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New items in the line of home projectors Epson: Meet Epson EH-TW6700 / 6800/7300/9300 and laser Epson LS10500

In September, we demonstrated our new products, first at the IFA 2016 exhibition in Berlin, and then at CEDIA in Dallas. The theme is the long-awaited update of the home projectors line. At the exhibitions, novelties in the home projectors line were shown, and now we will try to briefly talk about how each model is remarkable and what place it occupies in the model range.


The post turned out to be somewhat more “technical” than planned, but almost fully describes in detail the changes in the line of devices - and this is what interests potential buyers in the first place.



Wait a minute ...


Before talking about updates, I would like to say a few words about budget models that have not been updated, but which are still relevant and in great demand.


Budget Home Projectors



Indeed, Epson EH-TW5210 , Epson EH-TW5300 and Epson EH-TW5350 home full HD projectors ( link to the review ) will remain with us in the same form, since they appeared relatively recently.


"Middle class" home projectors


Recently, Epson's EH-TW6600 and Epson EH-TW7200 models in the Epson line of devices cost almost the same, while the Epson TW6600 was newer and brighter, it was very bright in the most accurate image mode and at the same time provided excellent color accuracy within the REC .709 , which is commonly used in HD video. Therefore, from this pair it could be defined as a specialized “living room projector,” and the Epson EH-TW7200, with its greater dynamic contrast (120,000: 1) and optimum brightness for the darkened room in precise modes, was automatically sent to the category of “projectors for home theater.


The Epson EH-TW7200 was one of those projectors that could be called the “light version” of the flagship model Epson EH-TW9200. For example, the Epson EH-TW7200 could boast a body and a lens from an older model (more on that later). But with the release of the Epson EH-TW6600, it became clear that this practice is ending, and special enclosures and lenses with the following parameters will be used for middle-class home projectors:



The Epson EH-TW6600 and Epson EH-TW6700 / 6800 projector cases are slightly larger than the budget models, but not as massive as the top models, which allows for a compromise between low noise and good portability.


So, both new middle-class projectors will be placed in such a package. Well, yes, not bad ... Is that all ...?


Fortunately, no! Epson EH-TW6700 , successor to Epson EH-TW6600, will be about 15% cheaper than its predecessor ! At the same time, changes in its characteristics are minimal and only for the better : an increase in maximum brightness from 2500 to 3000 lumens, a new frame interpolation function for smoothing movements and creating an effect of 60 fps on content 24 fps. There are still features such as “2D to 3D conversion” and “Super Resolution” (underlining details on high-quality full HD content + well-known smoothing of lines when displaying content in low resolution). Well, the built-in speakers 2x10W (by the way, the built-in sound for the projector is quite good).


The Epson EH-TW6600 was exceptionally good, and being able to get it at a lower price is the “trick” of the Epson EH-TW6700 successor model.


Another important thing: the more budget models provide excellent 3D quality due to the high stock of color brightness , they can also boast the highest color accuracy. At the same time, Epson EH-TW6700 provides a completely different level of contrast, which means a fundamentally even higher level of image quality.


As a result, the Epson EH-TW6700 dynamic contrast ratio is 70,000: 1, just like the Epson EH-TW6600.



The Epson EH-TW7200 semi-flagship model had a contrast ratio of 120,000: 1. So, the new Epson EH-TW6800 - it is also 120,000: 1 . And, characteristically, both of the new projectors have a higher, than the Epson EH-TW7200, “native contrast” (without the use of an autodiaphragm).


In general, what we want to say: Epson EH-TW7200 leaves this price segment, leaving behind a worthy replacement: Epson EH-TW6800 projector , which will now occupy a niche between the EH-TW6700 and the "older group". This model has a close to the older group, namely, Epson EH-TW7300, image quality, but at the same time maintains a set of additional functions at the level of the EH-TW6700, which makes it very attractive in terms of value for money. This projector provides an absolute 100% compliance with the sRGB color space (in the appropriate mode), so Epson EH-TW6800 is what you need to watch Blu-ray discs and HDTV. And pay attention: it gives a higher quality image than the EH-TW7200, and due to the absence of some additional "chips", it is 10% cheaper.


