Epson Home Cinema 2150 Wireless 1080p Miracast, 3LCD projector

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3 Years ago I got an Epson projector that was double the price of this and was SO blown away by it, that I wrote an extremely extensive review of not only the projector but also the technology that it incorporated, along with what to expect from 3D which the 3600e amazingly delivered. Many of the features and quality of that 3600e are included in this 2150. So, If you have the desire to read that in depth review of the big brother to this 2150, you can enlighten yourself about the overall technology that Epson incorporates into their home theater projectors. The 2150 shares many identical features and controls as the 3600e (whose retail price in 2014 was around $2,100). If Amazons review filters dont purge embedded URL links, then you can go to my original Amazon review with this link to find out more, many of whose features apply to the 2150. https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R2MZ15RKSHR6SS?ref_=glimp_1rv_cl If the link is purged by Amazon, break it up in the following manner so that Amazons filters dont recognize it as a "hot link". Start with https:// and without any spaces after the dual forward slashes, enter www.amazon.com/gp/review/R2MZ15RKSHR6SS?ref_=glimp_1rv_cl Maybe that will work. Anyway....... Before proceeding, I feel a responsibility to disclose that the 2150 was offered to me by Amazon within their VINE program, in exchange for an unbiased review (maybe due to the extensiveness of my earlier review of the 3600). I have reviewed hundreds of products on Amazon and I have no qualms about trashing products that do not deserve to be in existence (with my reviews ranging from 1 Star to 5 Stars). I was invited to join the Vine program when Amazon noticed the number and quality of my reviews over many years, with my reviews receiving over 80% "thumbs up" from thousands of Amazon shoppers, who have read them. Since then, as a Vine reviewer, I have been merciless in some of my reviews because products offered were just plain junk, while others have been surprisingly spectacular, such as this one. I am convinced that one thing which has propelled Amazons success as a retailer, is its review features. And I feel it is important to protect the integrity of Amazons unbiased reviews, written by consumers who have actually experienced a product, to share its strengths or weaknesses, so that other consumers can have confidence in their buying choices. When Amazon offered me the 2150 I was very excited to say the least, but at the same time, somewhat skeptical that it would be a step down in viewing experience. But, with the 2150, you will enter into a viewing experience which rises to the level of high end movie theater quality. After having been spoiled by the stunning picture quality and monster image size of the 3600e, I had always wanted to have a 2nd projector that was as good as the 3600 but did not feel I could justify spending at that level. I have often wished that I could enjoy the "movie theater" experience outdoors for sporting events or movies on the patio when the weather was nice...which I COULD DO with the 3600e but did not want to move it after I had set it up in my home theater, projected onto a wall, yielding a 120" screen, linked to my component sound system which rivals THX, in a smaller listening environment. So, having "dialed in" the 3600e to perfection, I decided it would be too much of a hassle to move it off of the suspended platform which I had created, hanging from my home theater ceiling. I had used 4 short sections of swag chain to suspend four corners of a 1/2" thick piece of solid maple (18" x 18"), to rest my the 3600e upon, allowing me more flexibility to position and move the projector around on this shelf, for best focus/throw distance/keystone adjustment flexibility, etc. I did not want to use a typical ceiling mount bracket which requires large bolts attached to the ceiling. Thus, suspending it in this manner, allowed me to use only 4 very small eyehooks screwed into ceiling studs (thus no big holes in the ceiling if I ever removed it). So, the movie theater experience had to stay in my viewing room only. FIRST BLUSH COMPARISON BETWEEN THE TWO: So, when I got the 2150, I took it into my viewing room and fired it up, using a Blu Ray disc, projected onto the same painted screen used for my 3600e. I then switched back and forth between the two projectors, expecting to see a difference in picture quality, expecting the 3600e to be much better, based on it being a lot more expensive. WRONG. What a surprise and delight for me. See the attached picture of a KC Chiefs "point after" ball snap. The color saturation on the 2150 is amazing (equal to the 3600e). WIRELESS LINKING: The main thing that the 3600e has over the 2150 is that it has its own RF wireless transmitter to which I run my output sources with HDMI cables (from my Direct TV box and my Sony 3D Blu Ray player). My Sony also has built in wifi for streaming Netflix, Amazon Prime and many other sources, which then transmit to the 3600e through its HDMI linked wireless transmitter. The 2150 differs in that it utilizes Miracast to stream from Android devices or Windows laptops, or you can use its MHL connectivity to utilize things like the Roku stick. Personally I will simply dedicate a new 3D Blu Ray player hard wired with HDMI to the 2150. And when I want to use it outside, for sports, I will simply take one of my Direct TV wireless mini genies outdoors and hook it up with HDMI to the projector, which is a breeze to move around and setup quickly. PORTABILITY AND IMAGE SIZE: The 2150 is extremely lightweight and portable at only 7 pounds, as well as being very compact. So it is a snap to move around. And it is highly flexible insofar as image throw and projector placement in relation to the screen. The lens is capable of 1.60:1 zoom. You can position the projector anywhere from 5 away from the screen, all the way up to 29 away, yielding image sizes that can range from 30" diagonal all the way up to 300" diagonal (25 feet). Were talking drive in movie theater sized experience here, if you had a screen that size. Know that Zoom and Focus are adjusted only manually with