Epson's answer to the Sanyo PLV-Z2000 means there is now more choice than ever.
The first Epson EMP-TW2000 we reviewed was made in Japan & it really impressed us. We've updated this review with more information the Epson TW2000 HD projector we see now.
Epson EMP TW2000 1080P HD Projector
Reviewers often confuse you with meaningless technical jargon, just like the manufacturers try to do all the time.
We will sum it up in a paragraph for the normal punter that's not splitting hairs over some technicality.
Brighter, darker blacks, plus if you buy a genuine Australian supplied unit you get 3 years unlimited lamp hours warranty.
Unlike 1-Chip DLP projectors there is no spinning colour wheel in Epson 3LCD to cause "rainbows" this is a consideration for some people that are sensitive to them.
There is no shortage of great projectors so your choice may come down to the Warranty, Purchase cost, LCD or DLP, Brightness or other features for your particular needs.
You'd be wise to consider (genuine) warranties with the cost of lamps too. (update) The warranty was the Achilles heel of the Sanyo Z2000 but they have now matched Epson Australia with a 3 year projector & lamp warranty.
In nature you often come across the "law of cube" meaning to make something twice as fast/bright/loud/good you need more than twice the input (four x comes to mind).
Wow! 50 grand but that's really..
When we saw that Epson were claiming 50000:1 contrast ratio (CR) we dismissed it as advertising hype because the uninformed may think it's 10-20 times better than most else on the market with say 4000:1 or even 15000:1 CR.
Note Epson's massive CR is not measured in any Cinema mode and the native is 4000:1 we doubt you're buying a Cinema projector to run it in Dynamic mode which is all but unwatchable for a movie in a dark room, way too bright and colorised..
In particular we didn't think it would be much better than the 15000:1 Sanyo Z2000. The good news for Epson marketing is that the EMP-TW2000 has better contrast which in the real world means darker blacks and that's the thing you notice first. This projector is black, OK not as black as the Pro-UB version sold in USA but black nonetheless.
The eye can't see contrast of 15,000 or 50,000 to 1 in "The real world" but we can pick if the black is very black, easily. That's why Pilots use red torches of a night, shine a normal torch in your face and see how much CR you can see for the next several minutes! (Don't shine a Pelican 2310 torch in your face else you'll be blind for a while!) Think about it, bright scene then dark scene.. That's what we mean by real world. Next time you go to the cinema have a look at the black scenes, I bet they're about 5% gray.
"..Forget the specifications, this is one
class leading and flexible projector.."
Colour Bits, missing bits?
10 bit processing (1.1 billion colours) & Epson C7 LCD engine with 12 bits or 68 billion colours.
There is a TW2000 with 12 bits all the way but that's called the Pro-UB it's a shame to have a 12 bit LCD and use just 10 bits in the image processor but to keep costs down (we guess) Epson Australia have chosen this version.
Plasma, LCD TV, TV, TV..
What happened to home cinema? 42-50-60 inch that's still just TV. Big deal that they're flat.
With projectors like the TW2000 home cinema should be a must have for anybody wanting to overtake the Jonses, (why just keep up with them?) or indeed have a new way to spend "quality time" with the family.
The word is "Home Cinema is the new swimming pool" ..about time and a lot easier on the water storage.
You'll never see a great demo at a Plasma/LCD TV merchant, it's not in their interest to convert you to real home cinema, you'll be happy with your flat TV if they have any say.
Screen shot of the Epson TW2000 with DNP Screen
A real alternative
To buying a really big plasma TV think about it, what would a 100 inch plasma cost? You could install a complete home cinema as per the above (including a DNP screen) for around 10k. We are amased more Pubs & Clubs haven't woken up to this.
Pixels
Even up close you can hardly make out the pixel structure on the screen, from any sort of normal viewing distance it's impossible. The image is as smooth as silk just like the Sanyo 1080 model. You may have heard of the Panasonic "Smooth screen technology" well you just don't need it, it's plenty smooth enough without sacrificing sharpness.
C2fine is just fine with us
Epson 3LCD technology is also used under licence by Barco,
Canon, Fujitsu,
Hitachi, Infocus, Mitsubishi,
Panasonic, Sanyo, Sony,
Toshiba, Viewsonic and many more..
The new TW-2000 LCD
HTPS panels utilize Epson's C2 Fine technology. If any projector is 1080p, LCD and 12 bit it uses the new Epson D7 chips. As mentioned before the TW2000's colour processor is 10 bit so having 12 bit LCD panels is somewhat academic.
The new D7 chip set with C2Fine takes advantage of a new inorganic substrate and polarizing light filter. We highlight this because the older style organic LCD light engines can fade or fail with age like your notebook screen, indeed this was the one Achilles heel the DLP guys picked up on..
With this new technology, the (Epson EMP TW2000) delivers superior black levels, vividly accurate colors and much higher degrees of contrast than previous-generation models. Additionally, by achieving brightness levels as high as 1,600 ANSI lumens, the TW2000 is even well-suited for rooms where ambient light can't always be eliminated.
"..it's so good you don't know it's there.."
The new panels also quadruple gradation approximation from 1,024 gradation levels to 4,096 gradation levels.
