Epson Home Cinema 3010

While reviews are more plentiful and more complimentary for the competing Optoma HD33, the Epson Home Cinema 3010 can still be a good choice for many. Picture quality is pretty good, but some say the HD33's is better -- particularly when viewing 3D images. Experts say the Epson's 3D image is less stable and more artifact-prone than the HD33's. The 2D image is also pretty good, but it's also beaten out by some other projectors -- including the older and 2D-only Epson Home Cinema 8350 (*Est. $1,300) .

But there are positives as well. Rainbow effect artifacts can be an issue with the DLP-based HD33, but not with the Epson Home Cinema 3010, which uses LCD technology. Brightness is also excellent, making it a good choice for a setting with some ambient light. In a departure from most other projectors, two pairs of 3D glasses are included. For those who want to get rid of cord clutter and the fuss of needing a home theater sound system, a built-in 10-watt per channel sound system does a decent job. There's also a version with a wireless HDMI link available, the Epson Home Cinema 3010e (*Est. $1,800) , although that is a little more expensive and does not include the free 3D glasses.

The Epson Home Cinema 3010 hasn't received a ton of press. However, two well regarded reviewers, ProjectorCentral.com and ProjectorReviews.com, provide thorough and comparative reports.