slider bars above the lens on the projector. OUTDOORS VIEWING: For outside viewing, based on lots of research, I am going to purchase an "Elite Screens Yard Master 2" with 120" diagonal screen size for outdoors viewing, for under 200 bucks. The Yard Master can free stand or you can remove the legs and easily suspend it on a wall. It is very light weight and portable so I will also use this as my projection screen for the 2150 indoors as well as outdoors. As far as projection screens go, "Elite" is fairly highly regarded in the industry, in other words, not a cheap gimmick device. IMAGE POSITIONING ADJUSTMENTS: One feature that Epson added to the 2150 (as an upgrade from their very popular 2045), is vertical lens shift, allowing you to set up your projector (when centered horizontally on your projection surface), and being able to move the projected image up or down by 60%, in order to compensate for how high or low your projector is placed vertically, in relation to the center of your projection screen. Thus you can mount the projector low, such as on a table, or high, suspended from the ceiling and then with the lens shift control, you simply move the projected image up or down, along with the lens zoom control, until it is fills your desired viewing surface. You have to pretty much center the 2150 horizontally in relation to the center of your screen surface, since the 2150 does not have a horizontal shift control, unlike my more expensive 3600e, which does have that. Not a real biggie since most users will have no problem centering their projector on the screen, horizontally. KEYSTONE ADJUSTMENT: Of course, like any projector these days, the 2150 does have both horizontal and vertical keystone adjustments which allow you to "square up" the projected image to fill your screen from side to side and top to bottom, so that it is a perfect rectangle. The 2150 has a control feature called "auto keystone" which does a pretty good job of doing that automatically, however, I found it to be less than perfect, so I used it to get "almost there" and then went into manual mode to tweak it to my satisfaction. SCREEN QUALITY IS ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL The projected image is only as good as the quality of the screen being used, and a good projection screen can easily exceed the cost of this projector. The screen is a WEAK LINK in your level of viewing satisfaction since the screen surface determines how "well and true" the image from the projector is reflected back into your eyes. When I got the 3600e I researched extensively, how I could get the most out of that projector without spending up to 2,000 bucks on a screen, which was necessary to do it justice. One highly regarded screen in the A/V industry, is the Studiotek 100, which is very expensive. BUT you can go the DIY route by preparing a surface for paint and painting your wall to get the same results as the very expensive projection screens (explained further, below). Painting your own screen is a very dicey situation, since paints vary dramatically between "white" color tones and in sheen and texture for proper reflectivity. So the screen can easily downgrade the intended results of an excellent projector such as the 2150. It is not as simple as just painting a wall white. The screen color, texture, finish, and image "gain" can easily affect image quality. So, if you want to read an in depth article on how to get the optimum painted screen result, go to a website called "projectorcentral dot com" and keyword search on their site for the article called “ painting the perfect screen for 100 bucks”. This website resource of projector system experts tested many different brands of paint with different shades of white in different sheens, to try to match the “Two Thousand Dollar” screen result inexpensively, by painting their own screen. Bottom line is that they used a high end HD projector to throw an image onto a wall that split the image between a Studiotek screen and a painted wall surface, to see if they could detect any difference in the quality between the two in a split screen image. After painting the wall with many different paints, yielding unsatisfactory results, they stumbled upon one which created a seamless transition from the Studiotek screen to the painted wall surface. The paint they used to exactly match the Studiotek screen image was Sherwin Williams ProClassic Smooth Enamel Satin Finish, untinted, which sells for 20 to 24 bucks a quart (more than enough to paint a projection surface), using a very tight knap roller or better yet a sponge roller. I used this paint on my home theater wall with spectacular results. EXCELLENT PICTURE QUALITY NEEDS DEEP COLOR SATURATION: Picture Quality has to include not only high definition and resolution. It has to deliver good color saturation along with brightness of picture. This is where Epson really shines (no pun intended). Over the last 3 years, I have hosted many "party" events involving college basketball, college football and some NFL showings. All of my guests are absolutely amazed at the picture quality. Many saying that it is every bit as good as their large high definition flat screen displays. The Epson 2150 absolutely delivers the same stunning picture (again, see attached) as my 3600e. When buying a home theater projector (or one to be used for business presentations outside of the home), you need to be very aware of a specification that many competitors fail to list. And that is COLOR LUMENS. All of the Epson projectors not only deliver 2500+ in brightness lumens but they also deliver the same level (2500+) in color lumens. Many competitors might boast 2500-3000 lumens of brightness, but they dont want to list the color lumens because they are often only about 1/3 to 1/2 that of the brightness lumens. What does that mean ?? Basically a washed out picture which I compare to diluting the density of paint....with lens brightness being the water in that analogy. Too much water without the same density of pigments, dilutes the saturation of the color and pales it out to pastels. And that is the main reason that Epson delivers such a stunning on screen image. They pump up the color saturation to equal the brightness. SO COLOR LUMENS MATTER. They also offer a