When comparing Epson Home Cinema 5040UB vs Epson Home Cinema 2040, the Slant community recommends Epson Home Cinema 5040UB for most people. In the question“What are the best projectors?” Epson Home Cinema 5040UB is ranked 2nd while Epson Home Cinema 2040 is ranked 3rd. The most important reason people chose Epson Home Cinema 5040UB is:
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.
Specs
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Pros
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.
Pro Very good picture
Epson 2040 has a native resolution of 1920x1080 and is capable of playing full HD 1080p content. The Detail Clarity Processor (also used in expensive Epsons) adds more detail and makes the picture look even higher in resolution than it is. The 2040 also has a dynamic iris installed for slightly improving the black levels when watching movies at night.
Pro Great 3D experience
Many inexpensive projectors struggle with 3D performance due to low brightness. With brightness of 2200 lumens, Epson 2040 is the brightest under $1000 pick for watching 3D content. The 3D image is also high contrast (for detailed dark scenes) and rich in color.
Pro Low fan-noise
This Epson has rather low fan noise of 29 dB in Eco-Mode. Since the projector produces great brightness in Eco-Mode, the performance mode does not have to be used too often.
Pro Good lamp life and cheap replacement lamps
The lamp life is 4000 hours in performance mode and 7000 hours in Eco-Mode. In addition to a very decent lamp life, the replacement lamps are extremely cheap. They cost only $79.
Pro Low input lags for gaming
The 2040 measures an input lag of only 24.6 ms, making it a great pick for gamers.
Pro No rainbow artifacts
Since it is a 3LCD projector, there are no visible rainbow artifacts.
Cons
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.
Con Complicated setup
This projector has a slight negative throw offset. The bottom edge of the image is around 5% of the total image height below the center of the lens. If you mount it to the ceiling, you will probably need an extension tube for the projector.
Con Not a movie room projector
Black levels and contrast are not the strongest side for this Epson. If you have created a special movie room with ambient light blocked out, then you should probably purchase a more expensive projector as well. This projector is meant for watching movies in a room with ambient light (a family room). In this case, black levels and contrast are meaningless factors - they will not make much difference in the picture quality.
Con Noisy fans in performance mode
In performance mode the fan noise goes up to 37 dB, being the loudest among its closest competitors.
Con A blurry picture or extra input lags
LCD projectors have motion blur problems during fast movie scenes. Although the frame interpolation technology (analyzes and adds frames to the video) on the 2040 helps take care of the motion blur issue, this technology adds some input lag, so it can't be used while gaming.