# The Epson LPE Filter. Over 1600 Color Correct Lumens Out Of the 5010/5020 6010/6020? A Detailed Review.



## Nak

What is the LPE filter? It's a filter 12 cm in diameter that mounts on the 5010/5020. It comes with special edition "Light Power Edition" 5010/5020s projectors. It corrects the native light output of the bulb in the same fashion as the internal filter, except that it is more efficient due to it's size. You run the PJ in Dynamic with a few adjustments listed in the instructions. Supposedly, you get over 1200 color correct lumens--in ECO lamp mode. Over 1600 in Normal lamp. PLUS, you get a healthy bump in native contrast! (Up to 5000 from about 4300 on the 5010. Even more on the 5020.) Here's the link. It's in German, so you'll have to use Google Translate. http://www.cine4home.de/tests/projektoren/Epson_TW9000/TW9000_Test.htm Why is this only available in a couple of European countries? I have no idea.

I'll calibrate it and measure lumen output to see how it lives up to the claims. I'll be using an i1 Pro, and an i1 Display Pro to test and calibrate with Calman 5 software. I'll be taking measurements off my DIY 138" screen. It's Glidden Diamond 450 Titanium White and has a DeltaE of 1.43; RGB measure out at 245, 246, 243. (Measured with an i1 Pro and BabelColor.) I'm guessing gain at around 1.1 to 1.2; hopefully I'll be able to get the gain measured soon. Lumen output will be measured directly with a Lux meter. I have no means to objectively measure contrast.

There are a few minor adjustments you're instructed to make in addition to snapping the filter in place. Contrast -10, Color temp 7000 (I ended up at 7500.), Skin tone 5. (Many thanks to AVS member ANDYK48 for translating the instructions to English!)

I got my 5020 today. I was able to do some very rough testing of lumen output and watched a few scenes from Avatar. It'll be a day or two before I can do any real testing and calibration. But I thought I'd share my first impressions.


*WOW!!!*

First the measurements, and bear in mind these are rough. I'll get better readings soon. ECO lamp mode: 1200 lumens. Normal Lamp mode: 1600 lumens. To my eye, the color is pretty good! Using the starship scene at the beginning of Avatar, it seems to my naked eye that contrast is improved. The star field is very black and the starship is brilliant. Forest scenes where there is sun lit areas along with shaded areas look incredible. Skin tones during the live action scenes look very good. Subjectively, this picture looks outstanding! If I never calibrated it I'd be a happy man to have it look as good as it looks now. Calibration can only make it look even better.

I have an Epson 8700UB that I calibrated Dynamic on. The gray scale actually turned out pretty good, colors seemed close but curved through the saturations instead of straight. Output measured at 1100 lumens. Let me tell you one thing straight and clear: That 8700 in calibrated dynamic never looked even one tenth as good as this 5020 with the LPE filter. In THX mode, I never saw more than 12 Ftl with a brand new bulb. I thought that looked great, but it can't hold a candle to this LPE equipped 5020. I'm only getting 9 ftl out of my Epson now in THX, I'm getting over 20 With the 5020. I'm gushing, I know. But if you have a large screen, this filter is a complete game changer for the Epsons. A whole new level of performance.

Someone at Epson is absolutely insane for not making this filter available in the US.

Measurements, calibration, screen shots, and more movie watching to come.


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## Nak

The first three graphs are stock Dynamic Normal lamp, no filter.


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## Nak

Here's the measurements with the suggested settings for the 5020. Not calibrated, just the directions that come with the filter. Pretty good! This was in normal lamp mode, I'll post up if ECO has any significant variance.

Obviously, things can be tightened up a bit. But considering this is what you get without needing a calibration, it's excellent.

*Lumen output was measure at 1655 lumens.*
Now, bear in mind there's a bit of zoom here. The Lens is at about 15.5 feet, I think around 14 feet would be wide open. So, max lumens should be just over 1700 lumens. I'll edit to add ECO lumens later. I'm guessing over 1200.


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## Nak

Calibrated Lumen Output:
ECO: 1337
Normal: 1780

Here's the best I could do. Colors came out exceptionally well, except for red. Gamma is near perfect. The Grayscale calibrated is not much better than not calibrated. The problem is that the colors are curved in such a way that the typical Gain/offset just can't be adjusted so that DeltaE is below 5 at each point. 

Overall, color is very good. Not outstanding, but very good. In all honesty though, while watching a movie color seems very natural. The fact that red and the gray scale is not perfect is just not noticeable to my eye. Skin tones are excellent in every scene that I used to evaluate them. Blacks look black, whites look white and grays look gray. Colors look excellent and natural.

