3D proj: JVC X5000 versus Epson EH-TW9400

[marinajack]

I am about to buy a projector and I've done a lot of research, based on my budget, I am looking for something arounf £2.5k and I found these 2 projectors.

3d feature is very important to me, I watch moslty movies (lots od 3d) and the size of screen is really important too. I cannot buy a 120" TV because there is no space in the room for TV hence I am going for a projector rather than a TV.


Now, my questions is: JVC X5000 or Epson EH-TW9400? (If there is another alternative similar to these 2 please let me know).

I know the JVC is older, I found one new boxed at £2,400,
The Epson EH-TW9400 price is about £2,399 (both on ebay)

What are your thoughts? I would love to hear from poeple who have these both (and experience rather technical data) ideally from people who had tested both!

I see the rating here on avforums are:

JVC X5000 - 9 out of 10

Epson EH-TW9400 - 9 out of 10

Epson has higher rating in terms of features which I am not necessarily after
whilst JVC higher rating in terms of image quality which I am interested in.
But in terms of Contrast/Dynamic Range/Black levels the JVC X5000 it's rated 10.

I have a great surround 5.1 sound system, so I am not interested in sound quality, I won't use the sound system of the projector.


Thank you

 

[iamsludge]

What’s the room like? If you have white walls and ceiling then the JVC will not achieve it’s best in terms of contrast and the Epson might be the best value.

That price might be a little high on the JVC given it‘s 5 years since launch? Also Ebay is a possible danger... especially with sellers with a poor track record and no returns accepted. I don’t think I could bring myself to buy something for over £2k on Ebay. Buying an Epson from a reputable dealer would be much, much safer.

 

[Stridsvognen]

No doubt the JVC no matter what conditions your HT is in, and ebay/ paypal would be a safe buy, no matter what they write they will have to pay for return if it dont arrive safe, and is as it should be. just never do ebay with other than paypal payment, and make sure you get right on it when you get it, dont have it sitting around for 2 months, then its to late to complain.

 

[marinajack]

What’s the room like? If you have white walls and ceiling then the JVC will not achieve it’s best in terms of contrast and the Epson might be the best value.

That price might be a little high on the JVC given it‘s 5 years since launch? Also Ebay is a possible danger... especially with sellers with a poor track record and no returns accepted. I don’t think I could bring myself to buy something for over £2k on Ebay. Buying an Epson from a reputable dealer would be much, much safer.

the room is pretty big, celing is at 3.5 metter, the room is tall, bricks, dark, and lots of space around

I know about ebay, I buy lots of things from ebay, with paypal and 18 days protection, and 14 days return I am safe, I buy lots of things expensive from ebay and I never had problems, I know the drill

Plus I see the guy accepts offers so I might get the JVC even cheaper than £2400

 

[marinajack]

No doubt the JVC no matter what conditions your HT is in, and ebay/ paypal would be a safe buy, no matter what they write they will have to pay for return if it dont arrive safe, and is as it should be. just never do ebay with other than paypal payment, and make sure you get right on it when you get it, dont have it sitting around for 2 months, then its to late to complain.

true, I agree, I know the ebay well, I buy regularly and it's tricky if you don't know how it works
I am safe from that point of view

I was thinking the same, the JVC sounds really good and I didn't see any bad reviews about it

What's your confidence based on? Did you use this JVC before / curently?

Plus I see the guy accepts offers so I might get it even cheaper than £2400

 

[Stridsvognen]

true, I agree, I know the ebay well, I buy regularly and it's tricky if you don't know how it works
I am safe from that point of view

I was thinking the same, the JVC sounds really good and I didn't see any bad reviews about it

What's your confidence based on? Did you use this JVC before / curently?

Plus I see the guy accepts offers so I might get it even cheaper than £2400

I have a few JVC, i experiment and repair them sometimes, and do quite a bit of calibration, and it is not perfect, its just less bad than the alternatives. however JVC might have the most lousy service of them all.

 

[Luminated67]

It’s a shame you can’t see both. Only my opinion but the JVC has superior blacks but the e-shift and image enhancement on the Epson gives the sharper image... have the Epson and seen the newer 5900, I’m not a fan of 3D so can’t really answer this for you but I do know lumes are important for 3D. If you haven’t bought the screen you could go with the grey screen material on the Epson and get closer to the kind of blacks the JVC is famous for, I made the switch and the difference is remarkable.

