Home theater~$7,999Epson
Epson's Q series replaced the LS12000 at the top of the 3LCD line with a multi-array laser, the QZX processor and a new UltraBlack treatment. At 3,300 ISO lumens it is the brightest pixel-shift 3LCD projector Epson sells, and it keeps the 2.1x motorized lens and 4K/120 HDMI 2.1 inputs.
Approx. price
~$7,999
snapshot, not a live price
Best for: A large screen in a theater that cannot be made fully dark
The two lists above are read off manufacturer specifications and published measurements, not from owner reports. Where owner discussion has been collected it appears separately below, so the two are never mistaken for each other.
The recurring question owners ask about this projector is whether it is 90% of a JVC for a third of the money. The answer that comes back is nuanced: on brightness, lens flexibility and freedom from the rainbow artifact, it is excellent; on native contrast, which is the thing JVC's D-ILA projectors are actually bought for, the gap remains.
Where owners recommend it without hesitation is a real living room. Light walls, a white ceiling, no light control and children watching sport in the afternoon — in that room the contrast advantage of a D-ILA projector is destroyed by reflected light before it reaches your eye, and brightness is what buys a watchable picture. Owners with untreated rooms are steered here repeatedly.
The other consistent piece of advice is to shop it through dealers rather than at list. Owners report finding it in the $5,000 to $6,000 range, which puts it close to the cheaper model in Epson's own line and makes the extra brightness and contrast processing much easier to justify.
Owners ask this constantly. On brightness, lens flexibility and the absence of any rainbow artifact, it is very strong. On native contrast — the thing D-ILA projectors exist for — the gap is real and does not close. In a treated dark room the JVC wins; in an ordinary living room the brightness matters more.
At list price owners find the step hard to justify, because the two share the lens hardware and much of the installation flexibility. When this one is discounted to the $5,000 to $6,000 range through a dealer, the extra brightness and contrast processing become much easier to argue for.
Owners say yes, and this is where it is recommended most confidently. In a room with light walls and a white ceiling, reflected light destroys a high-contrast projector's advantage, so brightness is the specification that buys a watchable picture.
No. Three-chip 3LCD puts all three colours on screen simultaneously, so the colour-sequential mechanism that produces the artifact does not exist. Owners who are sensitive to it rule out DLP projectors entirely and shop 3LCD or LCoS.
The 2.1x zoom over a 1.35 to 2.84 throw range gives more latitude than almost anything else here. Owners working with a constrained throw distance — around 3.15 metres in one case — use a throw calculator to find the maximum width, and the wide zoom is what makes those rooms workable.
Home theater · 3LCD · 4K pixel-shift
Best for: A dedicated theater that is also a console gaming room
Home theater · 3LCD · 4K pixel-shift
Best for: A dedicated dark room, especially a 2.35:1 scope screen driven by lens memory
Home theater · 3LCD · 1080p
Best for: A bright living room where a shelf at the back of the room is the only place a projector can go