Epson 810 HQV Features and Comparison

I like nice cars. Epson projectors remind me of a corvette - and that's a nice car. In addition to their good looks, Epson home theater projectors have several traits that are a cut above many competitors - like their ample zoom lenses, which don't appear to negatively affect image quality or picture sharpness. This combo, of course has some professional-grade video processing included which takes it far beyond the integrated video processing found in an entry-level projectors - though, of course, you pay a premium for the advantage. Let's check out the more outstanding features of the Epson Pro Cinema 810 HQV projector:

• Zoom Lens
  Epson's "super" zoom lens means that you can position the projector at 10.4 feet or as far away as 22.2 feet in order to correctly hit a 100-inch diagonal screen. If that's not installation flexibility I don't know what is! The other added bonus is that Epson uses some decent optics, so the picture isn't noticeably compromised through the use of such a strong zoom lens.
• Horizontal and Vertical Lens Shift
  As if the super-zoom wasn't enough, Epson adds in 100% horizontal and 50% vertical lens shift, allowing users to position this projector just about anywhere inside, or even outside the screen area and still be able to hit the screen without requiring keystoning. The lens shift functions cannot be used to both extremes simultaneously due to the curved housing, but the range is incredible and certain to make installation much easier. We do wish the lens shift had a locking function to hold it in place once positioned, but we never witnessed the unit fall out of its settings during our testing.
• Backlit Remote with Discrete Power and Direct Input Access
  I don't know about you, but having a remote with discrete power functions just makes the programming of nearly all universal remote controls much easier. The presence of direct inputs also means that you won't have any difficulty selecting the source you require at any time.
• Useful Color Modes
  Unlike many projectors we've seen of late, Epson makes good use of their Color Modes, offering such entries as Cinema Day, Cinema Night, Vivid (max output), and Silver Screen (low color temperature for Black & White movies). Absent are the useless multi-levels of "super bright" modes or obscure Sport modes that simply throw off color in an effort to create a more saturated image. This appears to be a projector with some "scruples".
• Adjustable Gamma and Color Temperature
  From one of the companies that brings you the LCD panels, Epson projectors seem to always have it where it counts. You can really dial in these projectors for perfect color due to a variety of well laid-out controls and settings. Gamma can be set accurately

Should You Opt for the HQV Option?

The $3000 HQV option is not inexpensive, though as we understand it the TX3 is certainly more affordable than Digital Projection Inc's VIP 1000 which costs as much as the whole 810 HQV package (it's the same box unless you factor in the Pro SD option). One of the advantages of the HQV option is a much higher quality of video processing which means your sources will all be processed at a higher level before they are sent to the projector - and that will result in a noticeable difference in picture quality.

The final decision will be up to you, but $3000 for a video processor isn't too bad. We just wish this one had more inputs so that it could truly serve as the video hub of your AV system. As it stands now, you'll need to use a good quality receiver and put it into bypass mode to send all of your output sources to the TX3. Some would say this is a "tom-ā-to / tom-ah-to" issue.