One thing I will say regarding both options, you will not be disappointed with either.

 

[alebonau]

I am about to buy a projector and I've done a lot of research, based on my budget, I am looking for something arounf £2.5k and I found these 2 projectors.

3d feature is very important to me, I watch moslty movies (lots od 3d) and the size of screen is really important too. I cannot buy a 120" TV because there is no space in the room for TV hence I am going for a projector rather than a TV.

both of these are good options and yeah a TV just wont cut it for immersion... or finding a tv that supports 3D !

Now, my questions is: JVC X5000 or Epson EH-TW9400? (If there is another alternative similar to these 2 please let me know).

I know the JVC is older, I found one new boxed at £2,400,
The Epson EH-TW9400 price is about £2,399 (both on ebay)

firstly i would also echo the risk of ebay here and buying projectors...a new x5000 just rings alarm bells to me... this projector was released 6 years ago ! went out of production 5 years ago, how is it possible to be new ? ebay is often a dumping ground of the customer returns or faulty variety id suggest, best way to get rid of it if thats what likely happening here. are you switched on enough to pick up whats wrong with it ? does it come with full warranty if "new" ? projectors are one thing worth buying through a regular retailer i think for the after sales they offer. projector are delicate things... can be even damaged in transit... can also go on the blink easily... happens to most infact all brands and models...

What are your thoughts? I would love to hear from poeple who have these both (and experience rather technical data) ideally from people who had tested both!

I see the rating here on avforums are:

JVC X5000 - 9 out of 10

Epson EH-TW9400 - 9 out of 10

Epson has higher rating in terms of features which I am not necessarily after
whilst JVC higher rating in terms of image quality which I am interested in.
But in terms of Contrast/Dynamic Range/Black levels the JVC X5000 it's rated 10.

have helped and setup to epson 9400 in both dedicated and non dedicated rooms. have seen jvc x5000 also in dedicated and non dedicated and also un calibrated and calibrated.

there are some pros and cons with both....

both feature e-shift for 4k ie to take beyond 1080p which is basis for both projectors the epson features a wcg filter so will give a wider colour for 4k HDR the epson also has more luminance output... though calibrated both are pretty close id suggest... unless like running the epson on its whacky colour options as you push lamp power upto high lamp and the dynamic settings the epson zoom is a tad more versatile. both feature all glass lenses. the jvc lamps a bit more expensive.... the epson warranty includes warranty on the lamp. the decider if picture quality ? will sway to jvc on a few counts... the JVC has a much finer inter pixel gap and this gives a more film like smoother analog look to it. the epson has a much wider inter pixel gap and processing it runs can give it a more sharper but more digital look to it... contrast wide whether in a dedicated or non dedicated room be very surprised if couldn't see benefit of the jvc especially once setup properly, I would be you take a pick with all this on which you prefer...

both i would suggest need calibration... out of box the epson will be the better option as the jvc had a gamma D that needs a bit of work to load another curve or make best of it...both will be superb but calibration will make the best of the projector in your room and in your setup.

given the two brand and models.... for price ... i would go get the epson brand new from a bricks and mortar retailer... having gone through the epson vs jvc thing.... its just too hard finding good examples of jvc people willing to let go 2nd hand ... seem rare as hens teeth right now been like this for a while and even worse since covid....

 

[marinajack]

I have a few JVC, i experiment and repair them sometimes, and do quite a bit of calibration, and it is not perfect, its just less bad than the alternatives. however JVC might have the most lousy service of them all.View attachment 1489376

great! I understand, makes sense
no projector or TV is perfect and of course I don't look for a perfect projector

what do you mean by "lousy service"? you mean the customer service is bad?

 

[marinajack]

It’s a shame you can’t see both. Only my opinion but the JVC has superior blacks but the e-shift and image enhancement on the Epson gives the sharper image... have the Epson and seen the newer 5900, I’m not a fan of 3D so can’t really answer this for you but I do know lumes are important for 3D. If you haven’t bought the screen you could go with the grey screen material on the Epson and get closer to the kind of blacks the JVC is famous for, I made the switch and the difference is remarkable.

