Epson's HC5050ub Projector

[Sonnie Parker]

Still waiting on it... thought I'd have it by now.

 

[mechman]

There is a new firmware out for the Epson 5050/6050. I updated mine last night. My initial impression is that they seemed to have boosted the brightness a tad on Digital Cinema. Firmware is now 1.03.

Epson Firmware Page

 

[mechman]

If you’re unfamiliar with how to update your firmware, there are instructions at the link above.

 

[JBrax]

I’m currently shopping for a projector and this model keeps popping up. Are you still happy with it? Are there newer models I should consider in the $3-$4K budget range?

 

[mechman]

I’m currently shopping for a projector and this model keeps popping up. Are you still happy with it? Are there newer models I should consider in the $3-$4K budget range?

I am very happy with it. There isn’t anything in this price range that’s comparable.

 

[mechman]

I will preface this post by stating that I have been all about dark inky blacks since I first ventured into this home theater addiction. I love inky dark blacks! However, I’m starting to change.

After stumbling upon someone from Australia using dynamic mode for HDR viewing with this Epson 5050 projector I decided to break out the tools, calibrate and test this option. The top end (90/100) needed more work than I was willing to sacrifice last night so I didn’t get it completely dialed in but I got most everything else dialed in well enough. I was reading 127 nits off the screen. That’s just under 37fL. This is with ~450 hours on the bulb as well.

I don’t think enough can be said about the brightness of an HDR image. You cannot achieve the dynamic range needed if you’re sitting at 12fL in my opinion. Which is around where this projector sits using the cinema filter from what I recall. And it doesn’t matter how black it gets when you’re only getting the same. You need that brightness. And if you have to sacrifice the expanded color gamut to achieve it, so be it. TBH, I have yet to see much in play in the expanded gamut anyways. Most of it is highlights with the majority of the picture within the 709 realm.

The most important aspects of picture quality from my ISF course:

1. Contrast Ratio
2. Color Saturation
3. Color Accuracy
4. Resolution

 

[mechman]

After my neighbor’s 5050 died last week I got his brand new spare bulb for free! Looks like I won’t be upgrading to a 100” flat panel for a year or more.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

Well that's not a reason not to upgrade.

 

[mechman]

Well that's not a reason not to upgrade.

I’m waiting for a 100” QDEL to replace this. OLED won’t ever become an affordable option at this size before QDEL hits the market. Unless there’s gonna be some sort of micro-LED epiphany that will bring that to market before my 65th birthday. And there certainly isn’t any projector on the market that is worth the expense for an upgrade. Cost isn’t justified by the lack of performance increase.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!