Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 720 720p 3LCD Home Theater Projector
The Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 720 takes home theater entertainment to a whole new level, featuring color and detail that’s sure to win rave reviews from friends and family alike. With 1600 lumens and the vivid realism of Epson 3LCD technology, this mega star will make your home the hottest ticket in town. Experience movies, games and sporting events like you never have before. As stylish as it is entertaining, the Home Cinema 720 is the perfect performer, adapting well to virtually any scene, whether you mount it on a ceiling, shelf or table.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Never Go to the Movies Again!
I have owned this projector for almost a year. If you look around, then you can likely purchase it for about $1100 BEFORE a combination $100 AND free spare lamp mail-in rebate (I cannot overstate the peace of mind that having a spare lamp creates).
I put about 90 hours on the lamp that came with the unit and have subsequently put about 500 hours on the rebate lamp (I put that in immediately to make sure it worked. My original lamp is now my back up). I have yet to buy a screen (that day is hopefully coming quickly). Therefore, I have my picture thrown on an off-white wall painted with flat paint. I currently have my picture size set at 120″. I used to have it set at 135″ but I found 120″ to be the sweet spot for me in terms of having a big enough picture that was still sharp and crisp.
Despite my lack of a screen, the picture I get is insane for the price I paid. The colors pop (especially in Living Room mode) and HD material is amazing. DVD’s look good. Blu Ray is a must. There is a caveat. Because the picture is bigger, flaws in source material will be magnified. I notice a distict difference in the sports broadcast by ESPN, ABC, and Fox versus NBC and CBS. NBC and CBS are markedly better. This, however, is due to the source material and not the projector. But I digress.
The projector can handle some ambient light. However, the fact that I am projecting on to an off-white wall and the absence of a screen hampers my projector’s performance in this area. Despite this, I often still watch stuff with a low-light lamp on so my kids can play in the room at the same time. The menu system allows the picture to be customized to your viewing preferences. If you have different preferences for different lighting scenarios or even different preferences for the type of content being watched, then multiple settings can be stored and easily accessed.
I wish I could give it 4.5 stars because it lacks 2 HDMI inputs and the fan is audible in high power modes (but not distracting). The warranty is great and Epson offers overnight replacement.
The bottom line is this; 1080p is best, 720p is sufficient for most (I sometimes wonder how much better 1080 could look). This projector has gotten excellent expert reviews. If you have a room that is suitable for a projector, DO NOT spend $1300-2500 on a “small” 46-58″ LCD/plasma. If you do some research and shop around, this projector, a decent screen, cables, a good receiver and speakers can be had for the same $2500. Reserve the LCD flat panel for the bedroom. Purchase this projector and never go to the movies again.
5 Stars Great projector!
Great projector… have it connected to an Onkyo TX-SR805 receiver and a set of Yamaha surround sound speakers. My cable TV, DVD’s, and HTPC play wonderfully on it! Great purchase and a great alternative to the $3000+ 1080p projectors.
5 Stars An outstanding experience
Manufacturer of the LCD panels used by most companies in their Home Theater projectors, until recently Epsons own offerings had remained lackluster. Their focus was mainly on high lumen, low contrast projectors for business and education, however, that has changed. With the introduction of their current line-up, Epson has unleashed an excellently valued 720p projector, capable of delivering a high quality big screen experience that will wow friends and family.
There is nothing like being able to watch your favorite movie on a 100″ screen. I enjoy watching Blu-Rays on my PS3, but DVDs look great too. Playing Call of Duty 4 occasionally is also a thrilling experience, with rich colors, depth and great shadow detail. If you haven’t experienced a modern high def projector and value video entertainment, you owe it to yourself to check it out. Its just light years from the washed out colors of 5 years ago. Its very watchable in all but the brightest lighting conditions and, in my view, produces a more satisfying picture than Plasma or LCD sets.
Before I purchased this model, I performed extensive research on the offerings available, reading every single review I could find and you just cant go wrong with either this or the Panasonic AX200. I opted for this one because of the slighter better colors and fewer complaints about problems from existing owners. The Panasonic offers a little more lumen output, but the Epson is more than bright enough.
If you have a little more cash, I would recommend the EPSON Powerlite Home Cinema 1080UB, as it is a superior projector not only in resolution, but in colors and black level, although it does cost over twice as much. For its price and the experience it offers, this projector is a steal and is guaranteed to offer hundreds of hours of great entertainment.
Final thoughts: my room is mostly reflexive white, and light does bounce back to the screen compromising black levels a bit. if you can, opt for matte colors.
4 Stars one of the best 720p projectors!
I bought this PJ elsewhere (not at Amazon) for $1149. This is my third digital PJ and the best unit so far. I started out about 12 years ago with the old heavy CRT beast. CRT is a rapidly dying breed and the pix quality has improved with digital PJ’s they are no longer worth the hassle (IMO).
The new Epson is much brighter then my old Panny PTL 500u (800 lums)which I’m replacing. Sharper cleaner pix with more detail in black areas as well as brighter areas. Blacks are very good with HD and good quality SD sources but not with so so quality SD (most cable channels). HD and full bandwidth off air SD look great! Blacks are as good as some low end DLP (under $2000)units with the dark chip 3. You won’t get the inky like blacks but will not be a distraction from movie either.
If you need to offset from center this is the unit for you. You can set the lens shift one full pix up or down and about the same side to side. You will need to sit about 1.2x screen size back to avoid seeing the pixel structure better know as SDE. I have a 100″ screen and pixels began to disappear about 10 to 11 feet back (102″ to 132″)thus the 1.2x.
Epson has great reputation for quality products and gives you a 2 year warranty if needed. I loved my Panny but with Panasonics ax100U issues I just can’t go with the Panny this time. I hope the 200u has been fixed but I’m not going to gamble with $1300 plus.
If you are like me and can see DLP rainbows then I highly recommend this unit. The only somewhat negative about this unit is the fan can be heard when not in low power cinema mode but does not disturb viewing experience. In low power (cinema modes) unless unit is right by your ear you probably never know it’s on. The high power mode is a little less noisy then a computer fan to give you some idea. If you have forced air heat (I do) then the air rushing from the ducts will make more noise then this PJ in high power mode. Could use a second HDMI input.
The picture quality and brightness is superb and you’ll be very happy with the quality of this unit. You may also want to look at the Sanyo Plv z5 for it has good reviews but is much dimmer then this unit. In a light controlled room that should not be an issue. Reviews by the so called experts put this unit near the top of the LCD pack and Epson customer service is by far better then Panasonic. Sanyo I have never had to deal with so can’t say .
This is one of the better 720p PJ’s on the market at present and you’ll be happy with the PQ of this unit.
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