words lose their definition. Here it is obvious that the interpolation programming is attempting to pick the relevant information and becomes obvious. Even with these negatives, the overall opinion I have is that the interpolation is worth it; the picture is smoother and, to me, appears crisper. There are many inputs and outputs from the unit which make it quite versatile. I have only one HDMI plugged in currently, but it is a comfort to know that I could use more inputs if need be. The noise from the fan, as some people have noticed, is present, but only when the bulb is set to normal. Keeping the setting on Eco fixes this and makes the fan almost silent. I find that Eco is plenty bright for all the purposes I need. Also, having a good 5.1 system will really help with the noise (i know, duh) because this will diminish what can be heard coming from the fan. Only during silent scenes will there be any noise heard, and this is less than the sound that most fridges make when they are running. There is very little light leakage. Some projectors have lines of light rays that escape from the housing and cause bright spots in the dark room; I have not noticed any of these. I am using the projector with a 100 inch screen and it is very crisp and bright. I have used bigger screens with the projector and, of course, with a bigger screen comes the downside of seeing more pixels. You will definitely want to start using Blu-Ray players if you havent already. With my previous projector and some TVs the difference between the two is negligible, but not so with this projector. DVDs are much less clear and it is very obvious once you begin using blu-rays. The remote reaches from very far and very many angles; there are 2 sensors on the projector for the IR signal and this means that you dont have to be in the right place like some other projectors on the market. Thank you Epson! I was comparing this to some DLP projectors and ultimately went with this one. I have not used a DLP and therefore cannot speak to their image quality, but I can assure you that you will not be disappointed by making this your next home theater investment. I am a very happy customer and have recommended it many times!
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Jack H.
> 24 hourThis is my first projector. I love electronics, but would not consider myself to be hardcore about the quality, so I am sure there are better projectors than this, but I cant imagine a better one from a cost to value measure. I did a ton of research on projectors (including reviews here at Amazon, thanks to everyone else) and chose this model because it was going into a room that wouldnt be completely dark (so the 2200 lumens was a positive) and video games were going to be played (this model has an incredibly low lag time). My original goal was to put up a fixed screen either 110 or 120 inches away, so I mounted it at a distance that would work for both and played with the zoom to compare sizes before ordering the screen. I was just projecting on to the wall that was not painted with special paint and the projector had not been fine tuned, just pulled it out of the box and plugged it in. As I was comparing the sizes I kept marveling at how great the picture was just on the wall and decided to save a few bucks and skip the screen. I have had friends and family over to watch sports and movies and constantly ask their opinion on if they think a screen is needed and no one has said yes. The best compliment I have received is one buddy said he just assumed I had used a special paint. We have only been in the house 30 days, so we have a few repairs to to do in the basement. Once completed I will post some photos to show the quality.
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J. Geib
> 24 hourFantastic projector. I picked this up during the Black Friday pricing and couldnt be happier... It was originally used in my holiday lights display as a rear projector for Santa in the front window and it was amazingly crisp and bright. It now lives with me in the man cave and is being projected onto a plain white wall and looks AMAZING. Weve had big screen 55+ LCD/LEDs in the past, but nothing even comes close to how this projector looks filling a wall. Will never go back to watching movies on the small screen again. Im also a avid gaming and am very happy with how the projector works with my XBOX. No lag issues noticeable at all. If I had to pick a single con about the project it would have to be the frame interpolation sometimes has issues with certain sources and can introduce noticeable stutter or jerkiness. Seems to be very hit an miss and most of the time and work perfectly.