Customer Ratings & Reviews

The LS800, a short throw projector with a lot of potential. For the consumer looking to replace a TV with a much bigger screen, this is definitely something to consider. In a light controlled environment like a theater room, you have more options to look in to. To start things off, the screen or wall that this project will project to is extremely important. With my current screen, I notice imperfections in the picture that were not noticeable from my UHD30, a lamp projector. Small bumps or unevenness in your screen will cause parts of the picture to go out of focus, and I have tried for hours to get a perfect image but was unable to. The project itself is quite heavy, and you don't really need to move it a lot to get the picture to the size you want. Epson's screen configuration allows you to just move the projector slightly out of frame, and then adjust the corners as you see fit. This is extremely convenient and you have quite a large margin of error in where you place your projector. Using the projector as a TV replacement is actually very easy. It can connect up to three HDMI sources, and the included speakers can get adequately loud. AndroidTV is the OS it is running, so there will be some familiarity there, and the system runs quite smoothly with fast response times browsing the apps. The fan does sound loud at first, but it is not something you'll even notice when watching videos - even during quiet talking scenes. The picture quality is quite spectacular. Of course, the larger the image the less sharp it will be. But, even at 120", a 4k video looks incredible. Again, a large part of how crisp your image will turn out is the quality of your screen. In a blacked out room, you get great results. But the strength also comes in being able to use this in your living room. Paired with an ALR screen, you can even see pictures in broad daylight as the projector can get extremely bright. Gaming is also very enjoyable on the big screen. Response feels quick when controlling your characters. While it's only HDMI 2.0, it can still do 1080p at 120Hz. Overall, this is a great project for those with no dedicated light controlled room. For anyone looking to get a large image without having to deal with a heavy TV, this is the alternative. Paired with a decent ALR screen, you'll find that the images will be more impressive then you could have imagined.

Setup is easy. Set the projector and position so the image fills the screen. The Epson LS800 can create an image 80” diagonal (70” x 39”) within an inch from the screen to 150” (approx. 131” x 74”) with the project set back 9.9 inches from the screen. Typical diagonal screen sizes are 100” (approx. 87” x 49”) or a 120” (approx. 105” x 59”). Once the size is set, adjust the focus manually. If it shuts off doing this, it’s because there are some safety sensors on the projector that will kill the image when tripped in order to save your eyes. You can also download the Epson Setting Assistant app to your phone. This will allow you to adjust image geometry and size digitally, but I always seem to get better results manually tweaking the projector. Once you have your display setup, configure the Wi-Fi and you can use the Google TV built in. The Google Assistant is also built in. There is no Ethernet cable port. If you don’t have good Wi-Fi where the projector is, you can plug a streaming box or disc player that does have an Ethernet port into one of the three HDMI 2.0 ports. The HDMI2 port is labeled” as ARC” for "Audio Return Channel" which provides communication between the projector and devices over the HDMI connection. Typically used for a sound bar. Some sound bars have multiple HDMI connections allowing you to add additional devices that way. HDMI3 is labeled “Game”. This port supports 1080p/120 Hz with Short Input Lag for gaming. “Short Input Lag” refers to the time difference between when a video signal arrives at the projector and when that picture is displayed on the screen. On the LS8000 that equates to sub-20ms lag. All projectors have some lag, and a high amount of lag will get your character killed in a game. In playing some racing and shooter games on my Xbox, I noticed no lag, no noticeable difference than playing on a flat screen. A 120” gaming screen is different than what I am used to and I’m sure I’ll be playing more. The HDMI3 port is not limited to game consoles or PC’s; you can plug any HDMI device you want in. There are also two USB ports available. The Epson’s wide width is used to advantage by including a built-in mini soundbar in the form of a Yamaha DSP 2.1 stereo. This system is comprised of two full-range 5-watt speakers and one 10-watt subwoofer facing the viewers. It does sound good, far better than the speakers in a flat screen TV. A minimalist will appreciate this system. But if you have an external sound system you wish to use, there are four ways to connect to it; a S/PDIF optical output, ARC via the HDMI2 port, Bluetooth 5.0, or the 3.5mm DIN jack. Bluetooth can be used inbound as well. For instance, to play music from your phone or other device to the Epson’s Yamaha speaker system. If you ever see rainbow artifacts /flashes when using a projector, you know it can be a distraction and quickly annoying. The Epson LS800 eliminates that problem by using three separate 1080p imaging chips (red, green, and blue). The result is a beautiful picture with none of those flashes. But wait, your wondering isn’t a 4K projector? The short answer is yes. It achieves 4K by using pixel shifting to double the pixels in a HD 1,920-by-1,080-pixel matrix. What does this mean in practice? It works. Specs provide a baseline, but they don’t always tell how good the actual implementation is. A few weeks ago, when I was first told about how this worked and how good it was, I was skeptical. Then I was shown the LS800 in a demo room side by side with a true 4K DLP projector with a 4K disc movie playing to each. At first, I could not see any real difference that favored one projector over the other. Both were very good. But then I was shown a few scenes where the LS800 showed more detail than the 4K DLP. Best example was a scene where the LS800 clearly displayed the weave of a jacket being worn. I could easily make out the individual threads on the Epson where the DLP did not produce the weave nearly as well. Some areas were just flat. I checked and ensuring both projectors were focused perfectly. Perhaps the finer detail on the Epson is due to a better lens, the quality of the chips and circuitry, that there are three separate imagine chips, or a mix of each. I’m not sure, but I was impressed how well the Epson performed and it moved to the top of my list. There is no longer a need to restrict the projector to a basement home theatre or pull the curtains. The picture shows well even in a well-lit room or one with the windows open thanks to 4,000-lumens of brightness. There was a time where that high of an output would mean a short bulb life. Those days are past as this projectors bulb is rated for 20,000 hours. That’s equal to 2.3 years at 24 hours a day, or more realistically nearly 7 years with the projector on for 8 hours a day. If you will use the Epson a bright room, use an ambient light rejection (ALR) screen listed for use with UST projectors for the best possible picture. No screen is included with this projector. However, Epson does offer screens engineered to absorb up to 90% of the ambient light to increase contrast and produce an astonishingly crisp picture that mount to an elegant thin frame in 100” and 120” Diagonal sizes. The Epson LS800 is a great projector providing all one needs; Smart TV features, an excellent bright picture with rich colors and deep dark blacks, an integrated mini-soundbar that provides much better sound than most other TV’s and projectors, extra support for gaming, a very short throw that allows placement up close to the wall out the way, long lamp life and its quiet as just 32 decibels. The projector also has a two-Year or 12,000-hour Use Limited Warranty included.

