The Epson Home Cinema LS11000, which retails for $3999, is a 4K HDR compatible laser home theater projector. The LS11000 has a rated brightness of 2,500 ANSI Lumens and can deliver over 1,200,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio.
We had the opportunity to review the Epson Pro Cinema LS12000 and were incredibly impressed with the unit’s performance. The Home Cinema LS11000 delivers a lot of the same performance as the LS12000, but for a thousand dollars less.
The Home Cinema LS11000 uses native 1080P 3LCD panels and is equipped with the latest version of Epson’s 4K UHD Pro technology. This feature combines advanced pixel-shifting technology and a new Precision Glass Shift Plate with three individual high-definition LCD chips to produce 4K resolution (3840x2160 pixels) on screen.
New Precision Shift Glass Plate is quicker and quieter quadrupling the visible pixels onscreen to 8.3 million
The new version of Epson’s 4K PRO UHD (pixel-shifting) utilized in the LS11000 is noticeably better than the previous versions due to a new Precision Shift Glass Plate that is quicker and quieter. Every pixel’s image is rapidly shifted 1/4 pixel diagonally and horizontally, allowing each one to do the job of four pixels. This new version quadruples the visible pixels onscreen, whereas previous Epson pixel-shifting projectors, like the 6050UB, only doubled them.
While native vs. pixel-shifted resolution is still a heated debate among home theater enthusiasts, Epson’s proven pixel shift technology does deliver an image that is visibly sharper than a traditional native 1080p projector. When viewed from a normal viewing distance, it is difficult to differentiate between a 4K pixel shift image produced by the LS11000 and an image projected by a native 4K projector.
To get the most out of the quality components used in the LS11000, it is also equipped with a new video processor called the ZX Picture Processor. This is Epson's most advanced video processor. It handles real-time color and contrast adjustment, HDR tone mapping, frame interpolation, and resolution enhancement to ensure source material is reproduced as the content creator intended.
Dual 48Gbps HDMI inputs support 4K HDR at 120 frames per second
To take full advantage of the projector capabilities, the LS11000 is equipped with two 48 Gbps HDMI 2.1 (HDCP 2.3) inputs so it can accept 4K HDR signals at up to 120fps. Currently, there isn’t much high frame rate video content available. However, 4K@120fps can help deliver a smooth, high-quality gaming experience from a high-end gaming PC and the latest PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles. Also, when gaming 4K@120fps, the LS11000 has a rated input lag time below 20ms.
While the metadata in HDR10 content is static, in HDR10+ and Dolby Vision content, this metadata is dynamic. Since the luminance information for each scene is embedded into the content as dynamic metadata, tone mapping can be optimized scene by scene or frame by frame. This helps the projector faithfully reproduce the HDR images as intended by the creators.
HDR content is currently distributed mainly in HDR10 and/or Dolby Vision, but Amazon Prime Video has announced support for HDR10+. There is also a limited number of 4K UHD Blu-ray discs available, and a select number of UHD BD players from companies like Panasonic support it.
The LS11000 sits at the top of Epson’s Home Cinema Series projector lineup. It is feature packed and delivers outstanding performance at a price that should be within reach of many enthusiasts. The LS11000 is a great option for someone who wants to enjoy HDR movies and high frame-rate gaming in a media or family room.
Epson LS11000 Specs
Price
$3999
Technology
3 LCD
Native Resolution
1920x1080x4 (3840x2160)
Brightness (Manufacturer Claim)
2500
Contrast
1200000:1
Zoom Lens Ratio
2.1:1
Lens Shift
Yes
Lamp Life
20,000 hours
Weight
28lbs
Warranty
3 years
The LS11000 is equipped with a blue laser phosphor light engine. Epson says the laser light source in the LS11000 has a rated life of 20,000 hours at full power. This means owners can enjoy several years of nearly maintenance-free operation.
With a rated brightness of 2,500 lumens -- which is more than enough to produce a good HDR picture on screens up to 120” and an excellent SDR image on much larger screens. As with all Epson 3LCD projectors, The LS11000 produces as many color lumens as it does white lumens, which ensures bright, vibrant color, which is critical for good HDR picture quality.
