1080UB Calibration and Color Temperature

Calibration isn't too difficult, though we prefer menus that remember where you were and have a way to disengage without having to "back out". Still, it didn't take long to dial in some really nice settings.

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

The default settings of the 1080UB were satisfactory once Black and White levels were configured properly. As mentioned above, setting the correct black and white levels required that we engage HDMI Expanded mode so that below black signals - permitted and often present on DVD masters - were shown. Of course, once we saw that below black was received, we dialed down the Brightness (-11) and brought up the Contrast (+12) until the levels were correct and the best dynamic range possible was shown. Color reproduction of the 1080 and 1080UB were similar in that the green was out - however, for whatever reason, the green leaned towards yellow on the 1080, and it leaned towards blue on the 1080UB:

 
Epson Pro Cinema 1080 (left) and 1080UB (right)

 
RGB levels before (left) and after (right) calibration

 
Color Temperature before...

...and after calibration

Calibration was very good initially under Cinema Night mode, but we actually found that the Silver Screen mode produced the most accurate settings out of the box - at least in terms of overall color temperature and light levels. If you want to squeak out some additional light output then flip to Cinema Night mode. Here is a breakdown of 'out of the box' light levels and color temperature:

• Vivid Mode - 6800K, 58.7 fL
• Cinema Day - 7900K, 32 fL
• Natural - 7300K, 17.1 fL
• Cinema Night - 7200K, 17.2 fL - A great "out of the box" choice
  
• HD - 7400K, 12.3 fL
• Silver Screen - 6500K, 12fL - #1 choice, but only for dark rooms
  

As you can see, we got the Epson 1080UB up to 58.7 fL in Vivid mode (using a 100IRE pattern). Compare this to the maximum 39 fL we were able to get out of the original 1080. In addition, the 1080 only put out 8.25 fL in Cinema Night mode while the 1080UB gets that to a much more respectable 17.2 fL. All calibrations (and viewing tests) were done using a 92-inch Carada Precision screen with Masquerade Masking System. The Epson Pro Cinema 1080UB projector was throwing from a distance of 11.5 feet. I would say that the increased lumen output of the projector is a significant improvement to the line. We were also particularly surprised when Vivid mode put out a ton of light yet maintained a color temperature of 6800K.

One thing to note is that, though we recommend Silver Cinema mode out of the box, after calibration it yielded a light output of just 9 fL. This is going to be too dim for any but the most darkened of theater rooms. For those a bit hesitant to go this dark, use the Cinema Night mode as your basis for calibration.