Epson Home Cinema 5050UB

4K/HDR compatibility at a great price

Projectors with native 4K resolution provide an incredible viewing experience, but they're still priced too high for many home theater fans. So check out Epson's latest high-performance, high-value alternative. The Home Cinema 5050UB uses three 1080p LCD chips and Epson's updated pixel-shifting technology to produce an image that's exceptionally sharp and dimensional — it looks closer to native 4K than to 1080p.

Impressive picture detail and depth, for life-sized realism

Epson's 4K Enhancement Technology shifts each pixel diagonally by half a pixel and combines the two images to provide a sharper picture. This allows the 5050UB to render 4K content clearly with stunning detail and lifelike textures. This projector accepts native 4K content, including movies and shows encoded with HDR.

But there's much more to this projector's story than its impressive picture detail. Epson developed dedicated processors to handle the most critical aspects of image quality. First, a 4K Resolution Enhancement processor works with the pixel-shifting hardware to produce images that really grab you — even when it's upconverting non-4K material.

Real-time 12-bit video processing ensures smooth tonal transitions, while eliminating banding, blocking and other compression artifacts common to streamed video sources. The resulting picture displays refined color accuracy, whether the on-screen tones are deeply saturated or subtle.

Experience a big improvement in projection HDR

Movies and TV shows encoded with HDR offer an expanded range of color and contrast when displayed through a compatible projector like the 5050UB. There's lots of of HDR-encoded 4K movies and shows available from streaming services like Netflix® and Amazon Instant Video. Since the 5050UB has no built-in web apps, you'll need to connect a 4K media streamer to explore this great-looking content. Of course, for the large images of projector systems, the ultimate 4K/HDR source is an Ultra HD Blu-ray player.

Even much more expensive native 4K projectors can't keep up with top-notch 4K TVs when it comes to displaying the dramatic contrast extremes of HDR-enhanced content. But Epson developed new tone mapping capabilities for the 5050UB, and the enhanced picture quality with 4K/HDR sources is startling. Epson's new Precision HDR Adjustment lets you fine-tune the HDR curve and see the results in real time. And full 10-bit HDR color processing faithfully reproduces HDR's expanded color gamut.

Loads of light for bright rooms, enough control for dark rooms

Many high-performance projectors are designed for use in darkened or dimly lit rooms. That's fine if you have a dedicated home theater, but if you don't it can be a limitation. The 5050UB has loads of light power so it's ideal for real-world family rooms, home theaters with really big screens, and situations where others in the room need to keep some lights on.

The 5050UB's high brightness also comes in handy for 3D viewing since 3D glasses tend to dim the picture a bit. Thanks to its dedicated 3D picture settings, you can enjoy a gorgeous 3D picture without changing the settings for watching in 2D.

If you're able to make your room really dark, you'll want to try one of the projector's lower light settings, like "Cinema," and turn on the auto iris feature, which optimizes black level and contrast for every scene.

Flexible placement and hookup options

For spontaneous or "event" viewing, the 5050UB sets up easily on a table or shelf. Front-mounted air intake and exhaust vents let you place the projector close to a rear wall, if necessary. Or you can use an optional ceiling mount for a more permanent installation.

Powered horizontal and vertical lens shift allow you to position the projector off-center and still get a perfectly true image. Two 4K/HDR-compatible HDMI inputs are provided for your high-definition or 4K sources.

For the best picture quality from this 4K-compatible projector, we recommend using a 4K-rated projector screen.