Epson - Home Cinema 3800 4K 3LCD Projector with High Dynamic Range - White

The Epson Home Cinema (HC) 3800is the latest and greatest mid range projector from Epson. It replaces the HC 3700, and represents a huge upgrade. Offering 4k image processing, HDR support (HDR10, Dolby Vision), and bluetooth w/ AptX support on top of many of the great features of its predecessor. It’s not a revolution in Epson’s projectors, but a giant evolution in image quality that is long overdue at this price point. Opening the box reveals a well packed projector. The projector itself it weighty - at 15lbs or so. Also in the box is a beefy remote (and included batteries), which offers backlighting and access to a ton of features. This is a far cry from a simplified remote found with many devices - offering more buttons than a Mercedes. The remote itself works with HDMI CEC control, so it can actually be used to control the connected devices. This works pretty well, but obviously some may prefer a simpler remote as their daily driver. Setup is quite easy. Remove the tap holding the packaging material on and plug in and go. On the back of the projector are 2 HDMI inputs, a USB-A input, USB-A 2amp charging port, 3.5mm audio output, trigger output, RS232c port, and IR sensor. Gone is the 3700’s VGA port and MHL compatibility, however, the 3800 features HDMI 2.0 w/ HDCP 2.2 compatibility, which is a better fit in a modern home theater setup. I tried both HDMI ports without incident. My trigger wire fell down my wall when I swapped out projectors, but I had long since given up on using it, so we’ll just assume the trigger works. I can’t say I’ve ever used RS232, but it's a nice to have for some people invested in it for automation. The audio output is useful in certain scenarios, but that depends on your setup. The included speakers are part of the step up from the HC 3200. They offer decent full sound at 10w a piece. The positioning on the rear of the projector is ideal for outdoor projection or office projection. It’s less idea for the ‘Home Cinema’ portion of this product, as anyone looking to place this projector near the rear of a room behind seating may find the audio muddled. I never intended to use the internal speakers, but I tried them out. Given my home theater has 7.1 it was definitely not comparable, but that said, if your intention is to use this for outdoor projection, they actually aren’t too bad and get decently loud without any rattle (which is common on the cheaper projectors). Another big difference between this and the new HC 3200 is the inclusion of bluetooth. This actually is a big deal to me, given the fact that with kids now, listening to a movie at night with the volume cranked isn’t really possible. Being able to link my bluetooth headphones allow me to enjoy a movie with my AVR off and even get AptX support for high quality stereo audio. Besides a slight boost in brightness compared to the HC 3200, that seems to be the differences. So if you don’t need/want bluetooth or speakers, the 3200 may be a better buy for you. Now, the biggest difference between the 3100/3700 and the new 3200/3800 is the inclusion of 4k image processing and projection. Now, this isn’t true 4k, but it’s still a big improvement over 1080p, which has been the norm for the past 10 years or so at this price level. Essentially the projector takes a 4k image and creates two 1080p frames and shifts pixels rapidly to produce the appearance of 4k image without the raw 3LCD system being 4k (just 1080p). Seeing this tech trickle down to this level is a great thing, as it produces a much, much clearer image than 1080p. When I first built my home theater, my seating distance and screen size really were setup for 4k - but in 2012, 4k projectors were something around $20k. My Epson old HC 8350 was awesome, but it definitely had issues like LCD alignment producing green fringing, slight screen door effect, and only 1080p. The Epson HC 3800 not only features perfect LCD alignment, no screen door effect, but a visible increase in resolution. Watching 4k films at 13’ on 125” screen the difference was noticeable. Lego movie for instance went from looking like Legoish things to seeing texture and detail that was quite convincing. Details were apparent that I never saw before - even on my 4k 55” television. Scenes were extremely clear, and appeared 4k. I’m a believer in this technology, as it makes 4k more accessible and affordable for projectors. That isn’t to say there aren’t 4k projectors in this price range, but there are no Epsons. Why would you want Epson over say excellent DLP competitors? Well for me it’s always boiled down to the inherent advantages of the technology. Specifically I’m quite sensitive to DLP rainbow effects of single chip DLPs. While the best DLPs the effect is almost impossible to perceive, I still prefer 3LCD when dealing with a standard light source (as opposed to the cheap LED backlit projectors where this effect is even harder to see). Color brightness is also super true and vivid with 3LCD projectors. Epson’s general quality control is also outstanding, as is their 2 year warranty which has made me an Epson fan for life. The Epson has excellent home theater oriented color adjustments that would make most modern TVs blush. Epson has full control of RGBCMY through