Projector Reviews

Full-On/Full-Off Contrast Ratio: 8,300:1 (SDR); 6,238:1 (HDR)

The measurements here were made using CalMAN (www.spectracal.com) measurement software from Portrait Displays, together with a Photo Research PR-650 color meter, Minolta LS-100 luminance meter and a Murideo/AVPro (Fresco Six-G) test pattern generator.

Pre-calibration measurements were made with the Epson Home Cinema 4010’s Natural color mode active. Post-calibration measurements were made in the same mode. All measurements were made at 14-feet from a 92-inch diagonal, 1.1 gain Stewart Filmscreen Cima screen with the zoom lens set near its midpoint.

The projector’s highest SDR contrast ratio was achieved with the Natural color mode, Medium Power Consumption, and High Speed Auto Iris setting active. With this combination, black measured 0.004 ft-L and peak white 31.72 ft-L for a contrast ratio of 7,930:1—a good showing for a projector priced under $2,000. The projectors’ native (Auto Iris Off) contrast ratio with the same preset and Power Consumption mode active was 1,117:1. In HDR display mode with the Digital Cinema picture preset, High Power Consumption, and High Speed Auto Iris setting active, black measured 0.016 nits and peak white 99.58 nits (29 ft-L) for a contrast ratio of 6,223:1.

Before calibration, the Epson’s default 6500K color temperature preset in Natural Color Mode displayed decent grayscale tracking, with the Delta E averaging out to 4.9. After calibration, that number improved substantially to 1.6, with a high of 2.8 at 70 percent brightness. (Delta E is a figure of merit indicating how close the color comes to the standards, either D65 for the white point or the color coordinates for each of the primary and secondary colors that define the color gamut under test. Values below 3 are generally unnoticeable.)

With the default settings active in Natural Color Mode, the Delta E of the 4010’s measured color points averaged out to 2.2. While the projector provides color management system controls, I didn’t feel the need to access them given the Epson’s faithful out-of-box Rec.709 color reproduction. Coverage of the P3 color gamut was 98%, an impressive number and one that exceeds not just other 4K/HDR-capable projectors Sound & Vision has tested, but most flat-panel UHDTVs as well.

Gamma closely tracked a 2.2 target for most of the range when the -1 Gamma preset was selected, with a high of 2.8 at 70 IRE. In HDR mode, peak white output measured 101 nits +/- 3 nits regardless of the size of the measured white window. Picture uniformity was good: white full-field test patterns showed minimal brightness drops between the center and edges of the screen, and no color shifts. Our suite of video processing tests revealed uneven performance, with the Epson tripping up on 2:2 and several 2:3 pulldown patterns.

Input lag with a 1080p source measured 27.0 ms, making the 4010 a better-than-average option for high-def gaming. —A.G.

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