For the vast majority of us I think this is as good as it gets. Purists will want better, no argument there. The color is available at every point, it's just that adjustment is not sufficient. A video processor that can adjust gamma for each of the colors would have no problem nailing a perfect grayscale, and all colors too I'm sure. 

Settings I used. Anything not listed is at default value.

Dynamic
Contrast -1
Color -4
Temp 6500K
Skin Tone 4
Gamma Custom

RGB
Red Offset -15
Green Gain -4, Offset -2
Blue Offset -16

RGBCMY Hue, Saturation, Brightness
Red: 0, -3, -12
Green: 29, 38, -24
Blue: 8, -35, 0
Cyan: -13, 30, -25
Magenta: 12, 0, 8
Yellow: 0,0,0

Screen shots to come.

And here's the Grayscale after calibrating with an iscan Duo video proccessor. No hit in lumen output to get this. 100 IRE green was not dropped, rather Blue and Red were bumped up. So, if anything a slight bump in lumen output. The bump in Gamma at the higher IREs and the drop in Gamma at the lower IREs was intentional. Also, I could have easily tightened this up, but I saw no need.


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## Nak

Here's the results of my 3D calibration with my 5020 and LPE filter. 3D Dynamic mode.

I could have tightened things up a little bit, But I have a new PJ on the way and it's not worth the effort for now. Measured output is 1600 lumens. Mind you, I have full horizontal shift and the PJ is at 15 feet. If the PJ was centered and wide open on the zoom, I think output would be closer to 1700 Lumens. 

Also, there should be a Mini 3D on the way soon! Woo Hoo!


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## robsong

Thats great news Nak. What about using it with the 8700 can it be done?.


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## Nak

I kind of doubt it. The lamp on the 8700UB has a different native output than the lamp on the 5010/5020. The 8700 runs out of Cyan at about 75% saturation in dynamic, no filter could correct that. I haven't calibrated it yet, or even objectively measured it, but cyan is clearly much better saturated with the 5020 in Dynamic mode. There was never a "Light Power Edition" 8700UB in Europe--there was with earlier models-- so I'm guessing the native output of the 8700UB lamp is just not capable of being sufficiently improved while retaining high lumens. Also, you'd have to jury rig some kid of mount...

Before I sell my 8700UB I'll at least hold the filter up and eyeball the improvement to dynamic.


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## robsong

Thanks for the reply looking forward to your final report. I'm thinking about returning my 5020 and just get 8700 for now.


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## mechman

I wonder if this would work for a 3010. :scratch:


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## Nak

Good question. I don't see why not; it's the same bulb I think? The filter corrects the native output of the bulb. It also is supposed to improve contrast; that would be a great bonus with the 3010/3020. The housing is the same, so it should snap right on. I'll post some pics showing how it mounts.


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## Tonto

Those are some impressive improvements so far. And it seems like such a simple fix. How much did the filter cost? Did you have to get it shipped from Germany? Can you call Epson customer support to inquire about availability here? I'm wondering if there was any additional heat build up in the projector with the filter on it. Can you measure the projectors temp with/without it? I can't think of another reason it would not be offered.


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## mechman

Nak said:


> Good question. I don't see why not; it's the same bulb I think? The filter corrects the native output of the bulb. It also is supposed to improve contrast; that would be a great bonus with the 3010/3020. The housing is the same, so it should snap right on. I'll post some pics showing how it mounts.


Where did you get this from and how much did it cost you?


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## Nak

I was working with a guy all night to get a supply of these, he put them up for sale 5 minutes after I went to bed at 5:00 AM! A guy on AVS bought them and is selling them for $48... Post #26 here: http://www.avsforum.com/t/1442399/e...-of-the-5010-5020-6010-6020-a-detailed-review


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## Nak

Tonto said:


> Those are some impressive improvements so far. And it seems like such a simple fix. How much did the filter cost? Did you have to get it shipped from Germany? Can you call Epson customer support to inquire about availability here? I'm wondering if there was any additional heat build up in the projector with the filter on it. Can you measure the projectors temp with/without it? I can't think of another reason it would not be offered.


They aren't expensive, if you can find them. See my post above. I've seen no reports of heat buildup in Europe. I'll check and see if there's a temp readout in the menu.