contrast ratio of 60,000:1 which is very acceptable. The intensity of the projected image is pretty impressive in my opinion. It allows for a fairly high quality image in a brightly lit room, such as a conference room in which one might be giving a business presentation. I watched it with my viewing room blinds open in the daytime (without direct sunlight on the screen) and found it to be entirely adequate for casual viewing. However, in reality, I want this thing to explode with its dynamic picture, in a darkened room, which it is eminently capable of delivering. ADVANCED PICTURE QUALITY CONTROLS: If you are a real tech nerd who wants to really dig deep into image adjustments, the 2150 incorporates the same highly sophisticated digital control adjustments as the more expensive 3600e. There is no limit to what you can do with individual adjustments in the gamma spectrum of RGB. Too sophisticated or complicated to explain here. Just know that if you have the desire to dial this thing into personal preferences which go way beyond brightness, contrast, tint, skin tone settings, etc, that you have all the tools needed to fine tune, beyond what 99% of us are more than happy with. REPLACEMENT BULB COST: When I first got the 3600e, I checked the cost of bulb replacement, knowing that around 3500 to 5000 hours of lamp life, I might be faced with replacing the bulb which deteriorates over time. Although, that stated lamp life is generally meant to indicate that is when you might start seeing a lowering of brightness intensity and thus quality of picture. It does not mean that it will actually burn out, to no image at all. In addition, bulb life depends upon what setting you use on the projector. You can go full intensity for the brightest picture which yields a shorter bulb life or you can go in "Eco" mode which is slightly less bright and which just about doubles bulb life. The bulb life on this 2150 projector is 4,000 hours at full power and 7,500 in "Eco" mode. For me, I want the whole experience so I run full power. Back in 2014 when I got the 3600e, I checked the cost for a replacement bulb and it was around 150 bucks, which today has gone down to around 100 bucks. Not too bad, to rejuvenate the image, in the future, when needed. I am currently at around 800 hours on the 3600e and notice absolutely no difference in image quality from the first day I fired it up. The GOOD NEWS with the 2150 is that replacement bulbs are only 49 bucks, which likewise may come down in price by the time you would have to replace it, several years down the road. Knowing how technology changes and how things tend to get discontinued unexpectedly, I recommend having a replacement bulb or two on hand, now, to insure you can always enjoy your projector in years to come. SOUND QUALITY: The 2150 has a single 10w speaker that fires out of the back at surprisingly LOW volume. This is the only weak point in this projector. It is pretty much worthless for listening to anything unless you are sitting close to and immediately behind the projector. I turned it up to full volume and sat on a sofa about 6 feet in front of the projector and could barely hear it. But that is of absolutely no concern to me, because I always use an external sound system linked to any TV or projector that I have, since most TV brands have dismal speakers in them anyway, which all fire to the back, to bounce sound off of a wall (basically muted and sucks big time). I also found that with my 3600e, when supplementing the sound through a very expensive sound system, that I could never get the sound from the projector to sync with my home audio system. I even used the sync advance or retard controls on the projector to try to sync the projector sound to my home system, but could never get rid of the "echo" effect, so I just never turn the sound on the 3600e, because there is no need to. Knowing that, I suspect the same will be true of the 2150, however I did not bother to test that. VIDEO MODES AND ASPECT RATIO: There are many options for whichever video source you are using, for the projector to handle it. They are 720p, 1080i, 1080p/60, 1080p/24, 1080p/50, 480p, 480i. And the aspect ratio is very flexible as well. It can handle all of the common formatting used by both cable and movies, such as 16:9, 2:35:1, and 4:3, etc. The resolution is full HD at 1920 x 1080. DLP vs 3 CHIP LCD: There are 2 different projector technologies for putting color on a screen. Basically all TV flat screens and projectors fire 3 colors onto a screen to create the millions of hues of colors etc. Those are RGB (Red, Green, Blue). These colors scan across the screen in rapid succession to create a seamless image to the eye. In projectors, there are two competing technologies....DLP and LCD. Epson uses 3 separate "color guns" to fire the 3 individual RGB colors, simultaneously onto the screen, as opposed to single chip DLP HD projectors, which produce color, by firing only one primary color at a time in rapid succession, instead of all 3 at the same time, so light areas on the screen can break up into subtle red/green/blue rainbows which can be noticed when you shift your eye or when objects move quickly on screen. This rainbow effect does not occur on 3 chip LCD projectors such as this Epson. In all honesty I cant attest to what the DLP projectors are really like, since I have not viewed any, knowing they were DLP in retail stores. But I do know that the image from the Epson is flawless. Now, there is one point that needs to be addressed regarding LCD vs DLP, in which experts will attest to the fact the DLP projectors can produce a truer "black", on screen, which insures that dark areas of a picture are true black and not a dark gray. This is related to contrast ratio, to achieve true blacks. So I will concede to experts who measure things like that with sophisticated calibration and measuring tools. Now, does that in anyway diminish the quality of the picture on the 2150 ? Absolutely not. To the casual viewer the on screen image is rich with color and intensity, which leaves one saying, "WOW". IF 3D IS IMPORTANT TO YOU: When I first received the 3600e, back in 2014, I could not wait to try a 3D movie. So I ran out and bought "Gravity", with Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, having