3D Projector Reviews

Full-On/Full-Off Contrast Ratio: 5,600:1

The Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 2045 I reviewed had 0 hours on it when I received the sample.

All calibration readings were taken with a Colorimetry Research CR-100 tristimulus colorimeter profiled to a Jeti 1211 spectroradiometer in CalMAN 5. A DVDO 4K TPG was used as the pattern generator for calibration, and the Spears & Munsil HD Benchmark, 2nd Edition Blu-ray and Ted’s LightSpace CMS Calibration Disk were used for initial setup patterns and verification tools. All calibration was done off my reference 120-inch 1.78:1 Stewart Filmscreen StudioTek 100 screen, and contrast measurements were taken using a Minolta T-10 meter approximately 4 inches from the front of the lens.

All of the measurements were taken with the projector in the Natural preset with the power consumption in Eco mode. There was no gamma adjustment, but final gamma ended up close to 2.2. All of the calibration was done with the dynamic contrast disabled, and the contrast ratio measurements were done with both the dynamic iris off and in high speed. The projector had approximately 8 hours on it during calibration.

The highest native contrast ratio (dynamic iris off) obtained in my calibration was measured at 600:1. The highest contrast ratio achieved was 5,600:1 using the dynamic iris.

The RGB tables were captured from our calibration workflow in CalMAN 5. Delta E errors for RGB and grayscale tracking out of the box were a bit higher than I would like, so I’d suggest a calibration if you want to get the best results from the projector. The projector was new out of the box, and due to the limited time I had with it before I needed to complete the review, I didn’t have as many hours as I typically do for a calibration.

The color gamut in the Natural user preset was decent and needed only a minor touch-up. I could fine-tune the color to respectable levels, but the ending calibration was still a step down from a perfect calibration. Overall, it was nice just to see a projector at this price point that offers some grayscale manipulation and a color management system.—KRD