hue, saturation, and brightness. In a world of trying to simplify the details, Epson doesn’t shy away from them. Of course there are plenty of options to tweak that won’t require a PhD. There are several image enhancement settings that can draw out enormous detail. Image preset 1 is the default, but I found in certain films, preset 5 enhanced realism. For instance in “How to Train your Dragon: The Hidden World”, preset 5 made foliage during the first act turn from a semi blurry mess to crisp and realistic. Hiccup’s stubble was more apparent and detailed, and general textures felt realistic. HDR color adjustments are both automatic and manual. There is a HDR button on the remote that allows you to toggle between Auto/SDR/HDR10/HLG, including a level. HDR10 brightness can represent up to 1000 nits, while projector brightness is measured in lumens. Since the HC 3800 can output 3000 lumens, it can get close to this brightness when projecting in ideal conditions. The truth is, screen, distance, zoom, lens shift, and ambient light can all play into perceived brightness, making HDR brightness a hard reality to achieve for a projector. Regardless, a project like the HC 3800 is actually pretty well suited to expanded color gamuts found through HDR due to the excellent color brightness found in 3LCD projectors. Realise that there is a compromise in overall brightness when using HDR - as those extra colors don’t come free. This may be fine if your using the projector in a dark room, like me. I found with the ECO power setting, Cinema Bright color mode and HDR10 set to level 7, I still had sufficient brightness to enjoy the expanded color gamut. Textures took on more detail, skin tones were more natural, and everything just seemed more realistic. It’s not on par with contrast and brightness that a mid-range FALD LCD or low-end OLED could drive, but is still an excellent enhancement for projecting. Speaking on contrast, while generally it's quite good. The auto iris does a good job maintaining black levels, but this is no Epson UB (or ultra black) projector. Epsons upmarket 5050UB would be a good example of much better black levels. The iris is pretty fast, and much less noisy than those found in projectors even 5 years ago (they sound like hard drive clicking/seeking noises). There are still abrupt changes in scene brightness that will see the iris lag behind. And sometimes the brightness level will change mid-scene as the iris adjusts. Other features that set this projector apart are the generous lens shift. While lens shift can create soft corners and focusing problems, it can make placement much less stressful. With my HC 8350 I used the vertical lens shift to allow me to simply place the projector on a shelf instead of inverted ceiling mounting it. The HC 3800 offers nearly the same flexibility with 60% vertical either way and 24% horizontal lens shift. Beyond that this projector has basic zoom and focus adjustments (manual). The zoom is a significant 1.6x, again, adding to the flexibility of placement. There is a fan adjust, and the Eco mode extends not only lamp life, but also reduces fan noise to almost inaudible. The remote is backlit as well (although only illuminates when you press the light button) which rounds out the quality of life features for me. There are a couple things that still hallmark this as a mid-range projector. The optics are really quite good, but nothing extraordinary. 4K and 4K HDR is handled through 4:2:2 subsampling, so certain uses as a computer monitor may not be ideal. I don’t have a way of measuring input lag, but it’s known not to be great when using many of the image processing settings which distinguish this projector. Frame interpolation, and some other nice features are only available when not using 4k input sources or 4k enhancement settings - although they work fine with 1080p native sources. Frame interpolation works, but isn’t the best implementation I’ve seen. 3D is supported, but unless you are replacing an existing Epson 3D projector good luck finding the necessary accessories. Epson’s Home Cinema line has long been regarded as some of the best home theater projectors, and for a while was one of the only options for those that couldn’t deal with the rainbows and couldn’t afford an LCOS or multiple wheel DLP. The HC 3800 is a great upgrade over it’s outgoing model and represents a huge leap forward in quality. These features trickle down from their upscale models, and are executed excellently here. I highly recommend this projector!

3800 Home Cinema 4K HDR projector from Epson is nothing but pure beauty. My entire experience was something I would never expect to be at home. Jaw-dropping visuals as your eyes scan over the screen. I couldn't take my eyes of the 4K HDR version of Planet Earth 2, Deadpool 2, and Black Panther. Gaming was left me breathless from everything from Gears of War 5 to Control was shimmering with detail in every crack within the environment. I've used Xbox One X, PS4 Pro, Gaming PC, Super Nintendo classic, and the Sega Genesis Mini...It didn't matter. I was smiling with a wide grin on my face due to the sheer size of the screen, I was in an experience of a lifetime and Epson allowed me this journey. I call this a journey because no matter what was displayed on this projector it was infinitely times better than what TV I ever owned. Setup: Setting up this projector takes a lot of time and patience. To have the correct positioning all depends on your environment. While I'm still an amateur when it comes to projectors, I was well prepared to try out the Home Cinema 3800. Owning a Home Cinema 2150 I've grown accustomed to setting up the right placement. There is a quick start guide to help you set up this as fast as possible. Not much comes in the box itself but the Projector, A/C cord, and Remote with batteries. I won't go into to much detail about setting it up but I will say in a lit room in the daylight its bright and beautiful, I have blinds open in my living room and the light easily is still watchable in sunlight. 