Epson - EpiqVision Ultra LS800 Ultra Short-Throw Laser Projector

You can't compete with the sun. Without light control no projector will work. An Epson LS800 ultra-short throw and an ALR screen would probably suck least (or some other super bright UST projector) but they also suffer from ambient light, the ALR screen does help a great deal. When the LS800 is at full power, the fan noise can also be objectionable (I run mine at 70% to improve black level and shut it up).

Laser speckle is mitigated with the right screen choice, but of course the color wheel flicker and RBE is not great if you're sensitive to that. Every single DLP projector on the market has that possibility, they all have some level of RBE. For UST's that literally leaves you with the Epson LS800 as an option; 3LCD. Not the most contrasty, pretty decent with a 0.5 gain screen and run at 70% brightness, single laser so no speckle (but also narrower color gamut).

Even though I own and love my Epson LS800 UST, if I wasn't scared shitless of rainbow effect I'd probabaly have bought something else that's more contrasty for night-time viewing. Currently, even though it's only $2 grand on pre-order, I might get in line for the new Nexigo Aurora variant, sight unseen.

You'll get more light out of it, but the Sony is still no doubt a pretty capable unit. 60000:1 contrast and SXRD (LCoS) tech should translate to a fantastic picture with great black level. The 1000 lumen capacity somewhat lets it down but in a darkened room perhaps not so much. Based on the numbers the fan is also silent. Epson are known for having vacuum cleaner like fans. My own UST Epson is unbearable on 100%, but thankfully quite pleasant at 70% power. Even then it's a lot louder than the 22 db your Sony claims. There's frankly a real possibility you'll be disappointed. And returning the item may be legally fine but it would be a hassle to say the least. Going from a liquid crystal on silicon projector to triple transmissive LCD is going backwards insofar as projector technology is concerned. So, maybe you want to consider looking into a newer unit with that technology instead, with more light output and 4K. JVC's D-ILA is one option, and Sony SXRD obviously. They're a bit pricier but the entry level JVC isn't truly brutal. The LS12000 is a fine projector, but light levels aside I don't think you'd necessarily be entirely pleased by the drawbacks you might experience. At a mere (in this context) 110 inch screen, you might also be a candidate for an ultra short throw, and an ALR screen. For instance the new Nexigo Aurora Pro MK II and a new Fresnel or lamellar ambient light rejecting screen. The ALR screen for UST projectors is insanely good at rejecting ambient light, and the projectors are getting good. The PX3-Pro being another (top notch) option. You could even go with the Aurora Pro without a MK and pay $2000 usd for the projector, the 110 inch screen should be easily under a thousand. If there's space on the wall, a 120 too. A 132 ALR from Nothing Projector is just a little north of a grand (132 being the largest screen out there that is seamless). Going beyond 132 in size would be doubtful with an USD.

I mean, I've only actively watched one which is my Epson LS800 so that's by definition the best projector I've used this year. :) Also, high-end is $250000 so you probably don't mean high end. What do I think you should buy? A 120 inch ALR screen and a Nexigo Aurora Pro MK II, or PX3-Pro ultra-short throw projector. Otherwise, maybe a Valerion Visionmaster Max if you want to use a boring old icky white screen and want a longer throw projector. The Visionmaster 2 Pro is on sale also https://www.valerion.com/global/projector-sale - buy the package with the 120 inch Fresnel ALR screen and sell your 100 inch presumably white screen to someone else.

