Epson 5010 review

[projectormovielover]

Just got my Epson 5010 and thought I would let you guys know my findings

Well upon taking it out of the double box I found it to be huge. Its the same depth as a regular Epson 8500 but the width way bigger and the case work has curves and is smooth. It feels like more of a quality product with a contemporary design and feel as there is no hard edges. The remote feels better and seems less like a shell of thin plastic like the 8500's

Now the pros: I loaded up 'Under the sea' that I have demo'd many times for the scene where the fish pops way out the screen. With my LG this looked cool with but there was alot of instability and you are aware of the glasses. With the 5010 you would not even know you were wearing glasses as it was a smooth flicker free image. The fish took on a life of its own and appeared as a separate entity as it just floated into my room and lingered in mid air with all the details on its fins and skin color really apparent. The fish looked like it belonged in my room and the brightness topped anthing I saw in my local theater or tv. On the 120" inch grey screen backgrounds and everything else had great separation and depth unlike passive 3D at the theater. For 2D picture quality the images from spiderman on bluray had great pop and a 3 dimensional quality like watching a plasma tv.

Cons: Black level was not like the hype that surrounds it when you read all the pro reviews. The color was good but you always get that feeling like the picture is geared towards looking like a giant lcd tv. There was nothing of an analog quality to the picture. When I engaged the dynamic iris the blacks did not improve that much? Super resolution did nothing to the picture that made it better and the frame interpolation took away what little film like quality the projector has

All in its an astonishing picture but when I think back to the JVC RS45 I have to say it had everything that the 5010 does not and is clearly a superior projector. 3D was really important in my decision making and was my deciding factor that shuns any buyers remorse. The second deciding factor that got in the way was the brightness, I just bought a 235:1 166" screen so the pj has to fill it and the artificial pop quality really helps light up and sparkle that big huge screen

 

[invenio]

Congrats on the purchase. I use an Epson 8700UB and like it very much. Couples of questions: Did you calibrate before doing your review, if so, what calibration disk did you use?

Have fun and best wishes!

 

[projectormovielover]

No calibration sorry I should have mentioned my impressions where right out of the box in cinema mode

 

[invenio]

No calibration sorry I should have mentioned my impressions where right out of the box in cinema mode

I would definitely recommend calibration. Projector picture quality is highly dependent on room conditions, screen, lighting condition, etc. Even a change in one of these factors will have a major influence on what you see. I would start with a good calibration and then go from there.

 

[projectormovielover]

Well my local dealer who installed arc on my anthem avm was trained by joe kane in picture calibration and I spoke with him on the phone this afternoon and told him what I thought. He told me to wait till there is a couple of hundred hours on the bulb and he will correct the color for me. He said he would do it for $600 and that he has $25000 worth of equipment and he will provide documents of the work and whats been done. Sounds like a good deal to me and at a reasonable price

 

[invenio]

Well my local dealer who installed arc on my anthem avm was trained by joe kane in picture calibration and I spoke with him on the phone this afternoon and told him what I thought. He told me to wait till there is a couple of hundred hours on the bulb and he will correct the color for me. He said he would do it for $600 and that he has $25000 worth of equipment and he will provide documents of the work and whats been done. Sounds like a good deal to me and at a reasonable price

Your not going to get better than a professional calibration. In addition to putting some hours on the bulb, make sure you have your final setup (ie, screen, room paint color, etc) because this will effect the picture. You don't want the guy to come in and do the calibration, and then a month later buy a different screen with different gain. You can do calibration yourself with a $30 disk and some color filters and get 95% of the way there. But like I said, you can't beat the professional equipment, and that you have to pay for.

 

[Hauger92]

You'll never achieve an accurate white balance or gamma without a professional image calibration. The disks are well worth the money but won't give you perfection. $600 seems quite high though.

 

[Dan Osib]

Well my local dealer who installed arc on my anthem avm was trained by joe kane in picture calibration and I spoke with him on the phone this afternoon and told him what I thought. He told me to wait till there is a couple of hundred hours on the bulb and he will correct the color for me. He said he would do it for $600 and that he has $25000 worth of equipment and he will provide documents of the work and whats been done. Sounds like a good deal to me and at a reasonable price

When the 5010 is properly calibrated it will blow the JVC away. $600 for a professional calibrator is way overpriced!!?? Damn, It's cheaper here in the UK and after all my country is called RIP OFF UK.

 

[Audiophiliac]

Congrats. I have been impressed with the Epson line and had the chance to install the 6010 when it was released. I agree that a pro. calibration is worth the $$ and will squeeze the most performance out of that projector.