Buying a projector Epson TW 8100. is it a good idea?

[sumitarv]

Guys, i had decided to buy epson 8350 almost 2 years ago with the help of valuable advise on this forum.But somehow i delayed the purchase and I dont regret it now.
After having read through the forum, i am contemplating on buying epson TW 8100. I ust want to confirm a few things before I go ahead with it.
Is epson TW 8100 Value for money.?
Is there an alternative for epson TW 8100 at a less price?
If 3d watching is not a criteria then is spending on epson TW 8100 advisable?
I live in mumbai where can i get it and at what best price.
also my friend is coming from US in may, is it worth considering the option to ask him to get it...how much can i save...

Also,if u guys can help me to know whether it will suffice my requirement.
Ceiling mount
Throw distance: 170"
Ceiling height: 92"
Maximum width of screen possible 81"

Kindly advise

 

[msk2013]

If 3d watching is not a criteria then is spending on epson TW 8100 advisable?

Also,if u guys can help me to know whether it will suffice my requirement.
Ceiling mount
Throw distance: 170"
Ceiling height: 92"
Maximum width of screen possible 81"

Kindly advise

Hi sumitarv - if 3D watching is not a criteria it is better to check TW 6100 or other equivalent since one of the extra feature other than more contrast ratio is the 3D features. No need of spending more for the extra 3D feature.

Throw distance of 170" is acceptable for 6100 & 8100.

 

[Phradeus]

6100 is also a 3D projector. It does not have lens shift, and slightly inferior blacks to the 8100. If you don't need lens shift, you can consider it. There is a difference of about 35-40k between the two.

Mitsu HC4000 is another option you should consider. Great picture quality, good blacks, no 3D. Should be around 85K as per info on the forum.

 

[Thtpro]

If 3d watching is not a criteria then is spending on epson TW 8100 advisable?

As an option - Check out the Panasonic PTAR100EA. It is a bright 2D only projector

Also,if u guys can help me to know whether it will suffice my requirement.
Ceiling mount
Throw distance: 170"
Ceiling height: 92"
Maximum width of screen possible 81"

Max width of 81 inches will give you a height of 45.6 inches for a 16:9 screen
So ceiling height of 92 inches is fine

For this screen - the 8100 and 6100 projector throw range is from 108 inches to 230 inches- so throw distance of 170 inches is fine

 

[nSinghal]

I bought it at 1.3L (incl tax) a month ago. Some members have reported it being available for 1.23L but no one has mentioned purchasing it at that price yet.

 

[sumitarv]

is it worth the money....i dont mind spending a bit more....may be i might look to consider 3D in the future.....so from that poiint having 3D is not a bad option i guess.....i just want to know is it worth it.....does anyone beat it in this price range......where can i buy and audition if possible.....

 

[nSinghal]

is it worth the money....i dont mind spending a bit more....may be i might look to consider 3D in the future.....so from that poiint having 3D is not a bad option i guess.....i just want to know is it worth it.....does anyone beat it in this price range......where can i buy and audition if possible.....

It's one of the best budget-midrange PJ available out there. I couldn't find a better one for me as I needed a lot of zoom range with lens shift capabilities. Luckily the PJ which offers the max zoom and max lens shift also turned out to be (arguably) the best in its class and extremely competitively priced (same as it it costs in US) compared to other PJs which cost appx 50-100% more than what they cost in US. Check out the review of its US version 5020UB (same as hardware as tw81000, except for built in thq calibrated presets) Epson Home Cinema 5020 Projector Review - Overview and compare it to other PJs which are in your budget.

 

[manoj.p]

One sentence. You Won't regret it.

There is not much price difference between buying from US vs India. Buy from India.

 

[sumitarv]

how about considering Acer H9500BD, Panasonic AR100U, Epson TW6100......how useful is picture in picture mode.....

 

[GeorgeO]

Check the reviews on projectorcentral.com for more info about different projecotrs to know more.

 

[nSinghal]

how about considering Acer H9500BD, Panasonic AR100U, Epson TW6100......how useful is picture in picture mode.....