3,000 Lumens is pretty good for a projector at this price point. I was not worried about being able to see the image on the screen. I managed to make this about 100 inches for my living space. Color accuracy remained faithful to what was being shown which what I'm happy about. The keystone on this projector is amazing allowing me to have the projector off to the left or right side, None of which is auto-keystoning but if you adjust enough you'll get it right. This is where I spent the most time getting right and using the Blinking settings helped make it picture perfect. Display: I am a believer of projectors but it's one thing to see a huge HD video...and its another thing to see it in 4K HDR. The colors are bold and beautiful hitting a good projector screen, The image is unlike anything you ever have seen before even if it just bounces it off a textured wall. Its just...its just leaves you speechless watching 4K HDR Blu-rays. I also think you should get a screen that can really showcase the true nature of this beast. Ghost In a Shell when Neo-Tokyo is showcased at night on this Home Cinema 3800 was insane. Planet Earth 2 is always a favorite as you can see the detail that's so sharp on animals' fur. I felt like I was watching Avengers: Infinity War at my own personal theater but in so much richer detail. You set the HDR with the slider in the menu settings, it also supports HLG. The projector can automatically pick which source. You can also fine-tune image enhancements thus making the detail even more eye-popping. and while I do love watching movies on this Epson; that was just half of my experience... Gaming: The main reason for me owning and using this projector. If you game you should be happy to know that this does support 4K at 60 Hz. I can't tell you how amazing God of War, Tetris Effect, Gears 5, Control, Sonic Mania, Forza Horizon 4, Spider-Man (Sony), Grand Turismo, and Mortal Kombat 11 looks on this screen. Any game that's made for the 4K consoles (PS4 Pro/Xbox One X) or PC shines so brightly on this display. I swear you can see every single detail. You can see every single strand of hair of character models. Even games like GTA V which isn't in 4K on consoles look amazing! Detail on every game was so eye-opening to me it made me wonder why did I even ever bother using TVs. Ghost Recon: Breakpoint was seriously like me sitting in the middle of an acton military movie scene. This is love at first sight. Sound: There is no ARC which is a big disappointment but the 3800 tries to make up with this with aptX Bluetooth. Bluetooth support, for the most part, worked fine but I had issues where it wouldn’t connect to Bose SoundTouch 300 and other speakers where it failed to connect. It did connect a Sony XB party speaker and even a Sonos Move so it seems it pick and choose what BT is good for it. Funny enough I went into automatically hating the built-in dual 10 W speaker but good news speakers do get loud enough or will do fine until you get a sound system. They are really nice if you don't have any other source of sound. Bass is pretty heavy on the unit itself but I would still recommend your own theater system. Home Cinema 3800 is UHD but does support Pixel Shifting, 2x HDMI 2.0 support at 60 Hz, Full 10-bit HDR support, 3D support with active glasses, Bluetooth Support, Color Space settings, HDMI CEC/LINK, Blanking settings, AUX In/Out, Color uniformity settings, and Built-in Speakers. This was made for everything you could need for fantastic home viewing flat out. The design of the projector remains inline with Epson model 3700 so nothing much changed on the outside. One thing that also remained unchanged was the outdated UI Epson keeps going with but this is a "form over function" issue where everything works perfectly, just the UI is stuck in the past. Bottom line: Again there isn't much to go on about. Epson knows the picture quality out of the park with this one. You simply can't get this amazing picture at this price point with a projector at UHD. There isn’t much to be said because it must be seen to be loved. I can upload picture after picture of the Home Cinema 3800 but none of them will do it justice. There is so much detail Epson packed into this; vibrant and lush at a large scale with beautiful 4K scenes. There are some shortcomings as mention but those don’t take away from the projector strong points. You looking for a bigger screen, look no more. This is going to be fantastic to use for the Super Bowl and I can't wait. This is the ultimate entertainment experience and Epson should be proud to release this product.