One thing I will say regarding both options, you will not be disappointed with either.

thank you! very helpful

won't the grey screen affect the brightness? it makes sense what you say to compensate and I guess the higher lumens value on Epson will compensate on the brightness on the grey screen true?

 

[marinajack]

both of these are good options and yeah a TV just wont cut it for immersion... or finding a tv that supports 3D !


firstly i would also echo the risk of ebay here and buying projectors...a new x5000 just rings alarm bells to me... this projector was released 6 years ago ! went out of production 5 years ago, how is it possible to be new ? ebay is often a dumping ground of the customer returns or faulty variety id suggest, best way to get rid of it if thats what likely happening here. are you switched on enough to pick up whats wrong with it ? does it come with full warranty if "new" ? projectors are one thing worth buying through a regular retailer i think for the after sales they offer. projector are delicate things... can be even damaged in transit... can also go on the blink easily... happens to most infact all brands and models...


have helped and setup to epson 9400 in both dedicated and non dedicated rooms. have seen jvc x5000 also in dedicated and non dedicated and also un calibrated and calibrated.

there are some pros and cons with both....

both feature e-shift for 4k ie to take beyond 1080p which is basis for both projectors the epson features a wcg filter so will give a wider colour for 4k HDR the epson also has more luminance output... though calibrated both are pretty close id suggest... unless like running the epson on its whacky colour options as you push lamp power upto high lamp and the dynamic settings the epson zoom is a tad more versatile. both feature all glass lenses. the jvc lamps a bit more expensive.... the epson warranty includes warranty on the lamp. the decider if picture quality ? will sway to jvc on a few counts... the JVC has a much finer inter pixel gap and this gives a more film like smoother analog look to it. the epson has a much wider inter pixel gap and processing it runs can give it a more sharper but more digital look to it... contrast wide whether in a dedicated or non dedicated room be very surprised if couldn't see benefit of the jvc especially once setup properly, I would be you take a pick with all this on which you prefer...

both i would suggest need calibration... out of box the epson will be the better option as the jvc had a gamma D that needs a bit of work to load another curve or make best of it...both will be superb but calibration will make the best of the projector in your room and in your setup.

given the two brand and models.... for price ... i would go get the epson brand new from a bricks and mortar retailer... having gone through the epson vs jvc thing.... its just too hard finding good examples of jvc people willing to let go 2nd hand ... seem rare as hens teeth right now been like this for a while and even worse since covid....

thank you! very helpful, makes sense and it is a bit strange the JVC new boxed, it happens sometimes to find an old boxed new product but, even so, I doubt it has any warranty

I just looked at Epson on the website and found the TW-9400 @ £2,540, not bad EH-TW9400

now I am confused a bit, I saw there are 2 models of the Epson TW-9400:

TW-9400 and TW-9400W, do you know what the difference is in between the 2?

Search results for: 'tw9400'

Richer Sounds - The UK's Hi-Fi, Home Cinema and TV Specialists! Lowest prices guaranteed on TVs, Hi-Fi, headphones and more. Plus shop locations and installations.

www.richersounds.com

 

[Luminated67]

thank you! very helpful

won't the grey screen affect the brightness? it makes sense what you say to compensate and I guess the higher lumens value on Epson will compensate on the brightness on the grey screen true?

The Epson does have the lumens to spare so for a grey screen which is why I made the switch, even with HDR and the filter I still only use Medium lamp mode. One thing I have noticed is when the source material is top notch so if the reproduction from the projector, here’s an image from each of the Hobbit movies and just the regular 1080P BluRay at that.

And with 4K HDR I use a Panasonic UB420player which has static tonal mapping and when combined with the Epson’s HDR slider you can equally get amazing results, The Revenant 4K HDR.

Admittedly my room is fully velvet lined so conditions are optimised.

thank you! very helpful, makes sense and it is a bit strange the JVC new boxed, it happens sometimes to find an old boxed new product but, even so, I doubt it has any warranty

I just looked at Epson on the website and found the TW-9400 @ £2,540, not bad EH-TW9400

now I am confused a bit, I saw there are 2 models of the Epson TW-9400:

TW-9400 and TW-9400W, do you know what the difference is in between the 2?

