Any Epson 5030UB owners here? (1 Viewer)

[FoxyMulder]

OK, no "Turtle's Tale" yet, but, we watched "Gravity" in 3D last night. Even though I had seen the film before (a few times in IMAX theaters and then again at home on my 50" 3D plasma), but I don't think I ever felt as tense and as "in it" as I did watching it on the projector last night. Also was the best demo for my new surround sound system out of all the other discs I've tried so far. Very immersive experience. No 3D crosstalk issues, just 100% lost in space terror.

I was thinking again at what you said regarding opportunities for pop out in Gravity, i think when Sandra Bullock goes spinning around after losing control they should have had a brief moment of her hand reaching out the screen at the audience, but yes an immersive experience at home. I think most 3D films gain something extra when moving from a tv to a projector, size helps 3D.

 

[DaveF]

That is a great mini-review, Josh! Thanks!

 

[Josh Steinberg]

That is a great mini-review, Josh! Thanks!

Thanks Dave! I really appreciate the kind words. I'm thinking of starting a thread over in the Members Theaters projects area to keep updating as I use it and watch more things on it. It's been a lot of fun, and I'm glad it's been enjoyable to read. I'd like to post some pictures of everything too, but my girlfriend would prefer I hold off on pictures until the rest of the apartment is set up... right now I'd have to angle to camera just right to get all of the toys without any of the clutter.

I think most 3D films gain something extra when moving from a tv to a projector, size helps 3D.

Agreed. I don't know where I read it (maybe a forum post here?) that suggested that to get the same "experience" of watching 2D or 3D, that you'd need a 70" screen in 3D to have the image seem the same size as a 2D image is on a 50" screen. That probably isn't too scientific, but it's probably not too far off either. When I would watch 3D movies on my 50" TV, I'd sit a lot closer than I would for 2D. Right now, the 3D seems perfect on the new 106" screen, but the 2D seems almost slightly too big. But we're planning on moving the couch back a foot or two when we finish unpacking the rest of the living room, so I think that'll work itself out.

I was also impressed at how wide the viewing angle was for 3D with this Epson on that screen. I was able to stand basically to the exact side of the screen and look at it, and it still had quality 3D. Wasn't a comfortable position to watch from in 2D or 3D, but the point was, it worked.. on my LG plasma TV (also with active glasses), if you got too far to one side, the image would start to fall apart. We're talking ridiculously to the side where no one would want to sit like that anyway, but still, it's nice to have a seemingly wider viewing area. I noticed that was equally true with 2D content on the Epson, if not more so. Stepping out in the hallway, from 20 or 30 feet away, it still looked brilliant. And I could get really close, I basically had to stand close enough for my nose to touch the screen before pixels were visible.

If you guys couldn't tell, I'm ridiculously happy with this purchase

 

[schan1269]

If I got into 3D (have everything but the glasses...and content)...the first thing we'd watch is porn.

By the way, this is a shot at Mark Cuban, who famously said..."porn will never be high def", during the launch of HD Net.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Just wanted to follow-up on this a few weeks later. I've logged about 90 hours on the projector so far (at least, according to its bulb count), and I couldn't be more pleased. Everything I've been throwing at it looks phenomenal on the screen. I've watched a bunch of 3D titles, and I really haven't noticed any crosstalk. (There was one tiny instance of crosstalk, but that was because I was at a terrible viewing angle -- literally standing to the side of the screen looking at it, and from that terrible angle, just a brief instance of it. So it really took a lot of effort to find an angle where it didn't look good.)

I've ordered the Disney WOW disc and I will attempt some simple adjustments when it arrives. (I don't think I'm going to opt for professional calibration in the immediate future, but that may be something to look into one day.) I've also noticed that I find "THX" mode to be the most pleasing for most titles, whereas I'd rank the "Dynamic" setting as the least watchable/least pleasing/darn ugly. I discovered last week that "Living Room" for daytime viewing was actually decent. I probably wouldn't set out to watch "Lawrence of Arabia" like that, but for some afternoon "Clone Wars" cartoon viewing, it was perfect. I'm not a gamer but my girlfriend has a PS3, and she played a couple games on it and thought it was amazing. I wasn't home most of the time she was gaming so I can't really comment on how it looked. She gamed using the regular "fine" mode without needing to switch to "fast" and didn't notice any input lag, which was a pleasant surprise.

So, almost a month later, it's still all blue skies and smooth sailing here.

 

[Sam Posten]

Interesting to hear your experiences with different modes. I set mine on THX Cinema when I bought it and never changed a thing. I'm in a 90% dark room tho with no direct sunlight, just what can squeeze around the edges of the blackout curtains I have and only reflected at that.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Interesting to hear your experiences with different modes. I set mine on THX Cinema when I bought it and never changed a thing. I'm in a 90% dark room tho with no direct sunlight, just what can squeeze around the edges of the blackout curtains I have and only reflected at that.

I'm using THX mode for 95% of the viewing, and to my eyes, it's definitely the best. I think I even liked THX mode for black and white movies better than the designated "black and white mode" option. On this model, THX and Cinema are two different settings - they look very, very close to each other. If my girlfriend uses the projector when I'm not home and changes the color mode for a game, I can instantly tell whenever I use it next if it's in Dynamic or Living Room or Natural, but it's harder to spot the differences between THX and Cinema with just a quick glance, both look good to me.

I was really surprised that "Living Room" actually made the image look decent for daytime viewing -- don't have blackout curtains (yet) so we still get some daytime light in the room, but none of it is direct sunlight, which helps I'm sure. The "Living Room" mode looked bright but appeared to have good contrast, and overall seemed similar in daytime viewing to what "Cinema" looks like at night. When I bought it, I figured that it would just be impossible to use during the day, so this is all a great bonus as far as I'm concerned!

 

[Sam Posten]

New firmware incoming!
http://articles.projectorpeople.com/product-talk/coming-soon-epson-5030-firmware-update/

 

[Nancy_wu]

Hey, guy, I think it is a good choice although I haven't had one.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Hey, guy, I think it is a good choice although I haven't had one.

Thanks! I'm totally enjoying it - I'm glad I decided to make the purchase.

 

[Race Bannon]

Thinking about buying a 5030 this holiday season. Is that still a viable choice? Seems to be. But is there a newer version that is considered to be the same technology with minor improvements?


This one appears to be in the sweet spot for the price zone I'm comfortable with, and has all the strengths I'm looking for.

 

[Race Bannon]

I've searched it up at the Epson site and still appears to be the latest -- they're running $300 off everywhere so probably anticipating a new one in early 2016.


Can anyone recommend a good ceiling mount for it? Vaulted ceiling so it will need a couple of feet extension down.

 

[Sam Posten]

Peerless.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000TXNS6G?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

 

[Race Bannon]

Peerless.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000TXNS6G?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

Much obliged.


If anybody spots any sales or deals through this weekend, let me know. I think I'm going to pull the trigger.

 

[Gregg Loewen]

hi Race. I sent you a PM.


Epson announces their new units in the early Fall.

 

[Race Bannon]

hi Race. I sent you a PM.


Epson announces their new units in the early Fall.

Much obliged. I'll keep everybody posted.

 

[Race Bannon]

Just wanted everybody to know I've had my system up and running (or projecting) for a couple of weeks now, and I'm LOVING it. Makes it much easier to have an immersive experience.


I remember when I was a kid we only had 55" plasmas and it was terrible. I don't know how we watched anything.