HIGHLIGHTS 4K HDR Compatibility (2) HDMI 2.0 Inputs 3000 ANSI Lumens Supports HDR10 and HLG content 3D Compatible (2) 10W Built-In Speakers with Bluetooth and AptX Support INSTALLATION & SET-UP Installation and set-up was straight forward. I was fortunate in that the 3800 is updating/replacing my existing Epson 5040UBe projector, so I had most of the elements needed for use already installed. An extremely nice feature is that Epson has chosen to use the exact same screws and spacing for attaching this projector to a ceiling mount as it did with the previous generations of their products. Even with my 5040 being nearly twice the size and weight of this 3800, the ceiling mount brackets and screws lined up perfectly from one to the next. Thank you Epson!! That was extremely helpful when doing a one person install, trying to juggle the projector while attaching it to the ceiling mount. Anyone replacing an existing Epson product will instantly recognize the user interface and adjustments. They have carried over nearly unchanged from their previous models and are simple and easy to learn and configure. Even the remotes are the same (and both are backlit). The only real difference I could spot between the set-up of my 5040 and this 3800 was the lens shift. My 5040 had a motorized lens shift, focus, and zoom, while the 3800 makes do with manual shift, focus, and zoom. Honestly, it really isn’t much of an issue. Once you get the aim of the projector roughed in, you can make the fine adjustments with the rotary dials and if all goes well, they should never have to be fiddled with again. PERFORMANCE Contrast. This is where I had my biggest concern as far as installing this projector. I have been pleased with the performance of my 5040 since installation. It throws a great picture, is easy to calibrate, and has offered many hours of great performance with games, TV, and movies. My family always enjoys a good movie night, preferring to watch a movie at home versus the theater (if only we could figure out how to make authentic movie theater popcorn). Epson claims the contrast ratio of the 5040 is 1,000,000 : 1, while this 3800 is only rated at 100,000 : 1. I watched several shows immediately before taking down my 5040, most of which were dark shows with bright highlights, so I could get a good look at the contrast. I took down the 5040 and installed the 3800, then immediately queued up those same shows on the new projector. Honestly, I didn’t really notice much of a difference! I had the dynamic iris set to fast on both projectors and the difference in rated contrast doesn’t appear to be near as significant as the 10x difference would lead you to believe. HDR Material. This was my biggest complaint of the 5040. The 5040 could not process a full 10-bit HDR image at 18Gb/s. The 5040 only had a 10.2GB/s HDMI chip installed. With that, neither my XBOX, my 4k Blu-Ray player, or my DirecTV was capable of 4k HDR playback. Games like Forza would looked good in 4k on the 5040, but would only play in SDR (Standard Dynamic Range). Rest assured, the 3800 addresses and corrects this issue. My XBOX now plays HDR enabled games without reservation. The 3800 reports an incoming signal at: 3840 x 2160 with BT.2020 color space and HDR enabled. Streaming Netflix used to report programs at 4k resolution and SDR. Previewing Netflix shows now, properly lists the shows at 4k and HDR. Tests with my Blu-Ray player and DirecTV box also properly indicate that they can transmit full 4k HDR content. ISSUES Fan noise. I have been spoiled over the years by the Home Cinema line of projectors. From my earlier model Panasonic projectors, to my current Epson 5040UBe, fan noise has rarely been an issue. I can control the amount of ambient light entering my theater, so I have been able to use my projectors on their ECO settings, thus increasing bulb life and decreasing fan noise. This projector is no exception. I can use the projector on its ECO setting, but even then, the fan is noticeably louder than my previous 2 projectors. While not necessarily an issue with most action movies, as the soundtrack easily drowns out the fan noise, it is very noticeable in quiet passages and movies. I’m sure I will adapt to the noise level and it will eventually be a non-issue, but for now, I do find it somewhat distracting. Speakers. The built-in speakers are really only sufficient for an office environment, used for presentations and slideshows. The speakers can receive sound from an HDMI input, or from Bluetooth. However, they are nowhere near enough for a decent home theater experience. While this is not really a negative, I have it listed in the issues section so that folks can temper their expectations on the performance. Again, this is very convenient for an office environment, but not a good solution for a home theater perspective. 4k. Buyers should be aware that these projectors are not true 4k displays. To coin a phrase from the internet, they are faux k. The projector will except a 4k, 12-bit HDR image, but it then has to convert it to an image that its LCD panels can reproduce. The projector has three 1080 LCD panels that employ “pixel shifting”. This pixel shifting increases the resolution and clarity over native 1080 panels. I did find that the native 4k images displayed utilizing the Epson’s pixel shifting technology looked noticeably sharper and crisper than a native 1080p image did with no enhancement. Like I stated earlier pixel shifting is not necessarily a negative, it just needs to be addressed for those unfamiliar with the tech. It is a technology not only used by Epson, but by other projector manufacturers too. True 4k projectors are available for purchase, but not at anywhere near this price point. Final Thoughts. When I initially installed the projector, I was unsure if it would prove to be a sufficient replacement for my Epson 5040. Those concerns were quickly eliminated at the first showing of HDR content. Video games, movies, Netflix, etc can now fully utilize the 18GB/s bandwidth offered by the 4k HDR format. Images are noticeably brighter and colors more vibrant throughout the gamut. Video games, especially, have taken on a new look and feel from the increased dynamic range. I am quite shocked at how much difference there is in the images between the two projectors. The 3800’s light output of 3000 lumens is really bright, especially in a darkened theater room. It’s even sufficiently bright enough to enjoy a program or game, with light spilling in and washing over the screen. Considering the price point at which Epson has listed this projector at, I feel it is a very good value for the money. I think it performs as well, if not better, than projectors at similar and higher price points. I would absolutely recommend this projector for anyone looking for a great performing projector at a reasonable price.

