Epson Home Cinema 5010 - Review Summary 2

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Art Feierman

Epson Home Cinema 5010 Projector: Pros and Cons

Epson Home Cinema 5010 Projector: Pros

Brightest 1080p, 3D capable projector we've seen
Clean 3D
Excellent black level performance (2D)
3D glasses are available from Epson as well as 3rd party suppliers, compatible with Panasonic and some other projectors
Excellent placement flexibility
Split screen viewing, for whatever "floats your boat"
CFI - smooth motion, good for sports and other non-film baaed content)
Calibrates very well
2 HDMI 1.4a (Blu-ray 3D compatible) inputs
480hz panels for faster response time, including gaming

Very good, but large, remote control, good backlight and range
Works with 3rd party glasses, as well as some brands like Panasonic
Excellent Lamp Life (4000/5000 hours)
Very quiet operation in eco-mode
Color filter in best modes for improved color accuracy
Excellent menu layout (which they haven't changed in years)
An excellent value propositioin

Epson Home Cinema 5010 Projector: Cons

CFI and Dynamic iris do not function in 3D resulting in Black level performance that could be better in 3D
One of the noisier projectors at full power, but not exceptionally so
A second HDMI circuit to allow two HDMI sources for Split Screen, would be nice
Does not include 3D glasses in the price
No support for an anamorphic lens (the 6010 does, however)

Click to enlarge. So close. Captain Pike, from the Star Trek movie, again, you can "see" that small extra amount of red, being added in the process - it shows up in a slight tint in the background, walls, and adds a touch to Captain Pike's face.

Click Image to Enlarge

Art's Last Word and Pitch: After a couple years of almost stagnant performance, (but with downward sliding prices), it's refreshing to have a whole group of new projectors to consider. More brightness, a bit more refinement, 3D, extra features like this Epson's split screen, 3D, or WirelessHD (on the HC5010e), have not only made reviewing projectors this fall far more exciting than last year (a bit of a yawn), but makes a real difference in your theater or livingroom.

And please don't sell 3D short. If you think looking through those permanently mounted glasses at a small LCDTV (55"?) at a Best Buy or Costco, is any indication of what 3D looks like with this Epson, "fagetaboutit".

By comparison, let's say these new 3D projectors, when doing 3D, should create an experience far closer to an IMAX theater 3D show, than the experience one gets with a modest (65") sized LCDTV. Having 3 to four times the screen size, really does matter!