Epson Home Cinema 2040 1080p 3D 3LCD Home Theater Projector
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Rigel
> 3 dayBackground: I am nearly finished with a large and expensive remodel involving adding a playroom and bathroom to my house. I love home theatres so I installed a 7.2 sound system and painted a 110” screen on the far wall bordered by 3” felt tape. My intention all along was to spend $2700 on the Epson 5040ub upscaling UHD projector that I know from personal experience produces a fantastic image. The reality: after a year of remodel and hemorrhaging cash I couldn’t justify spending $2700. I read a ton of reviews and nearly pulled the plug on a Optoma HD DLP projector that got rave reviews here on Amazon. The significant drawback was the presence of rainbow artifact related to DLP projectors. Within the reviews for the Optoma this projector was mentioned as the replacement the person made after sending the Optoma back. All I can say is I am thrilled I read that users review. My review: this Projector cost about $100 more than the Optoma which I felt was a tiny sacrifice for rainbow free images. It installed easily albeit much closer than I had planned since it does not have an electronic zoom like the 5040ub. Keystone, focus and zoom were easy enough to adjust. The good: 1. Terrific clarity and detail of picture. My couch sits 14’ feet back from screen and I would have a hard time distinguishing this image from the 5040ub based upon resolution. 2. Color is excellent. I can say it does not match the 5040ub but I can’t expect it to. Selecting “Dynamic” picture really enhances the color and I do prefer this setting. 3. Color saturation very good. Richness and brightness of color rivals my Samsung 65”LED TV. 4. Contrast at 35,000:1 is sharp and deep. Again not nearly as much depth as the 5040ub but hey that one is 1,000,000:1. No contest. 5. Brightness at 2,200 lumens is plenty bright for cinema use in dark environment. Daytime use is totally achievable if you darken the room with drapes/curtains. 6: Price-nuff said. 7: Size and weight super easy to handle. When I do upgrade to the 5040ub this one will be my incredibly portable projector. 8. Pattern selection helps you size and center your image. The Bad: 1: Contrast. I’d prefer deeper darks but this is really a minor complaint. 2. Would have like electronic focus, zoom, etc. makes for a much easier adjustment since my projector is ceiling mounted. 3. Color saturation just a slight bit weak but again I have extremely high expectations. 4. Fan noise level just a tad more than I’d prefer. Overall this inexpensive projector is an incredible buy. If you are on the fence do not hesitate giving this a try. Coming from a movie buff and seasoned home theater user I really don’t see anything wrong with this little giant and can not recommend it any higher. Thanks for reading. It’s been about 6 months since I purchased the Epson 2040 projector. I still absolutely love the projector. For the price i think it is unbeatable. Fast frames never smear. Color is really nice and sharpness top quality. I still want the UHD upscaling Epson but find that this does so well I can’t justify spending $2400. Really wish contrast ratio was better. In a dark room it is noticeable. In the day with curtains pulled this little projector shines. The semi dark environment allows the contrast to looks its best. Still no hesitation whatsoever in recommending this projector. Our home has become the “mini movie theater” for the kids friends. Super immersive e perience especially with a top notch sound system.
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Wilsonlibrarian
> 3 dayI sat in front of this for the first time, put a good movie in the bd player and my jaw dropped. I just sat there awed and the only word that came to my mouth was wow. Later a friend came to see, and he had exactly the same reaction. Wow. The detail was amazing. Admittedly, I am not a videophile in its truest form but I have an appreciation for a good display and for the price this one definitely qualifies. I have it mounted about 12 ft from a homemade screen that I made using Carls Blackout Cloth, and it give me a picture approximately 120 in diag. The image is so bright, I use the eco mode and it still displays a nice picture with soft lights on in the room. This projector also has a horizontal keystone adjustment that allows me to mount the projector to the ceiling off to the side instead of in the center. There are two things that in a perfect world might be considered negatives. One, it is somewhat noisy when there is nothing playing on the screen. Not an issue when the movie is on. The second thing is because I have the projector mounted to the side. I can see a light reflection below the lower rh side of my screen. It is probably a reflection off the lens and it is in shape that you would get if you moved the projector off center and didnt use the horizontal keystone to correct for it. I didnt notice it at all when I had the projector centered, so I am sure it is a product of the keystone correction. Neither is bad enough to dampen my enjoyment of this piece of equipment in any way.
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mpalmer
> 3 dayOverall: 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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Farhad Rzayev
> 3 dayI purchased this almost 1.5 year ago. just few things that people may not like: I couldnt make it play movies from memory stick (USB), only pics. probably I was doing something wrong. I am just using HDMI inputs for my SatTV and for media player, and it works fine. I think it has a little noisy cooler, I did not use any other projector in this area (it is very quiet here) so I dont have anything to compare with. it is installed outdoor and therefore built-in speakers are not sufficient. I would recommend using separate speakers if you want to fully enjoy the movie. But when it comes to core functions of this projector - it does its job! Outstanding picture quality, amazing colors, the details of the picture are so clean and sharp even with 5 meter distance. 5 stars!
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trbizwiz
> 3 dayI have spent much more on projectors, but this is my favorite so far. The picture quality in a light controlled room is excellent, and the picture quality in a room with moderate ambient light is fine. I love that replacement bulbs are easily acquired for under $100. My past projectors required builds over $300. At the price of bulbs for this projectors, its easy to update when the picture dims, rather than dealing with a faded picture and waiting for the bulb to pop. I was looking for a budget projector. I wanted a good movie watching experience. I have all that and more and I am well pleased. There are projectors in this price range with better contrast ratio. Contrast ratio is important. I may well like those projectors better if I tried one. I chose this one because of the cost replacement bulbs. I was not concerned with having the best and newest. That can get expensive. I wanted a great movie watching experience for an affordable price.