As an Epson owner I'm potentially biased, but the LTV 3500 is very bright and has absolute ass black level. For bright material it can look good but in dark scenes it's absolutely terrible and also quite expensive. The Epson isn't the greatest at black level but it's pretty decent on 70% power and with dynamic contrast on, it depends on the viewer and what they expect. If rainbow effect isn't a bugaboo for you personally, there's the Nexigo Aurora Pro MKII and the Hisense PX3-Pro which both beat the Epson and AWOL easily, though Epson has some specific advantages - first, the shortest throw on the market so easier to place, and it's 3LCD so it has zero rainbow effect. These reasons would have to matter considerably to make the Epson the one to go with (in my case, both were relevant and I'm quite happy with my Epson.) Literally any UST 99.9% needs a proper ALR screen. It helps a ton in the daytime obviously but crucially it also improves image quality and contrast a shit ton in the dark. It's an expense any UST buyer should factor in. For these, you want low gain (like 0.5, 0.6) because this helps improve the percieved black level. The units have plenty of firepower to lose some due to a low gain. [ALR Screen VS White WALL - Side by Side Comparison in Different Lighting Conditions | Chris Maher, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XG1rVFTnkuE) As for HDR, Dolby Vision and all that stuff, it's obviously an advantage to have support for those, but no projector can actually do HDR. They can only adapt the HDR material to the best their light output can do. High Dynamic Range means a wide difference between black level and peak light. But projectors can't project blackness, so if you add a ton of lumens you will still not get the extreme contrast numbers you want for real HDR because your black level won't be black. So these things all slot into the "nice to have" category way more so than "must have". New units have support for it; the Epson sadly doesn't but since I feed my Epson off a HTPC with MPV anyway it's not that important, I'm still squeezing everything the projector can do out of it.

I have an Epson UST and absolutely no regrets. I'm just about to put some motors on my blackout curtains so I can just push a button to black out the room, which is necessary in the summer. Now in the wintertime it's black out when I get home so no worries over the winter. Anyway, the ever reliable Hook Up channel has some input on this also: [Big Screen Battle! 100" QLED TV vs Projector vs UST | The Hook Up, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPikt0UbhPk)

My Epson LS800 was pretty unbearable at 100% light output. Fortunately, at 70% pretty exactly the fan noise drops dramatically and stops being a factor at all for me. Since dialing down the lasers also helps the 3LCD panels block light to show black, and I have a 0.5 gain screen which further drops the black, I get what I'd consdier a very good image with low fan noise.

You'd be hard pressed to find a top grade projector where 4K isn't just thrown in as part of the deal. But let's just say I'm not at all upset that my Epson LS800 "only" has doubled up 1080p. The limitations of the human eye means it still looks glorious - fron the seated position. Sure, you can see a difference up close and all but still. But either way... if you buy a good projector today it's 4K so the discussion is academic. 8K however would be total horseshit in just about every way... However, if you showed me two projectors, otherwise identical seeming, one 1080 and the other 4K, and then told me the 1080 model had more light output, better native contrast and lower black level, but they cost the same, I'd pick the 1080 without any hesitation.

The LS800 is the best of them and at about 70% brightness the fans become almost inaudible. At 100% power you get a little more light output but there's also noise. Epsons tend to have audible fans. However, that presupposes the right screen and the right placement. The thing that makes UST's more resilient to daylight (not immune, just somewhat more resilient) is the UST specific ALR screen, and the fact that the UST is placed on a bench in front of the screen. If you ceiling mount, you lose that entirely and have to use a white screen, and at that point you're probably better off with a long throw. At least that will bounce the light more or less towards you instead of into the floor. UST's are zero compromise when it comes to placement. They *have to* be at the right distance both horizontally and vertically from the screen; the LS800 is the shortest throw on the market so it doesn't have to come quite as far away as others. Projectorcentral.com has throw calculators. You could do something like a Valerion Visionmaster Pro 2 and Valerion's Fresnel ALR screen for those. The ALR is a little less effective than an UST ALR (because an UST fires from such a unique angle from below, it's easier to reject light from above) but if you need it ceiling mounted that would be one of the few sensible approaches I can think of. Here's a rando video that shows what a Valerion with ALR would look like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfOfofvQzis - a big difference in the dark, and an enormous difference with lights. Darkness is still basically a requirement to use a projector. Your image looks absolutely terrible compared to what my ALR creates with some light but there's no projector that can ignore ambient light.

I literally just used the Android interface long enough to set up the screen settings and dial in the modes as best as one can (one inexplicable and cursed thing Epson did with these was to remove almost all calibration controls, which is somewhat infuriating since I have calibration hardware... but they can be made pretty good with what you have to work with.) Once I had dialed in the image settings, I hit the game mode button on the remote and switched to HDMI3 which bypasses all that Android stuff and I use my LS800 purely as a screen, no audio, no "smart" apps, that's all on the other side of the AV receiver. I remote control it with a combo of Home Assistant and a Broadlink RM4 Pro, and a plain old universal remote; I had to teach my old Harmony 650 the Epson IR codes but once done I can operate my entire system with one remote. I don't like the unpredictability and weirdness that CDC can introduce, rather discretely control everything.

