Page 29 - 2022-08-01 Sound & Vision
P. 29
range. When the projector is
shut off, a powered door cover
slides out to protect the lens. The At a Glance
LS12000 also has a large number
of lens memories, making it easy Laser light engine
to store multiple presets for those HDMI 2.1-compatible
wishing to use the projector with (4K/120Hz)
wider aspect ratio screens. On
HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG
the chassis’ bo om you’ll find two Support
adjustable feet up front and a single
Not native 4K
bumper on back. This can make higher contrast levels. any projector I remember looking
proper alignment difficult if shelf- The new laser light engine is a at in recent memory. Menu options No frame-by-frame adaptive
mounting the projector. (I prefer traditional blue laser diode type, cover just about every facet of processing for HDR
adjustable feet at all corners.) so it still comes up short in color adjustment from picture se ings to No 3D Support
The LS12000 is not a “native” gamut coverage compared with operation, with nice info pop-ups
Price: $4,999
4K projector—Epson continues dual- or three-laser designs. It that appear to the right of each
to use 1,920 x 1,080 LCD panels also lacks any type of color filter se ing as it is highlighted. Like all (800) 463-7766
for imaging duties and combines to increase its native gamut size. Epson models, picture modes can epson.com
these with a shi ing optical While this isn’t a problem for be adjusted to your liking and then
element to produce an “on screen” HDTV’s REC.709 gamut, it falls saved to picture memories that
equivalent of 3,840 x 2,160 pixels short of even the DCI-P3 portion of can be called up via the remote the average user. As a calibrator,
with a dual-axis shi . This means the now-standard BT.2020 gamut control. This makes it easy to create I find Epson’s menu design and
the projector will not fully resolve used for 4K HDR content. In my customized picture modes for implementation very frustrating.
single-pixel 4K pa erns, but does opinion, DCI-P3 coverage (in the different room lighting conditions, For one, it uses very large text
provide near 4K quality from a BT.2020 container) should be the content types, or viewing and pop-ups that prohibit you
normal seating distance on most minimum color gamut a projector is preferences. from taking measurements at the
screens. It is a bit disappointing capable of without the need for any The LS12000’s brightest same time you are manipulating
that we haven’t seen Epson jump type of filter that will compromise mode was Dynamic. This offered values. (Most projectors let you
into the native 4K display space yet light output. an uncalibrated light output of select a se ing for adjustment and
with its consumer projectors. That The Epson does a great job approximately 2,600 lumens in the then present only that slider near
said, there are no other projector with overall noise in operation. projector’s shortest throw, which is the bo om of the screen, leaving
makers currently offering native 4K It’s extremely quiet at up to 75 very close to the advertised spec the main screen area clear for
models at this price point. percent output. At 80 percent and of 2,700 lumens. But the highest measurements.)
Epson’s laser light engine up I started to notice the sound output I could measure with a cali- Another complaint is the
uses a new laser diode array with of rushing air, but it was hardly brated white point (again in short completely random and arbitrary
a claimed brightness of 2,700 intrusive and would be nearly throw with the laser at full output) labeling of key image setup param-
lumens. That’s a lot of light to imperceptible with any other noise was 1,680 lumens. Bo om line: The eters such as gamma and color
work with for most consumer-size source in the room. Epson’s usable calibrated lumens temperature. Rather than using
screens. Light output is controlled are much lower than the advertised known labeling that represents
from the main menu, with the ability SETUP spec, and that should be taken into industry standards (like a color
to dim the laser from 100 percent account when looking to pair the temperature of 6,500K or a gamma
output to 50 percent output in 5 Se ing up the Epson will be fairly projector with an appropriate size/ of 2.2), Epson uses generic labels
percent increments. Even so, I wish straightforward if you plan on using gain screen. like -1, 0, 1, making you guess what
Epson would have included an its preset picture modes for the Regular S&V readers may know they are supposed to be based on
aperture for the lens, which would bulk of your viewing. The LS12000 that I work full-time as a profes- subjective impressions. Epson’s
have made it possible to tune the has an extensive menu system sional video calibrator. As a result, gamma adjustment also requires
light output through a combination (that may be pu ing it lightly), with I am a bit more critical of some you to use onscreen pa erns with
of laser and iris control to achieve more adjustments than just about aspects of projector design than arbitrary adjustment points. I hope
they can move to industry standard
labeling and allow for calibration
without onscreen interference in
future designs.
While the Epson supports the
HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG high
dynamic range (HDR) formats, I
was disappointed to find that a
separate HDR picture mode wasn’t
automatically triggered when the
projector detected an HDR input.
It does change its dynamic range
mode and provides 16 adjustment
steps for HDR tone mapping, but
that is all. (HDR requires higher
[
soundandvision.com 29
