Put those 3D glasses away folks as this CEDIA Expo news bulletin will be confining itself to the two dimensions we know and love. (Refreshing, right?) Amid the 3D hubbub coming out of Atlanta this week, Epson has unveiled a whopping seven new 1080p home theater projectors. Although none of the new models is 3D-capable, the dearth of available 3D content is sure to make this a virtually moot point for the majority of consumers.
In keeping with tradition, some of Epson's new projectors will belong to their PowerLite "Pro Cinema" product line while others will be sold under Epson's "Home Cinema" banner. The new Pro models include the Pro Cinema 61000 (sub-$7,000), the Pro Cinema 31000 (sub-$4,500), the Pro Cinema 9700 UB (price TBD) and the Pro Cinema 9350 (price TBD). Meanwhile, the new Home models include the Home Cinema 21000 (sub-$3,300), the Home Cinema 8700 UB (sub-$2,200) and the Home Cinema 8350 (sub-$1,300).
Epson's track record for delivering high performance, high value 1080p projectors is well documented, and it would appear Epson aims to further that lineage with models such as the 8350 and 8700 UB - both due later this month. Each appears to offer incremental contrast performance improvements plus refinements to Epson's proven technologies such as Super Resolution and FineFrame. But the biggest Epson news is a bit more... reflective.
Although details are still on the sketchy side, Epson is introducing what they are calling the "world's first 3LCD Reflective Technology," capable of delivering the world's first "mega contrast ratio" of up to 1,000,000:1. (That's one MILLION to one, in my best Dr. Evil voice.) Projectors to feature Epson's new 3LCD Reflective Technology include the Pro Cinema 61000, the Pro Cinema 31000 as well as the Home Cinema 21000 - all of which will become available in December.
As for for what 3LCD Reflective Technology is or how it works, all we know at this point is this: "Epson created 3LCD Reflective technology based on its established transmissive HTPS technology to deliver advanced video quality with higher contrast ratios, richer colors, smoother gradation, and enhanced black levels." Fair enough - for now.
Editor's Note: I saw the new Reflective LCD projectors at CEDIA Expo this week and the images produced were quite impressive. Epson's new technology is similar in many ways to LCOS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon), though Epson says that their substrate is Quartz (does this make it Liquid Crystal on Quartz? LCOQ? Let's not say that out loud, OK?).
One of the coolest features on the new reflective projectors is a motorized zoom with zoom memory. This feature, formerly only found on Panasonic's PT-AE4000U, offers an excellent solution for Constant Image Height (CIH) projection systems, i.e., those with 2.4:1 or 2.35:1 screen options. Instead of requiring anamorphic processing and an expensive anamorphic lens, the zoom memory feature allows you to zoom letterboxed CinemaScope movies to fill the screen at 2.4:1 with no cropping, distortion or stretching of pixels. We look forward to checking one of these projectors out in the BPBS labs once they become available.
You can read more in the complete press releases at Epson.com.
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