Epson Projectors

Epson wouldn't be the first name to your lips when it comes to Home Cinema Projectors. (You probably know them better for their watches as they also own Seiko). This is all about to change with thier new line up. To date they have become known as a major producer of high quality, relatively affordable LCD projectors. Now, using its expertise as a premier imaging chip producer, it has produced an offshoot of LCOS from JVC & Sony, which differs in that it grows the active elements onto quartz rather than silicon. The result is a reflective LCD, or in Epson's words, RHTPS, for Reflective High Temperature Polysilicate.

There are three new Epson projectors based on this chip, all of them designated as 3LCD Reflective. (LCOS, and Epson's new variant as well, is LCD technology, but it is reflective whereas conventional LCD is transmissive).

All are scheduled to ship by the end of 2010. Features include a working light output of about 1200 lumens, contrast ratio of up to 1,000000:1, support for anamorphic lenses, a motorized lens with a lens memory feature (like the Panasonic models), and the full adjustability Epson projectors are well known for. In addition, the top models, designated as Pro models, include an extra lamp (claimed lamp life is 5000 hours) and a guarantee of no dead pixels.