- Rich, vibrant color and reliable performance ¿ 3LCD, 3-chip optical engine
- High-definition, 1080p home theater experience ¿ D7 panel delivers 1920 x 1080 resolution
- Astounding clarity ¿ 36,000:1 contrast ratio
- Stunning picture uniformity and clarity ¿ stateof- the-art lens by Fujinon
- Amazing, true-to-life color ¿ Epson exclusive Cinema Filter with an expanded color gamut
Epson Powerlite Home Cinema 8100 1080p 3LCD Home Theater Projector
Rating: 
(out of 12 reviews)
List Price: $ 1,599.99
Price: Too low to display
May 27, 2010
#1
Review by Carlos
Rating:
This technically is my third projector so I am experienced in projectors. My InFocus Screenplay 4805 had reached 3000 hours and the lamp burned out. I was ready to upgrade. At first I bought the Sanyo PLV-1080HD as an open box buy. When I got it home, to my dismay there was over 700 hours on it! BUMMER!! Since I had 30 days to return it, the salesman told me new projectors were on the way and to hold tight. (I would never buy a demo projector again!)
Well two weeks later I saw the Epson in the store. Since I had the Sanyo for 2 weeks, I had something to compare it to. The blacks are twice as good. It is super bright. The colors POP like an LCD TV. Basically it turned my white screen at home into the world largest flat panel. They had a gray screen at the store and the whites were still plenty bright. The screen at the store had glass particles that showed up and were distracting during the movie, so I won’t be purchasing a glass particled screen.
Both projectors were much better at my home. The demo room has too much light near the screen. At home, I was a little alarmed by the Epson 8100′s oversaturated color right out of the box. The Sanyo was pretty good right out of the box, but the Epson demands adjustment. On HDTV (Cox) most of the people were overly reddish. One of the preset modes for HDTV removed too much color.
I found a review of the projector that included calibration configurations and that made a WORLD of difference. That’s when it started to shine even on ECO mode! (I think it could beat Sanyo PLV-1080HD’s brightest mode on ECO mode!) I am so excited to have purchased this brand new. I find it a definite upgrade to be able to go 4000 hours on a bulb and only pay $300 for a replacement versus Sanyo’s approximate 2000 hours and $400 for a replacement.
Blu-rays were awesome on the Epson 8100. Razor sharp. Even up close to the screen, you can hardly see the porch screen. The contrasts and shadow details were notable.
There are plenty of parameters to adjust this projector. With the warranty, lamp life, and awesome picture. I will definitely be pleased for a long time.
Some reviews went back and forth about organic versus inorganic panels and guess about what kind of panels this projector is made of. The two year warranty give me peace of mind that if the panels go bad, I will get it fixed.
I have used a projector since 2005 and I have used it for TV, movies and some computer use. I do cut it off if I’m not watching but I have fallen asleep a few times. It’s on most of Saturday and Sunday. Still in 4 years, I only used the In Focus for 3000 hours.
I had considered having a LCD TV in addition so I could save the bulb, but I can buy a lot of bulbs for that cost and even a 52″ TV seems tiny after being accustomed to a 92″ screen. I was watching Larry King and the wall behind him was true black. The color was awesome. CNN shines! Sports look GREAT. (Sports were dim on the Sanyo PLV-1080HD.)
My projector is at least 20 feet away and giving off plenty of light even with my lights on. According to one of the reviews, the light is considerably cut when you have it too far away. I have it at the longest distance where you can have it 100″ and using ECO lamp with the light off and it’s plenty bright.
I have it on a shelf in the back of the room so I can still enjoy my ceiling fan in the summer. The exhaust vent on the front is a life saver on this unit. The Sanyo was blowing hot air and some bright light out the side of their projector. The Sanyo did have a door to hide the lens but Epson has a lens cover. Since I can easily reach the lens, I’ll just put the cover on, when I’m finished. I may even purchase a full projector cover for when it’s not in use to cut down on dust.
There were overwhelming positive reviews for the Sanyo, but this Epson will blow it away. Even the exterior design in a little more sexy in pearl white and a little bit more stream lined and less boxy.
Finally, don’t pay full price as it’s a buyer’s market. I got an awesome price at a major retailer and for 0% financing, so get yours today! Get this projector!