While brightness is important, it is deep blacks and high contrast that separates a premium home theater projector from a standard unit. Epson claims that when laser dimming is enabled, the LS11000 has a dynamic contrast ratio of 1,200,000:1.
Combining a laser light source with upgraded video processing and HDMI 2.1 inputs makes the LS11000 a worthy upgrade from the highly rated Epson 5050UB.
In addition to the Home Cinema LS11000 (MSRP $3999.99), Epson has also introduced the Pro Cinema LS12000 (MSRP $4999.99), which we reviewed earlier this year. For an additional $1000, the LS12000 has a slightly higher claimed brightness of 2700 lumens, but it delivers more than double the dynamic contrast.
The LS12000 uses Epson’s ultra-high contrast 0.74″ 3LCD panels and their proprietary UltraBlack™ Technology to deliver a native contrast ratio that few competitors’ home theater projectors can match. Only the Sony SXRD and JVC DILA home theater projectors that utilize LCoS panels can deliver the same or better native contrast.
Pro Cinema LS12000
Home Cinema LS11000
Dynamic Contrast
2,500,000:1
1,200,000:1
Brightness
2700 ANSI Lumens
2500 ANSI Lumens
Native Panel Resolution
1080 X 1920
1080 x 1920
4K PRO UHD
Yes
Yes
Cinema Kit
Yes
No
Anamorphic Lens Modes
Yes
No
Case Color
Black
White
Warranty
3 years
2 years
Also, the LS12000 is a Pro Cinema model so it includes a three-year warranty with three years of Rapid Replacement. The warranty on a Home Cinema projector like the LS11000 is two years.
Lastly, the Pro Cinema LS12000 has a black case while the LS11000 case is white. The LS12000 is also bundled with a Ceiling installation kit that includes a ceiling mount and a cable cover.
See below for a summary of the Sony 4K SXRD projector lineup for 2022.
While the additional features and enhanced performance found on the LS12000 justify its $1000 price premium, for many customers, the less expensive LS11000 might be a better fit. For example, someone placing the unit on a shelf projecting onto a 16x9 screen in a room with some ambient light. The Home Cinema LS11000 is arguably the best home theater projector priced below $4000.
HIGHLIGHTS
$3999 List Price
Native HD (1920 x 1080) 3LCD panels
4K PRO UHD
2,500 ANSI Lumens
Laser Life of 20,000 Hours
1,200,000:1 Contrast Ratio (Dynamic)
All-glass multi-element Lens
HDR10/HDR10+/HLG Compatible
Two 48Gbps HDMI 2.1(HDCP 2.3) Inputs
Motorized zoom, focus, and lens shift
Full HD 3D
Full calibration controls
Hardware
Except for color, the chassis of the white Home Cinema LS11000 looks nearly identical to the black Pro Cinema LS12000. So, if you read our review of the LS12000, you will notice that a lot of the information on this Hardware page is similar.
CHASSIS
The LS11000 is larger than most single-chip DLP projectors but is it is more compact than most native 4K projectors. The LS11000 is approximately 20.5 inches wide x 21.9 inches deep x 16 inches high and weighs about 28 pounds.
The projector’s lens is located center of the front panel. To the right and left sides of the lens are the air exhaust vents. The window for the IR remote receiver is located on the lower right side of the front panel as well.
The top of the projector has status lights. On the left side of the chassis, there is an air intake vent. On the right side of the chassis, along with the power and input buttons, there is another air intake vent covered by an air filter.
The rear of the projector holds the power connector, a 2nd IR remote receiver, the inputs, and connections. along with the projector’s control panel.
Since the LS11000’s chassis is big enough to utilize larger, slower, moving fans, it helps muffle the exhaust noise. While we do not measure audible noise, this LS11000 seems to be quieter than most of the Home Theater projectors. The noise level is on par with other premium home theater projectors from manufacturers like Sony and JVC.
There is a noticeable increase in fan noise when switching from ECO (22dB) to HIGH (30dB). Most of the time, even when watching HDR in High, I didn’t find the LS11000 fan noise distracting.