Search results for: 'tw9400'

Richer Sounds - The UK's Hi-Fi, Home Cinema and TV Specialists! Lowest prices guaranteed on TVs, Hi-Fi, headphones and more. Plus shop locations and installations.

www.richersounds.com

The difference between the 9400 and 9400W is the “W” stands for WiFi, basically you can avoid using an HDMI cable to connect to the projector by using its WiFi connection, sound great and is if you only watch 24Hz movies but with 60Hz it can’t do the full fat signal so you have to drop either HDR or 4K it won’t do 60Hz/4K/HDR for this you NEED the actual cable connection. The other thing is the W version is white.

 

[alebonau]

thank you! very helpful, makes sense and it is a bit strange the JVC new boxed, it happens sometimes to find an old boxed new product but, even so, I doubt it has any warranty

if its truly new and from legit retailer... no matter how long been sitting on their shelf the new warranty starts day you get in your hands if its a dud jvc wouldn't take back or something then yeah no warranty ...

I just looked at Epson on the website and found the TW-9400 @ £2,540, not bad EH-TW9400

now I am confused a bit, I saw there are 2 models of the Epson TW-9400:

TW-9400 and TW-9400W, do you know what the difference is in between the 2?

2.54 rrp why buy from ebay at 2.4 ? any bricks mortar would do a better price would think... just matter of asking ? going lot cheaper than rrp here...

 

[Luminated67]

if its truly new and from legit retailer... no matter how long been sitting on their shelf the new warranty starts day you get in your hands if its a dud jvc wouldn't take back or something then yeah no warranty ...


2.54 rrp why buy from ebay at 2.4 ? any bricks mortar would do a better price would think... just matter of asking ? going lot cheaper than rrp here...

Plus speak with the likes of @Rickyj at Kalibrate who’s a main dealer to see if Epson are still offering the extra 2yrs warranty that came with mine when I bought it and I believe Ricky also includes a pre-calibration (not sure if it’s extra) so your machine will look close to its best.

 

[marinajack]

The Epson does have the lumens to spare so for a grey screen which is why I made the switch, even with HDR and the filter I still only use Medium lamp mode. One thing I have noticed is when the source material is top notch so if the reproduction from the projector, here’s an image from each of the Hobbit movies and just the regular 1080P BluRay at that.

View attachment 1489581View attachment 1489582View attachment 1489583
And with 4K HDR I use a Panasonic UB420player which has static tonal mapping and when combined with the Epson’s HDR slider you can equally get amazing results, The Revenant 4K HDR.

View attachment 1489585View attachment 1489586
Admittedly my room is fully velvet lined so conditions are optimised.

The difference between the 9400 and 9400W is the “W” stands for WiFi, basically you can avoid using an HDMI cable to connect to the projector by using its WiFi connection, sound great and is if you only watch 24Hz movies but with 60Hz it can’t do the full fat signal so you have to drop either HDR or 4K it won’t do 60Hz/4K/HDR for this you NEED the actual cable connection. The other thing is the W version is white.

Wow, the images are amazing, how did you take these images, what camera?

I get it! W is not worth it, I know the wifi doesn't work on top quality content and it's also very expensive, there are much much cheaper wifi dongles devices if I need one

I am looking now at the optic fiber 4k HDMI cables for connection in between the player and proj

When you say optimised room, you mean dark and absorbant walls, right? not white bright walls!

UB420player, is this 3d as well? I see is quite cheap, I am currently using a Denon DBP 1611UD

 

[marinajack]

It’s a shame you can’t see both. Only my opinion but the JVC has superior blacks but the e-shift and image enhancement on the Epson gives the sharper image... have the Epson and seen the newer 5900, I’m not a fan of 3D so can’t really answer this for you but I do know lumes are important for 3D. If you haven’t bought the screen you could go with the grey screen material on the Epson and get closer to the kind of blacks the JVC is famous for, I made the switch and the difference is remarkable.

One thing I will say regarding both options, you will not be disappointed with either.

great, thank you!

 

[Luminated67]

Yes black absorbent walls, in my signature you will see a link to my room build and the stuff I lined the walls with.

Could not answer if the Panasonic is 3D, I have two BR players the Panasonic is for 4K HDR duties and a Sony X700 for 1080P stuff. Maybe someone who is interested in 3D could answer both the Epson’s ability with 3D and whether the Panasonic is 3D ready.