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## mechman

Nak said:


> if you can find them


That's the problem right there. I think it's time for you to order 10 of them for us here at HTS! :bigsmile:


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## Nak

I tried... :crying:


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## mdp

Does anyone have an SKU number or something for the filter in German market? I have a buddy there, I can ask him to buy for me.


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## Nak

A new USB cable fixed the problem.

Measurements with the filter and suggested settings from the instructions added to Post #3. These aren't calibrated settings, just the settings from the instructions. Considering this an "Out of the box" setup, it's very nice. Subjectively, it looks great! Skin tones look very natural, colors are natural and definitely "pop". Contrast looks to be improved, but that is just a subjective impression. I'll add screen shots later.


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## Nak

Calibration report added to post #4

*1780 Lumens available in Normal, 1337 in ECO!!*


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## mdp

Wow. Amazing results. Why they don't release it worldwide is a mystery.


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## Nak

Stock Dynamic charts added to Post #2.


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## mechman

mdp said:


> Does anyone have an SKU number or something for the filter in German market? I have a buddy there, I can ask him to buy for me.


Pick one up for me as well! :bigsmile:


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## mdp

I will, if I can find someone selling it over there.


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## robsong

I think there was a guy selling some on ebay in Germany.


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## mdp

Yes, and he sold 15 to Leslie at avsforum. Leslie has marked 10 for avs members and those are already spoken for.

If I can get a name of reseller or sku selling in Germany, then I can ask my friend to buy it for me. I searched online sites but could not find any info for the standalone filter, not even on epson.de website. All I could find was the Light Power Edition projectors.


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## mechman

mdp said:


> I will, if I can find someone selling it over there.


I'm counting on you! 



robsong said:


> I think there was a guy selling some on ebay in Germany.



I think those sold out. :foottap:


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## robsong

If we can contact him and see if he can give us the sku #.


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## mdp

I did contact the ebay germany seller. Awaiting his response. Keeping fingers crossed.


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## robsong

That's great, let's hope he replys back.


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## Nak

Doh! I assumed that I didn't have a SKU since the filter was not in a box. It came in an envelope, but there is a SKU on the instruction sheet. It is: *4122365-01* Of course, that might be the SKU for the instruction sheet!


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## Nak

For you 8700 8350 guys, here's a link to a filter for your PJs. I know nothing about these other than they are listed as "Light Power Edition" filters.

http://www.secondhandbeamer.de/product_info.php?products_id=29
http://highend-hifi-shop.de/heimkin...1/cine4home-glasfilter-epson-light-power.html


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## mdp

Thanks Nak. I will try to give this number to my buddy and see if we can locate it.

Meanwhile, the ebay lister from Germany responded saying he is all sold out. I asked him if there is an alternative source or some other place selling it. Haven't got a response on that yet.


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## Nak

All testing on hold. My brand new 5020 has something loose inside. All convergence all of a sudden went 4 or 5 pixels off when I mounted it on the ceiling. Color uniformity and focus is shot to hell too.


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## robsong

Wow that's bad news. Epson should take care of you and replace it with a new one.


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## Nak

Nak said:


> All testing on hold. My brand new 5020 has something loose inside. All convergence all of a sudden went 4 or 5 pixels off when I mounted it on the ceiling. Color uniformity and focus is shot to hell too.




Kudos to both Best Buy and Epson. Epson offered to overnight a Brand new replacement--not a refurb. Best Buy was out of the 5020 nationwide, so they upgraded me to a 5020e--no charge. That on top of the deal they gave me on the 5020 to begin with--a partial price match to a cyber monday sale 5010--made for an incredible deal on the 5020e.

Peerless has yet to respond to the email I sent yesterday.


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## mechman

Anyone heard anything on this yet?


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## Nak

I'm still waiting on a new PJ from Epson before I do any more testing. They're hand picking me a good one, they say, as I've had three bad ones in a row. Both Epson and Best Buy are out of 5020s Nationwide. My guess and my hope is that Epson noticed a lot of returns and stopped production to fix quality control problems. Hopefully the next batch will have fewer problems.

There's a guy on AVS who will be ebaying 4 of these filters soon. I'll try and give a heads up here before that happens...

I have a used iscan Duo VP coming. I'll run a Grayscale calibration with that and post the results too. Also, there's a guy on AVS who's going to run a 125 point calibration with a Lumagen Mini 3D. Should be very interesting to see the results of that!

Merry Christmas!


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## mechman

Do me a favor Nak, take a reading with your i1pro of a thick sheet of white paper. And then take a reading with the filter in between the two and post the results here. I'm certain I could find a filter that may fit.