CONNECTIONS AND CONTROLS
There is a pair of HDMI 2.1 (HDCP 2.3) inputs. Both HDMI inputs are 48Gbps, supporting 4K HDR up to 120fps. We should note that while the inputs can support up to 48Gbps, the HDMI inputs/outputs found on most A/V Receivers, video switchers, and gaming consoles are limited to 40Gbps.
This is fine because the video information in a 48 Gbps signal far exceeds the capabilities of the 10-bit panels/imaging devices found in consumer TVs and projectors, including the LS11000.
There is a LAN connection and a single 12V trigger output which can be used to control a screen, an anamorphic lens, or motorized shades.
A traditional serial RS-232C port (DB9 connector) is also included for “old school” command and control. There is also a service port and security cable attachment point.
There is a USB-A input with 5 Volt- 2.0A, which is enough output to power/charge a streaming media player. The second USB connection is a 300mA power port designed to power an active copper or optical HDMI cable.
The Pro Cinema LS12000’s control panel is simple, but most people will only use the control panel for initial setup and then rely on the remote control or a home automation system for those types of functions.
There’s a MENU button along with an ESC button which takes you to back up one level in the menu. You can use the four arrows for navigating the projector’s menu with an Enter button located in the center. Pressing the lens button toggles through the motorized Zoom, Shift, and Focus lens functions.
REMOTE CONTROL
The Home Cinema LS11000 includes a large backlit remote control. You have source input buttons and all the normal buttons commonly used to navigate a projector’s menu.
In addition, there are several buttons to directly access many of the projector’s picture settings, including Color Modes, Light Output, Image Enhancement, Frame Interpolation, and CMS adjustments, just to name a few. It was nice not having to dig through several menu layers to make most setting adjustments.
The LS11000 does not dynamically tone map HDR content. However, you can quickly access the HDR adjustment settings via a dedicated button. This makes it easy to fine-tune the HDR tone mapping based on the movie/scene.
For customers with 2.35:1 screens, there are two lens memory buttons to quickly adjust the image position when switching from widescreen to 16:9 content. There are even buttons to control the playback of connected devices that support the HDMI CEC standard. While there were tons of buttons, due to its size, the remote control didn’t feel crowded
LENS
The Epson LS11000 has a 15-element precision glass lens structure. The lens on the LS11000 has a zoom range of 2:1. Here are the throw distances for the LS11000 when utilizing a 100” 16:9 screen (measured from the front of the lens to the screen):
Closest: 118 inches (300 centimeters)
Furthest: 248 inches (630 centimeters)
Vertical and horizontal shift is great if you can’t line up the projector lens with the center of the screen (left to right). I have reviewed several nice projectors over the years that I could not use in my own media room due to placement issues. So, in my media room, Vertical/Horizontal shift is a must.
The LS11000, like most premium 3LCD and LCoS home theater projectors, offers a good amount of lens shift range compared to most DLP projectors which usually offer less.
Lens Shift: -/+96.3% Vertical and -/+ 47.1% Horizontal
Just remember, like most projectors, the more horizontal shift you use, the less vertical adjustment you will have available.
16:9 Aspect Ratio Throw Distances
Screen Size Diagonal
Projection distance
Offset from lens center
100 inches
118 to 248 inches (300 to 630 cm)
–71.7 to 22.7 inches (–182 to 58 cm)
150 inches
178 to 373 inches (452 to 947 cm)
–107.6 to 34 inches (–273 to 86 cm)
200 inches
238 to 498 inches (604 to 1264 cm)
–143.4 to 45.4 inches (–364 to 115 cm)
250 inches
297 to 623 inches (756 to 1582 cm)
–179.3 to 56.7 inches (–455 to 144 cm)
More lens adjustment (zoom and shift) increases installation flexibility making it easy to utilize projectors like the LS11000 in various applications, including ceiling or shelf mounting.
MENUS
The menu images shown in this section represent only a small number of all the sub-menus available. I tried to show a couple more notable sections found in the sub-menus (image, setting, networking, etc.).
The menu system of the LS11000 is well organized and easy to navigate. There are a lot of settings on multiple pages, so I like that many of the picture adjustments can be directly accessed via discrete buttons on the remote control.
