Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 5010 Pro Reviews

The Epson Home Cinema 5010e projector offers excellent 2D and 3D image quality plus conveniences that include WirelessHD for connecting to an HDMI source wirelessly.

Epson continues to deliver good performance for its price point, and the PowerLite Home Cinema 5010e is a solid value. I was more than impressed with its 3D performance, which rivaled the quality I’ve seen from projectors far past this price point. Its frame interpolation was also one of the best I’ve seen, which is saying a lot because I typically loathe this feature. The 5010e wasn’t without some minor hiccups, though. Convergence could have been better, and I was expecting a sharper, more dynamic picture from Epson given my experience with the company in the past. At this price point, the 5010e faces some pretty stiff competition from Sony and JVC, but it shouldn’t be completely written off if you’re looking for a great 3D projector in this price range.

We seem to be hitting a lot of projectors this year, but it's no surprise since most manufacturers are releasing new 3D models that can do justice to the newest 3D Blu-ray movies. The Home Cinema 5010 is Epson's 1080p 3D projector that targets the enthusiast... make that the premier enthusiast. The 5010 is the highest model in Epson's Home Cinema lineup and it's designed to produce the richest blacks, the highest contrast ratios and the most detailed picture possible. We utilize the company's 9700UB, which is the professional model of the 8700UB, which this projector replaces. If you didn't catch all that just... rewind the video and hopefully it'll all come together for you... The 5010 ups the output of its predecessor to 2400 lumens. Now while we don't typically need that much light in home theaters, in 3D mode you lose a significant amount of the brightness due to the way the glasses are constantly closing and opening over each eye. With 2400 lumens and custom calibration options for 3D, Epson takes care of that and lets you calibrate the set for optimal 3D performance.

This year's crop of 2D and 3D capable projectors had grown in both size, and level of performance when compared to last year's projectors. I know a lot of you aren't sold on 3D yet, but if you, like me just returned from the other side of the Universe, watching Hubble 3D on the Home Cinema 5010, you most likely would change your mind. I'll say this important message, one more time: Don't judge projector 3D, performance by what 3D looks like on those puny little 40 and 50 inch LCDTVs, etc. The huge difference in immersion going to a 100" or larger screen, is enough to take your breath away on great content, especially if you are close to the screen. I actually now watch a lot of HDTV (stuff like Hubble 3D and Legends of Flight) within 6 feet of the 100" screen. Awesome!

With color performance being more about your calibration or settings, than differences between these two projectors. No question about it. when considering 2D, the Epson has to be my choice. It offers a huge boost in "best" mode brightness, comparable color, and it easily wins when it comes to black level performance, and more subtly regarding shadow detail. The extra black level performance, all by itself, gives the Epson more pop on darker scenes. If everything else is simply equal, that rates a real win for the Home Cinema 5010 when running in 2D. Conversely, Epson's decision not to activate the dynamic iris, as well as CFI and Super-Resolution (all dynamic features), gives the Panasonic the advantage in 3D, although if you want best color, and a small screen the Epson may well be your choice with its 630 measured lumens, for 3D (pre-glasses, etc.)

Epson's Home Cinema 5010 is a 3D projector done right. From the comments we've been getting, it seems like a lot of people have been waiting for a 3D version of the Home Cinema 8700 UB -- that is, a strong home theater projector with great contrast and solid color performance, with the brightness to light up a very large screen and 3D performance that's competitive with the best of this year's crop. The Home Cinema 5010 is that projector. Even if you have zero interest in 3D, the Home Cinema 5010 is a great 2D projector. It has the contrast and color to bring even the most detailed Blu-ray movies to life, while Frame Interpolation decreases motion judder and Super Resolution breathes new life into standard definition DVD movies. The Home Cinema 5010 is a step beyond the 8700 UB and a worthy upgrade for current owners of that projector. Now, factor in the Home Cinema 5010's 3D performance. High lumen output keeps the picture from looking dim or washed out at large screen sizes. There is little crosstalk or flickering instability, making for a solid, stable image. It all adds up to an enjoyable viewing experience, no matter what type of content you'd like to watch. At $2699, the Home Cinema 5010 is a great value and a serious contender in this year's home theater lineup.