Please remember our screen shots are taken with a digital camera and are not as impressive as reality.
Actual (as all here are..)
Out of the box
There is not much you need to do. You may like to have a fiddle with the lamp power and Iris on/off but beauty is in the eye of the beholder, we liked it is an understatement.
Colour Modes
Dynamic is for emergency use only! Bright for sure, but say goodbye to the subtle colours. More useful for PC spreadsheets in a bright room. This is the mode used to produce the 50,000:1 contrast ratio claim from the native 4,000:1 engine. Not good.
Living Room is what I'm using now, in the middle of the day.
Theatre to Black 2 them for the blackest blacks, darkest darks, nothing when there is really nothing!
x.v.Color
Larger colour range or gamut and you can see it. This is one they snuck in without much fanfare but it's a great option.
Sony Corporation sub brand name "x.v.Color", x.y.Colour is based on a color range standard with approximately twice that of conventional standards it was accepted and issued as an international standard by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in January 2006. Products which conform "xvYCC" will be able to faithfully reproduce natural object surface colors with contents that also conforms "xvYCC".
Screening review
We tested the Epson TW2000 using HD transmissions and Bly-ray content you'll soon find out the limitation is not the projector it's your eyes plus your source material. Very hard to fault so we won't.
The different colour modes as mentioned above work as you'd expect, the only one that got our attention was the new x.v.Color for the obvious increase in colour detail.
I've had a TW2000 at home for a week now. I've shown it to friends (who are all envious!) I can't fault it, 10 bits, 12 bits 50,000 to 1 who cares!
Things I've noticed are how natural the colours look, how much better the blacks are than my last projector, how quite it is. May sound silly but it's so good you don't know it's there. (i.e. People are always making excuses "Remember it's just a projector")
Please remember our screen shots are taken with a digital camera and are not as impressive as reality.
Back in Black
If you're serious about home cinema you'll have a dark ceiling? If you do the Epson will look cool up there, if not it will look cool anyway!
Noise dB
The Sanyo PLV Z-2000 is a fair bit quieter but in real life with the newfangled "sound" in movies you just can't pick it unless you're sitting near the projector in a quiet scene. This changes somewhat if you're using a brighter mode in a hot room, then you can hear the fan. But there is no way to get such brightness without some fan noise luckily most of the time the TW2000 will be in cinema mode where it hardly works up a sweat and the fan is very considerate too.
The Epson TW2000 is not the best choice if you have the projector in a book case behind your seating position.
If you're considering the 50,000:1 CR claim and want to watch it you'll need to use the Dynamic mode, trust me the noise & eye strain will soon make you calm down back to one of the realistic Cinema modes.
High lamp mode causes the fan to speed up, on a hot night the level is very noticeable so there is the rub if you do need to use full lamp mode because you can't control the ambient light you will hear the difference.
HDMI 1.3
The latest version of the HDMI standard for resolutions up to 1920x1080 pixels. We noticed the EMP TW2000 did not need an in-line signal booster over 15m unlike every other model we've tested. The higher the signal the more lightly you are to get noise over a long distance.
5°C to 35 °C (41°F to 95 °F) at 20% ~ 80% Humidity
DIRECT POWER ON
Yes
COOL-DOWN PERIOD
Approx 16 seconds
POWER SUPPLY VOLTAGE
100-240 VAC ±10%, 50/60Hz
POWER CONSUMPTION
240W (Lamp High), 200W (Lamp Low)
DIMENSIONS
EXCLUDE FEET
406mm(W) x 310mm(D) x 124mm(H)
MAXIMUM DIMENSION
406mm(W) x 353mm(D) x 143mm(H)
WEIGHT
Approx. 5.6kg
FAN NOISE
HIGH BRIGHTNESS MODE
32dB (Colour mode: Dynamic Lamp brightness: High)
WHISPER MODE
24dB (Colour mode: Theatre Black 1 and 2)
ACCESSORIES
POWER CORD
3m
REMOTE CONTROL
Stick type (backlight)
BATTERY
Alkaline, AA x2 (Included)
USER'S MANUAL
Included
LENS CAP
Included
WARRANTY*
3 years
Conclusions
Price vs. specifications ratio..
The Epson EMP-TW-2000 is a great 1080p HD projector.
When you're at this end of the market, which a few short years ago was reserved for the very rich, you've got several great choices.
How can you go wrong? (..with any 1080P LCD!)
How can you go wrong with the TW2000? Such a great warranty, plus true HD from the makers of the LCD engine even the diehard DLP brands now use.
It may come down to price, now the TW2000 is made in China we'd hope the street price will come down to meet Sanyo PLV Z2000, (still made in Japan and full 12 bit engine) the Sanyo is gaining a following possibly because of it's price vs. specifications ratio.
Mr. T or Z?
Either one will make you glad you went true HD.
Check specifications and know the difference between native contrast ratio & the advertising measurements people take as gospel. Both get our Editors' choice because in spite of the specifications there is not much in it either way. If you have one candle of light in the room there is nothing in it but that's another story the hype guys don't want you to hear!
Check the prices. Buy the one YOU consider best value for your needs.The 3 year lamp warranty is a must have.