This is my 1st projector. I’ve always wanted a decent “budget” projector. But I thought they were out of reach. So I always went with a mid level led lcd 4ktv. I actually just picked up an open box 55” OLED a few months ago. But I should have waited and took the plunge in projectors. Because these things are amazing. Me, wife and kids love the movies and drive ins. This epson 4K projector is amazing. We now have our on home theater in our living room. We have a long living room so this set up is perfect. Now to this so called budget projector. This is cheap in price for sure compared to other models and brands. But it is far from budget. The picture quality of amazing from 4K+hdr down to 1080p+sdr. Deep rich colors and detail. We picked up an elite screens outdoor screen. But we use for our living as it was/is cost effective. Works like a charm. U have to have some level of darkness to fully show off the picture and brightness. But 3000 lumens seems to be super bright. Even during the day. Simply amazing. The built in speakers. While weak compared to a soundbar. They are still very good for our set up. Clear enough to enjoy. But I recommend u set up a surround sound. We are currently sending audio through Bluetooth to a soundbar and it works well enough. But you will get audio lag. We ordered a 25 foot hdmi to properly set up the surround sound. Excited for that. Adjust the picture is easy but get the picture perfectly centered is a challenge to say the least. But we are rookies. Though we are getting better. And now have the picture is perfectly in the screen borders. Just be patient and be careful. The size and weight are not bad. We place it on an old end table works perfectly. The remote works very well and layout is great for easy access. It’s even backlit. Awesome feature. 2 hdmi ports. Wish there were 3 but that’s fine. We have a fire stick connected directly to the usb power source. And the ps4 pro connected to the second port. Gaming on this 120 inch monster is amazing. Friends are jealous In A good way. You can now see everything. Just sit further back and enjoy. Only downside in my opinion is there is no optical port. Maybe that’s the norm. But optical cables are cheaper than hdmi. But it’s Ok. U get the best sound through HDMI (ARC). But keep that in Mind. As you can probably tell. I’m more than happy. This brand makes many projectors for all price points. But they are thriving because they make the best products and responsible prices. Top tier quality. I love this projector and almost everything about it. If you are in the fence and new to the projector game. Get it and u will be amazed. You will probably never go back to regular TVs again. I know I won’t. Good luck and happy shopping. Note: first pic is on a bare white wall and still looks amazing. The rest are on a 120” projector screen.

Pros Quiet Large speakers for a projector Bright enough to combat ambient light Crisp image HDR is subtle but helpful 3D Capable Good contrast range for a projector Includes extra powered USB port for streaming devices Can be paired with Bluetooth speakers Minimal dynamic iris pumping Verified no rainbow effect Cons Style is hard to hide with décor Slow HDCP negotiation High power usage WiFi not included HDMI Link (CEC) doesn’t seem to work Its been a few years in the making but high quality 4K projectors are finally affordable for the average person. The Home Cinema 3800 is a mid-range 4K projector from Epson’s 2019 lineup that promises the features we want for a price we can afford. Design and Features The Home Cinemas 3800 is a rather large, bulky design to accommodate the large bulb and cooling fan. It isn’t styled to blend in with your décor like some projectors today so if this is important to you, a vented enclosure might be needed. The design helps to keep costs down and keep fan noise to a minimum. A dust filter is included on the cooling intake which is a nice touch to keep dust from reducing the quality of the picture. To further keep costs under control, it isn’t truly a native 4K projector but rather simulated 4K with a technique called pixel shifting. It is a marketing spin to call it 4K, but the result is hard to distinguish from the real thing. Dynamic Iris is included, which is a way to increase the contrast ratio in certain scenes which is the reason for the inflated 100,000:1 contrast ratio. ANSI contrast, which is a more accurate representation of performance, is not listed. That said, the true contrast ratio seems very respectable for the class. There are manual controls for horizontal and vertical lens shift to help minimize the need to distort your image with keystone adjustments. In the back you get two HMDI 2.0 ports with HDCP 2.2, a VGA port, and a USB power port to power your streaming stick or other USB powered device. Built in are some surprisingly large and loud speakers if you want to use it in a portable scenario. It can be also paired with Bluetooth speakers to enhance sound further although it would not be in surround sound. If you are looking for a more premium home theater experience, it would be best to have the HDMI pass through a home stereo first to provide true surround sound to go with the big screen. Included is a feature called HMDI Link, which the manual states at HDMI-CEC but during usage it would never communicate with other CEC compatible devices. Casting video via smartphone apps is built in but requires the purchase of the Wi-Fi dongle, not included. 