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## Nak

Wilco. Merry Christmas!!


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## Nak

mechman said:


> Do me a favor Nak, take a reading with your i1pro of a thick sheet of white paper. And then take a reading with the filter in between the two and post the results here. I'm certain I could find a filter that may fit.


Well, that didn't work so good. I used the panel of rolled Glidden Diamond 450 that your sample was cut off, so you'd have an identical sample. here's the readings: 246, 246, 243 for the Glidden, 28, 16, 26 adding the LPE filter on top of the Glidden. 

What I'm thinking is to use my diffuser and take a reading off of the PJ. I'll use a 100 IRE white field and adjust the PJ for perfect neutral. Then take a reading with the filter. How does that sound?

I guess the first readings I took would work better if you were measuring filters at a store. The light is going through the filter twice, which accounts for the very low readings. If you got identical readings off of a filter using the Glidden rolled sample, it should be a match. BTW, I initialized the i1 Pro just prior to taking the sample. 

Edited to Add: Not sure how well the measurements are working. I'm getting pretty different results every time I measure. The problem is there's a lot of light being released on the "through the filter" shots. I tried throwing some black velvet over the whole thing, but it only helped a little. I think there's reflections from the frame and the filter getting mixed in with the measured light. Also, I get slightly different results off the Glidden if I move the sensor around. Small differences to be sure, but they are there. I get identical shots with Glossy Epson Photo Paper each time.


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## Nak

BTW, I watched the Imax Grand Canyon movie last night in 3D on my 138" white screen. Gain is probably around 1.0 to 1.1? I found the picture pleasantly bright, and I'm sensitive to dark pictures. I was using 3D Dynamic and the LPE filter. Colors seemed natural and skin tones all seemed natural as well. I thought the picture was gorgeous, even though I have not done a 3D calibration yet.


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## mechman

Nak said:


> Well, that didn't work so good. I used the panel of rolled Glidden Diamond 450 that your sample was cut off, so you'd have an identical sample. here's the readings: 246, 246, 243 for the Glidden, 28, 16, 26 adding the LPE filter on top of the Glidden.
> 
> What I'm thinking is to use my diffuser and take a reading off of the PJ. I'll use a 100 IRE white field and adjust the PJ for perfect neutral. Then take a reading with the filter. How does that sound?


Yeah that makes a lot more sense. I forgot that the light had to get back through the filter a second time.



Nak said:


> I guess the first readings I took would work better if you were measuring filters at a store. The light is going through the filter twice, which accounts for the very low readings. If you got identical readings off of a filter using the Glidden rolled sample, it should be a match. BTW, I initialized the i1 Pro just prior to taking the sample.
> 
> Edited to Add: Not sure how well the measurements are working. I'm getting pretty different results every time I measure. The problem is there's a lot of light being released on the "through the filter" shots. I tried throwing some black velvet over the whole thing, but it only helped a little. I think there's reflections from the frame and the filter getting mixed in with the measured light. Also, I get slightly different results off the Glidden if I move the sensor around. Small differences to be sure, but they are there. I get identical shots with Glossy Epson Photo Paper each time.


Minute differences are to be expected. As long as they aren't crazy different.


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## Nak

i1 Pro with diffuser taking readings facing the projector.

Without Filter: x=.3125, y=.3297

With Filter: x=.3226, y=.2988


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## Yiannis1970

That's quite a difference!! As they usually say in Star Trek....you have to compensate Nak!!


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## Nak

3D Calibration added to Post #5.

@ Yiannis: LOL  those are just numbers to help identify the color of the filter itself.


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## mechman

Nak said:


> i1 Pro with diffuser taking readings facing the projector.
> 
> Without Filter: x=.3125, y=.3297
> 
> With Filter: x=.3226, y=.2988


I thought the filter corrected things? 

Did you use a 100% white image? If so try it with an 80% white image.


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## Nak

Yeah, that was a 100 IRE image. I adjusted THX mode as close as I could to dead white. I saved that reading and then put the filter on and read that. I figured it would be possible to determine the tint from that. It translates to a RGB value of 255, 214, 244 or very close thereabouts. Now, how you determine the proper opacity is beyond me. I guess I should have written down the "Y" values as well... Or could you use the calculated Y off of BabelColor? I got this just by moving the pointer around the CIE diagram till it read the right xy coordinates. At any rate I think it worked out OK, eyeballing it that looks like the right tint.


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## mechman

Cool. :T That should help.


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## mdp

Looks very nice. Wonder whether this will work with 3010.

