We have already blogged about our 1080p projector shootout and showed some of the photos from the day. Now we are ready with the corresponding video. The video is located on YouTube (and embedded below) and on Vimeo. The Vimeo video may be a little higher quality.

As we already discussed in our blog post a couple weeks ago, each of our six projectors displayed good video. Unlike shootouts three years ago or so, all of the projectors we demoed are bright enough, have good color, and display video with limited artifacts. And all but one of our tested models were designed specifically for the home theater market. We threw in the Optoma TX1080 because it’s a good crossover option for those who want a widescreen business projector that does good video.

So, without further ado, please feel free to check out the video. It’s not fancy, by any stretch, but it does give you a chance to see the models side-by-side. Below are some of the things that the camera may not show exactly as we saw them.

What the Camera Couldn’t See

We wanted to film all five (technically six) projectors at once, playing the same content, since that is one of the most frequent requests. But like with any comparison like this – there are some limitations to our professional video camera. that means some of the most noticeable differences between the units we saw in person are not apparent in the images you see.

Black Levels

The black levels were far superior on the Epson Home Cinema 6500 UB, the Sanyo PLV-Z3000, and the Panasonic PT-AE3000U – with the overall ‘blackest blacks” nod going to Epson. The Sanyo PLV-Z700 showed the worst blacks in our test with out of the box settings.

120hz Superiority

The projectors with 120hz processing (again the Epson Home Cinema 6500 UB, the Sanyo PLV-Z3000, and the Panasonic PT-AE3000U) looked incredible in person. They look good in the video, but even in scenes with just a little movement – like people walking through the metro station – the difference was remarkable and obvious. We hope to get some HD video that can capture the difference soon.

Brightness

The camera tends to adjust for brightness, finding a happy medium that makes all the images look their best. The good news here is that there was not much to report. All of the projectors looked about the same in terms of brightness although there are a few hundred lumens difference between some of them. In fairness to the brighter projectors, the images were relatively small since we had to get them all on the wall. If we made the images bigger, the brightness difference would have likely been more apparent.

Help Us Help You!

This is our first attempt at a shootout video, and we are still learning how to best provide you with the most useful content. One lesson we learned this time is that we need to use an HD camera. Yes, it does seem like the obvious choice. Yes we will do it next time. However, even with an HD camera we still have limited bandwidth on sites like YouTube and Vimeo. So, I think next time we will offer a higher resolution HD video feed for you to download at your leisure. We have also had requests to do some reviews with calibration settings. We are still considering this. Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas! You can do so by replying to the newsletter email, or send your thoughts to webmaster@projectorpeople.com

[ some artifacts are visible from the Vimeo compression. Click here for larger version.

Quick Reference Video Log

Projector order in video : Sanyo PLV-Z700, Sanyo PLV-Z3000, Panasonic PT-AE3000U, Epson Home Cinema 6500 UB, Epson Home Cinema 6100, and Optoma TX1080.

• 0:00 – 3:05
  Product introductions. Our product manager mentions ‘black bars’ visible in person, but do not show up on the camera. Example of DLP “flicker” at 02:12 – 02:28 is visible on camera, but not visible to the naked eye for most viewers.


• 03:06 – 04:11
  Discussion of black levels in each product (sales person obscures view of the Sanyo PLV-Z3000)


• 04:12 – 04:59
  Example of 2X zoom on the Panasonic PT-AE3000U.


• 05:01 – 06:15
  Lights on brightness check and brightness discussion.


• 06:16 – 6:55
  Brief discussion of 120hz. Unfortunately the differences are not very visible here.


• 07:00 – 07:37
  Color contrast mentioned


• 07:42 – 8:30
  Nice action comparison. 120 hz mentioned again.


• 08:33 – 08:55
  Close up of 120hz projector (Epson Home Cinema 6500 UB). You may notice the improved quality. In person, this image looked almost 3-D.


• 09:00 – 10:00
  Final round up.

Epson’s Home Cinema 1080 and Home Cinema 1080UB have been (and still are) best sellers for us. By comparison they are some of the nicest on the market. We were excited to learn more about the new line up.

Jeff is always an entertaining presenter, so it’s a great way to start our ‘Watch and Learn’ video series. Watch (or read) and enjoy!

Your Training Cheat Sheet for Epson Home Theater

If you don’t feel up to watching our entire training video here are a few notes from what we discovered this week.

• The Epson Powerlite Home Cinema 6100
• The Epson HC6100 will include a 2 yr. advance replacement warranty
• The higher-priced 1080p HC6500 expected to ship last week of November
• New models have new industrial design, no longer “chiclets” but more squared edges and slightly larger cabinets for better heat and noise reduction, and for bigger video processors
• The new Color Light Output specification, developed by the 3LCD consortium, has been adopted by Sony as well as Epson with more to come

• Average contrast ratio in a commercial movie theater is 150:1
• Lights off commercial movie theater contrast would be around 350 to 400:1
• The highest, true contrast ratio Jeff Paiva has ever measured was just over 400:1 and the image looked holographic from all the detail revealed

Watch:

Jeff Paiva on Contrast Ratio. How is contrast measured in a home theater projector? Epson’s Jeff Paiva discusses the difference between full on / full off contrast ratio and reveals the highest contrast ratio display he has ever tested in his years of experience.

• Pushing green levels to achieve higher brightness
• Typically have poor video processors which show artifacts. Can’t handle fast motion video
• Louder fans on ultra portable projectors because of emphasis on smaller casing

• 3 million vs. 6 million pixels (or 1 million x 3 panels vs. 2 million x 3 panels)
• Colors appear more saturated in 1080p because there are more pixels to show depth
• Better black levels in 1080p
• More detail in the image, and a smoother image since less screen door effect visible

Watch:

Jeff discusses the advantages of 1080p over 720p projection.

Watch Entire Training Video

Full Epson Home Theater training video, including all of the things we mentioned in our cheat sheet above. Jeff also demonstrates how projectors create white light, how the new Epson home theater projectors achive their high contrast ratios, and the benefits of 1080p projectors over 720p.