PERFORMANCE
COLOR REPRODUCTION
Like the Pro Cinema LS12000, I reviewed previously, the picture quality of the Home Cinema LS11000 was very good out-of-the-box. In fact, the color reproduction of the LS12000 and the LS11000 looked and measured similarly. There are five different preset SDR picture modes available, I found the NATURAL mode was the most accurate.
While the CINEMA and BRIGHT CINEMA modes both produced a good picture, the color temperature was a little cooler. In addition, BRIGHT CINEMA also delivered more brightness with boosted contrast which could be beneficial in a room with some ambient light.
The DYNAMIC mode was the brightest, but it was also the least accurate. There may be times like watching a sporting event during the day where the extra brightness is provided by this mode may be worth the sacrifice.
In the NATURAL mode, the color temp was closest to my 6500K target. In this mode, the Light Power is set to 75% but if more brightness is desired, increasing the Light Power to 100% had very little effect on color reproduction.
Whether looking at SDR or HDR content, the color reproduction was very good. While most users would be satisfied with the picture quality of the Epson LS11000 right out-of-the-box, I took the time to calibrate the unit.
In August 2022, Portrait Displays added auto calibration functionality for the Epson LS12000 and LS11000 projectors. Calibrating a projector optimizes its performance for your screen and room; however, it can take a professional calibrator several hours to do this manually.
Like many high-end flat-panel TVs, the LS11000 can communicate directly with the Calman calibration software to auto-calibrate itself. The software takes reading and adjusts the projector’s menu settings to fine-tune the onscreen image quickly.
While auto-calibration does reduce the time required to adjust grayscale and color tracking, it is still best to fine-tune things like brightness and contrast using your eyes. Even if you spend several minutes tweaking some picture settings, the time it takes to do a calibration is easily cut in half.
To utilize the Calman autocal feature, you will still need all the normal calibration equipment, including the CALMAN software, a test pattern generator, and a meter. Lastly, to connect the projector to the computer, you will need a USB to RS232 Serial Converter cable. Since I didn’t have one on hand, I calibrated the LS11000 manually,
Since your room and screen material has a major impact on the overall picture, we don’t recommend using someone else’s calibration adjustments. If your room is brighter/darker or your walls are a different color, copying someone else’s results can actually be detrimental to the picture quality rather than improving it. Just as an example, I include the before and after results of calibration for my specific room and screen.
To test the color accuracy of the LS11000, we use Portrait Displays Calman color calibration software.
Pre-Calibration Color Tracking and Grayscale
The picture from most projectors that utilize a blue laser phosphor light source is usually way too cool out-of-the-box, but the projector’s NATURAL picture mode was very close to my color temperature target of 6500K.
In addition, the pre-calibration RGB Balance and Color tracking were better than average. Lastly, the Gamma measurement pre-calibration was about 2, resulting in slightly elevated blacks.
We calibrated the NATURAL mode for SDR viewing in a room with low ambient light.
Picture Mode: Natural
Color Temperature: 6829K
Average Color Tracking dE: 3.23
Average Grayscale dE: 3.52
Gamma: 1.94
Post-Calibration Color Tracking and Grayscale
The color temperature was already very close to our 6500K, so we left COLOR TEMP at its default setting of 6500K. To produce good grayscale (RGB Balance), under the WHITE BALANCE sub-menu, I reduced the BLUE GAIN and GREEN GAIN. This also resulted in a color temp measuring closer to my target of 6500K.
To achieve our gamma target of 2.2, we change the GAMMA to -1 and reduce the BRIGHTNESS setting.
While the LS11000 offers CMS adjustments, after adjusting the projector grayscale (RGB Balance), the average color tracking dE was just 0.84 so we were not compelled to any adjustments.
Picture Mode: Natural
Color Temperature: 6488K
Average Color Tracking dE: 0.84
Average Grayscale dE: .85
Gamma: 2.23
Delta E as a measure of grayscale/color accuracy of 3 and under is considered ‘Excellent’ and imperceptible by the human eye. Even before calibration, the LS12000 had an average Grayscale dE of around 3.52, which is very good. After SDR calibration, the projector’s average Color Tracking dE was just .85, which is outstanding.
When we switched to HDR, the default SDR settings resulted in a very RGB Balance. We did use WHITE BALANCE adjustments to make some fine-tuning.
