It took an eternity for Epson to refresh its full-HD home theater projector lineup since its 2007 EMP-TW1000, skipping the follow-up EMP-TW2000 in selected Asia markets such as Singapore. So it was a huge relief when we received news about the two replacement models launched this year: The S$3,888 (US$2,799.54) EH-TW3000 and S$4,888 (US$3,519.59) EH-TW4000. Both beamers are identical in many features, save for a couple of extra tweaks on the TW4000 and superior performance.
Upside The EH-TW4000 is a full-HD 3LCD projector with a 6,000:1 native contrast ratio. Epson says it's managed to push this parameter up by a factor of about four from the previous generation, and a peak 75,000:1 performance through the use of its new automatic iris system available in normal or fast mode. The EH-TW4000 also features an E-TORL lamp which is rated at 4,000 hours and delivers a bright 1,600 lumens of light output. Out-of-the-box, video processing is catered for by the HQV Reon-VX video chipset.
One of the biggest differences between the older projector and the EH-TW4000 is the inclusion of a 100Hz mode or frame interpolation as Epson calls it. Unfortunately, based on a demonstration we had, the motion enhancement engine performs similarly to other comparable systems in the market--that is to say, judder is removed and movement is sharper, but it still suffers from ugly video artifacts.
Downside: If you already have the EMP-TW2000, there really isn't any compelling reason to upgrade: Both use the same LCD chipset. Sure, you get slightly better blacks, but it hardly makes sense to invest another S$4,888 (US$3,519.59) for smoother onscreen motion.
Outlook: The Epson EH-TW4000 is a welcome addition to the sub-S$5,000 (US$3,600.23) 1080p projector market. While we're skeptical about the benefits of frame interpolation, we also believe that anyone who is in the market for a full-HD projector will be well-served by road-testing one of the EH-TW4000 light cannons.
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