Epson Home Cinema 5010

The Epson Home Cinema 5010 splits the difference between value-oriented but decent performing 3D projectors like the Optoma HD33 (*Est. $1,500) and videophile-grade projectors that produce incrementally better picture quality than the Home Cinema 5010 at a more than incremental increase in cost. Its closest competition is the Panasonic PT-AE7000 (*Est. $3,000) , which earns its share of raves but sells for a couple of hundred dollars more.

Experts who have seen the Home Cinema 5010 are enthused about its picture quality. Black levels and colors are good from the start, and those who want to calibrate their projector will find that colors can be dialed in close to perfect. For 3D, brightness can be amped up to overcome the effect of the active-shutter 3D glasses without harming other picture attributes. Critics say that helps the Epson Home Cinema 5010 produce a 3D image that is more enveloping and more impressive than what's seen in many movie theaters. If cutting down on cord clutter is crucial, the Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 5010e (*Est. $3,000) is identical, save for the inclusion of a wireless HDMI link.

Although there isn't a ton of feedback regarding the Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 5010, the two most thorough enthusiast sites have a whack at it. You can read those reports at ProjectorCentral.com and ProjectorReviews.com. ISF calibrator Tom Huffman offers his take as well at DisplayCalibrationsOnline.com. You can find lots of user -- and hope-to-be-user -- discussion at AVSForum.com.