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Edited April 29, 2020
at 08:23 AM
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Epson Home Cinema 2100 1080p 3LCD Projector - Refurbished $399
Includes 2-Year Limited Warranty
Epson Certified Refurbished
Wondering if this is a good deal?
https://epson.com/Clearance-Cente...1H851020-N
Other models also on sale:
https://epson.com/Clearance-Cente...10a1c0e10#
Home Cinema 660 3LCD Projector - Refurbished $289
https://epson.com/Clearance-Cente...1H847020-N
Home Cinema 760 3LCD Projector - Refurbished $299
https://epson.com/Clearance-Cente...1H848020-N
Home Cinema 1060 1080p 3LCD Projector - Refurbished $379
https://epson.com/Clearance-Cente...1H849020-N
Home Cinema 2150 Wireless 1080p 3LCD Projector - Refurbished $499
https://epson.com/Clearance-Cente...1H852020-N > OOS
Home Cinema 3100 Full HD 1080p 3LCD Projector - Refurbished $640
https://epson.com/Clearance-Cente...1H800020-N
PowerLite Pro Cinema 4030 2D/3D 1080p 3LCD Projector - Refurbished $825
https://epson.com/Clearance-Cente...1H589020-N > OOS
PowerLite Home Cinema 5040UB 3LCD Projector with 4K Enhancement and HDR - Refurbished $1149
https://epson.com/Clearance-Cente...1H713020-N > OOS
PowerLite Pro Cinema 6030UB 2D/3D 1080p 3LCD Projector - Refurbished $1325
https://epson.com/Clearance-Cente...1H587020-N
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Contrast Ratios are always implied and will vary dramatically depending on how dark your room gets and how reflective everything is inside of that room. Light Control *is a must*. You also generally want a screen, projecting on a standard house wall with flat or semi-gloss paint will not be ideal but, you know, its functional. You can get a cheap grey screen (material only, sold cheap in various sizes on ebay) and give that a go, I'd recommend a greyish screen to help enhance the blacks that may get a little washed out on these inexpensive LCD based projectors.
Having said that, $400 for a 1080p projector is amazing, thats what replacement bulbs used to cost.
Optoma is a well known, established brand name. Look at each model and make sure you get one designed for home theater use (better image quality, punchy colors and black levels) versus industrial/classroom models (those tend to be brighter, while sacrificing contrast ratio and color accuracy).
The one thing you want to avoid with projectors is turning them on and off like TV's. Bulbs generally fail when you spark them, particularly when you do it if they are still warm. A good habit with PJ's is to turn them on and just leave them on, I routinely turn mine on for 10+ hour stretches, rather than turn it on/off, on/off several times a day....I've never blown a bulb (4 projectors over a decade)...they just get dim or start to flicker when they reach their end of life (2000-5000 hours in my case) and then you replace them.
or you get a new $400 projector depending on how often you use yours.
Also worth mentioning: 4K is not native on most projectors under $5000 and you can forget "real HDR" on any projector, even the $5000+ ones...1080p even at 120" is *FINE* for gaming/movie watching, 4K is of course better..even simulated...but you're not getting that for $500 yet.
HDR requires intense light output in specific regions of the panel and Projectors do not really operate like that, so even PJ's that cost $10k, $15k have dubious HDR light output numbers so just go in with your eyes open if you see HDR on any PJ and you're expecting the image to make you wince on bright scenes like a back-panel-lit LED or OLED might.
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From what I understand, the 2000-3000 lumens is good for color accuracy, but if you don't have a dark room, you'll be disappointed. I had a Viewsonic 5000 lumens projector which was adequate for daytime, but the problem with some of these projectors is that they either don't do 3D or if they do, they don't allow you to adjust the mode or brightness/contrast settings. At night, my 2700 lumens BenQ looks nice, but 3D is not eye popping because you need something brighter to compensate for the dark active 3D glasses.
Finally, if it's a name brand like BenQ, Optoma, Epson, or Viewsonic, the lumens rating can be trusted, but if it's a Chinese brand, all bets are off. I bought a few Chinese brands that claimed 6000 lumens but when I compared them, they performed more like my 2700 lumens and no where near the 5000 lumens projector.
If you're new to projectors, I would buy a refurbished one from Amazon , Buydig, or Viewsonic and try it out because as someone else mentioned, Epson doesn't take returns. You can find out how much the bulbs have been used on the menu, and I found that most of the returns have only been used for a few hours.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078SVR...BP?th
Also worth mentioning: 4K is not native on most projectors under $5000 and you can forget "real HDR" on any projector, even the $5000+ ones...1080p even at 120" is *FINE* for gaming/movie watching, 4K is of course better..even simulated...but you're not getting that for $500 yet.
HDR requires intense light output in specific regions of the panel and Projectors do not really operate like that, so even PJ's that cost $10k, $15k have dubious HDR light output numbers so just go in with your eyes open if you see HDR on any PJ and you're expecting the image to make you wince on bright scenes like a back-panel-lit LED or OLED might
What is the color lumen on the Ben q?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078SVR...BP?th
It's still fake 4k, but several reviews show it looking better than lower end true 4k projectors. It pixel shifts to get the 4k resolution, so not native. But it still looks great with color and contrast for a projector, and still looks higher res than standard 1080p. A friend has the 5030 (I think) and 3D on that is pretty fun, too.
If I didn't just buy a LG OLED, and more importantly my room was set up well for a projector, I'd be all over the 5040. Used to have a 8500ub, but after moving houses don't have the same projector-pro setup any longer.
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Looked new. I don't remember exactly but the bulb had very few hours and I haven't had any issues with it.
I got some 3d glasses but the number of 3d movies that are worth it is low.
If I did not have the 3300 I would buy the 5040.
The 2100 at that price is I think a good deal.
I got the 1060 for outdoors
For outdoors at night? 3100 lumens is barely passable in a well lit room much less outdoors during the daytime.
Get a new Optoma.
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No go during the day.