PROS -High quality picture -Easy to setup/adjust -Smart TV features -Excellent gaming performance -Good built-in sound DESIGN The design of the LS800 is a massive improvement over LS500. Gone is the periscope lens exchanged for a modern lens inset into the body of the projector for a very clean look. The LS800 comes in white and black. I got the white model which features grey fabric over the front of the unit to cover the Yamaha speakers. The unit is wide, but mostly none descript and easily blends into a room. The two silver feet in front of the unit rotate to raise and lower the sides of the unit for adjustment and the door to the right of the unit pops off to reveal the focus wheel and ports. The LS800 has 3 HDMI ports, 1 standard, 1 ARC, and another for gaming. Epson also included several USB A ports and one with 2A power for a streaming stick if you wished to use something other than Android TV. Additionally, there is a headphone jack, optical audio, and Bluetooth speaker if your setup doesn’t support ARC. SETUP I was able to get the LS800 setup in about 15 minutes. The packaging is very thoughtful with cardboard handles to help safely and easily remove the projector. Once set into a relatively good position I was able to remove the protective plastic on the lens and power the unit on. I typically work through setting up a projector in the following steps: 1. Screen size/distance from wall 2. Adjustment to get left and right edges the same size. 3. Adjustment of back foot to get top and bottom edges the same size 4. Focus 5. Digital keystone adjustment 6. Check focus again. Physically setting up the projector was very easy though I did have some difficulty with the rear adjustment foot maintaining its position, but after my last adjustment I haven’t had to touch it again. Once turning on the projector and going through the initial setup I proceed with the digital keystone adjustment. Epson was very smart in automating some of the most painful parts with their phone app. After you manually adjust to get the opposing screen edges parallel and level they prompt you to use their app. The projector displays an array of dots which you take a photo of for the projector to automatically adjust the picture. This provides a much more precise optimization of the picture where typically there might only be a handful of manual adjustment points. WATCHING The EPSON LS800 produces a beautiful 4K HDR image at 60Hz and thanks to the fact that it’s an Ultra Short Throw you can get a massive 100” with the front of the unit just 17” from the wall (up to 150”). Projecting the unit on the wall in my living room produced a great image with vivid colors and great contrast. Thanks to the 4000 lumen brightness it was even viewable during the day though I would consider an ALR screen for even better daylight performance and deeper blacks all around. Thanks to the LS800 having Android TV you have the full breadth of the Play store for apps and content. This also means that you have the flexibility of voice control and Google Assistant for navigating and searching. The built-in 2.1 Yamaha speaker is quite good considering the size and I think most people will be happy with the performance, though an external sub could help round out the sound. GAMING It used to be that gaming on a projector was nearly impossible due to the typically bad input lag. The LS800 breaks that convention thanks to it’s 3LCD laser projection system and is able to achieve an impressive 17 ms input lag putting it inline with the gaming mode on most TVs. Playing titles like Call of Duty Warzone and Destiny 2 I felt virtually no difference between the LS800 and my OLED TV.