Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 2030 Projector Preview

The Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 2030 is a full 1080p HD and 3D projector for $999.  This is one of the more exciting projector announcements in recent memory.

Epson has a long history with quality projectors so it comes with little surprise that they've released a budget version that has the AV world abuzz. Usually, when we are talking about budget projectors we are actually talking about projectors that might be better suited for business applications. They are usually light on features, tend to be loud (fan noise), and value brightness over color accuracy (business projectors are often used in high light situations). With the PowerLite Home Cinema 2030, Epson is providing a budget projector that is built not for your office, but your home theater.

To start with, the PowerLite Home Cinema 2030 is 1080p and capable of displaying 3D. It has Epson's 3LCD, 3-chip technology for accurate color reproduction. It sports 2000 lumens of color and white brightness. In Eco mode, the bulb will last a predicted 6000 hours though in normal mode is is still specified out to 5000. While it doesn't have any lens shift, it does sport ±30 degrees keystone correction. With a 1.2 zoom, Epson says you can get a 34" to 328" image. We're guessing anyone on the market for a budget projector isn't looking for anything bigger than 120" which the 2030 should do just fine.

Glancing at the back, we find that the Epson 2030 is fully equipped with all the inputs you might need. It has dual HDMI inputs, one of which is MHL (Mobile High-definition Link) compatible. MHL allows you to stream 1080p video and 7.1 audio from MHL compatible devices. While generally these take the form of phones or other portable devices, it might be useful for some users (especially those with a Roku Streaming Stick). MHL even charges your device when in use. There is a PC input and composite video and stereo analogue audio input. RS-232 control is available for those with home automation in mind. USB and a service port is included as is an Audio Out. On the specifications page Epson also claims a component video input but they do that by using a component to PC input cable (not provided).

Epson doesn't specify that there are 3D glasses included with the $1000 price so we're betting they'll be extra. The Epson 2030 connects to the glasses via RF and they are rechargeable. Epson says you'll get about 40 hours of use out of each charge. That should be more than enough to watch every 3D movie in your collection and all the extras. Four times. Epson has implemented a Bright 3D Drive Technology to minimize blackout time of the 3D glasses and to increase the overall brightness of the 3D images.

While Epson doesn't make a big deal about it, the 2030 has built-in speakers. We normally see these in business projectors but, at this price, we can see why Epson might want to include them for users that are looking for a way of justifying a 2030 as a "business expense". At only 29 dB to 37 dB specified fan noise, the Epson 2030 certainly isn't as loud as many business projectors out there. There are six different color modes though there is no indication that there is a User mode for manual calibration. In one brochure, they only list four color modes which might indicate two User modes (we like two so that you can manually calibrate for different content or lighting conditions). 

Conclusion

The big deal about the Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 2030 is the price. At $999, you can't find very many projectors out there than can compete. You certainly will have a hard time finding one that is designed with a home theater in mind and not an office. We're sure there are many people that will say you can get an older projector for the same money but not everyone wants to buy yesterday's technology. In the world of projectors, where bulb life is an issue, buying used becomes much more stressful than with something like a speaker. You don't want to pay for a used projector just to find out that you need to replace the (often expensive) bulb a few months later. The Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 2030 has all the inputs, features, and, most importantly, resolution, you'll need for your home theater. All without having to settle for a business class projector or breaking the bank. We're sure the Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 2030 is going to be a hit.

For more information, please visit www.epson.com.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.