Test Bench

FULL- ON/FULL- OFF CONTRAST RATIO:

1,830:1 The measurements here were made using CALMAN measurement software from Portrait Displays (www. portrait.com), together with a Photo Research PR650 color meter, Minolta LS-100 luminance meter, and a Murideo/avpro (Fresco Six-g) test pattern generator.

Pre-calibration measurements were made with the Epson LS500’S Cinema color mode active in the default settings. Postcalibration measurements were also made in the Cinema mode. All measurements were made with the projector paired with a 100-inch diagonal Screen Innovations Zero Edge screen with 0.6 gain Short Throw material.

The projector’s maximum full-on/full-off SDR contrast ratio was measured in Cinema mode with Normal (100%) Light Output and High Speed Dynamic

Contrast active. Using this combination, black measured 0.020 ft-l and peak white 36.6 ft-l for a contrast ratio of 1,830:1.

Before calibration, the Epson’s grayscale was fairly linear aside from a slight green deficit at the top of the brightness range, with the Delta E averaging out to 4.2. After calibration using the LS500’S Custom color temperature settings in the White Balance menu, that number was reduced to 1.9 with a 4.6 Delta E at 100 percent brightness being the outlier. (Delta E is a figure of merit indicating how close the color comes to the standards, either D65 for the white point or the color coordinates for each of the primary and secondary colors that define the color gamut under test. Values below 3 are generally unnoticeable.)

With the Cinema color mode’s default settings active, the Delta E of the LS500’S color points averaged out to 7.7. After making adjustments in the projector’s color management system (RGBCMY) menu, that number was reduced to 2.6. Coverage of the Rec. 709 color gamut topped out at 87.2 percent.

Before calibration, gamma mostly tracked a

2.2 target, with a maximum Delta E of 5.5 at 90% white. Post-calibration, the Delta E measured below 2 for much of the brightness range, with a maximum Delta

E of 4 at 100% white. In HDR10 mode with Normal Light Output selected, peak output measured 158.6 nits +/- 2 nits regardless of the

Wi-fi, RS-232C

DIMENSIONS:

14.7 (WXHXD, Inches): 18 x 8.2 x

WEIGHT: (Pounds) 20.5

A/V INPUTS: HDMI 2.0 (3, 1 with ARC) AUDIO OUTPUTS: Analog stereo minijack OTHER: USB type-a (2), Ethernet, 802.11ac

laser

Up to 20,000 hours 100-inch UST ALR screen

ILLUMINATION METHOD: LIGHT SOURCE LIFE: SCREEN: size of the measured white window.

Picture uniformity was excellent: white full-field test patterns showed minimal brightness drops between the center and edges of the screen and no color shifts. Our suite of video processing tests revealed below-average performance, with the

Epson tripping up on HD 2:2 pulldown patterns, along with several 2:3 pulldown cadences and mixed film/ video tests.

Measured input lag with a 1080p source was 27ms, making the Epson a very good option for high-def gaming.— AG

was impressively bright and detailed, with crisp onscreen graphics. The red and blue uniforms of the Man United and Chelsea players, and the green turf they played on, came across as fairly well-saturated, and the white mesh of the goal nets had a solid look.

Switching over to dark room viewing, I fetched my copy of The Elephant Man. I’d been eagerly awaiting the arrival of this film on Blu-ray, and the Criterion Collection’s version, which was created from a new 4K transfer, proved well worth the wait. While Epson’s regular 3LCD projector lineup can be counted on to deliver images with powerful contrast— especially its “Ultra Black” models like the Home Cinema 5050UB we reviewed in the August/ September 2019 issue of Sound & Vision— the LS500’S contrast capability is more modest. As a result, deep shadows in The Elephant Man came up short of true black, and letterbox bars were displayed as a dark gray tone. Even so, the Epson’s image revealed an impressively wide range of grays in the film’s black-and-white cinematography, and highlights were finely rendered. Picture uniformity was also excellent, with no sign of tinting anywhere across the screen to spoil the pristine monochrome images.

Switching over to Ultra HD Blu-ray viewing, the projector’s HDR10 Setting adjustment let me easily optimize the PQ curve for transfers with varying levels of HDR intensity, including the very bright The Meg and the considerably darker 2001: A Space Odyssey. Post-adjustment, in a scene from The Meg where Jonas (Jason Statham) is sent out to tag the monstershark with a tracking device, clouds looked detailed and the shimmer of light on the ocean had a decent level of brilliance. Watching 2001, the cave scene early in the film showed good shadow detail, though blacks lacked depth as expected. And in the subsequent space ballet scene (set to Strauss’s The Blue Danube), I noted good highlight detail on the spaceships, while the starfields beyond appeared relatively punchy.

Unlike the 5050UB model I mentioned, the LS500 is not spec’d for P3 color space coverage and only managed 87.2 percent Rec. 709 color coverage in my measurements. Even so, the psychedelic sky in the scene from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 where Gamora sits quietly in a field before her respite is interrupted by an aerial attack from her sister came across as satisfyingly vivid, as did Gamora’s green skin.

The picture here also looked notably crisp—something that could also be said for all discs I watched with the LS500.

The Epson’s built-in audio system delivered clear dialogue at a modest volume level, although there was a “boxedin” quality to the sound, along with audible distortion when the volume was pushed to a medium level or beyond. This was especially the case when watching movies with effectsheavy soundtracks. I noted no lip-synch issues when I used my disc player’s bitstream audio output, however, and the same was the case with both the Android TV and Roku streamers. Since the LS500 has an HDMI port with ARC support, I would recommend using that feature to feed audio to an outboard system or soundbar.

CONCLUSION

With its Epiqvision Ultra LS500, Epson has created a compelling all-in-one package that delivers a bigscreen image in a small space, and doesn’t necessarily require a dark room for good performance. And at $4,999 with an included 100-inch ALR screen, it represents a good value compared with its UST competition. The LS500’S extensive picture settings and ability to be adjusted for various HDR sources also make it a standout performer in the UST arena.

As a dark room-inhabiting, cinephile type, for me the Epson’s main shortcomings were its limited contrast ratio and remote control, which is clearly designed for generalpurpose use, as opposed to obsessive on-the-fly image tweaking. Epson’s included Android TV dongle also proved glitchy with HDR content, although that situation in my case was remedied by swapping in an inexpensive Roku streaming stick. But even with those few caveats, I found that Epson’s LS500 4K Laser Projection TV delivers more successfully on the promise of ultra short throw as an affordable alternative to massive flat-panel sets than any similar model I’ve reviewed so far.