Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 18
 Alas, another sucker believed the 4000 hours July 28, 2010
Pilot210
I wish I had seen the "costly mistake" review before I bought my 8100 in Feb. I, too saw the concern about "beta" units, and discounted them. Well, I was initially a VERY satisfied buyer. This is the second projector I've owned, the first was a Panasonic 720P PT AX200U. The 8100 is a big improvement over that one in picture quality, perceived brightness, etc., as it should be, being several years newer technology and 1080P resolution. For 600 hours and 5 months, I was happy. Then all of a sudden, the bulb severely dims. I spend the next 5 minutes checking various settings, hoping to make this go away so we can finish watching the movie we were streaming from Amazon, then POP (loud) goes my bulb, like the old-school flashbulbs of yore, scaring the *^(*^ out of me and my wife. The next day, I check my warranty information, and discover that the advertised 4000 hour bulb is only warranteed for 90 DAYS. My bad, should have read the fine print. I go online and find out that I am not alone, others have been experiencing this same kind of premature failure, and there are hints that Epson is "extending" the 90 days in the interest of customer service. So, I try the Epson "direct customer line" card provided with my projector, only to find the PIN the supplied on the card is not valid. OK, I spend my dimes and call the support toll number. I describe my problem to the 1st level support specialist, and he instantly transfers me to a "projector bulb specialist" who takes my info. and with no argument agrees to send me a replacement bulb, after walking me through the extraction procedure (little bits of glass raining down on me in the process, as it is ceiling mounted). OK, I say, I am a satisfied customer, but kind of worried about the next bulb's life. Three days later, the bulb arrives, it's the WRONG one. I call support, same drill, this time they keep me on the hold for a long time, then transfer me to a "customer relations" specialist. She proceeds to tell me that Epson policy is that they can't send me the correct replacement until they receive the wrong one back, and that I can't return it until they send me a return label. I say, wait a minute, this was your fault, not mine, I'm not happy about this, my projector will be down a week, isn't there someone who can authorize an expedited replacement, you can take my credit card # for security? No, she says, due to the value of the bulb, it's company policy, and that's that. Five days later, I finally get the return label, which was sent regular US Mail, and it is for regular ground shipment, not even expedited. Took 3 more days for them to get it, and then they did Fedex Next Day the replacement, but after the cutoff, so I finally got the replacement more than two weeks after the failure. It works so far, but who knows how long it will last, or if they'll replace another one after more time. Having to be without living room entertainment for 2 weeks, and dealing with service that doesn't care about customer satisfaction or even get the part #s right is not that entertaining, either. Probably the last Epson product I'll ever buy. My 3 1/2 year old Panasonic projector is still going strong, installed elsewhere, on it's first bulb, after 3000 hours, ironically.
 Great projector with a serious flaw July 21, 2010
Jay J. Nemeth-johannes (Rockford, Ill)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I purchased this projector from Amazon about a month ago. First, I would like to echo what everyone else is saying about brightness, sharpness, quietness and ease of setup.
The projector is fairly large, larger than I expected, but it is also fairly light. It has standard mounting holes for wall or ceiling mounts. I was looking for a projector with lens shift features, and this one works well with both vertical and horizontal optical shift. The shift range is quite wide and should accommodate a lot of tougher installations. Along the same lines, the zoom also has a wide range. I am currently projecting an 120" image from about 15' away.
The picture is brighter than I need and Epson has provided a number of presets for various lighting conditions. The nice part is that each can be customized and calibrated independently, so you can set ideal modes for day and night, movies and sports, etc. Like most others, I find Theater dark1 in ECO Mode to be a good starting point for a light controlled theater.
The image is also sharp. Focus is easily accomplished from the large ring on front. Colors are accurate, at least as accurate as on my other sets. Screendoor effect is not noticeable, even close up. Basicaly, it is a great image and one you can get totally immersed in.
The filter needs periodic cleaning and replacement. I discovered that the filter costs about $20 and is available directly from Epson. It is a paper element, similar to the HEPA filter in your car's heater. I think you can get away with vacuuming it once or twice, but it probably should be replaced once it starts looking gray.
Now for the problem. I set up the system to switch through an Onkyo 806 receiver and was using a cheap Insignia BluRay player. I discovered that the Insignia player disabled the HDMI handshake when changing resolution. This caused "No Signal" to be displayed on the projector. Occasionally when the signa reconnected, the projector would lock up. The screen would display a dark gray image and the remote and panel controls became inoperable. The only way I could get the projector to work was to remove power to the unit. I worried because this isn't good for the bulb.