seen it in a movie theater in 3D. The special effects in that movie make 3D come alive, like no other 3D movie. Absolutely mind blowing in 3D. However watching it on an Epson 3D projector, took it to a level, well above what movie theaters can deliver. And that is mainly due to the difference in technology related to passive 3D glasses handed out in movie theaters, which are incapable of delivering a true HD image, versus the active 3D technology used by Epson which is definitely full HD at 1920 x 1080. The 3D glasses from Epson are about 100 bucks each and they are not included with the 2150, so you have to go online to obtain them. Bummer, right? Well, not after I did my research on the 3600e when I first got it, which included 2 pair of the Epson Active 3D glasses. There is a more affordable option, explained next. MAKING 3D AFFORDABLE: Epson uses a different technology than that used in movie theaters. Their "Active" 3D glasses are powered and they recharge with a USB cord, and are good for about 40 hours on a charge. Epson uses this more expensive “Active” 3D glasses technology, which is explained below. Passive 3D glasses (like those handed out in movie theaters) have to be extremely inexpensive compared to Active, and must be used with a projection system that is also “passive” and the 2 technologies are not cross compatible. In spite of the high cost of the Epson glasses, I discovered through Amazon reviews that you can buy Samsung “Active 3D” glasses, which are compatible with this Epson, at a fraction of the cost of the Epson glasses. The model is the Samsung SSG 5150GB for around 16 bucks a pair. The main difference is that the Samsung glasses are not rechargeable. Instead they use a single (common) CR1620 battery which will not last as long as the rechargeable, and since the battery has to be replaced when it dies, you need to keep spares on hand. But for the huge price difference for the glasses, I dont mind purchasing inexpensive batteries. The pros and cons for “active” vs “passive” are listed below. HOW DO ACTIVE GLASSES WORK: Powered, "active" glasses have right and left eye lens “shutters” which alternately open and close rapidly enough that your eye does not detect it. Screen refresh rates and frame rates can have an impact on the viewing experience, depending upon the specs for a specific flat screen or projector brand. The image delivered to the right eye is different (horizontally shifted) from that to the left eye, but both simultaneous screen images are in full HD screen resolution, enabling the “Active” to deliver a true 1080p high def image (1920 x 1080 pixels) to each eye, for a superior 3D experience. If you view the 3D image on screen without the glasses on, it is a blurred "ghost" image. And, due to the fact that the glasses are “shuttering”, there are some who claim that it cuts down slightly on the brightness of the on screen image (a minor negative consideration, since this projector has brilliant intensity to begin with). So "Active" provides a more seamless and realistic 3D experience. Another consideration regarding active 3D glasses, is that they are a bit heavier than passive glasses, so comfort in wearing them may be an issue (however, not for me or any of my viewing guests). They will fit over prescription eye glasses unless you have unusually large prescription glass frames. Another specification to be aware of is that earlier versions of Active 3D glasses (from various manufacturers) used IR (Infrared) to transmit to the glasses, which required line of site between the base unit and the glasses. But now, most have changed to RF (Radio Frequency), which does not require line of site, which is a big improvement. Be aware that the 2 are incompatible. So, with this projector you want the RF version of Active 3D. WHY "PASSIVE" GLASSES TECHNOLOGY IS INFERIOR: It uses polarized lenses to differentiate what the left eye sees, versus what the right eye sees (youre familiar with the cheap movie theater cardboard glasses with one green lens and one red lens). And the way passive works, for instance, is that 3D on televisions use filters which polarize the image, firing alternating lines of pixels onto the screen. The filter delivers the odd number of lines of pixels on the screen, which are visible to only the left eye, and the even number of lines on the screen, visible to only the right eye. So, in actuality, each individual eye is only seeing 1920 x 540 pixels on the screen (not 1080 Hi Def), since half of the pixels (alternating lines) are being hidden (polarized) from the opposing eye, to create the horizontal shift differentiation, which is needed to create the 3D experience. Although, without 3D glasses, the "passive" 3D image looks perfectly normal on the screen, and is in full HD since you are seeing both the odd and even lines of pixels at the same time. However, with passive 3D viewing, if your screen is too large for the viewing area or you are sitting too close to the screen, without glasses on, you will probably notice the interlace lines between the alternating rows of pixels. Arguably, passive glasses are claimed to deliver a brighter image, since there are no shutters opening and closing, as there are on active glasses. But again, the brightness intensity of the 2150 easily compensates for this, to deliver an entirely satisfactory 3D viewing experience, if you want to watch 3D. BOTTOM LINE: The 2150 absolutely ROCKS at this price point. Dont hesitate for one minute to take the plunge with this projector. I know, from 3 years of enjoyment of its Big Brother, the 3600e, that this projector is a steal at half the price of what I have been enjoying with comparable image quality. I have had absolutely no disappointments or equipment failure or feature lapses with the 3600e and expect the same from the 2150. Not a mystery that Epson dominates the market in home use and business use projectors. On a side note, I am in the trade show exhibit business, with my major national clients (Cessna Aircraft, The Coleman Company, and many more) who run video in their exhibit booths at major national trade shows. Almost without exception, they all run Epson projectors to tell their story. So I am a believer. You can be too, after owning one.