Here is a list of what Epson EH-TW6800 doesn't have :



Note Epsonic editor: if it were my will, I would have bought myself the 6700th or 6800th and put it in the living room with thick curtains to color the video like “big uncles” in Hollywood - on the projection (i.e., reflection), and not on the screen (lumen of the matrix), because they were very impressed by the results after the calibration. When preparing the material for the hall, this would be simply invaluable, and without it, you have to drive each time to a friend in the studio or set up "by instruments" (vector scan) and "by eye". That's just no place for him in the living room. It's a shame.


Senior HDR Home Theater Projectors


There were a lot of different conversations about 4K, but it was in 2016 that the 4K Ultra HD format finally settled, and with it the words BT.2020 and HDR came into use. 4K projectors are still, so to speak, “elite” devices, and Epson, having tested “4K Enhancement” technology on its flagship Epson LS10000, now adds its support to more budget segments.


Now Epson EH-TW7300 allows you to display 4K-signal using this technology.




We once talked about Epson Cinema Filter . Previously, it was a pleasant indulgence - it was possible to expand the color space of the projector, to embellish sRGB content. Now "the game is over." At the moment, the Ultra HD projector should understand the BT.2020 color space and preferably display the DCI colors , since almost no one can display the BT.2020 completely. Well, here, in the specifications of Epson EH-TW7300, we see the cherished inscription "DCI color space". This is what used to be "Epson Cinema Filter". Plus, support for HDCP 2.2 protection. Well, HDR, although HDR support is more of a software thing.


Thus, the new Epson EH-TW7300 and Epson EH-TW9300 are positioned as 4K, HDR, Ultra HD-ready projectors.


The contrast levels of both projectors have increased markedly. For Epson EH-TW7300, from 120,000: 1 to 160,000: 1, for Epson EH-TW9300, from 600,000: 1 to 1,000,000 . In fact, the gap between native contrast levels between Epson EH-TW9300 and Epson EH-TW7300 is huge !


Despite the external similarity and the presence of identical functionality, Epson EH-TW9300 is a completely different class of projector. For many years, Epson EH-TW9000 series projectors have been positioned as “affordable High-end” with an excellent combination of price and quality, and Epson EH-TW9300 is no exception.



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In addition to the dynamic aperture that regulates the luminous flux depending on the scene brightness, the Epson TW9300 also has a controlled aperture in the lens, which allows you to set a fixed decrease in brightness and fine-tune the luminous flux for a specific screen.


Pro lens Epson EH-TW7300 and Epson EH-TW9300:



Note: 96% vertical shift is calculated from the center position of the image. That is, 50% is when the lens is at the level of its lower or upper edge, approximately like office projectors.


Again a couple of words about 4K Enhancement


So, Epson EH-TW7300 and Epson EH-TW9300 have “4K-Enhancement”. This technology allows you to display 4K signal using 1080p matrices with an accuracy very close to the original. To do this, every second frame of the image is optically shifted half a pixel diagonally and the overlap of two 1080p images is created. If you know the principle of interaction of these images when overlapping, then you can decompose the original 4K image into two different 1080p images so that their overlapping each other with a half-pixel shift gives the result as close as possible to the original 4K format. Of course, some part of the parts is lost, but in general it is very close to the original. For example, the smallest fonts and interface elements of the OS are well readable, which cannot be achieved when trying to display a 4K signal on a 1080p projector using digital scaling / downscaling. Understandably, 4K Enhancement technology has nothing to do with downscaling; This technology is a 4K display method directly.


The 4K Enhancement feature has two more uses:



Pavel, the editor of ProjectorWorld , who attended our press event, made a vivid record and a detailed overview of the technology and how it cleverly allows 4K content to be output on a 1080p matrix and completely eliminates the pixel grid (which, in general, this is no longer visible in our HD and fHD projectors, to be honest.



Epson EH-LS10500


In the company's product range, the Epson EH-LS10000 projector appeared in early 2015 and allowed the brand to enter the market of "VIP projectors" for home theater. It was here that the “3LCD Reflective” reflecting technology was used for the first time, which allowed to bring the contrast to a completely new level, and the laser light source, in addition to an exceptionally long resource of 30 thousand hours, allowed achieving “infinite” dynamic contrast, as in a dark scene luminous flux can be completely stopped.



It was the LS10000 that first used the 4K Enhancement technology, which is now available for more budget models.


And now, at CEDIA 2016, the brand new Epson LS10500 has already been shown. The main difference between the new model is full support for HDR, which is now a mandatory attribute of elite models. Everything else is at the highest level, there is no place to improve =)


Or is there somewhere? We are pleased to hear your suggestions.


We thank you for your attention!

Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/398543/

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