I contacted Epson and they walked me through several scenarios. Eventualy, we got to a state where I was directly connected through HDMI to another source. I could turn power off (to the BluRay Player), wait for the "no signal" indicator and then turn power back on. The unit would hang about every third time. Epson decided it was defective and shipped me a new one. Unfortunately the new one worked the same way. I have now received e-mail from three other folks who have seen the same problem.
I eventually `solved' the problem by changing to a different BluRay player (Panasonic BD-60) that didn't disconnect when switching. I am also careful to power on the player and do the receiver switching BEFORE powering on the projector.
I can't say enough nice things about Epson support. They were patient, helpful and responsive. However, there is a design problem here that people should be aware of.
 Really Good July 21, 2010
Raymond Callahan
This is my first projector. All I can say is wow. I use this projector for everything. It is my computer monitor and my TV. I went from a 28" LCD computer monitor that I was happy with to this projector which I am thrilled with. There is nothing like playing a game and fighting a 6' troll that is actually 6' on the screen!
My big concerns with buying a projector were clarity and screen refresh rate. DVD, Blu-ray, Netflix all show clear and beautiful. FPS and Online RPG like WOW and EQ2 are all clear and smooth. There is no bluring, artifacts, or lag from this projector.
The bad... Black levels. They are not terrible but at some times the dark or black areas are a little washed out. This is in a totally dark room. It is also being projected on super-white photo paper (DIY screen). For the lower cost of this projector and the longer bulb life I can easily live with this.
Also, text is sometimes a little blury. Not a lot, just a tiny pinch. But it may not be the projector. Cleaning the lens with proper lens cleaner cleared some of it and I may need to look into a new screen or tighten my current one (it seems to be a bit difficult to get the DIY paper screen perfectly sag and wrinkle free)
Over all I love this projector.
 For the money, a great light cannon July 7, 2010
HT fanatic
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
For $1200, there is not a better projector on the market. I've been using this for a little more than a week and here are my thoughts:
THE GOOD:
-outstanding lamp life (4K hours whether on ECO or normal brightness)
-awesome placement options with both H/V lens shift and zoom lens
-relatively quiet
-very sharp, especially compared to my previous 720p projector
-backed by outstanding Epson customer service
-very quick startup and shutdown
-excellent remote
-extensive picture quality settings
-very solid build quality
-no screen door effect, uniformity, or other picture quality problems
THE BAD:
-the 36,000:1 is a bit misleading, that's the dynamic contrast ratio; the native contrast ratio (the more accurate measure of black level) is probably around 4000:1
-brightness is only decent
-the 3 LCD panels are slightly misaligned (you can tell when looking at the borders of white lettering and the amount of colors like green, purple/blue, and red around them)
-the exhaust vent runs very hot (hotter than my previous projector) and gives off a distinct but not unpleasant odor
-the lens shift function feels cheap and the dials slide too easily
-very big and bulky (it probably weighs about 15 pounds)
-not made for an anamorphic lens
-black level and shadow detail is only average (but much better than my previous 720p projector)
It probably is stupid talking about this projector's shortcomings considering its price but despite the minor flaws, the 8100 is undoubtedly the best under $2K projector on the market.
I compared it with its nearest competitor (the Mitsubishi HC3800) and while the picture quality was a push, the placement flexibility with the lamp life and Epson's reputation for customer service wins.
Do you want better black levels? Mechanical lens shift and zoom? Better brightness? Be prepared to spend over $5K but if you want near that kind of performance for a much lower price, get the 8100.
This is the projector you're looking for July 4, 2010
HTBK (San Francisco, CA USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
The Epson 8100 is at the perfect sweet spot as far as value. There are projectors with more features, but you'll pay a lot for very minor gains. There are cheaper projectors, but you lose a lot for only slight savings. This projector is right in the middle and perfect for pretty much everyone.
The main pros here are 1) extremely high brightness for this pricepoint; 2) great zoom range and lens shift; 3) crisp colors with excellent blacks; 4) no rainbow effect, as it's LCD.
In more detail on each point: We use this in a living room facing a wall that's basically floor to ceiling picture windows with no drapes. On the top two brightness settings (Dynamic and Living Room), the picture is fantastic and clear even in the middle of the day. The high zoom range and lens shift means you have a lot of slack in where you want to place it, and you can shift and expand the picture accordingly. Both of these points are a substantial gain over a close competitor in this price range, the Optoma HD20 High Definition 1080p DLP Home Theater Projector (Grey). The colors are great, and it has 30 bit deep color and x.v.Color.
The main cons are that it's one step down from Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 8500 UB LCD Projector (V11H337020), which has more brightness and 36 bit deep color. However, you pay quite a bit for those two gains, and for most folks, the quality of the 8100 will be indistinguishable from its big brother the 8500.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 18
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