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I didnt purchase this from amazon, so you wont see the "verified purchase" label, but I thought another review might helpful regardless. Im a projector nut, and have seen many projectors and have lots of comparisons to pull from. Let me start with a bottom line summary: The Epson 2150 is a significant improvement over the Epson 2040/2045 of the prior generation, which I owned at one point. As such, it is an excellent projector, especially at the current sale price of $699. Now lets get into the nitty gritty details. Contrast: First of all, the manufacturer contrast specs are bogus, check actual review sites for the technical measurement. And dont be turned off by the fact that actual numbers are much lower than advertised. The images are great. TVs give wrong numbers as well (Except maybe OLED). Contrast is the biggest area of improvement over the previous generation. The 2040 had a terrible black level, which caused the native contrast (no auto iris engaged) to be approximately 500:1 per measurements. The native contrast on this new model is 3-4 times greater per review, and it shows. Images look great and have much more depth to them. While DLPs were way ahead of the 2040 and 2045, the 2150 can compete head on DLPs in native contrast thanks to this model. (note: while I dont own the equipment to measure contrast, I rely on reviews by those who do, as well as my own observations when the seeing the projectors in person) Brightness: Not a big focus of my review, since I like to view projectors in the dark without much ambient light. But needless to say it was plenty visible with the lights on. As with any projector, it will not compete with direct sunlight and will look its best in the dark. However, with some ambient lighting, its brightest modes are up for the challenge. Flexibility: I wont get to technical here, but the zoom range on this model is significantly improved over the 2040. If you place the projector on a coffee table, you have much more image sizes you can achieve using the zoom when compared to the 2040. Auto-iris - An auto iris closes the light path so that dark scenes can look darker. Sometimes in the process of doing this, however, it can make noises or make the adjustments in a "jerky" way. Im pleased to report that the 2150 has a quiet iris. While you can notice the dimming on the screen when its operating, it is a smooth process. Fan Noise: This hasnt changed really from the 2040. Eco mode is decent for watching movies and its not too noticeable. Normal lamp mode is a bit noisy. If youre talking and watching sports with friends, youd probably tune out the fan noise in normal mode, especially with the sound of the broadcast as well. Comparisons: Epson 2150 vs. Benq HT2050 - DLPs have thinner lines between pixels and give a nice looking image in this regard. The HT2050 also has a more easy to ignore and subtle fan noise. The 2150 can essentially match the HT2050 in contrast. The 2150 beats the HT2050 in brightness, zoom, and color vibrancy (though the 2050 is no slouch in this regard). They both have a little bit of vertical lens shift. My pick would be the Epson. In addition to the excellent image from the Epson, I am sensitive to the rainbow effect that DLPs produce, though many arent bothered by it or notice. I just prefer 3-chip projectors. Epson 2150 vs Sony HW45es - I own the Sony. Its my flagship and its gorgeous. While it might not be fair to compare a $700-$900 projector (depending on the sale) to a $2,000 projector, Im going to do it anyway. The Sony excels in refinement. The fan is near dead-silent, the image is natural looking and had plenty of depth with its 4,800-7,000:1 (depending on mode selected) native contrast ratio. It also has vertical and horizontal lens shift and an awesome remote. The Epson is much more portable, affordable, and still produces a very compelling image. While the Epson wont dethrone my Sony, I was almost taken aback at how good of an image you can get for $699 (sale price currently). While projector and cinema nuts like me will always choose the subtle refinements and advantages of the Sony; most people, if they viewed them side by side showing the same thing, would rightfully question why someone would pay $1,300 more for a difference not that huge. And I wouldnt blame them.