3D capability is included but the purchase of a dongle and 3D glasses is required. Performance From the moment you turn it on, you will notice that start is fairly quick. Unlike older projectors, the Home Cinema 3800 reaches what appears to be full brightness within about 15 seconds of being powered on. Although the brightness is listed as 3000 lumens, you must consider that this brightness rating is for a larger screen than compact projectors. Even on standard cinema mode you can comfortably see the image just projecting on a white wall with ambient light. Of course, this is not ideal because your black levels suffer greatly, but the fact that it can overcome this at all is surprising. On max brightness the difference is even more noticeable. Add in a fabric screen and the simulated 4K starts to show its strength. It’s good from the perspective that you get a sharper image on a larger screen, but it also had the side effect of showing you that it’s time to upgrade your screen. The sharper image will help you notice if you have a cheap screen as it makes stretch marks and blemishes stand out. If you were thinking to go cheap and skip the screen, don’t. You won’t be able to realize the clarity without a smooth, even surface a projector screen affords. If possible, a dedicated media room or at least darker walls will help increase quality even further. With ambient light and a good screen, a 145 inch screen is very possible. This projector has the brightness to overpower ambient light, but if you have light walls, get ready for that brightness to cause a slight washout effect on the edges as the bright projected image causes more ambient light. Although startup is quick, one thing you will notice is that when starting new content there is a lag before the image is shown. It doesn’t seem to matter the length of cable and seems to have more to do with slow HDCP negotiation. Often when you start a video the sound starts 2-5 seconds before the video starts. After the video is displayed, there is no perceivable lag which points more to the initial negotiation process being the hang-up. When Dynamic iris is used, scenes like Star Wars IV text crawl show up as inky black but as soon as the ships come in you will notice blacks shift to dark gray. Thankfully iris pumping is minimal, but if this bothers you then you can turn dynamic iris off for a consistent look. HDR is also included, which comes in handy in newer movies which use it. Projectors already struggle with contrast compared to traditional TVs. With HDR10 compatibility, scenes with a combination of light and dark are noticeably clearer than old movies. This means flesh tones look natural even with bright backgrounds instead of washed out. In darker scenes faces have improved brightness and contrast. With what Epson called 3LCD technology they claim to have no rainbow effect which is common with projectors. This can be verified with a camera set to a suitably high shutter speed. From 1/800 to 1/1500 of a second you can verify Epson’s claim as you don’t see any individual colors but only the vertical scan line as the whole image refreshes with each color. No need to worry about friends with more discerning vision complaining of nausea with this unit. As a bonus, using the projector for fast action scenes or even gaming exhibited no significant motion blur or ghosting. Of this won’t compete with an ultra-high refresh rate monitor but most gamers would find the big screen gaming suitably responsive. Final Thoughts Some options might require optional upgrades and it doesn’t have fancy new features like lasers but what it does do good is focus on the essentials of image quality. If you are in the market for 4K quality projector and want one in the sweet spot between price, performance, and essential features the Epson Home Cinema 3800 is a worthy contender.

Ok, this is my much overdue review on Epson’s new entry level Cinema 3800 4k Projector. I take my reviews serious and like some use it for a while to get the full grasp of the product. Also, like most I search on line on several ,models, reading learning and shopping around so when I pull the trigger on a purchase, especially an expensive one I am well informed going straight into it. When we got our RV, we didn't want the usual hand an LED outside. I read, searched and found the perfect portable 1080 that I easily hung on our RV and projected it to the white underside of our awning and plugged it right into the RV's Coax. reading and preparing for a purchase is all part of the research we all do and should do before settling on a product. If we don't we cant compare it or later find features we didn't get with one model that we could have gotten with another. With that said I always compare my reviews with what I have and know! I have an LG PF50 1080p projector so I know a little about these. On the Epson, they are well known for their projector's! First off, this project is of considerable size. We also have another Epson projector at work that we use for presentations and I compared it with that one as well as my coworkers played with it. So here is my take, It’s a bit larger than what I am used to seeing but surprisingly light. For those needing dimension and weight so they can prepare where to mount it, it weighs in about 15 lbs and measured about 16” by 6 ½” H by 13” D it has a good footprint. There is really no instruction manual which I see more and more electronics heading in this direction. While the quick set up pamphlets are pretty straight forward as is the on screen menu, I found myself with questions that I could not find answers to. A quick phone call later on to Epson got me my answers. What’s impressive? It’s Bright, extremely bright! 