Its not a PIP but a PAP instead, ie, "Picture And Picture". If it was picture in picture I may have fancied using it when watching sports or something. But this just splits the screen in half puts two small windows of both sources side by side, effectively making both pictures 1/4th of our screen's size. So if you were using a 120" screen, you'll get two 60" screens side by side now. thats a waste of 50% screen area and totally defeats the purpose of using a PJ. You can make one picture slightly bigger but even that's not more than 1/3rd of your screen size and also the other source now gets reduced to something like 1/6th of your screen size. It's usable in many scenarios theoretically but practically, its useless for most of us. I'd love to get the panasonic's motorized zoom and focus in exchange for this (almost) pointless feature.

 

[samcruise]

I bought it at 1.3L (incl tax) a month ago. Some members have reported it being available for 1.23L but no one has mentioned purchasing it at that price yet.

i m also planning to buy tw8100, the price u hav mentioned is very less wen compared to wat i was offered, jus curious how much did the dealer quote u initially...

 

[manoj.p]

how about considering Acer H9500BD, Panasonic AR100U, Epson TW6100......how useful is picture in picture mode.....

Acer 9500 has quite a few of problems. Check the thread on avsforum.com

I would suggest looking at Benq W1070 as entry level. Its got great reviews. By the way, for detailed technical reviews, I find that Projectors at Projector Reviews

 

[nSinghal]

i m also planning to buy tw8100, the price u hav mentioned is very less wen compared to wat i was offered, jus curious how much did the dealer quote u initially...

That's what he quoted me. Didn't buzz from the price after that. Also he was nice enough and helped me with all my queries before I purchased it so I didn't push too hard either.

 

[sash]

I have bought 6100 last week and it is a great projector and i have heard that most users don't notice much difference in picture quality between 6100 and 8100. Our FM harshi_n took a demo of both and felt he couldn't notice difference.
But the killer feature of 8100 is lens shift. You may think it is not a big deal, but trust me it is. You'll have great placement flexibility. If you can control the placement of projector totally then i guess 6100 is good enough for most people. I found the zoom adequate too. I project a 114" picture from 12 feet distance and still have a lot of zoom to push if i need.

 

[vivekrajora]

Epson tw 8100 available from amazon.com(usa) for 1400$ so comes around 76000rs. And if ur friend can arrange coupon for amazon will get it cheaper. So better idea to get it from usa

 

[fragpic]

Epson tw 8100 available from amazon.com(usa) for 1400$ so comes around 76000rs. And if ur friend can arrange coupon for amazon will get it cheaper. So better idea to get it from usa

That is not the tw8100,it is a different model.
The TW8100 is sold as 5020 in USA and it retails for a higher price than it is available in India

 

[HTuser]

Is 8100w available in India? what is the price difference between 8100 and 8100w. (I would like avoid HDMI cabling to the projector)

Can we adjust refresh rate of 8100 for 2D projection of 2D input. I saw one LG LED TV with 120Hz refresh rate, it was not looking like a movie motion in 2D mode.

Can we disable frame interpolation feature? I believe that will help to get the natural movie effect.

 

[nSinghal]

The wireless version wasnt available when I bought the tw8100 in January. Even called epson to confirm. Was told that it wasn't launched in india and they had no idea if or when it'll be launched.

And yes, you can disable FI. There are four options - Disable, low, medium and high. I too don't like the soap opera effect created by FI so keep it disabled. But I do durn it on to "low" when watching sports. That looks better with the extra smoothness FI provides.

 

[just4kix]

I have bought 6100 last week and it is a great projector and i have heard that most users don't notice much difference in picture quality between 6100 and 8100. Our FM harshi_n took a demo of both and felt he couldn't notice difference.
But the killer feature of 8100 is lens shift. You may think it is not a big deal, but trust me it is. You'll have great placement flexibility. If you can control the placement of projector totally then i guess 6100 is good enough for most people. I found the zoom adequate too. I project a 114" picture from 12 feet distance and still have a lot of zoom to push if i need.

You should never consider any projector without mechanical lens shift. Even if the projector is ultimately ceiling mounted and you don't require lens shift any more, lens shift gives great advantages. For those who are not considering a permanent ceiling mount, then don't even think about a projector without this function.