Rich, vibrant color and reliable performance ? 3LCD, 3-chip optical engine
High-definition, 1080p home theater experience ? D7 panel delivers 1920 x 1080 resolution
Astounding clarity ? 36,000:1 contrast ratio
Stunning picture uniformity and clarity ? stateof- the-art lens by Fujinon
Amazing, true-to-life color ? Epson exclusive Cinema Filter with an expanded color gamut
This review is from: Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 8100 Home Theatre Projector (V11H336120)It turned out to be a Big, Costly Mistake! I failed to grasp that comments and reviews for Epson PowerLite® Home Cinema 8100 were for a newly released projector. No one had owned and operated the 8100 more than 90 days when I was reading the reviews in late November and early December 2009! No available information could possibly verify the published claims Epson's was making about the 8100's lamp life being 4,000 hours. DAH!A professional reviewer did briefly mentioned that Epson had experienced early lamp blowouts in the 8100 Beta versions and changed suppliers. A couple of bloggers noted that they had experienced blown lamps with up to 400 hours on them. They were sent replacements - no problem. One reviewer even had two lamps blow and was given a replacement projector. So I brushed over that information as just isolated incidents resolved to everyone's satisfaction. It turns out that that brush stroke will cost me [...].Reality struck Home suddenly and darkly when my Epson 8100's 4,000-hour projector lamp blew. It had lasted less than 400 hours or just 10% of life expectancy. What really smarted (a poor choice of words considering my oversight) was my 90-day warranty was also blown (that's better)by 37 days. That 4,000-hour lamp life expectancy wasn't something any of us made up, it was actually published in Epson's 8100 User's Guide Specifications on the top of page 66 and included in Epson's sales literature.So please keep in mind that all reviewers before now have been new owners with less than 3 months experience with the 8100. After 4 months plus I can tell you:1. The fan is not noticeable until the there is a quiet scene, and then you will hear the fan blowing air; and 2. The picture is really amazing - until your lamp blows.OK, let's go back to the beginning if you care to learn from my miscalculation (or just want to be amused by my naivety).We had finally decided to break open the Ol' Piggy Bank and upgrade our 80's vintage 27" RCA TV, Stereo and VHS/DVD combination in the family room to a 2010 Home Theater System in the lower level play area thanks to all the kids reaching double-digits. I did all the usual research like going to Big Box Electronic stores and watching 60" flat Plasmas, LCDs and Projectors. I listened to 5 and 7-channel surround sound receivers and speaker systems. I went on-line and read professional reviews and blogs about Home Theater systems. I spent hours scouring over Sony, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Epson, InFocus, Vivitar, etc. specifications, prices and warranties to determine which products made the most sense for us based on budget and use.On December 10, 2009 we ordered the Epson PowerLite® Home Cinema 8100 to anchor our Home Theater. We added the 7-channel Yamaha RX-V565 A/V Receiver and 8 Cerwin-Vega speakers (10' sub, 8" woofers, 6" mids & 2.25 twits) to give great surround sound to match the picture. Then we took the plunge and added a Panasonic DMP-BD60P-K Blu-Ray player as a Family Christmas present (amazingly a couple of family oriented BR discs ended up in the kids' stockings compliments of Santa). The last step was to hook up our existing DVD/VHS player, a Wii and PS2, and we were all set up 'til the kids left for college.The Epson 8100 was newly released in October 2009 and won out over the other projectors due to its relatively low, [...] entry cost to LCD projector technology, and its published specification of 4,000 hours of Lamp Life - even at the brightest setting. That 4,000-hour lamp life wasn't something the reviewers made up either. It was actually published in the User's Guide Specifications on the top of page 66. Other manufacturers specify projector lamps to last between 1,000 and 3,000 hours and cost [...]. Epson's 4,000-hour lamp life and [...] price tag were Big selling points to us since we expected that we wouldn't need a replacement for 3 or 4 years.I must admit that the 8100 provided an amazing 120" picture even when projected on a bare wall painted flat, eggshell white. It was so good that we elected to postpone buying the [...] fixed frame screen until the fall. Unfortunately the 4,000-hour projector lamp lasted less than 400 hours; but greater than the 90-day warranty (it blew on Day 127). As part of my earlier research, I read about common lamp killers like movement when warm, poor circulation, and extended ON times. Since Day 1 the components have been ON no more than 3 hours consecutively, sitting side-by-side on a 48" long, stable shelf with 3-4 inches of side clearance, and greater than 12 inches of rear wall clearance. The projector filter has been cleaned every month. The 8100 and BluRay have been plugged into one point of use surge protector and the Yamaha receiver, VHS/DVD player, Wii and PS2 have been plugged into another point of use surge protector. Both surge protectors have been plugged into a 15-amp, 120V, 2-plug wall receptacle. The receptacle is on a circuit that includes a couple of 60 watt reading lamps.I decided to contact Epson's Technical Support in hopes that they had insight or information about blown lamps. I really would have liked to know more about lamp blowouts before I shelled out another [...] on the 8100. I asked them if they had any suggestions, remedies or rebates (hint, hint) for 8100 owners whose lamps blew with less than 10% of 4,000 hours gone. They sent a very quick auto response promising "An Epson representative will respond to your e-mail shortly." After 48 hours I decided to write again an...
Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information
»»»Visit Store NOW...
Best price click here