3000 Lumens is A LOT of light. We easily could see a great picture at work in a lit training room as well as with the lights off. The focus is manual turning the huge front lens. We easily got a 120” Screen from about 10 ft. The 3800 differs in that it has 2 x 10 Watt rear firing speakers as well as connects to Bluetooth speakers. In my opinion the built in speakers is a huge plus and here’s why. They easily can fill a room with great clear sound that’s balanced where with a Bluetooth Sound bar you may find yourself with great sound but in many cases too loud where you can disturb others. I’m sure there have been many times we get home and turn on our TV to watch it without turning on our home theater or Sound Bar. My better half loved it as well as my coworkers all agreed it was a great add on. It may seem pricey but doing some research and comparing it to others it’s far from it, especially for the size of screen you are getting. Adjusting the screen size is simple, manually reduce or expand the screen size at the front of the unit and you want to keep it as small as possible while moving the unit away from the wall to increase the picture size. This will keep the resolution as high as possible but at 4k, I doubt you’d see pixels at full zoom! Co Workers, my better half and I found the colors were rich and the contrast was very good. We tried it at work in our training room where we have a 130” Electric roll down white screen, it looked awesome. One note that some may find interesting, there is no built in pointer in the remote but then again this is a Home Cinema projector, my coworkers pointed that out but also commented that a laser pointer is no big deal. They were quick to want to trade me their unit for mine, I respectfully declined. Now at home we weren’t fully prepared with such a screen so we shot the picture right up on the painted wall. 2 different walls at that, a very light blue and a very light yellow. Again, it looked awesome on either wall. On the Living room wall or Bedroom wall my better half loved it with comments such as I can get used to this. Now some other details, there is a cooling fan with filter to upkeep. On eco mode its relatively quiet with little air, warm air, on bright high, the fan kicks up as you can image 3000 lumens pumps some serious light and a bit of heat. Those in small rooms may take notice although in our bedroom and on eco we did not notice it and only noticed it on high because we were paying attention. The built in speakers easily covered it on low volume settings. In a dark room, on pretty much any setting this shoots some serious light so don’t expect a pitch black room to stay that way when you shoot 3000 lumens! Still it was very impressive! There are a few ports in the rear, AC Power, a Locking port so you can use a security lock cable, HDMI 1 and 2, a USB POWER only port at 2 A and a USB in port, a service port, Audio Out Jack and a RS232C and a trigger port. HDMI is easy, we all know that, Service port is not for us, Audio out Jack in case you want to connect a speaker system via a 1/8 Audio Jack Trigger ports will connect a motorized screen to open and close when the unit is turned on using a 1/8 Audio cable. USB power, ok, to power a plug in device that requires power so you won’t need a wall wart. Greta. USB, hmm, I tried 2 different USB sticks and the unit would not see it. A 4 Gig and a 8 gig standard Memory stick. I could not find any info in this on the Quick start up documentation or any other supplied documentation. This was the Phone Call to Epson I spoke of earlier. The on screen menu was very straight forward but it showed an option to mirror a pc or electronic device such as a table or cell. This option was greyed out. The second reason to call Epson. A call to Epson support, I was informed that the USB would not see Memory sticks or certain memory sticks, she could not give me a definite answer and then came back to say it was solely for their add on Epson plug. This Optional Epson plug will allow this feature screen cast feature, so electronics would be able to screen cast to the 3800. A downer that it’s not built in. BUT I have a HDMI Actiontec plug in screen casting dongle. Plugged it into the available HDMI, Powered it via the USB power plug and easily mirrored my call tablet whatever I wanted. I expect others such as Chromecast will work the same way. The Unit has controls on top of it to adjust the Azimuth, Picture angle and side to side for when a straight shot to the screen is not possible. It does make these corrects extremely well. But not if its ceiling mounted, it may be difficult to get to although once adjusted you’re done. There is no built in tuner, in case some will ask. In order to get the 4k you will need the appropriate 4k feed device, Sat Box, Cable Box or DVD player as well as correct HDMI cable to allow the bandwidth for 4K. The Built in HDMI on this projector obviously has the latest HDMI connections for 4k. I compared this to our work Projector as well as my LG PF50KA which is basically a 1080 Smart TV without the screen that fits in your hand loaded with Bluetooth, Screen Cast, Tuner, Coax connection, HDMI and the remote controls everything except focus which is like the Epson Manually. The LG does use a true LED for light with an 80,000 hour life compared to LGs 3500 hour to 5000 hr life in Eco mode. I was curious as to the cost and found the bulb at around $100. There is a life reset in the menu to keep track of the bulbs hours and can be reset. The LG is rated at only at 600 ANSI Lumens which is a lot for 100” , its fit in your hand size and its bright but the Epson Cinema 3800 even as an entry level 4k Projector it EASILY and obviously outsized our LG which maxes out at 100” , its 3000 lumens is not ANSI but its ISO 21118 which they claim is similar to ANSI. It’s definitely Bright! If you’re looking for a Large screen quality 4K Projector you can’t go wrong with The Epson Cinema 3800, the overall picture quality and speaker add on makes it ideal at home or business such as a sports bar where you’ll want a quality large screen video and not have to worry about light or breaking the bank to buying one. Note: the pic's with the TV on the bottom, that's a 49" TV The 2 pic's with the couple at the diner and the Intel Widi, that's a light blue wall ! Screen is well over 120" and the projector is in line with the Cat/ Ready To Connect message so its at a serious angle which was easily adjusted to square! I could post pics of the unit but I'm sure BB has it already, We all want to try and see what kind of picture we can expect so the pic's I have included should help with that. One more note, all were taken on ECO mode! On High its a bit brighter!

