A Long Way Home Cinema 2016 Online GameFall 2016 Online Courses Priority registration begins on 05/02/16 Continuing student registration begins on 05/05/16. Watershed is a cross-artform venue and producer, sharing, developing and showcasing exemplary cultural ideas and talent. Explore the world of Mac. Check out the MacBook, iMac, Mac Pro, and more. Visit the Apple site to learn, buy, and get support. Epson Home Cinema 8. Home Theater Projector. Epson is coming on stronger than ever this fall in the home theater market. The least expensive of their new 1. Home Cinema 8. 10. The next step up is the Home Cinema 8. UB, with more features and higher contrast, at $2,9. We've seen but have not yet tested the Home Cinema 8. Assuming it is as strong at its price point as the 8. Epson. They may turn out to be the most potent price/performers ever unleashed by Epson in the home theater market. When metering Epson's projectors, we typically get lumen measurements at or close to the official specification. The 8. 10. 0 is no exception. The Dynamic mode at default settings on our test unit pumps out 1. On many projectors, even some just released this fall, the Dynamic mode is bright, but horribly green to the point of being unwatchable. Epson has not overdriven green to achieve high brightness in its Dynamic mode. Color is, in point of fact, remarkably good. What you give up in Dynamic mode is black level, contrast, and color saturation. But in ambient light conditions you lose that anyway. On the 8. 10. 0 in Dynamic mode, the picture remains quite acceptable from a color balance perspective, and you don't feel as though you're wearing green eyeshades. Still, people who buy the 8. Dynamic mode is not the ideal way to view the projector. Natural mode measured 5. Theater was 5. 25, Theater Black 1 was 4. Theater Black 2 (a warmer 5. K setting for b/w film viewing) was 4. The default color temperature in this mode is 7. K according to the menu. When in Living Room mode, if you move color temperature to 6. K, you end up with both better color balance and a brighter image. Lumen output was increased to 9. So this is a very bright operating mode for good color, and a good compromise between the theater modes and Dynamic. There is again some sacrifice of black level and contrast, but in low ambient light, Living Room is a viable alternative. No matter whether you calibrate the unit yourself or use one of the factory options, you can cut light output by dropping the lamp from Normal to ECO. This reduces light output by 2. The 8. 10. 0 has a very long 2. The good news is that it can be installed just about anywhere to hit whatever screen size you want. The bad news is that if you use the extreme long throw end of the zoom, you cut light output by up to 4. This is normal for a zoom lens of this range, but it means you need to plan your installation carefully. If you intend to use Theater Black 1 for maximum black level and contrast, you are starting with 4. If you don't think about the zoom effect and install the 8. That's fine if you want to limit screen size to about 9. But most users will want to avoid the long throw end of the zoom if at all possible, in order to retain a wider range of lumen output and screen size options, and make the ECO- mode more practical. Last year's home theater models from Epson showed some focus instability over time. The Home Cinema 6. Epson made some mid- run adjustments and minimized the problem on later production units. But readers will be happy to hear that no such problem exists on the 8. Razor sharp focus is obtained after a five- minute warm up, and it stays razor sharp for the duration of the viewing cycle. Last year, the two least expensive 1. LCD projectors were the Epson Home Cinema 6. Sanyo Z7. 00. Both models used LCD panels with organic compounds, and as far as we know, they were the only two 1. LCD models to use organic panels last year. Both of those models were susceptible to image persistence, which in our experience the inorganic panels are not. It is not permanent; a ghost image can be erased by displaying a white field for a while and letting the LCD crystals return to their native resting state.). Now with the 8. 10. Rather, it behaves like all other 1. Thus our impression is that Epson may have gone with LCD panels containing inorganic materials on the 8. It is Epson's policy not to comment on the type of panels they use, so the company has not confirmed or denied this. Thus, we don't know for sure at the moment, and if we ever do we will update this section. The benefits of inorganic panels include higher contrast, much longer anticipated panel life, and the virtual elimination of any possibility of image persistence. Epson indicates that the anticipated lamp life on the 8. Normal or ECO mode. The replacement lamp retails for $2. So if you drop 1. In general, the less expensive 1. On the 8. 10. 