The world of projectors has changed drastically, especially after the pandemic. People were abstained from going outside, they missed going to theater, where they could enjoy their favorite movies on the big screen.
That’s when people realized the need for affordable projectors, to enjoy movies on a big screen inside their home or in their backyard without going outside. Both Epson 2100 and Optoma HD146X do a good job at providing you with a good quality home theater.
Comparing Epson Home Cinema 2100 vs Optoma HD146X, it’s difficult to choose as both provide excellent picture quality, great contrast ratio and have almost similar functionality.
Choosing between the projector, it all comes down to what you need it for and what you’re looking for. So, without wasting any time, let’s dive right into it.
Epson Home Cinema 2100 Projector Review
Epson 2100 is a versatile projector with features like 3D functionality, full-HD resolution, flexible and easy installation.
The lamp of Epson Home Cinema 2100 is pretty powerful, the description mentions 2500 lumens of color and white brightness. However, when using the projector, I found that the lamp was very bright for having 2500 lumens. The projector works well even in daylight and brighter environment, you’ll not need to make your room dark to enjoy your movies.
It has a full-HD 1080p resolution with 2.7 million pixels, you can get widescreen images up to 11 feet more, 4 times more than a 60-inch flat panel.
Setting up and installation is pretty easy, It weighs around 7.5 pounds or 3.40 kg, combine with vertical lens shift and 1.6x zoom lets you place your projector anywhere easily.
Epson 2100 has 3D functionality, to view 3D content, you must first connect your 3D compatible video device to one of the HDMI ports on your projector. Keep in mind, you can’t use your passive 3D glasses, it only works with RF active shutter 3D glasses. With Epson 2100, you can also convert your 2D content to 3D easily.
The remote is fast and convenient to use, it includes instant off, direct power on and off, and sleep mode to transition your projector to power saving mode so that you can resume your activities when the projector is powered on.
Epson 2100’s 3LCD technology uses three transparent LCD panels to create images. Which further helps the projector to deliver increased brightness while using less power. 3LCD technology also helps to create high contrast images without the rainbow effect. Rainbow effect are annoying, they degrade your viewing experience as instead of seeing a sharp image, you’ll see sequential light flashes.
In terms of connectivity, You can easily connect your laptop or your fire stick with an HDMI cable, and stream your Netflix and prime on your projector. However, the HDMI cable does not come with the projector, the box includes only a remote, batteries and power cord. The audio quality is superb, the sound is pretty loud and robust for an in-built speaker, without sounding distorted.
Optoma HD146X Projector Review
Optoma HD146X projector is designed to provide users with a combination of picture quality, portability and value for money. It weighs around 6.2 kg, which makes it portable and easy to carry around while travelling.
With 3600 lumens of brightness, the image appears sharp, bright and clear even in a fully lighted room. It delivers native 1080p resolution with 2 million pixels on screen and an RYGCWB color wheel, so that colors response of the device is adjusted to match a common standard to produce vivid and colorful images. Optoma HD146X is a great alternative to 4k projector, if you prefer not to spend over 1000usd.
Zoom range of 1.1x helps to adjust the size of projection while vertical keystone correction function help to make sure the image is straight when projecting at an angle.
Optoma HD146X has long lamp life of 15,000 hours, the lamp does not perform as it is mentioned on Amazon. Be ready to replace your lamp after 9 or 10 months or before. Its eco-mode reduces brightness, save power and your lamp life. However, If your lamp starts dimming automatically, turn off your eco-mode and your lamp will stop flickering.
HDMI CEC technology helps to control projector and connected device using a single remote. The projector is easy to set up and ready to use. You can unplug everything and put it away in just 30 seconds.
At 13’6” away from the wall, you can achieve 120” viewing screen. Huge screen size combined with 16ms input lag and a game display mode, makes it perfect for gaming. Start playing games on this projector, you’ll never want to go back. Apart from the flickering lamp and occasional rainbow effect, it delivers on its promise.
Conclusion: Epson Home Cinema 2100 vs Optoma HD146X
Optoma HD146X has 3600 lumens of brightness while Epson Home Cinema 2100 offers only 2500 lumens of brightness. Optoma also has higher contrast ratio than Epson. So, in terms of brightness and contrast ratio, Optoma HD146X performs better than Epson 2100. Also keep in mind the price of Optoma is lower than Epson.
However, Optoma HD146X has an annoying rainbow effect, which distracts the whole viewing experience. Also, lamp is not durable, it will not last long. You’ll need to buy a new lamp after some time. Epson 2100 will save you the switching cost and because of 3LCD technology, you’ll not see rainbow effect. Therefore, if I’d to choose between these two, I’d choose Epson 2100.
Don’t mind spending extra dollars to avoid dreadful rainbow effect and low-quality lamp. As rainbow effect will degrade your viewing experience.