# Epson 5050UB



## Oleson M.D. (Feb 3, 2010)

Well...where do I start?

Just fired up my brand new 5050UB. Very disappointed and underwhelmed to say the least. Maybe I expected too much, and my bar was already set very high with my trusty Panasonic PTAE-80000U.

The 4K videos look no better than standard Blu-ray movies. In fact, the Panny seems a tad brighter, even though the Epson is rated at a higher lumens output.

Maybe the PTAE-8000U really is state-of-the-art in 1080 projection, and that might be why there is so little difference in the images when playing a 4K disc.

We even checked the calibration of the Epson, using a Spears & Munsil pro DVD. It was pretty much spot on with the factory settings. Perhaps the new UHD disc should be employed here, although it is doubtful that is would make any difference.

Note that we have a 155" screen in a dedicated theater being 100% light controlled.

4K? I don't see it. The two movies we just watched (both 4K) were Back Draft, and Dunkirk. 

My seating ranges from 6 feet to 20 feet back from the screen. I was sitting in the front row. Hoping to see a major upgrade from the SD Blu-rays we have been watching.

The DVD player is a new Panasonic, 4K player.

Are my eyes too old to appreciate the difference? 20/20 vision is still what I have! I might be sending this back, and get a refund of my $2900. Putting my Panny back into the lineup as I write this.

One glaring issue is the lag time with the remote. Go to focus the picture using the lens feature on the remote, and you must hold the button down for a long time. Release the button too soon, and you get no focus change. Hold the button a micro-second too long, and you zoom past the correct focal point for the lens.

To sum up, there was no "Oh my gosh, WOW, what a picture" moment in viewing 4K videos. The bottom line is that the viewing experience did not greatly surpass what we have with the Panasonic PTAE-8000U. 
Your mileage may vary.

Upon further review, we will keep the Epson. It is marginally better with 4K, in some scenes with fine detail. After a side by side comparison with the Panny, scenes in Dunkirk where the soldiers are lined up on the beach had each soldier in sharp detail.

Just listed the PTAE-8000U in the Classified section.


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## MartinFletcher (Oct 25, 2019)

The Epson Home Cinema 5050UB is an update to the popular HC 5040 that improves on its image quality while retaining all its value.


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## Oleson M.D. (Feb 3, 2010)

Bad news...contacted Epson about a failure of my projector. A pink hot spot, the size of a football has appeared. The good news is Espon will replace my 2 month old unit...hopefully with a brand new unit.

Stand by.


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