Anyway, still no luck in finding the filter separate in Europe. I have the google alerts setup. But almost all those alerts are about this thread and the avsforum thread.  let's hope something shows up.


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## mechman

Does the filter look similar to this one in color?


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## Nak

mechman said:


> Does the filter look similar to this one in color?


I'll try and take a pic of mine with a white background, but I'd have to say looking at that pic that the LPE filter is a lot less opaque...


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## mechman

I'm thinking that they look fairly similar by those pics. :scratch: Now if I could find the proper one someplace here in the US... :gulp:


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## Nak

LeslieW over at AVS has received a group of these filters now, He'll be eBaying them soon. I'll try and post here when he puts them on EBay...


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## Nak

Here's the eBay auctions. BTW, I'm not involved in these auctions in any way, so I can't get one of these for anyone. Just posting this for people that are looking for one. 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150974171417

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150974182505

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150974189301

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150974192530


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## Nak

And here's the Grayscale after calibrating with an iscan Duo video proccessor. No hit in lumen output to get this. 100 IRE green was not dropped, rather Blue and Red were bumped up. So, if anything a slight bump in lumen output. The bump in Gamma at the higher IREs and the drop in Gamma at the lower IREs was intentional. Also, I could have easily tightened this up, but I saw no need.

Outstanding!!!

I was going to add this to post #4, but I can't edit that post???


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## mechman

Yeah after a certain number of days you can no longer edit your posts. I'll put it in there for you.

We had a disgruntled member or two delete a ton of info years back so we figured we'd better stop it from happening again.


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## Nak

Thanks Mech!


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## mdp

mechman said:


> We had a disgruntled member or two delete a ton of info years back so we figured we'd better stop it from happening again.


I remember that episode. That user had deleted all his posts at avs too.


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## mechman

mdp said:


> I remember that episode. That user had deleted all his posts at avs too.


Did you spring for one of those eBay filters? I didn't as I thought the price was too steep. I'm patient enough to wait. :T


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## HT nut

i am going to europe in july and will be looking for those filters


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## mdp

mechman said:


> Did you spring for one of those eBay filters? I didn't as I thought the price was too steep. I'm patient enough to wait. :T


No, I didn't buy from ebay, but am able to get one from Leslie. After all the 10 filters at AVS were spoken for, I still contacted Leslie to buy one in case someone dropped off. I was the first one to PM him after 10. Luckily someone from original 10 backed off and I ended up getting one.


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## mechman

Let me know how it works out for the 3010.


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## Nak

I emailed Epson and linked to this thread on the one on another forum, the cine4home review, a retailer in Germany selling the LPE model, and the ebay auctions to show high demand for the filter. I've received a reply, the email has been forwarded to the 5020/6020 group for consideration. Hopefully, I'll hear something back sometime. Cross your fingers!


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## Blaser

ummm... Interesting!


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## lgreis

If anyone still wants it...
http://www.beamer-discount.de/beame...er-fuer-epson-tw9000-und-tw9000w-p-39804.html


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## Nak

I've played around with the LPE filter and a 125 point calibration with a Lumagen video processor. Long story short, the Lumagen doesn't need the LPE filter to make Dynamic usable. In fact, the Lumagen turns Dynamic into an extremely color accurate mode. The LPE filter should not be used with the lumagen's 125 point autocal as it only detracts from the result.

Does this mean the LPE filter isn't needed? Of course not. The Lumagen carrys a hefty price tag as does the software needed to do the 125 point autocal. If you can afford it, the Lumagen turns the Epson picture into a stunning display. Roughly 1200 lumens in ECO Dynamic, 1000 in ECO Living Room. Well worth the price of admission if that kind of expenditure is available. The picture is dramatically better than even THX mode without the Lumagen. On the other hand, if you don't want to, or can't, spend a couple of grand on software, meter and VP, the LPE filter provides a very nice picture at a fraction of the cost.


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## Nak

I'm selling my LPE filter. Since I now have a Lumagen Radiance video processor, I no longer need it. I have two family members who have filters as well, and they're pretty excited about the Lumagen. If spouse approval is forthcoming, they may get a Lumagen and sell their filter through me on ebay as well. I wouldn't count on that spouse approval if I were you though... 

I'm not sure if selling links are OK? Mods, please feel free to delete the following link if it breaks any rules. Interested parties, if you search ebay for "Epson Light Power" you'll find the auction, assuming that the mods delete this link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/EPSON-LIGHT...rojector_Lamps_Components&hash=item2580c68b7c


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