It's absolutely worth it. An UST and a lightweight screen are logistically an absolute breeze vs an absolutely enormous TV. The TV fans argue that TV's work better in the light and have deeper blacks, and both are true. They never seem to agree though that a good UST with an ALR screen still has an excellent and extremely enjoyable image. It's just that 120 is better since more size is more immersion but that doesn't mean a more space limited set up with 100 inches won't be immersive and a great deal of fun. Go watch this, his videos and comparos are always top notch and make up your own mind https://www.thesmarthomehookup.com/big-screen-battle-100-qled-tv-vs-projector-vs-ust/ I *literally* carried in my fairly large Epson LS800 UST by myself, and I also dragged in the screen myself, assembled it on my living room carpet and I even hung it on the wall solo (though that part was borderline stupid, should have been less impatient and had a friend over, a 120 inch screen isn't too heavy to handle solo but it's pretty cumbersome, there's a risk of bending the frame). A 100 inch TV? I'd have needed two beefy workmen to haul it in and I'd have had to literally reconstruct and strengthen my old wall to hold it most likely, they really cut corners on that construction... obviously no problem hanging a light screen, it's even anchored in the drywall with Geefix drywall anchors. You *do* need to control the light in the room with any projector. Even an UST with the 99.9% required ALR screen. The ambient light rejecting screens cost real money but they help both with rejecting any remaining ambient light, and they help by aiming the light from the screen at you, instead of at the ceiling and walls.

I have a ls800 ust and will not be doing it again with qd-oleds becoming so cheap. It just doesn't work well for the cost it was initially. The picture quality is meh and you have to adjust it all the time. I think overall it cost 10k and it doesn't even auto focus. It really should for the price.

It's absolutely worth it. An UST and a lightweight screen are logistically an absolute breeze vs an absolutely enormous TV. The TV fans argue that TV's work better in the light and have deeper blacks, and both are true. They never seem to agree though that a good UST with an ALR screen still has an excellent and extremely enjoyable image. It's just that 120 is better since more size is more immersion but that doesn't mean a more space limited set up with 100 inches won't be immersive and a great deal of fun. Go watch this, his videos and comparos are always top notch and make up your own mind https://www.thesmarthomehookup.com/big-screen-battle-100-qled-tv-vs-projector-vs-ust/ I *literally* carried in my fairly large Epson LS800 UST by myself, and I also dragged in the screen myself, assembled it on my living room carpet and I even hung it on the wall solo (though that part was borderline stupid, should have been less impatient and had a friend over, a 120 inch screen isn't too heavy to handle solo but it's pretty cumbersome, there's a risk of bending the frame). A 100 inch TV? I'd have needed two beefy workmen to haul it in and I'd have had to literally reconstruct and strengthen my old wall to hold it most likely, they really cut corners on that construction... obviously no problem hanging a light screen, it's even anchored in the drywall with Geefix drywall anchors. You *do* need to control the light in the room with any projector. Even an UST with the 99.9% required ALR screen. The ambient light rejecting screens cost real money but they help both with rejecting any remaining ambient light, and they help by aiming the light from the screen at you, instead of at the ceiling and walls.

I have the LS800, and it's a solid projector. I havent seen it side by side with the AWOL so I cant comment on that.

Id go for a Lasertv -> ust like formovie Theater premium BUT prefer Hisense px 3 pro, Epson EpiqVision Ultra LS800 Id go for one of them. Personaly im using actually using epson 5050ub in living room 120" and laserTv (formovie theater) in mencave 120"

One of the projectors was on Hisense own 110" ALR screen, and the laser specle is there to distract me. For the second projector I have a silver ticket 110" eclipse with a gain of 0.42, and I can see the last specle just the same as the Hisense screen. Now I have the ls800 on the silver ticket screen and there's no laser specle, and it looks awesome because no rainbow effect either.

