This has been a sensitive topic for us as most of us have been overly picky when it came to projector qualities. Wanting everything from a large throw, great colors, to a nice bright picture. All of this of course using your typical movie theater as a judging variable. On top of that, it has to be generally affordable as most of the “best” projectors can’t compete with flat-screen TVs because their price is just too unreasonable to win.
Unfortunately, unless you spend more than $6,000 on a projector, it seems it is going to be difficult to match the brightness and color quality of today’s high-end LED screens. So we passed on a lot of models since we were in search of one that the average consumer could afford (when comparing it to those high-end LEDs).
We finally were able to narrow it down between two projectors, the Epson 5020UBe Home Cinema (around $2899) and the JVC DLAX3 (around $3799. Although the JVC performed better than the Epson did, the price difference wasn’t as balanced which led to the Epson walking away with the award (now if the JVC model was one of their top models, it would have left Epson in its dust…but then the price would be more than 3-4x that of the Epson, weighing in close to $10,000).
One unique feature the Epson holds over the JVC (worth pointing out) is wireless support for the video signal. With the Epson, you will not have to run an HDMI through the ceiling to reach the projector. All you do is install the projector, plug it in for power (most ceiling projection owners will have a dedicated outlet installed in the roof where it will be mounted), and you’re done. No cross room cables to bother yourself with. This to us, is an amazing feature as HDMI cables can lose signal strength after so many feet and their standard (version) can always become outdated (ie, the current is HDMI 1.4). With the ladder, we would assume that a simple firmware update could resolve some/most support for future HDMI standard changes.
The quality of the wireless signal seems to be solid as in our tests we weren’t able to force it to lose sight of the transmitter. We tested 25-40 feet from the source (this is distance to receiver, not the throw to the screen) and the picture quality remained great without any loss of frames or noticeable glitches.
The only issue we had with the wireless support was input switching via remote. They could have made it a little more user friendly. It is still more than functional though. Switching inputs took a few seconds to respond, but more than worth the wait when you’re cutting the cables.
The setup of this projector is pretty straight forward. If you have any experience with projectors, you will have this unit running in a snap (from signal to image adjustment).
Image was very impressive, even when the lights were on. Obviously, with the lights on, an LED screen is going to prevail…but let’s remember that projectors were meant for the dark! Regardless, it still looked impressive with the lights on, and that surprised us.
3D seemed to perform pretty well with this projector, although we didn’t test a lot of 3d content while considering our opinions. We briefly tested the 2d to 3d conversion, however, we weren’t that impressed. This problem though is shared among most of the TVs and projectors we have seen in recent years, so we weren’t overtaken with surprise.
Noise wasn’t an issue with this unit which is always good to know. Some of us are a bit OCD about distracting noises, and during a movie, a noisy projector would be more than annoying. The Epson wasn’t noticeable as it caused no audible distractions when in use.
There isn’t really much more to say about this one besides it is a great choice for those looking for a projection solution for a theater-type setup. It is affordable (compared to some of the alternatives), is feature-packed, has plenty of HDMI inputs, and the wireless function is an amazing benefit.
To get any more excited about a projector, you will have to spend a lot more money than this, so in our conclusion, we have decided to give the Epson 5020UBe 7.5 stars out of 10. If it falls down in price, it would only get better.
Both the Epson 5020UB and 5020UBe have earned Editors Choice from us.
Are you a manufacturer or vendor that would like us to test something out for review? Contact us and we can let you know where to send the product and we will try it out.
