Epson TW3000 Home Cinema Projector Review

Epson's new TW3000 1080P Home Cinema is the next step up from the TW1000. The TW1000 was reviewed as good projector, it won a lot of fans but this new model is evolution.

By the model number you'd think it's better than the TW2000 but that's not the case, it's sort of between the TW1000 and TW2000 even if it's priced as an entry level 1080P projector model, none the less the EH TW3000 is a very powerful LCD 1080P projector that would be appreciated by most as great value.

Reviewers often confuse you with meaningless technical jargon, just like the manufacturers try to do all the time.

This is all you need. If you're loaded and have a dark theatre room by all means buy a more expensive projector but as we say over and over if you have any light in the room you're wasting your money.

Unlike 1-Chip DLP projectors there is no spinning colour wheel in Epson 3LCD projectors 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.

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).

When we saw that Epson were claiming 18000:1 to 20:000:1 (depending on which press release you read) contrast ratio (CR) we thought this is a more realistic range than claims quoted on other projector models several times that rating. The fact they change it all the time means to us it's more a feeling than a measurement! You can almost see the advertising guys saying: "Nah.. 20 looks better than 18.."

Unless you have no light at all in the room this is all you'll ever need. Take CR with a grain of salt, they all sex it up.

The eye can't see contrast of 18,000 or 50,000 to 1 in "The real world" but we can pick if the black is very black, easily.

10 bit processing (1.1 billion colours) & Epson C7 LCD engine, that's where you see small differences in specifications compared to higher end models. The high end models have 12 bits all the way currently called the Pro-UB. Epson have new 12 bit models in 2009.

What happened to home cinema? 42-50-60 inch that's still just TV. Big deal that they're flat.

With projectors like the TW3000 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
The TW3000 is slightly brighter again.

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" you just don't need it the TW3000 is smooth enough without sacrificing sharpness.

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-3000 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 TW3000's colour processor is 10 bit so having 12 bit LCD panels is somewhat academic.

With this new technology, the (Epson EMP TW3000) 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 1,800 ANSI lumens, up from 1,600 the TW3000 is even well-suited for rooms where ambient light can't always be eliminated. Note this specification is a bit vague also we've see both 1,800 and 2,000 ANSI lumens, in any case it's bright for a cinema model and using it for cinema you won't be needing 1,800 or 2,000 lumens as that is way too bright. The cinema modes are less bright so you can see the subtle colours and cut down on the fan noise too.

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.

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 highest contrast ratio.

Theatre to Black 2 them for the blackest blacks, darkest darks, nothing when there is really nothing!

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".

We tested the Epson TW3000 looking for the overall impression which is first rate, we noticed the blacks were not as not as deep as the Epson EMP TW2000 or Sanyo PLV Z2000 (all picture modes) but only if you've seen one after the other or confirmed this by measuring the brightness of the blacks (looking at places on the screen you want no light at all such as vertical bars on material wider than 16:9 i.e. 2.35:1) measured in lumens.

With Bly-ray content you'll soon find out the limitation is often not the projector it's your eyes plus the source material. Shots below are TW2000 we will replace them soon but you can't spot the difference on this sort of test, you need to take some measurements which we've done.

Please remember our screen shots are taken with a digital camera and are not as impressive as reality.

TW3000 will be used in cinema mode where it hardly works up a sweat. The fan is very considerate in cinema modes. The larger case helps to keep noise down but there are quieter projectors.

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.

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 TW3000 shold be the same. The higher the signal the more lightly you are to get noise over a long distance.

The Epson EMP-TW-3000 is good value at this end of the market, which a few short years ago was reserved for the very rich and you're getting a 1080 HD projector from the makers of the LCD engine even the diehard DLP brands now use. It's worth putting on your list.

Aussie Buyers!

Looking for the best price $ deal
on Epson TW3000 or Sanyo PLV-Z700?

Why risk your money with e-shops that don't really have stock (no matter what most state) We buy in bulk so you get the best prices and FAST Australia wide delivery!

AIM Digital Imaging

*Warranties mentioned in this review are for genuine Australian supplied units only. Check with Epson Australia if in doubt.