The LS800 is the best of them and at about 70% brightness the fans become almost inaudible. At 100% power you get a little more light output but there's also noise. Epsons tend to have audible fans. However, that presupposes the right screen and the right placement. The thing that makes UST's more resilient to daylight (not immune, just somewhat more resilient) is the UST specific ALR screen, and the fact that the UST is placed on a bench in front of the screen. If you ceiling mount, you lose that entirely and have to use a white screen, and at that point you're probably better off with a long throw. At least that will bounce the light more or less towards you instead of into the floor. UST's are zero compromise when it comes to placement. They *have to* be at the right distance both horizontally and vertically from the screen; the LS800 is the shortest throw on the market so it doesn't have to come quite as far away as others. Projectorcentral.com has throw calculators. You could do something like a Valerion Visionmaster Pro 2 and Valerion's Fresnel ALR screen for those. The ALR is a little less effective than an UST ALR (because an UST fires from such a unique angle from below, it's easier to reject light from above) but if you need it ceiling mounted that would be one of the few sensible approaches I can think of. Here's a rando video that shows what a Valerion with ALR would look like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfOfofvQzis - a big difference in the dark, and an enormous difference with lights. Darkness is still basically a requirement to use a projector. Your image looks absolutely terrible compared to what my ALR creates with some light but there's no projector that can ignore ambient light.

U yanks should be able to pick up the epson ls800b for around that by now Id reckon its fantastic cant recommend it enough

I'm super impressed with my Epson LS800. This one has the shortest throw too

I got a UST Epson for 1000$. I love that thing! If you spend a bit more you can get a newer one and I bet it'll be even better...

Im exchanging my ls800 for the Hisense. It absolutely sucks at gaming , you can't adjust setting on the HDMI 3 game input and spiderman/call of duty looks like 1080i Movies looked really nice tho and more brightness than needed in the basement. The throw is really short but this also makes it hard to set up right and hard to position my center channel

As an Epson owner I'm potentially biased, but the LTV 3500 is very bright and has absolute ass black level. For bright material it can look good but in dark scenes it's absolutely terrible and also quite expensive. The Epson isn't the greatest at black level but it's pretty decent on 70% power and with dynamic contrast on, it depends on the viewer and what they expect. If rainbow effect isn't a bugaboo for you personally, there's the Nexigo Aurora Pro MKII and the Hisense PX3-Pro which both beat the Epson and AWOL easily, though Epson has some specific advantages - first, the shortest throw on the market so easier to place, and it's 3LCD so it has zero rainbow effect. These reasons would have to matter considerably to make the Epson the one to go with (in my case, both were relevant and I'm quite happy with my Epson.) Literally any UST 99.9% needs a proper ALR screen. It helps a ton in the daytime obviously but crucially it also improves image quality and contrast a shit ton in the dark. It's an expense any UST buyer should factor in. For these, you want low gain (like 0.5, 0.6) because this helps improve the percieved black level. The units have plenty of firepower to lose some due to a low gain. [ALR Screen VS White WALL - Side by Side Comparison in Different Lighting Conditions | Chris Maher, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XG1rVFTnkuE) As for HDR, Dolby Vision and all that stuff, it's obviously an advantage to have support for those, but no projector can actually do HDR. They can only adapt the HDR material to the best their light output can do. High Dynamic Range means a wide difference between black level and peak light. But projectors can't project blackness, so if you add a ton of lumens you will still not get the extreme contrast numbers you want for real HDR because your black level won't be black. So these things all slot into the "nice to have" category way more so than "must have". New units have support for it; the Epson sadly doesn't but since I feed my Epson off a HTPC with MPV anyway it's not that important, I'm still squeezing everything the projector can do out of it.

I like my LS800 a lot and the throw is so short. I have 120" in my basement no problem without it having to sit on the floor

If looking at 100" or less, I'd look at an OLED unless you couldn't make it fit through the stairway. At 120" (or larger) I'd still go with a projector. LS800 works well as a UST but is capped at 60hz. LS11000 or LS12000 work as a standard and support 120hz, these would be a drop-in replace for what's there now. If doing the projector route, even with an oled to a point get some black surrounds and look at darkening the ceiling. Especially if looking at a standard throw projector, you wont get the contrast pop unless it's blackened out (the more the better). Personally I like the look of a projector better, the light off the screen is passive and easier on the eyes but to each their own.