0, fan noise is a low whisper in Normal mode, and lower still in ECO mode. But you need to be sitting within about three feet of the projector to notice an audible difference when you switch modes. Even in high altitude operation, fan noise is a low whisper, just slightly more audible that Normal mode. In normal operation, if you place the projector about six feet or more from the audience, it is unlikely anyone would ever hear it. Few users will ever choose to run in ECO mode solely to reduce fan noise. Rather, getting the ideal amount of light on the screen will be the reason to use it. On the 8. 10. 0, as on all Epson 1. This makes it easier to install the projector in a variety of locations relative to the screen without using keystone adjustments. The ideal way to illuminate a screen and get the most out of the projector is to have the projector dead center and the lens shift in neutral position. The more one has to move the projector off- center, the more it decreases brightness uniformity. If the projector is ceiling mounted and shooting down at the maximum angle the lens shift will allow, some of the light may reflect to the floor in front of the audience, and the picture will not be quite as bright. In short, if you need the extensive lens shift range to get a picture onto the screen, by all means use it. If you don't need it, don't use it. There are those who demand Porsche performance at Kia prices and are offended when they don't get it. But for those of us in the real world, the question is whether the set of features and functions being offered for the price are a great deal or not. And in the case of the Epson 8. DLP projectors do not have air filters. Though it is often recommended that you vacuum the air vents periodically, they require less of this type of maintenance than an LCD projector. The 8. 10. 0 requires a periodic cleaning of the air filter (every two months or so in a normal home environment) to get the maximum life from the lamp. The more expensive projectors today have incrementally higher contrast and deeper black levels. The 8. 10. 0 does not have frame interpolation, but no projector in this price range has that capability as of yet. It does not have an on- board anamorphic stretch mode. It does not have a powered zoom/focus lens. But other than those features, the 8. Everything we've tested on it works as advertised. The Samsung A6. 00, at $1,7. Mitsubishi HC3. 80. Street prices will vary from retail on each of these, so some shopping is in order to find the actual price differences. Also, the Optoma HD2. The Vivitek H1. 08. FD ($1,2. 99) and H1. FD ($9. 99) are available on the low end of price range. We have not yet reviewed the Vivitek models, but will shortly. We have not yet seen a production sample of the Mitsubishi HC3. Accordingly, the 8. DLP models. The 8. DLP rainbow artifacts since it does not have a color wheel or other serial color updating. None of the DLP models are able to match the 8. In cinema modes, however, these differences don't exist. The HD2. 0's Cinema, the A6. Movie 1, and the 8. Natural modes are about equal in brightness. But in this comparison the 8. The higher contrast makes it appear a bit brighter in side by side viewing. Beyond that, the 8. Natural mode, but give incremental improvements in contrast and blacks. The 8. 10. 0 is equal to its competition in actual sharpness and detail, but in side by side tests it gives the impression of being a bit sharper due to its higher contrast. All three projectors have sufficient color calibration controls to balance out the picture, so none has a significant advantage over the others in color accuracy. As far as digital noise is concerned, the 8. HD2. 0 are both low in noise and are equals in this regard; the A6. The 8. 10. 0 has a more three- dimensional image than either the A6. HD2. 0, and there is an impression of superior image clarity that again is derived from its contrast advantage. The HD2. 0 is the loudest of the three, but it still is not loud enough to be concerned about, especially considering its overall value for the money. It is the smallest and lightest of the three; the A6. However, though its case design looks great, it is not as easy to handle. We would not want to be moving it around much. The 8. 10. 0 is the largest and bulkiest of the three. It is not designed with portability in mind. It is important to emphasize that the HD2. For those who want to budget no more than $1. However, if you can expand your budget to reach the Epson 8. It is well worth the incremental price. We've given the 8. But at this price range the 8. It is awarded 4. 0 stars for features, again only because there are more expensive models that have a greater array of features (powered zoom/focus, frame interpolation, anamorphic stretch, etc.) Ease of Use and Value are easily 5. In short, the Epson 8. It is a significant step beyond last year's 6. At $1,5. 99 it is an outstanding value, and we are pleased to give it our strongest recommendation.
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