DIY home entertainment enthusiasts can rejoice with the launch of Epson's PRO-UHD projector technology, which combines brightness, colour and detail to deliver a 4K experience for the professionally installed home theatre and office.
4K PRO-UHD is an umbrella term Epson has coined that comprises a suite of three key technologies developed to power their latest generation of projectors, starting with the just-launched EH-TW8400, EH-TW9400 and EH-TW9400W.
Epson's newest projectors are set to take the market by storm with their unique formula of form, features, and affordability.
Whilst not native 4K (the 4K PRO-UHD range uses an advanced version of Epson's pixel shifting technology), the new range eschews software processing and instead deploys a combination of dedicated high-power hardware processors – one each for resolution enhancement, HDR and image processing.
This allows the projector to always perform to the best of its ability, without sharing resources or processing power and without interruption to signal or image quality.
The range was specifically designed so that movies can be shown the way they were meant to be seen on the big screen, with no rainbow effect creating an exceptionally immersive viewing experience.
An even brighter, higher quality, HDR experience also allows the projectors to use outside of a dedicated home theatre room.
The colour that is a hallmark of 4K PRO-UHD is a function of the core 3LCD panel technology that powers all Epson projectors – whereby each primary colour has its own, dedicated LCD panel – and an exceptionally wide colour gamut.
In fact, it can supposedly display the full DCI-P3 colour gamut, which is the colour standard used in commercial cinema.
4K PRO-UHD also delivers dramatic detail by employing a new, accelerated version of its pixel shifting technology, dedicated hardware 12-bit digital signal processing and an advanced aspheric glass lens system.
The EH-TW8400 is HDR10 compliant to take advantage of HDR content while delivering equal colour and white brightness.
It can also display the full DCI-P3 colour gamut in Digital Cinema Mode, an extreme level of colour performance that is 50% wider than typical 1-Chip Rec 709 projectors.
Epson EH-TW8400
The EH-TW8400 is HDR10 compliant to take advantage of HDR content while delivering equal colour and white brightness. It can also display the full DCI-P3 colour gamut in Digital Cinema Mode, an extreme level of colour performance that is 50% wider than typical 1-Chip Rec. 709 projectors.
Epson EH-TW8400 series key features include:
• 1920x1080x2 resolution
• 10 bit (12-bit digital colour processing)
• Improved pixel-shifting precision for 4K enhancement
• 2600 lumens - colour and white brightness
• Up to 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio
• HDR10 compatibility
Epson EH-TW9400
The EH-TW9400 offers all of the above and more with enhanced features and specifications.
The EH-TW9400's HDR and rich black contrast, full 10-bit colour processing, 1,200,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 2600 Lumens of high white and colour light deliver an extraordinary range of colour and detail in both bright and dark scenes.
There's also a significant wide lens shift of ±96.3% vertical and ±47.1% horizontal and 2.1:1 zoom with powered adjustment to help with easy installation and a very impressive 5,000 hours of lamp life to round off what is clearly a very exciting package.
Epson EH-TW9400 key features include:
• 1920x1080 x2 resolution
• 10 bit (12-bit digital colour processing)
• HDR support: HDR10 and Hybrid Log Gamma
• 4K/60p HDR with 18 Gbps support
• Powered lens shift: vertical and horizontal
• Powered zoom and focus
• High contrast ratio 1,200,000:1
• 3LCD Technology
• 100" screen 3.0 - 6.3 metre projection distance
• ISF certified
• Anamorphic lens support
• 3-year projector and lamp warranty
Pricing and availability
The new 4K PRO-UHD projector range is available now from epson.co.nz and all authorised Epson retailers and resellers across New Zealand for the RRP of:
EH-TW8400 – RRP $5,199.00
EH-TW9400 - RRP $5,599.00