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You must be reading this review to know whether to buy this projector or not. You should know from whom this review is coming from... so you can decide better. This review is for budget projector for Full HD movies under 800 USD. -I am someone (and this review is for) who is videoholic, watches movies 80% of the time, rest is Youtube/TV Shows/PS4. -I dont like any movie which is less than 1080p. Picture and audio quality must be on top for me to watch any movie. -I have owned BENQ HT1075 (big brother of w1070 and younger to HT2050A), so when it died i was looking for new projector. -I projected EPSON on the off-white wall 140 inches screen from 14 feet (same as with BENQ) -I was impressed and more than happy with Benq (except it needed bulb replacement after couple of years and it costs much) I had shortlisted BENQ HT2050, 2550 (4K) and EPSON 2150. And finally decided and bought EPSON 2150. Why would someone very happy with BENQ, buy EPSON instead of another new model of BENQ? -Wanted to experience something different. -EPSON have placed this projector under HOME CINEMA category, hence i assumed its made mainly for movies. -I think EPSON is far bigger brand than BENQ -Amazon positive reviews and some site like PC Mag amateurishly saying its great. -Better 3D quality. 3Ds basic issue is darkness, so i agreed to the reviews that said it has better 3D due to higher lumens. - Low cost bulb and More bulb life compared to BENQ - Lumens not only for white, impressively it has color lumens - All the bells and whistle like Frame Interpolation and many more. My experience: EPSON 2150 have every feature you dream for except picture quality. Picture that is washed out images. However, I wanted to keep this projector for all the great features it have, we (family) tried to like it, but even my 11 yr old boy said why it is not sharp as our previous projector. His fortnite (PS4 game) also was not as good BENQ. You feel like you are watching movie on HBO or any TV channel not in theater. 3D was again disappointment (I bought and used 3ACTIVE 3D glasses for this projector). Whereas my wife said this projector is OK (because she doesnt bother for quality, she is more into TV shows) So if you into movies and would want theater like picture quality and sharpness avoid this and go for DLP, if you are more into TV shows, sports... this is great projector. Why 3 stars out of 5... +3 for all the great features it have, like great color, good night scenes, features... -1.5 EPSON misleading customers by using terms as HOME CINEMA, 60000:1 contrast ratio etc. -0.5 Shipping: Mine was international shipping and Shipping was good but return had issues that i could not return. When i processed return, the return label had cost 800 USD whereas i bought it for 699 USD. And for any items value 800 and more have to pay much extra (unlucky me), so i could not return. Fortunately I was able to sell it with facing 200 USD loss. I have learned higher lumens doesnt mean better sharpness / picture quality, its just more brighter. On the contrary, its the drawback to have higher lumens for movies. LCD technology must have limits and to compensate that all the features have been provided. I know i will have some cons while buying DLP projector like bulb cost, light leaking etc but i cant compromise on not having theater at home and just having a 140 inch TV. Bottom line: If you are looking for budget projector for movies and if you are first time projector buyer or experienced one, note that EPSON 2150 is not HOME CINEMA projector as the name suggest, it JUST a bigger TV in your room, giving washed out pictures thou colors are great in this projector, think how much you will watch blu rays... if its more than 50%, dont buy this, if its less than 50% this is a great projector. Also i dont find any difference in BENQ and EPSON in ambient light, both gets washed out similarly. I dont know what so much fuss about ambient light viewing with EPSON. I have ordered BENQ HT2050A and it will be arriving soon. I will write review on that too. Please leave comments if you have any query.

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When it came time to replace my 60" plasma, I started my obsessive research on projectors. I spent weeks learning about them, comparing brands and models, and reading reviews. I finally decided on an Epson Home Cinema 1060 (note: not this projector). I was so excited and went to set it up in what I thought was our pretty average-sized living room, only to discover that I had missed something in all my research, PROJECTION DISTANCE RANGE!!! Please be sure to measure the size of your screen and the distance from the screen to where you want to place the projector and check that the projector you want will work with that range. When I mounted the HC 1060 on the shelf I installed, the projector was too far away and the image was far too large to fit on the 110" screen, even with the zoom at the smallest setting. I also found that if the projector is to be mounted high, it MUST be upside down, even if you intend to place it on a high shelf. This is because the lense is designed to project the image up from a low surface so that the bottom of the image is almost in line with the lense, and the top of the image is around a 45° angle out of the lense. I called Epson to see if I had any options, because I REALLY did not want to ceiling-mount the projector closer (long story). The tech support was very helpful, but they left me with a difficult decision to make: either move the HC 1060, or return it and purchase the HC 2150 (this projector). The HC 2150 features a much wider zoom range and lense shift, making it much more flexible to install. The only potential negative was that it featured 2500 lumens of brightness compared to the 3100 lumens in the HC 1060. However, the HC 2150 has a 60,000:1 contrast ratio where the HC 1060 has only a 15,000:1. I took the chance and purchased the HC 2150 and COULD NOT BE HAPPIER!!! I was worried about the reduction in lumens because our living room has a lot of ambient light and we watch TV in the middle of the day frequently. As it turns out, the higher contrast ratio of this projector more than compensates for the reduction in brightness and also produces a MUCH better image! I cant believe how good the image quality is, even in the middle of the day with ambient light in the room. I attached some photos to show this. Bottom line, you will not be disappointed with this projector!