May 27, 2010
#2
Review by Philip Calendine
Rating:
Short of it–AWESOME! I’m projecting a 150″ screen from about 16′. BluRays are unbelievable–theater quality. Very quiet. Very easy to install and adjust (first one I’ve done and it took 5 minutes to set up out of the box, and then another 1-2 hours spent mounting it) It is very bright–room does not need to be black for excellent image. What else can you say? It does what it says. Beware other cheapy projectors w/o lens shift, though–lens shift on this makes the installation so easy and gives a lot of latitude as far as height and distance from screen/wall.
May 27, 2010
#3
Review by E. Tracy
Rating:
I have immense praise for the Epson 8100 home cinema. My last projector was a 1300 lumen 480p Mitsubishi (HC100) and this projector is just so much higher quality it’s stunning. It’s quieter, brighter, immensely more clear, and boots to display much faster. I have not had any large issues with it yet. If given the choice I would absolutely buy this one again. I do have a good basis of comparison too, my friends all have projectors in their homes as well and the Epson easily competes with my buddies $5000 projector that he purchased around 9 months before this one.
Two things I would like them to change…
1. When displaying via the HDMI input, I would like to be able to re-size the image. Even if the signal is sent at 1920×1080, there are times I want to zoom in or stretch the image (Fullscreen DVD played on a windows desktop at 1080p)
2. When looking at BIOS Setup on the Media PC I have connected, the BIOS menu is all jammed up on the left side and does not format correctly. This is due to the projectors improper support of “Text Mode”. It’s usable, but looks bad.
5 stars, worth every penny I paid for it. LOVE IT!
May 27, 2010
#4
Review by R Broyles
Rating:
It turned out to be a Big, Costly Mistake! I failed to grasp that comments and reviews for Epson PowerLite® Home Cinema 8100 were for a newly released projector. No one had owned and operated the 8100 more than 90 days when I was reading the reviews in late November and early December 2009! No available information could possibly verify the published claims Epson’s was making about the 8100′s lamp life being 4,000 hours. DAH!
A professional reviewer did briefly mentioned that Epson had experienced early lamp blowouts in the 8100 Beta versions and changed suppliers. A couple of bloggers noted that they had experienced blown lamps with up to 400 hours on them. They were sent replacements – no problem. One reviewer even had two lamps blow and was given a replacement projector. So I brushed over that information as just isolated incidents resolved to everyone’s satisfaction. It turns out that that brush stroke will cost me [...].
Reality struck Home suddenly and darkly when my Epson 8100′s 4,000-hour projector lamp blew. It had lasted less than 400 hours or just 10% of life expectancy. What really smarted (a poor choice of words considering my oversight) was my 90-day warranty was also blown (that’s better)by 37 days. That 4,000-hour lamp life expectancy wasn’t something any of us made up, it was actually published in Epson’s 8100 User’s Guide Specifications on the top of page 66 and included in Epson’s sales literature.
So please keep in mind that all reviewers before now have been new owners with less than 3 months experience with the 8100. After 4 months plus I can tell you:
1. The fan is not noticeable until the there is a quiet scene, and then you will hear the fan blowing air; and
2. The picture is really amazing – until your lamp blows.
OK, let’s go back to the beginning if you care to learn from my miscalculation (or just want to be amused by my naivety).
We had finally decided to break open the Ol’ Piggy Bank and upgrade our 80′s vintage 27″ RCA TV, Stereo and VHS/DVD combination in the family room to a 2010 Home Theater System in the lower level play area thanks to all the kids reaching double-digits. I did all the usual research like going to Big Box Electronic stores and watching 60″ flat Plasmas, LCDs and Projectors. I listened to 5 and 7-channel surround sound receivers and speaker systems. I went on-line and read professional reviews and blogs about Home Theater systems. I spent hours scouring over Sony, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Epson, InFocus, Vivitar, etc. specifications, prices and warranties to determine which products made the most sense for us based on budget and use.
On December 10, 2009 we ordered the Epson PowerLite® Home Cinema 8100 to anchor our Home Theater. We added the 7-channel Yamaha RX-V565 A/V Receiver and 8 Cerwin-Vega speakers (10′ sub, 8″ woofers, 6″ mids & 2.25 twits) to give great surround sound to match the picture. Then we took the plunge and added a Panasonic DMP-BD60P-K Blu-Ray player as a Family Christmas present (amazingly a couple of family oriented BR discs ended up in the kids’ stockings compliments of Santa). The last step was to hook up our existing DVD/VHS player, a Wii and PS2, and we were all set up ’til the kids left for college.
