The Epson 880 is a story of two specs and a value. On one hand, it is the brightest projector I’ve measured just lately, dethroning the earlier champ after lower than a month. On the opposite hand it additionally has the worst distinction ratio I’ve ever measured, worse than even low-cost moveable projectors which can be a lot dimmer. On the third hand (third hand? Whatever, go along with me right here), it is solely $600. So it is cheap, however you sacrifice quite a bit in comparison with projectors that price just a bit bit extra.
LikeStupendously brightProdigiously vibrantBright
Don’t LikeWeak total picture qualityTerrible contrastDetails look softNo zoom
Few projectors can higher compete with ambient mild than the 880. It will nonetheless lose to the solar or some lamps, however it will likely be extra watchable than most projectors in less-than-completely-dark circumstances. It can create an enormous and vibrant picture. It’s small and extremely moveable, whereas being considerably brighter than a real moveable projector — one which runs on batteries. It even has wonderful shade.Unfortunately the picture is kind of washed out, it seems to be softer than its 1080p decision suggests and with no zoom or lens shift, it is more durable to place in a room. While the $600 price ticket is tempting, my recommendation is to avoid wasting up for one thing just like the BenQ HT2050A.
Lumens, lumens, lumensNative decision: 1,920×1,080 pixelsHDR-compatible: No4K-compatible: No3D-compatible: NoLumens spec: 3,300Zoom: NoneLens shift: NoLamp life (Normal mode): 6,000 hours1080p decision for $600 is fairly spectacular. It wasn’t too way back $1,000 was the complete HD threshold. As you’d anticipate for a funds projector, it isn’t HDR, 3D, nor 4K suitable. That’s high quality at this value.One approach Epson saved cash to get you decision and brightness is by eradicating a zoom management from the lens. The lack of zoom makes it more durable to place the 880 in your room. The projector has one place it may possibly sit/grasp to fill a specific-sized display and that is it. If you do not have a hard and fast display, such as you’re simply shining it on a wall, then this is not a difficulty.Let’s discuss these lumens. This factor is a beast. I measured a outstanding 232 nits in its most correct modes. This converts to roughly 2,085 lumens. That blows away our earlier mild output champ, additionally an Epson, by 20%. It’s at all times a good assumption with TVs and projectors that costs will go down whereas brightness and determination will go up. Even so, that is an enormous, spectacular leap. In eye-bleed Dynamic mode you may get 359 nits out of this factor! That’s over 3,000 lumens and brighter even than the LG laser projector that prices $3,000. It wasn’t way back that TVs struggled to supply 3,000 lumens.
Remarkably, the 880 runs on an everyday lamp and never some combination of phosphorus and napalm. It’s rated for 6,000 hours in Normal brightness mode, which I’ll be stunned should you use typically. The dimmer-but-still-bright ECO mode will get round twice that.
Geoffrey Morrison/CNET
Budget-level connectionsHDMI inputs: 1PC enter: NoUSB port: 2Audio enter and output: 3.5mm stereo outputDigital audio output: NoInternet: No12v set off: NoRS-232 distant port: NoMHL: NoRemote: Not backlitInputs are sparse, which is once more high quality at this value. One HDMI will get the job finished together with 2 USBs. There’s a 3.5mm audio output, or you should utilize the meager built-in speaker.The small distant has tiny buttons, however fortunately you solely really want to make use of it for setup and to show the projector on and off.In the Normal lamp mode the 880 is fairly loud, which is typical for small, vibrant projectors. This is likely to be extra of a difficulty than regular relying how huge your display is, since with no zoom you is likely to be compelled to position it nearer to your seats than you want.
