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

Love 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.

This is my first home theater projector, so take my opinions with a grain of salt, but I am very happy with it. At the time, I was debating between this Epson 2040 and either the BenQ W1070 or slightly new HT1075. The vertical positioning of the Epson wasnt an issue for me, so the ultimate tipping of the scales was that this Epson went on sale for $699 (list of $799) at the time I was looking to buy. Brightness There are 4 varying levels of brightness than you can select depending on how much ambient light is in the room. During the daytime, I usually run it on the max setting to get the best picture. My set up is not ideal and actually have a fairly large bay window right next to the projector screen, but I can still manage a good picture in spite of the high level of background light. The downside is that the fan is working hard to keep the projector cool and is pretty loud on the brightest setting. At night however (which is 90% of the time I normally use it), we run it on the lower settings and the fan is practically silent. Color Shift? Im not sure what the correct term for this is, but as other reviewers have noticed, there is a detectable color separation of green and purples on the edges of still black and whites next to each other on a menu or setup screen. Im not sure what this means, but its definitely there when you get up close to the screen. But once I sit back down at normal viewing distance, I dont notice the difference. And I definitely cant see a difference when watching a movie or anything else. In the end, I may have been happy no matter which projector I opted for, but this one has certainly exceeded my expectations.

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).

This projector is the first Ive ever purchased. I did a decent amount of research before hand but I was still unsure exactly what to expect. I dont have a proper home theater room. The walls are white, I can shut the blinds and close the door.. but thats it. I purchased a Silver Ticket 92 screen to go with this. First off . .maybe the works in a bright room claims are exaggerated. Perhaps compared to other projectors. Compared to a regular tv, though, this projector is highly susceptible to light. That being said, I find it watchable, with the blinds closed, at all but the brightest parts of the day. The second big question in my mind was the black level . .how bad were they? Pretty bad, actually. Even at night, with the blinds and doors closed, dark scenes are noticeably washed out. If you only watch movies it could be a deal breaker, otherwise its probably OK. . but its noticeable. The color is great. Bright scenes pop with lots of detail. There is not a lot of blurring. Sports look really good. .Ive watched basketball and golf so far - there are some issues but its a very enjoyable viewing experience. Watching golf, for example, theres some blur when the ball is moving fast but, for chips and putts, the ball is tracked pretty well. Its kind of in between my old Pioneer Kuros Plasma and my new Samsung LCD. There is less detail and not as good blacks as the Kuros, but more natural looking than the Samsung. Last things - cartoons, web content and video games. This thing is amazing for all of the above. Cartoons look absolutely amazing - if you have little kids they will be jaws-on-the-foor. Netflix and Amazon video seem to look even better than my cable HD. Its great for video games. I have no comparison as this is my first projector but we use it a lot for PS3 games and I cant tell any difference in response time from the lcd tv we used to have it hooked up to. Last last things . .the price! For the price it is . .it is a cant miss. Even if its not everything you ever wanted in a projector, its great and if youre looking to get your first projector you wont be sorry. You can watch anything on it - from movies to cartoons to video games. The replacement bulbs are cheap. I bought a screen but it looks good just on the wall. My kids, in fact, insist that we do movie night on the wall because it can be bigger. Im pretty amazed at what such an inexpensive projector can do.

Im 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.

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.

Im 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.

Fantastic 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.

I 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.

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.