The LS11000 has ten configurable picture setting memories, which can be quickly accessed from the remote control.
These memories can be used to store picture settings after calibration, such as “SDR Bright,” “SDR Dark Room,” and “HDR” modes.
While there was some improvement to the picture after HDR and SDR calibration, the difference was not dramatic. The colors and skin tones looked great the instant I turned the unit on.
I am confident most users would be satisfied with the picture quality of the LS11000 whether it was calibrated or not.
HDR RGB Grayscale
BRIGHTNESS
The Pro Cinema LS11000 is rated for 2500 lumens, and like most Epson projectors, in its brightest mode, the projector delivered close to the manufacturer’s claimed brightness.
We measured its brightest mode, DYNAMIC, at full wide angle – this is with the iris wide open, so the most amount of light gets through. We took 3-4 readings about 15-20% out from the center of the lens.
The DYNAMIC mode measured 2,673 lumens at in wide zoom. We also measured the other preset picture modes with the Light Output set to 100%
Brightness Per Picture Mode
Color Mode
Lumens (100% Light Output)
Color Temperature
Dynamic
2465
7746K
Vivid
1704
9685K
Bright Cinema
1653
7873K
Cinema
1601
7879K
Natural
1726
6828K
When the NATURAL picture mode, which is the most accurate mode, is selected the Light Output is reduced to 75% however, the output can be increased to 100% with very little impact on color reproduction.
Switching the LS11000 light source to ECO reduces audible noise and further increases laser life at the expense of light output. However, the image on a 100” screen was still bright enough for SDR viewing in a dark environment.
While many 4K capable DLP projectors at this price point can produce higher max brightness, their brightness advantage quickly disappears once those projectors are calibrated.
In addition, single-chip DLP projectors have relatively low color light output compared to their white light output. Since the LS11000 is a 3LCD projector, it can deliver an equal amount of color and white lumens. This means colors projected by the LS11000 appear brighter than many DLP projectors with a higher brightness rating.
BLACK LEVEL AND SHADOW DETAIL
In a dark environment, the ability to produce more contrast offers a massive benefit. While Epson doesn’t list the LS11000’s native contrast ratio and we don’t measure it, the Home Cinema LS11000 appears better than most single-chip DLP home theater projectors I have reviewed. The LS11000 delivered good black levels without crushing shadow details.
When the Dynamic Contrast feature is engaged, the LS12000 has a rated dynamic contrast ratio of 1.200,000:1. While the rated dynamic contrast of the Home Cinema LS11000 is half that of the Pro Cinema LS12000 (2,500,000:1 Dynamic), in a room with some ambient light, our eyes are less sensitive to blacks, so the difference contrast would be hard to see.
SDR PICTURE QUALITY
Most TV shows and live broadcasts will be in HD for at least several more years so good 4K upscaling is still critically important. The LS11000 includes Epson’s new ZX Processor, so the projector did an excellent job upscaling. Whether I was watching 720P sports from ESPN or 1080p Blu-ray content, everything looked very good.
Most 4K movies do not have enough fine detail to make the difference between watching 4K SDR and upscaled HD noticeable. You can even fine-tune the amount of detail displayed using one of the Image Preset modes or the Super-resolution / Detail Enhancements settings.
The ZX processor combined with improved faster pixel shift results in better frame interpolation for smoother clear motion, this has real benefits when watching live sports.
While most Blu-ray UHD content is available in HDR10, a lot of 4K streaming material is still only 4K SDR. The LS11000 is equipped with Epson’s latest version of their pixel shifting technology called 4K PRO UHD, so it does a very good job emulating the original 4K content.
If you do a side-by-side comparison with a native 4K projector, the resolution difference might be visible up close looking at 4K test patterns. However, it is doubtful it would be noticeable watching most movies, streaming, or broadcast content, especially from a normal viewing distance.
HDR PICTURE QUALITY
The Home Cinema LS11000 does not have the ability to dynamically measure and tone map HDR10 content, but its default adjustments do a good job maintaining bright highlight details while delivering good full-screen brightness. The LS11000 has adjustments so you can manually change the projector’s HDR tone mapping to fit your taste. Increasing HDR10/HDR10+ SETTING makes bright highlights more visible at the expense of overall screen brightness.
