Epson Home Cinema 2040 1080p 3D 3LCD Home Theater Projector
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Southpaw
Greater than one weekThis projector has a lot going for it, and some drawbacks as well. Lets jump right in: Brightness: Very bright. The color brightness is just as bright as the whites since its a 3 chip projector. DLPs cant make that same claim, though some come close (RGBRGB models). Contrast: Sub-par, even for the under $1,000 category. DLP projectors will beat this one every time with black levels and contrast. Positioning: This projector gives you both vertical and horizontal keystone for ease of setup, though using this will make the image less sharp since its not using all of the pixels when the keystone is used. Most people wont notice, however. Pixel fill: The lines between the pixels are the thickest and most noticeable on 3LCD projectors. In other words, on DLP and LCoS projectors, you sit slightly closer to the screen without seeing pixel structure. Colors: Colors are fantastic, and have a lot of pop to them. 3LCD projectors excel with bright colors. Animated films look great! Noise: In eco-mode, its not very noticeable. In normal mode, youll notice it on quiet movie scenes for sure. Extra features: This projector has some features not typically found on entry level models. These include frame interpolation (smooth motion for sports, etc) and detail enhancement, which makes images appear sharper using special video processing. While it may seem a lot of my review was negative, this is a really good choice for an entry level projector. For those who havent seen better blacks on a projected image, they probably wont even notice the not-so-great blacks, but will be amazed at the huge, colorful, full HD image on their wall or screen. Another plus is that, unlike other lower end (and lower resolution) Epson models, this has an audio out port for those who take advantage of the portability of this projector and take it outside or to a friends house for movie night. I believe if Epson produced a projector like this one, but had blacks as good as the 8350 (not the best, but very respectable), they would overcome the only serious weakness of this model and sales would higher than Im sure they are now. Regardless, this a solid choice for those looking to get in on the big screen action at home.
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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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Rick Mc
> 3 dayBought this Projector with the hopes of creating a home theater. While I have gone back and started redoing the walls for the theatre room, while this was up the picture quality was awesome and the video brightness was acceptable in the normal/eco modes. It has plenty of inputs, and the remote worked well. They Keystone also worked amazingly well for when I had sat the projector at a funky angle. It was able to throw it on the wall at an angle, compensate and make it nearly level/flush. The one issue with doing this is that it slightly goes out of focus because of it throwing further in certain corners. I did not leave it like that, but I used it for a few days like that. Noise wise, it isnt bad at all. To me it just sounds like a quiet fan, Im not worried about it, but would definitely consider building a box with fabric on the inside that would dampen the noise for a purely theatre feel. IT DOES 3D. Bought some cheap 3D glasses (active) and they were recognized by the projector. Also had to fiddle with the blu-ray player to get passive 3D to work. Both types worked for me. The quality is very good considering the price point. I personally could not understand wanting to spend more money for a projector with the same features and maybe slightly further throw distance. When I was working for AT&T as a wire technician I would see many types of projectors in use. I feel like I have saved a lot of money because many of the customers paid multiple thousands for a projector with no significant quality difference in my opinion. Remote works well from various angles.
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The Sixth
Greater than one weekIm really enjoying having the image size of a projector, such a step up from the 60 TV. Currently have it set up with a 120 screen. Im really impressed with the image quality, but only use it in the dark, so I cant comment on the performance in normally or even dim lit rooms. Also only using it for movies, even though Im a casual gamer. The fan is a bit noisier than Id like, but when watching a movie I dont notice it except during quiet parts. Its also currently just sitting on a table behind the viewer temporarily till its ceiling mounted. So I dont expect it to be a an issue at that point.
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TL
> 3 dayIve 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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Jack H.
> 3 dayThis 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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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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Mr. Quincy Crooks Sr.
> 3 dayUpgraded from a viewsonic 720p, mainly because my wife got the rainbow effect from it, so I got this on sale looked like it was only one day at $499, the fan in regular mode is by far louder then the viewsonic but not to bad in eco mode, i am getting a clicking noise in the unit that has me concerned, woundering if it is normal? Also the throw for the two projectors was way off i had to get in the roof and rerun all the wires 3-4 feet closer to fit my canvas screen, but with picture quality difference it is a non issue, acually like where it sits installed. So all in all the projector seems great, (have had it about a week) but losses a star because of the (fan sound? Chirping) sound that i am not sure it is normal and worring about it breaking. Hopefully i will get a response about it..
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Jason Boergerhoff
21-11-2024I cannot stress enough how good of a purchase this was. Before this I was limited to using my 26 inch television for everything: TV, movies, and games. Now with some careful positioning Im able to project the equivalent of a 125 inch screen onto a homemade projector screen in a very dark room. This darkness is important, as the projector doesnt need to work as hard while at the same time providing an extremely vivid image. Of course Ive had the lights on as well in this room which has washed out the image significantly, but it is still visible. I am new to the world of projectors, and after a couple years of researching and comparing I think I have found the best introductory model for me. Your situation may be different, but I would still recommend the Epson Home Cinema 2040 if youre thinking of starting down this road. I honestly believe that I couldnt be happier with this purchase.
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Miss Alivia Langworth
> 3 dayI have put ~ 50 hours on this projector in the last 3 weeks. I use it with my Elite Screens grey 135 inch homemade screen. I really like it but there are a few things that could be better. My Pros: Bright - I have total light control in my theater so most of the time I run it in economy mode. Quite - Not too loud in eco mode, see cons for normal mode. 3d - Works great. Price - I picked this up when it was on sale for about $600 shipped from Amazon. Bulb costs- Ive found them for as low $65. I never feel guilty watching it. Cons: Loud - I use normal mode when watching sports and it is very loud. Creative frame interpolation - I wanted to like this feature. Not enough horsepower as it lags/stutters a lot. No lens shift means that my projector hangs down 6 inches from the ceiling. Automatic Iris - I shut it off. It was too noticeable while on. One note about the contrast. I recommend a grey screen for this projector as it needs all the help it can get for contrasts. Once I settled for eco mode and set the processing from fine to fast, I do enjoy using it. I will never go back to a flat panel TV.