The Epson 8100 was newly released in October 2009 and won out over the other projectors due to its relatively low, [...] entry cost to LCD projector technology, and its published specification of 4,000 hours of Lamp Life – even at the brightest setting. That 4,000-hour lamp life wasn’t something the reviewers made up either. It was actually published in the User’s Guide Specifications on the top of page 66. Other manufacturers specify projector lamps to last between 1,000 and 3,000 hours and cost [...]. Epson’s 4,000-hour lamp life and [...] price tag were Big selling points to us since we expected that we wouldn’t need a replacement for 3 or 4 years.
I must admit that the 8100 provided an amazing 120″ picture even when projected on a bare wall painted flat, eggshell white. It was so good that we elected to postpone buying the [...] fixed frame screen until the fall. Unfortunately the 4,000-hour projector lamp lasted less than 400 hours; but greater than the 90-day warranty (it blew on Day 127).
As part of my earlier research, I read about common lamp killers like movement when warm, poor circulation, and extended ON times. Since Day 1 the components have been ON no more than 3 hours consecutively, sitting side-by-side on a 48″ long, stable shelf with 3-4 inches of side clearance, and greater than 12 inches of rear wall clearance. The projector filter has been cleaned every month. The 8100 and BluRay have been plugged into one point of use surge protector and the Yamaha receiver, VHS/DVD player, Wii and PS2 have been plugged into another point of use surge protector. Both surge protectors have been plugged into a 15-amp, 120V, 2-plug wall receptacle. The receptacle is on a circuit that includes a couple of 60 watt reading lamps.
I decided to contact Epson’s Technical Support in hopes that they had insight or information about blown lamps. I really would have liked to know more about lamp blowouts before I shelled out another [...] on the 8100. I asked them if they had any suggestions, remedies or rebates (hint, hint) for 8100 owners whose lamps blew with less than 10% of 4,000 hours gone. They sent a very quick auto response promising “An Epson representative will respond to your e-mail shortly.” After 48 hours I decided to write again and express my disappointment that someone couldn’t even bother to send me a, “Sorry you are out of Warranty.” auto response.
So I guess as a purchaser of my first Epson product I have to warn those looking into buying an Epson PowerLite® Home Cinema 8100 to discount the 4,000 hour lamp life specification in your decision-making process. I can only vouch for about 400 hours so far. I can say from experience that Technical Support has a quick auto response system; but I am still not sure there are any “Live Ones” at the switch. Like a Toyota owner of yesteryear, I have to assume Epson isn’t keeping any inherent problems from the buying public. I mean they didn’t send me any additional information so nothing could possibly be wrong – right?
Oh yeah. One more thing. You might want to hold off on buying that fixed frame screen until you’ve purchased a back-up 8100 lamp.
May 27, 2010
#5
Review by Kevin Mann
Rating:
This is my fourth projector, so I have some experience now. I have this set up to project on a wall that is painted a very light yellow. The image is about 10 to 11 feet wide. The brightness is outstanding, and you can watch movies even in a room that is not completely dark. There are several “color mode” selections including a “living room” mode that is very bright in case you want to watch a movie in a room that has a moderate level of light, but the colors will be a bit washed out. This is OK for some content and not so great for others. If you want to watch a movie and get the full effect of the movie, you will probably want to watch in a dark room with one of the “theatre” or “x.v.” settings that have greater color saturation. The color mode settings are accessible with a dedicated button on the remote, so adjusting to the mood of the moment is very easy. There is also a setting to add color depth to washed-out content. Most people will set up this level of projector with a DVD player and/or Roku connected to an AV Receiver, and then connected to the projector. Basically, the quality of what you display will depend on what comes out of the AV Receiver. Streaming HD content from the Roku, your image will look just like you are the theatre — amazingly sharp, with no visible pixels from a reasonable viewing distance. If you have a Blu-ray player, I understand you will have an even better picture due to the color density, but I don’t have one to report on this. In the case of regular DVD’s, the picture will be limited by the quality of the DVD if it is a film transfer. Once you install this projector, the display is unlikely to be the weak point in your home theatre. For example, you may want to get better mains speakers or a Blu-ray projector. I highly recommend this projector for use in a home theatre. If you have a commercial venue, you might spring for a $5,000+ commercial projector, but for home use I actually can not think of any improvements to make on this projector. One bonus that you might miss … this projector will turn itself off after 5,10 or 30 minutes (you choose) once the signal is no longer being projected. This is a great feature if you have kids at home.