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TL
21-11-2024Ive been trying out various projectors over the past week for my bedroom. Im not looking for anything too crazy or too expensive, just a decent projector with decent image would suffice to watch movies from my bed. I started with very cheap models and gradually moved to more expensive ones. This is the 5th projector I tried and hence I had some comparison points. What I love about the projector: 1. Image is bright and crisp. I compared the brightness of Epson Home Cinema 2040 to another projector with the brightness of 3200 lumens
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dad2aaa
Greater than one weekThis thing rocks! TV, Movies, Gaming, for the price you cant beat it. Ive had it for almost 9 months and started on the existing 100 inch screen, then expanded to 125 with a screen I built with blackout cloth. I would go bigger, but the wall I am projecting on is inset. The 1080P HD picture is bright and beautiful and will easily handle indirect light, even on eco mode. Brighter rooms and/or direct light will wash out the picture some, especially with darker shows. 3D works well enough for me, even for video games. Online gaming is great now with no noticeable lag. The projector it replaced definitely had lag and would routinely find ourselves on the losing end of a melee. Not any more. Again, this thing rocks! I did a lot of research. Went back and forth between this one, the BenQs, the Optomas, high end, low end, etc. I would love to try out to the BenQ to be able to compare, but I am more than thrilled with this Epson. If you are new to buying a projector, like I was, make sure you know exactly where you are going to mount it and the projectors throw angle, throw distance and zoom capability (throw range). These where variables that I did not originally consider, but ended up being one of the bigger variables I had to reconcile with my mounting limitations before ordering. Performance, price, features, replacement lamp cost . . . . you cannot do better! You will not be disappointed.
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Michael W.
Greater than one weekI have had the Edson 2040 for less than a week, but I can say without doubt, this is the perfect traditional TV replacement! I had a 65 Panasonic television for nearly a decade (720p). It was a great television, but it was time for an upgrade and I was on a budget. Im not a huge fan of 4K resolution, its just TOO sharp for my old eyes to enjoy to the fullest, but I planned on going that direction until I found that for my money I was going to have to go with a 55 screen... Then I discovered projectors. I studied up... for a bright room get 3000+ lums, for good dark images go DLP, so on so forth... I shopped long and hard... finally I came to the Epson 2040. 1080p. Great short focus. 3D. Interpolation. It has it all. I was only worried that my bright living room would be the doom of any image. NOT SO. The Epson 2040 is AWESOME. Period. There are 5 windows in my living room area that get the evening sun. Full sun behind sheer curtains (block about half of light), and floor lamps lit, even low light cinema mode provides great light on a 120 Eleite Screens screen. My projector is ceiling mounted and about 12 from the screen, above the heads of the center seats. Screen is a manual pull down mounted on the ceiling about 8 from the wall. With the screen up, it frees the entire living room space. Screen down, and my entire wall is my television! I run the projector on cenima mode (the dimmer energy saving mode) most often. The picture is great, even in fairly bright light. There is a little bit of warm up time when the unit is turned on, but its not bad at all. HDMI control means when I hit the power button on my cable remote, the projector powers up and automatically turns on my surround sound receiver and everything is ready to go. Some reviews have complained of noise... the projector does make some noise, but NOT THAT MUCH. Its literally mounted a few feet over our heads, and we dont even notice it while watching movies or television. Its really not much difference from my old TV or my PlayStation. The bottom line is, the Epson 2040 is a fantastic projector! Easy to use, fabulous picture. Get rid of the old tv and choose your own screen size!
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Jamrockka
> 3 dayIm very happy to have this projector. I have it placed a little over 10 feet from the wall and the projection size is 118 inches! The picture quality is excellent and much brighter than my last projector. The resolution is crisp and the text is easy to read. I have it plugged into my computers graphics card (MSI RX 480 8GB). I am very happy with the black levels and video quality. The refresh rate is 60Hz at 1080p which is excellent and I have not noticed any lag time with gaming. If you play first person shooters, the input lag is not noticeable at all! I have the projector running on ECO mode as well and didnt notice a jump in input lag. Make sure the signal image processing is set to fast. So far I have used 187 lamp hours since purchase and havent had any overheating problems or any issues. The fan is much quieter than my last O***a projector. Honestly, my computers liquid cooling fan is much louder than the projector fan noise. Pros: Sharp image Reasonably priced True 1080p native resolution at 60Hz Low input lag Bright image even with sunlight peeking through Rarely have to adjust focus, stays in focus for weeks! I like the auto keystone and zoom adjustment Quick menu navigation and good remote Decent audio volume output Reasonably priced replacement lamps Great design and build quality Cons: Speakers could be better quality but not bad Lamp life could be better No TV coaxial input for watching antennae HDTV Price does not drop very much over time Not AMD Freesync compatible! Conclusion: Overall I would rate this projector a 9/10. The price is nice and much cheaper than purchasing a 70+ television. Sure the bulb will have to be replaced a few times but for about 100 bucks for a new bulb, its a great deal. I almost bought a 65 4K TV but felt like I really wanted to continue a projector experience. This is the second projector I have purchased and one that I have researched thoroughly. This is probably the best bang for your buck. I spent hours researching and clearly I am satisfied with the purchase.
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CMH Houston
> 3 dayI 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.