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This is my first real projector so I dont have anything significant to compare it to. I was torn between this and the Benq HT2050, but ultimately went with this because I knew I was going to use it sometimes during the day and not just at night in complete darkness, plus I didnt want to take the chance with the "rainbow" effects. Right now Im just projecting onto a plain white wall, but have a 120" fixed frame projector screen on order, but even watching a movie directly on a wall, I am more than satisfied. The picture is extremely sharp and clear and the color is fairly accurate, although thats just eyeballing it, no testing equipment. One of the pics is in our apartment living room at 11.5 ft from the wall projecting a roughly 110 inch screen. All the walls are white so when theres a bright scene on the screen, the light coming off of it is enough to wash out the colors a bit, as if I had turned on a light in the room, thats just how bright the picture is (in "Cinema" mode). Im hoping a projector screen will make a good bit of difference. The other pics above my computer screen are roughly 80" diagonal. When I get house, Ill have more control over the colors in the room. Setup was very easy. I didnt even look at any instructions, just took it out of the box, connected my laptop via HDMI, plugged in the power cord and I was up and running. The vertical shift was very helpful as was the horizontal keystone. You really only have to place the projector where you want it and make the adjustments on the projector to get a nice looking picture. I would suggest using the least amount of keystone necessary though, i did notice that when you adjust the focus, most of the screen is perfectly sharp, but in the extreme lower corners, the picture is just a tad out of focus. When you adjust the focus to make the lower corners sharp, the rest of the picture is a tad out of focus. Not noticeable when youre watching something though. Im just nitpicking I guess. The fan is pretty quiet in Eco mode, cant even hear it unless you put your ear up to it, but when changed to "Normal" mode, it is noticeably louder, but not really a deal breaker. It also blows some pretty hot air out the vent, but Ive ran it for about 5 hours continuously and it didnt shut off. It will definitely heat up a small room. There is a little bit of screen tearing when there is fast moving scenes happening, which is kind of annoying, but i think it may be a combination of some of my settings and the fact Ive been just watching downloaded movies. I plan to get a Blu Ray player later on down the road for the best possible picture and to try out the 3D functionality. This projector didnt come with 3D glasses but I also have a couple pairs on order. Playing games on this was a pretty cool experience. Im not a big gamer, but I played a few PC games on it and inputs from my controller were pretty instant on screen. I was worried about the contrast also. I wanted the blacks to actually be black. I already knew I wasnt going to get it when I bought this particular projector, but Im still happy with it. In a dark scene, the blacks are fairly dark that you dont even think about it, but when theres a bright scene like outside during the day, the blacks appear very washed out and grey. Again, Im thinking using an actual projector screen and darker colored walls will improve the overall contrast significantly. I would have liked to test out the Benq HT2050 first because Ive read that DLP projectors have much better contrast, but its best use is in very dark, light controlled rooms which limits its versatility. Even with the flaws noted above, I still think this was an excellent purchase. My wife didnt even know she wanted a projector until we watched our first movie with it. Ive only had it for a couple weeks, but we must have watched almost 10 movies already. Watching movies during the day is still bearable with this projector, but its true potential really shows at night when all the lights are off, beautiful colors and very sharp picture. Ill be using this projector for some time to come, especially with the low cost of a new lamp, but when it comes time to replace it, I will probably shell out for a 4K model. One more thing... the built in speaker is not so great, as other reviewers have noted. Ive been using a Bluetooth speaker for sound until I can get my surround sound speakers back, which is fine for the time being. The battery in it died before the movie was finished so I had to switch to the on-board speaker. It gets somewhat loud but no lower frequencies at all, but at least I was able to finish my movie. Built-in speakers was not even a factor in my decision to buy this projector. Along with the picture quality, sound is half the theater experience... buy good speakers to go along with the projector. I would definitely recommend the Epson Home Cinema 2150 to anyone looking to buy a home theater projector to enjoy movie nights with the family. I dont know why I waited so long to buy one.

