Epson Pro Cinema 1080 Calibration and Bench Testing

1080-temperature-b4.jpgThe Epson Pro Cinema 1080 menu system is also nearly identical to the 810, save for the features particular to the lens system and 1080p nature of the Pro Cinema 1080. It is easy to use and navigate and allows for easy storing and retrieval of saved Memory modes. For a more complete breakdown of the Epson menu system, please see our Epson Pro Cinema 810 HQV review.

One thing to pay attention to is that you'll need to ensure the Output Scaling feature of this projector is set to 100% (not AUTO) in order to make sure that you aren't dithering the incoming signal. The default seemed to be Auto and it initially failed the resolution tests we ran until the proper setting was enabled. This even affected incoming 1080p signals via HDMI.

Calibration – Getting Those Black Levels Right!

Calibrating the Pro Cinema 1080 was an easy process, save for the same menu system anomaly where it doesn't remember where you were last. As a result there is a lot of menu clicking in order to drill back down to the RGB settings.

We again utilized datacolor’s ColorFacts Professional software to calibrate and measure the grayscale response of the Epson projector.

Initially, we were pleased to find that the Pro Cinema 1080 had some acceptable levels for both color and luminance. The gamma setting seemed to be a bit darker overall, with the measured gamma coming in at 2.44. A CIE chart readout of the color potential of the projector showed on a slight lack of green - very good overall. Initial grayscale and color temperature wasn't terribly off, and we found some odd behavior when attempting to calibrate the unit (more below).

When we calibrated the unit, we did notice some "rubber band" effects with respect to the red color. It wanted to maintain its upper value dip regardless of how we calibrated the bottom end, and the result was a smiley face that pinned 30 and 80 IRE levels but produced increased values in between. The same went for the luminance/gamma results. As such, we were unable to do much in terms of getting better grayscale, color temperature, and luminance results - though the initial settings are hardly disappointing. We suspect that with additional time and energy in the system menu you may be able to do a better job of dialing in the projector; however we make it a point to only focus on the user menu controls.

We got this Epson 1080 up to 39fL in Vivid mode (100IRE pattern), but only 8.25 fL in Cinema Night mode. Changing the Brightness Control to 'high' (default was 'low') increased this to 10.75 fL and this is where we did our testing (which possibly affected the results we mentioned above). All calibration was done from a Stewart Studiotek 130 screen and the projector was throwing from 11.5 feet away. The fact that we couldn't nail 12 fL in any of the cinema modes may be a concern for some, just be aware of this if you are attempting to reach particular levels or have a room with some ambient light.

We also measured the color temperatures in various modes (using 80IRE):

• Vivid - 7400K
• Cinema Day - 7550K
• Natural - 6000K
• Cinema Night - 6450K
• HD - 6600K
• Silver Screen - 5500K

We measured real-world contrast at 846:1 using 'low' brightness mode and 1109:1 using 'high'.

Audioholics/HQV Bench Testing Summary of Test Results

Perfect Score is 130
Epson PowerLite Pro Cinema 1080 Benchmark Score: 85 (with the stock Epson 1080 projector, you are in pretty good hands)

Comments on Bench Testing

Our bench testing showed an excellent projector that had it where it counted - with the obvious exception of failing the film detail test. This means that if you run into unflagged film content you may experience moiré on detailed repetitive patterns on screen. Noise reduction was excellent (rare in lower priced projectors) and we noticed excellent detail and jaggie reduction overall.