I choose an HDR10/HDR10+ SETTING of 8 because it offered the best balance of highlight detail and screen brightness on the 100” matte white screen in my lab.
The Home Cinema LS11000 can reproduce 87% of DCI-P3, which is like the Pro Cinema LS12000. While some home theater projectors equipped with color filters can reproduce a wider color gamut, this feature noticeability reduces brightness. I believe when viewing HDR on a projector, higher brightness is more impactful than a wider color gamut.
Since the Pro Cinema LS11000 is a 3LCD projector, it can reproduce an equal amount of color lumens as white lumens, which results in brighter, richer-looking colors, which is beneficial when viewing HDR.
SUMMARY
Improved 4K pixel shifting, HDR compatibility combined with high brightness provided by its laser light source makes the Home Cinema LS11000, which retails for $3999, an amazing value. The Home Cinema LS11000 provides a good balance of performance and value. It proves that a good projected image doesn’t have to be overly expensive. Just add a projection screen, and for under $5000 total, you can bring a compelling home theater experience to any room.
The projector's ability to deliver a rated 2500 lumens ensures that HDR and SDR content looks good even in rooms with higher ambient light. While the blue laser phosphor light source delivers high brightness, the 3LCD panels used in the LS11000 produce better black levels than most DLP projectors and excellent shadow detail.
Epson’s proven pixel shifting technology has been improved to deliver more visible resolution than a standard 1080P 3LCD projector. A new Precision Shift Glass Plate is quicker, so the LS11000 can reproduce 8.3 million pixels on-screen, which is double that of older Epson pixel shifting Pro Cinema projectors like the award-winning 6050UB and LS10500. The pixel shifting is so fast it is difficult from a normal viewing distance to differentiate between a native 4K projector and the LS11000.
LS11000 has dual HDMI 2.1 (48Gbps), so it can accept 4K/120fps HDR content. It can also playback not only HDR10 and HLG but also HDR10+ so that you can enjoy both prerecorded and live HDR content.
The Home Cinema LS11000 motorized lens assembly offers focus, shift, and zoom, and its high-quality multi-element structure ensures a crisp, sharp on-screen image. It also includes lens memories, so picture position (zoom, shift, focus) can be adjusted based on the content aspect ratio at the touch of a button. Motorized lens memories are great if you view both letterboxed and 16:9 content on a widescreen.
This year Epson also introduced the Pro Cinema LS12000, which can deliver deeper blacks and higher dynamic contrast. While better black levels and higher contrast are beneficial in a darkened theater or room with lighting control in a family or game room, the difference in performance would be less noticeable. The LS12000 is also bundled with a ceiling installation kit that includes a ceiling mount and a cable cover. The LS12000 includes additional aspect ratio mode adjustments for compatibility with 3rd party anamorphic lenses. While the performance of the Pro Cinema LS12000 is outstanding, depending on your environment, it may not be worth the $1000 price premium over the LS11000.
The Epson Home Cinema LS11000 delivers great picture quality and includes most of the features that customers are looking for in a premium home theater but that desire a lower price than the competitive Sony and JVC native 4K models.
For example, you would have to spend nearly double the price of the laser light sourced equipped Epson LS11000 ($3999 SRP) for the bulb-based JVC DLA-RS1100 / NP5 ($6999 SRP). The NP5 is a native 4K projector that includes dynamic HDR tone mapping and has better native contrast, but the Epson LS11000 is 600 ANSI lumen brighter. If you want a JVC 4K DILA projector with a laser light source like the DLA-NZ7 /RS2100, you would have to pay $7000 more than the LS11000.
The Sony XW5000ES ($5999 SRP) is a laser-based native 4K SXRD projector, but it retails for $2000 more than the LS11000. The XW5000ES delivers better black levels and offers more precise HDR tone mapping but doesn't have a motorized lens assembly.
Epson’s ultimate goal is to deliver the best bang for the buck, and I believe they succeeded, We were incredibly impressed with the LS12000, and I would be happy to have this projector as part of my personal media. Due to its performance and feature set, we highly recommend Epson Home Cinema LS11000 for anyone looking for a high-quality laser-based home theater projector for under $4000.