Geoffrey Morrison/CNET
Picture high quality comparisons
The 2250 is not a direct competitor at twice the worth of the 880, nonetheless it does present what’s potential if you wish to go along with an LCD projector. The BenQ HT2050A remains to be one in all our favourite projectors. When new it was round $1,000, however now it is typically round $750. While that is technically 25% greater than the 880, as you will see I really feel this can be a cheap quantity to spend for the rise in efficiency. I related all three through a Monoprice 1×4 distribution amplifier and considered all on a 102-inch 1.0-gain display.There’s no escaping the 880’s poor distinction ratio. While viewing a film with letterbox bars, on this case Thor: Ragnarok, the bars go from black on the BenQ, to pretty black on the 2250, to flat out grey on the 880. The picture seems to be very washed out and flat. I measured a mean distinction ratio of 221:1, the bottom I believe I’ve ever measured. The 2250, for comparability, is 1,026:1 and the BenQ is twice that. Interestingly, in individual the 880 would not look that a lot brighter than the 2250 regardless of measuring 20% increased mild output. Both Epsons are so vibrant the 880 would not draw the attention as a lot as you’d suppose. In flip each are undoubtedly brighter than the 2050A, however that projector is not precisely dim.A bit extra stunning is how smooth the 880’s picture seems to be. All three projectors are 1080p. The DLP-based BenQ seems to be sharpest, as is that expertise’s largest energy. You’d suppose the 2250 and 880 would look pretty shut, since they’re each the identical decision and are LCD-based, however not a lot. My guess is {that a} mixture of a less expensive lens and low distinction are making high quality element much less obvious.The 880’s shade is sweet, I’ll give it that. Spot on greens, reds and blues. In this regard it truly measures higher than many projectors that price much more. This is not as noticeable as you’d hope, nonetheless, given the distinction. It would not harm to have good shade, in fact, particularly when vibrant DLP projectors normally have pretty mediocre shade.
Geoffrey Morrison/CNET
The 2250 exhibits that LCD can look good, although maybe it is simply costly to take action. $1,000 is some huge cash for a 1080p projector lately. Which brings us again, as we regularly go, to the HT2050A. It’s not excellent by any stretch, however it does most issues proper, seems to be nice and simply prices about $150 greater than the Epson. Yes, that is 25%, however this is without doubt one of the uncommon circumstances that I like to recommend spending a bit extra since you will get a significantly better picture.I did not have the Optoma HD146X or HD28HDR available, each of that are nearer in value to the 880. Going over my notes and measurements, the 146X had a distinction ratio of 568:1 and the 28HDR a 716:1. Neither are nice numbers, however each would have extra obvious depth and look much less washed out than the 880. Both had been dimmer and had worse shade, however I believe most individuals would like the higher distinction ratio and sharper picture of these projectors in comparison with the 880. That mentioned, in all three circumstances spending somewhat extra will get you a significantly better image.Sing me house, BruceYou’ve received at hand it to Epson for making one thing so impressively vibrant for thus little cash. It wasn’t way back that this type of brightness was unparalleled in projectors and 1080p was unparalleled at this value. But I spent quite a lot of my time with the 880 making an attempt to determine who this projector is for. What’s the area of interest? And to be trustworthy, I could not fairly determine it out. Sure it is vibrant, however quite a lot of projectors are vibrant. It’s small, however quite a lot of projectors are small. Gaming perhaps? But the enter lag is a matter there.What I lastly settled on is that the 880 is a muscle automotive. If all you need is a flashy 0-60 time for not some huge cash, that is undoubtedly your 1970 Dodge Charger. But past blinding lights, it falters. I am keen on the worth and I hardly ever, hardly ever, hardly ever advocate spending extra on gear than you have to, however on this case the image high quality obtainable for only a bit extra money is price the additional outlay.Geek Box
Test
Result
Score
Black luminance (0%)
0.946
Poor
Peak white luminance (100%)
231.5
Good
Derived lumens
2085
Good
Avg. grayscale error (10-100%)
2.401
Good
Dark grey error (20%)
2.688
Good
Bright grey error (70%)
2.225
Good
Avg. shade error
3.737
Average
Red error
2.019
Good
Green error
6.949
Average
Blue error
5.381
Average
Cyan error
3.365
Average
Magenta error
3.239
Average
Yellow error
1.469
Good
Avg. saturations error
2.58
Good
Avg. shade checker error
2.2
Good
Input lag (Game mode)
51.5
Average
Measurement NotesThe Cinema image mode and 3 shade temperature setting proved to be essentially the most correct. The darkest photographs, nicely, as darkish as you may get with this projector, had been noticeably blue. A full-black picture was extra like a full-navy picture. Bright photographs lacked blue barely, although this wasn’t as noticeable to the bare eye.Colors had been impressively correct. Red was very barely orange, however in any other case the opposite primaries and secondaries had been just about spot on their Rec 709 targets.In this mode, the 880 produced 231.5 nits and a mean distinction ratio of 221:1. A brand new file, albeit an inglorious one. The Dynamic mode, which lacks any semblance of accuracy, did handle to supply a outstanding 359 nits.