[Philistine]

No doubt the Sony 40ES delivers a great picture. Just as an FYI, an audio circle member is selling his Epson 5030EBE here: http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=139074.0. I've read good reviews on that unit as well.

Thanks for the heads up on this, it's a great solution as their appears to be minimal differences between the Sony and Epson - I've contacted the seller.

[jarcher]

Woukd categorize the Sony 40 as budget because of the lack of bells and whistles - mainly no motorized lens control. The picture quality is superb though. I still prefer my JVC X35 though for contrast and color. Got that one as a eBay refueb for about $2300 a year ago. Pity JVC seemed to abandon the sub $5k market to Sony and Epson. They never updated the x35 model and stopped selling it last summer.

[Philistine]

I went ahead and bought the Epson 5030 that yetis had for sale. The comparative reviews on 'professional' websites give a slight edge to the Epson over the Sony 40ES, whereas local dealers claimed the Sony was better - figured that either one would work fine while waiting for 4K technology to mature and content become available.

Currently have a 100" Stewart Grayhawk screen, one dealer told me that Screen Innovations was now the leader in screen technology - specifically with their Black Diamond material for ambient light conditions, he recommend the gamma screen material as I have a windowless room.  I can go up to 112" - this would be about $750 for the SI Gamma screen, or $225 if I use the Goo Systems paint.  Curious if anyone has tried the paint (it gets good reviews), or has any other recommendation? 

[Phil A]

I went ahead and bought the Epson 5030 that yetis had for sale. The comparative reviews on 'professional' websites give a slight edge to the Epson over the Sony 40ES, whereas local dealers claimed the Sony was better - figured that either one would work fine while waiting for 4K technology to mature and content become available.

Currently have a 100" Stewart Grayhawk screen, one dealer told me that Screen Innovations was now the leader in screen technology - specifically with their Black Diamond material for ambient light conditions, he recommend the gamma screen material as I have a windowless room.  I can go up to 112" - this would be about $750 for the SI Gamma screen, or $225 if I use the Goo Systems paint.  Curious if anyone has tried the paint (it gets good reviews), or has any other recommendation?

I have a 100 inch Grayhawk with my 5030 and it works fine.  I'll worry about a screen if I go 4k down the road.  Until then the Grayhawk is fine for me.

[Philistine]

Thanks Phil, I'll start using my 100" screen but have the opportunity to go to 112" gives me a 25% increase in viewing area - this will improve the viewing experience.  So something I want to explore.

[Philistine]

Installed the Epson 5030 today - I can see why it has great reviews, at the price point it's tough to beat, great picture and vert easy to setup and navigate the menu's.  I would have bought the Sony 40es, but the price would have needed to be $2k for it to be close to the value of the Epson.  This will keep me going until 4K becomes a reality in terms of content and cost.  Appreciate all the help on this....I'd lost touch with what was going on in the projector world and a huge thanks to Atiplasma for pointing out the Epson for sale on The Marketplace.  Next step is to try the HDMI wireless link that the Epson came with.   

[Atlplasma]

Glad it worked out and saved you money. 

[ajzepp]

I haven't seen the 5030, but I know that since I bought my 3010 back in 2011, Epsons have been known for bright, vibrant images with gorgeous rich colors. I've found that I really appreciate the extra lumens once the bulb hits it's half life point. I usually keep my projectors a good while, but I've never remained this happy with a projector nearly five years into ownership. The model you bought is a clear step up from what I have, so I've no doubt you'll be very pleased until that 4k bug starts to set in. On top of that, Epson has stellar customer service.

Congrats!

[Phil A]

On top of that, Epson has stellar customer service.

That's really good to hear.  I owed a Sharp and BenQ each for about 8 years (and left a Sony 720p projector in the basement of the old house when I sold it a couple of years back that was 5-6 years old) prior to getting the 5030 for the main system and the 8350 for the bedroom a couple of years back.  Never had a problem with any of the projectors but probably will be at least half a dozen years before I consider 4k and end up with the 5030 in the bedroom system and something else in the main system.

[ajzepp]

That's really good to hear.  I owed a Sharp and BenQ each for about 8 years (and left a Sony 720p projector in the basement of the old house when I sold it a couple of years back that was 5-6 years old) prior to getting the 5030 for the main system and the 8350 for the bedroom a couple of years back.  Never had a problem with any of the projectors but probably will be at least half a dozen years before I consider 4k and end up with the 5030 in the bedroom system and something else in the main system.

I've yet to have any issues either...a buddy of mine bought an Epson a few years back and did have a problem, though, and they literally had a new unit to him the next day while they were figuring out what was wrong with his...I couldn't believe it. He said it was the best customer service experience he'd ever had. When I bought mine, there was a card (like a credit card sized laminated one) that had my ID number and Epson's cust svc numbers on it. I called them up one day just to ask a few questions and feel them out, and they couldn't have been nicer. I don't think mine is under warranty anymore, but they allowed me to feel very comfortable knowing they had my back if anything went wrong.

Great customer service goes a long way with me.

[Phil A]

Great customer service goes a long way with me.

I'm with you on that one and conversely poor or mediocre customer service goes a long way to discourage future purchases vs. trying something else.

[Philistine]

I've been up and running with the Epson 5030 for a few weeks now and very happy - it's quieter, brighter and less noisy than the Runco DLP it replaced.  The source is an Oppo 93 and playing mostly BluRay and BluRay 3D movies.  Curious if it's worth upgrading to the Oppo 103D or not, mainly for the Darbee processor - is it a significant upgrade in video performance, marginal or just not worthwhile?

[jarcher]

I thought darbee made a very noticeable improvement with my older JVC RS-1 projector but less noticeable with my newer JVC X30. Might just be that the newer projector is just so darn good image processing wise that you don't notice the improvement as much. With the x30 I can still notice the effect and improvement but it's more subtle (I don't set mine above 50% though).

Bottom line - if your looking to get a new oppo anyway, I would spend the extra for the darbee version.

[Phil A]

I've been up and running with the Epson 5030 for a few weeks now and very happy - it's quieter, brighter and less noisy than the Runco DLP it replaced.  The source is an Oppo 93 and playing mostly BluRay and BluRay 3D movies.  Curious if it's worth upgrading to the Oppo 103D or not, mainly for the Darbee processor - is it a significant upgrade in video performance, marginal or just not worthwhile?

All the Oppo players are excellent.  I have not compared the 93 with the 103D using the 5030 (the 93 is in the bedroom system currently and in the old house was in the basement and bedroom systems - have another 103D in a spare system too).  In the old house I did compare the (modded for audio) 83 and 93 with my old BenQ W5000 on my 100 inch screen and there was not tons of difference.  I have a 100 inch (Stewart Grayhawk) screen.  Here's some comparisons per Oppo of the differences (in the 93 vs. the 103) - http://www.audioholics.com/blu-ray-and-dvd-player-reviews/oppo-blu-ray-q-a   and here is some info on the 103 vs. the 103D  -  http://hometheaterreview.com/oppo-bdp-103d-darbee-edition-universal-disc-player-reviewed/

In my opinion on a decent sized screen you will see some difference.  The 93 or any of the other players are not slouches though.