Epson Home Cinema 2040 1080p 3D 3LCD Home Theater Projector

This 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.

One very important note. DO not use this with a throw distance over 18 feet. It cant scale down enough. Mine is displayed on the side walls and I cant adjust it any smaller. Update: 9/10/18. The power cord that comes with it could stand to stick into the prongs a bit better. When we recently moved this to a throw of about 17 feet and tried to maneuver it to the right height and mark the ceiling hole, it would cut out as we were holding it. Thought it was the lamp, no, it was just the cord coming slightly loose in the projector. So far though, aside from the shorter throw limit, it has worked flawlessly. Son uses it for gaming and wife and I use it for movie watching. We didnt paint he dang wall, and it seems fine for all of us. No screen pain or special cloth. We all still enjoy it. Its hard to complain when your TV just grew to a 9x7 picture.

I bought this after doing a moderate amount of research. It seemed like the right projector for me at this reasonable price point (I picked mine up for $650, but it seems to fluctuate on Amazon), and after a week of regular use Im pretty satisfied. There is one area this projector is severely lacking in though, and that is black levels. Ignoring the insane numerical contrast ratios that Epson likes to throw around, I can tell you that this is clearly the biggest weakness. Before purchasing, I read a few reviews and comments praising the black performance, but Im here to tell you this is incorrect, and probably sourced from people who are easily pleased. For most families and first time projector owners, it will be fine. But as a designer and photographer who scrutinizes and edits digital images all day, Im a little let down. I did a little more research and it would appear that this is a LCD projector technology limitation. You can find a few projector models in the sub $800 price range that have slightly improved blacks, but those are DLP. Im sticking with my 2040 because of the brightness, colors, and because Ill never have to deal with the rainbow effect on DLP projectors. Its also great for gaming, with the lowest lag time Ive found in this price range. I have taken a few steps to improve the ambient light in my room, hoping it will deepen the blacks. Draped black fabric above and to the sides of the screen seems to help a little because it cuts down on reflected light back on the screen, but dark scenes still struggle a little and tend to look gray and washed out. Do not be fooled by reviewers who dont know what to look for in an image. For the average Joe or anyone who wants a beautifully sharp and vibrant image, as well as the ability to blow up movies to insane screen sizes... This is a great purchase. Id recommend the 2040 if you arent willing to shell out $200-$300 more for deeper blacks.

My initial review is below. Ive now had this projector for two years and havent seen any issues with it. Its rock solid and reliable. Also havent had to replace the bulb yet, which is nice. If I was shopping for a new one, Id look for deeper black levels (these are OK, but not great) and perhaps something with a quieter fan. The sound is fine in ECO mode but gets a bit loud otherwise. -------------------------- Ill put it this way: the picture on this thing is good enough that I can watch a movie and not feel, as I used to when I had a TV, that I was missing out on the visual impact Id get from seeing it in the theater. Sitting 15 feet away from this projecting on a 6 foot wide screen, Im immersed, totally. Im projecting it at around 90 diagonally, and the picture is bright and razor sharp. Put on a well-mastered BluRay and youll be blown away witih the quality, brightness and detail, particularly in outdoor, daylight scenes. For darker scenes, black levels are not deep, inky black, and night scenes dont quite have the contrast of a higher-end model. But its definitely watchable. I would recommend using it on eco mode, which is still quite bright and apparently extends the lamp life significantly. Going from eco to standard makes the picture seem maybe 10-15% brighter, but makes the fan easily twice as loud. The good news is eco mode will be bright enough if your room is even moderately dark. Theres a 60fps image smoothing setting, common on a lot of TVs now, but Id leave it off for movies and TV unless you like that weird soap opera effect;. The one exception would be sports or video games. Im very impressed with this projector. My last Epson ran for three years without any issues and without having to even change the bulb, and so far (five months) this one is going great.

Colors are rich even on eco setting and there is no Rainbow effect (RBC). Its great but definitely needs some improvement with picture processing. On fast scenes, obvious pixelation shows up akin to lower resolution pixelation like how Minecraft looks like. Its not that the entire image pixelates but just some details/highlights in the whole picture shows obvious pixelation. I suspect the hardware or software does this to keep up with the fast scenes. Still this would be a great purchase given the $79 replacement lamps. Compared to a BENQ 1075, the pixels of the Epson 2040 are bigger and so the screen door effect is obvious when one is up close to the screen (1-2 feet).

I was in the market for a project for under $1000 and this one was constantly rated at the top of the charts. I have a dedicated room so I can control the light fairly well and was blown away upon turning it on. The quality and color is great and even in eco mode has plenty of light to show a movie with moderate ambient light. The project has vertical as well as horizontal keystone correct which helps mounting it as it doesnt have to be perfect. I watched a couple of movies now and love every single one. I have a 144in screen at 15ft back. While the projector looked good on my wall paired with the Carls ProWhite I was blown away. The colors pop and the contrast looks good. Im sure the contrast would look better on a higher end projector but its left me nothing to complain about.

I 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)

Upgraded 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..

Absolutely 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.

I purchased this unit as a replacement for a Benq W1070 DLP projector. I had read many great things about Epson projectors, and hoped to enjoy this one as much as I did my last projector. Unfortunately it turns out that the LCD technology that this projector and other like it use, just isnt for me. it is not inherently BAD, but the black levels are simply nothing close to what they are on a DLP projector. All of the color contrast in the world simply doesnt make up for the fact that this projector can only produce a dark gray on its best day. That being said, I am sure that there are plenty of happy owners out there, this one just wasnt for me. Pros: -Easy installation -Fast startup and shutdown -Able to be used in rooms with ambient light -Cheap replacement bulbs Cons: -Poor black levels -Heavy pixelation compared to DLP at same seating/throw distance -Image dimming effect based on amount of white/ black on screen Bottom Line: Make your own judgment, but if you want a Movie Theater Quality projector experience, stick with DLP.