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The colors are bright but accurate. The images move smoothly without any use for the built in interpolation functions. We keep it set on the cinema which is one of the darker settings and it is plenty bright even with the lights on. Everyone who has come over has commented on how clear the picture is. Full 1080p on a screen 4 times the size of a 55” TV makes quite the impact. My home theater has adequate light control, but some sunlight can still leak in and cascade across the screen from the side. This is considered the worst case scenario for ambient light to degrade your image and this projector has little trouble dealing with it. I did quite a bit of research and I am very happy with our purchase. This Epson is being used with a 110” screen from Silver Ticket which was purchased on Amazon and includes a free projector mount. I have zero complaints about the performance and plan to use the projector for years. I see no need to upgrade until more 4k content is streaming and true 4k projectors drop down to a comparable price. The picture on the 2150 really is quite remarkable. Pros: Colors are true (not too cool, not too warm) Images are sharp Movement is smooth Setup is easy Vertical lens shift is very nice to have if you want to mount close to the ceiling Small footprint Affordable replacement lamps (I haven’t needed one yet) Cons: Fan noise: It’s not nearly as loud as some of the competitors in this price point, and cannot be heard during regular surround sound levels, but if you have never had a projector before, you should know that they have a little hum to them. Final take away, we love having this projector in our home. The Epson 2150 makes watching even TV shows an event. If you are considering getting a projector, I suggest you give this one a try.

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I was skeptical about purchasing a projector since I didnt know much about them and was thinking about the projectors that were used when I was in grade school. Assuming the picture wouldnt be that clear or bright - this projector was a HUGE shock. I painted my wall an off-white color and projected right against the bare wall and the picture is incredible. Its like having a 125 flat screen and really provides that theater feel I was hoping for. Its not too noisey but I definitely recommend getting a soundbar. I use Amazon Fire Stick with this and it works perfectly.

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I was really impressed with the picture quality of Epson 2150 straight out of box. Rich vibrant colors and very quick setup. But after one month, I thought of upgrading to a 4K projector after seeing some YouTube videos of 1080p vs 4K projectors. After doing lot of research, I found Optoma UHD60 to be the best 4K projector under $2000 based on specs and reviews. I decided to give it a try but wanted to compare how different is the color, contrast and picture quality on both when playing 4K content. You can see couple of pictures with both playing the same content. I covered half the lens on each of the projectors so that I could see the output from both at the same time. I played variety of 4K content. Although the content on UHD 60 had deeper darks and more rich colors, the difference when viewing from more than 7 feet, was only marginal. In the pictures you can see both of them projecting at about 175 inch screen size and on bare wall. To me the color and details/sharpness difference was so marginal that it was very hard to notice unless all you were doing is trying to compare. Another difference I noticed was that Epson is able to project slightly larger image from the same distance compared to Optma even when both support 1.6x zoom. Another major difference is that Keystone correction and 3D support are present on Epson but are missing on this Optoma model. Also the size Epson is almost less than half of Optoma, so it will be more handy for occasional outdoor use. All in all, I feel Epson 2150 is not only the best projector in this price range but when compared to 4k projectors which are almost twice in price, the picture quality difference as perceived with naked eye is very marginal. Couple of things to note in the pictures. 1) Left part of the image is coming from Epson and right half is from Optma. 2) Both are being projected on bare wall 3) Both of them are using 4K fire sticks. Hope this helps clear the delima of 1080p vs budget 4K projector for some of you.

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I took a lot of time and did a lot of research to pick out what kind of projector I wanted for my outdoor theatre we had installed in our backyard. I wanted something that would work before the sun had totally went down. Epsons reputation is what drew me to their brand and cost, lumens and connectivity is what brought me to this certain projector. I wanted something that I could have the option to connect to wirelessly though I do more often run this from my iPad which connects to my home server and to all my netflix, amazon video, etc accounts. It was effortless to set up and has lots of options for inputs which is perfect if I ever want to use this somewhere else. I do not use the internal speaker as I have this hardwired to my surround sound system in the yard so I do not have any feedback on that part. Overall the projector works great and has an excellent picture, especially when dark but also when their is still some sun out (not directly on my screen) which is great because I have a young son who loves watching his favorite shows outside but cannot stay up on these late summer nights to watch them in complete dark. I project this on a 150" screen and it gives an amazing picture, very vivid and crystal clear. My biggest complaint is the Epson app, it is not that easy to use and does have connection issues even though this is right near my router. IF they make some changes to the app I would upgrade this to a 5 star review.

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I havent been able to cast anything using this projector and the first one I bought had a dead pixel within two weeks of purchase. No problem, it was replaced quickly by Amazon. I use a Roku and Im able to stream Xfinity Stream Beta from the Roku so I can watch live television shows. Thing that sucks is that I had to run a separate wire for sound when using the Roku. The internal speaker is awful. I also have a PS4 connected. I used a HDMI splitter to have sound go to a sound bar and video to the projector. Again the internal speaker is awful. Brightness is pretty awesome. I can leave all of the lights on in the room and it has a really good pic. Upscales nicely. Keystone adjustments are wonky. Id like to have control over the individual corners, but as far as I know that is not an option. So although it isnt rocket science to adjust the picture, it can be frustrating if you are obsessive. I am projecting on a 100" screen and the projector is mounted on the ceiling in front of the screen. The projector is about 10 feet from the screen. So for $699 I think its a great deal. I guess Ill follow up in a few years to comment on its durability.

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