I have been itching to upgrade to a 4K projector with 3D for some time now. My old Panasonic PT-AE4000U turned 10 this year and it has served me well in the 1080p world. The Epson Home Cinema 3800 is an excellent pixel shifting 4K/3D projector for the money. The projector is very securely packed and includes a good size 38 button backlit remote, not the tiny remote that comes with many projectors. Many control options have direct access to control them on the remote; HDR, Color, Aspect, HDMI input selection, playback controls, test pattern, 3D and many more. Having a button for remote backlighting can come in handy in a dark theater. I actually programmed my universal remote with the 3800 as an additional device and then the remote went into my expansive remote graveyard lol. The only other hardware included in the box are the power cord and batteries for the remote. Disappointing that there are no 3D glasses included, but 3D has definitely fallen out of favor over the last several years and I'm not sure if any projectors include them in the box anymore. There are quick setup brochures in four languages and some other small pamphlets, but no owner's manual. That is pretty standard with most products today since the full manual is very easy to download, saves trees I guess. I removed the packing materials, including foam protection around the lens for shipping as well as a clip-on lens cover, nice touches to protect the delicate lens. Then I hung it upside down from a ceiling mount and located the setting in the menus under Extended to set it to Front Ceiling. There are actually 4 options in that menu for the possible combinations of Front and Rear projection and table or ceiling mount. I did not test the speakers as I have an AVR with full 11.2.4 Atmos speaker setup. The (10W each) speakers do give an added flexibility for other installation scenarios. My old projector was black and I was slightly disappointed that the Epson consumer projectors are only available in white. It is a bit more noticable when the lights are on, but when in actual use it disappears just like my previous black unit. It is a very high quality, sturdy unit with modern styling. It has 2 HDMI ports and 2 USB ports, although one of those USBs is only for a WiFi adapter and the other is only to provide power for HDMI stick devices that require USB power. It does put out a bit of heat from the front vent. The most outstanding feature of 3800 is the 4k image processing and projection, the picture quality and options for tweaking the picture are where it truly shines. It is not native 4k, but it takes a 4k image and creates two 1080p frames and slightly shifts pixels very quickly to produce the appearance of 4k image without the raw 3LCD system being native 4k. Watching 4k films on a 10 foot screen, the resolution enhancements over 1080p with no HDR was awesome. The sharpness and brightness improvements were dramatic over my previous projector. The 3800 is a simply amazing value and comes with a 2 year warranty. I ordered 3D glasses and tried a few titles and they were all super crisp and clear with excellent 3D effects. The glasses paired with the 3800 first time automatically when there was 3D material on screen, just had to power them on. There was a confirmation message on screen after about 5 seconds to confirm the pairing of each. I did not see any artifacts or have any issues, just a high quality 3D experience with great depth and focus. The Epson has an amazing range of color adjustments and comes with some preprogramed presets that are accessible under Image Enhancements. Epson has full control of HDR tweaks for Auto/SDR/HDR10/HLG, including a level; as well as RGBCMY for hue, saturation, and brightness. You have the myriad options to tune the picture to your liking. There are 10 Memory slots to save different picture settings customizations, you could have one for daytime, one for nighttime, one for 3D, one for HDR material, etc. The zoom, focus, keystone and lens shift vertical and horizontal are all manual adjustments using the controls on the projector itself. To get a 4K projector that has those adjustments automated is literally at least 3 times the cost at this point in time. Epson’s Home Cinema 3800 had amazing picture quality for all kinds of video material. I never saw any rainbows or other artifacts from the pixel shifting 3LCD system. The picture was always crisp, clear with excellent brightness and contrast, especially with HDR sources. It is a great value for those looking to upgrade to a 4K projector at a very reasonable price, highly recommended! I was totally honest in my opinions of the 3800 pros and cons, full disclosure this is a review for the Epson Home Cinema 3800 projector that I received free of charge to do a beta test and review.

Bright and Beautiful: Epson has come through with another impressive home theater projector that mixes easy set up, loads of features, and a bright, vibrant picture. I have a dedicated theater room and previously had an Epson Pro Cinema 6200 installed. I have full control of the light in my theater room, and, in the past, this has been necessary to fully enjoy the big screen experience because my projector had a great picture but was not super bright. It's worth noting that, while a darkroom can help with some details and darker scenes, the Home Cinema 3800 does not really need a dark room. This thing is bright and the colors really pop! True Cinema Projector: There are multiple settings from Cinema (darker and it seems to be a bit smoother) to Dynamic (super bright). Its easy to switch between them. Also, the image quality is really impressive. With the Pro Cinema Epson projector in my theater room before this one I was able to dial the picture in with advanced image controls. I have to say that this one looks nearly as good in terms of smoothness and dark tones and greys but I was still able to keep the overall brightness higher. Anamorphic Mode: For those of you looking to build the ultimate home theater (or those who have already), this projector also has one other feature that is valuable for people who want to install a wide screen in their theater room with an anamorphic lens. The anamorphic wide/ horizontal squeeze settings allow you to use a special lens to fit a true 2.35:1 anamorphic screen. All in One: While I'm using the projector in a dedicated theater space, it is also absolutely ideal for more temporary settings like a movie in the backyard or for a special event. Again, it's brightness allows you to use it on a large screen and even before the sun goes down. It has big built in speakers (these are legitimate speakers and not just a typical mono speaker normally included in portable projectors) and easy set up including very flexible lens shift (meaning that there is no risk of keystoning). To be clear, this is not a portable projector. Its fairly big and heavy relative to traditional portable projectors and business travel projectors. But it is definitely worth bringing along to a family road trip or camp out and its ideal for any home theater room. This is a review for the Epson Home Cinema 3800 projector that I received free of charge to do a beta test and review.