When comparing BenQ HT2050A vs Epson Home Cinema 5040UB, the Slant community recommends BenQ HT2050A for most people. In the question“What are the best projectors?” BenQ HT2050A is ranked 1st while Epson Home Cinema 5040UB is ranked 2nd. The most important reason people chose BenQ HT2050A is:
The 1.3x zoom lens allows some flexibility in the throw distance. The vertical lens shift on this projector lets you move the image up and down by about 10% of the image size. This is helpful if you happen to install the projector with a small offset.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Easy to set up
The 1.3x zoom lens allows some flexibility in the throw distance. The vertical lens shift on this projector lets you move the image up and down by about 10% of the image size. This is helpful if you happen to install the projector with a small offset.
Pro Bright and detailed picture
The BenQ HT2050 is a bright projector with amazing contrast. Its native resolution of 1920x1080 produces a detailed Full HD picture.
The 2,200 Lumens of brightness on this BenQ is high enough to deal with some ambient light. You can watch movies in daytime with curtains rolled down.
A 15,000:1 contrast ratio means that the white image is 15,000 times brighter than the black image. This gives the projector great black-levels and shadow detail so the dark scenes in movies will look great.
Pro No blur from fast motion
Motion handling is great on the HT2050, as for all the DLP (digital light processing) projectors. In movie scenes with fast motion, the picture won’t get blurry.
Pro Low input lag for gaming
For gamers requiring a low input lag, the HT2050 is the best way to go since it beats most of its competitors with an input lag of only 17ms.
Pro Quiet fans
HT2050 has very quiet fans, almost unnoticeable unless there’s total silence. The fans produce more or less the same noise in both ECO and performance modes.
Pro 4K content support
When playing 4K content, this Epson has an amazingly detailed picture. 5040UB uses pixel-shifting, which approximates the image of a native 4K projector. It does not produce an actual 4K picture like a 4K projector does, but it makes the content look much sharper than 1080p.
Pro Amazing picture
The 5040UB is bright, at around 2500 color brightness and 2500 white brightness, thanks to its 3LCD technology. It has vibrant colors and a bright picture and an outstanding contrast ratio of 1 000 000:1.
Though the number is boosted by the dynamic iris (regulates light output actively), the native contrast ratio is still 4600:1, ensuring a detailed picture also during darker movie scenes.
Pro Convenient set-up
Exceptional set-up features ensure the picture is always in line with the screen. Powered lens position with 10 presets give you different settings to choose from. Motorized focus, 2.1x zoom, and ultra wide lens shift let you set up the projector easily. The picture is easy to position on the screen.
Pro Quiet fans in Eco-Mode
The fans on 5040UB can be just a bit noisy in performance mode. In ECO mode they produce only 20dB of noise, which is barely noticeable.
Pro Low input lags for gaming
The input lag on this Epson is only 30.8 milliseconds, beating most of its rivals. If you want to use your projector for gaming, 5040UB is the best option.
Pro No rainbow effects
Like all LCD projectors, the Epson 5040UB will not show you any rainbow effects.
Cons
Con Rainbow effects
Rainbow effects are an issue for this projector, as is the case for most DLP projectors. They create rainbows on bright objects on dark backgrounds, for example streetlights. Some people don’t notice them, some find them extremely annoying. Luckily, the BenQ proves to show less rainbow artifacts than an average DLP.
Con Expensive replacement lamps
The replacement lamps cost $250. Of all the inexpensive projectors, HT2050 has one of the most expensive replacement lamps.
Con Average lamp-life and expensive lamp
The lamp life is 3500 hours, though it can go up to 5000 hours when used in Eco-Mode. Replacement are available for $300, which is on the expensive side.
Con Bad motion handling in 4K - blurry picture
Creative Frame Interpolation technology (fixes motion blur) does not work with the pixel-shifting technology. In other words, the picture might still get blurry during fast motion, when watching an enhanced 4K picture.