I know @Alaric is using the Epson for 3D so might be worthwhile PMing him on the subject.

 

[alebonau]

I get it! W is not worth it, I know the wifi doesn't work on top quality content and it's also very expensive, there are much much cheaper wifi dongles devices if I need one

I am looking now at the optic fiber 4k HDMI cables for connection in between the player and proj

When you say optimised room, you mean dark and absorbant walls, right? not white bright walls!

UB420player, is this 3d as well? I see is quite cheap, I am currently using a Denon DBP 1611UD

the W versions are not worth the extra ask. ... you dont HAVE to go fibre in hdmi... if you keep to under 9.2m you can go the affordable mono price premium certified from amazon and thats $59 delivered still for us... one of my friends with the 9400 is using that no problems at all.. i myself use the same no issue either... along with a local 10m passive that is fine too

i would go the 820 instead of the 420... im pretty sure the 420 doesnt come with the HDR optimiser... the 820 like the ub9000 i use have 3D no issue...

both the epson and jvc do stellar 3D !

ps keep using your denon UD player for universal disk play... no need to get rid of a nice player like that

 

[Luminated67]

^The 420 DOES have the HDR Optimiser, the only difference apart from case size is the 420 doesn’t have surround outputs and Dolby Vision which isn’t available on projectors anyway.

 

[alebonau]

^The 420 DOES have the HDR Optimiser, the only difference apart from case size is the 420 doesn’t have surround outputs and Dolby Vision which isn’t available on projectors anyway.

thank you, i see you are using that one... be no issue then i would think

comparison below shows both have 3D ?

Compare Panasonic DP-UB420 vs Panasonic DP-UB820

Comparing Panasonic DP-UB420 and Panasonic DP-UB820? Our Virginia-based experts can help you find the best gear. Get FREE 2-day shipping and free lifetime tech support with your order.

www.crutchfield.com

 

[Alaric]

Yes black absorbent walls, in my signature you will see a link to my room build and the stuff I lined the walls with.

Could not answer if the Panasonic is 3D, I have two BR players the Panasonic is for 4K HDR duties and a Sony X700 for 1080P stuff. Maybe someone who is interested in 3D could answer both the Epson’s ability with 3D and whether the Panasonic is 3D ready.

I know @Alaric is using the Epson for 3D so might be worthwhile PMing him on the subject.

The Panasonic ub420 / 820 are 3D capable....I use the Panasonic ub420 for 3D in my cinema with the Epson and get awesome results. The Epson has lumens to spare and as such is great for anything that needs light output such as 3D and HDR. It is also great for a LARGE screen.
I run a 120" wide 16:9 acoustically transparent screen and have the iris set at -4 for bluray, seating at 3.65m and the projector mounted at 4.25m - Oh and in terms of sharpness/smoothness at 12' seating you just see a nice smooth image, no pixels etc.

3D is great. Needs some calibration and it is only ever as good as the discs, but feed the Epson a good disc (Avatar is breath-taking) and you certainly won't be disappointed. Feed it a less than perfect disc and things are still very watchable, though you can occasionally see cross talk, but i find it very rare, brief and remarkably disc dependant.

I've not seen the JVC x5000 but did consider going down that route when looking at projectors about 3 years back and decided the future was in HDR and light output. It is now quite an OLD projector, maybe the x5900 or ideally the x7900 would be a better choice.....though a genuine bulbs is expensive and you just don't know the history, particularly with ebay!

 

[Alaric]

^The 420 DOES have the HDR Optimiser, the only difference apart from case size is the 420 doesn’t have surround outputs and Dolby Vision which isn’t available on projectors anyway.

It does indeed. The difference in the 420 and 820 is quite small. Case, display, DV and i think there is 7.1 audio outputs - It WAS the bargain of a couple of years having the same chipset.

Great Bluray/3D/UHD set-up

However i recently grabbed a Sony 800x2 for playing with a Vertex and player led Dolby Vision (LLDV)- Which I'm so far pretty impressed with!

 

[Stridsvognen]

great! I understand, makes sense
no projector or TV is perfect and of course I don't look for a perfect projector

what do you mean by "lousy service"? you mean the customer service is bad?

Yes, you dont ever want to deal with JVC directly, now that should not be a issue if your buying a used X5000.

The JVC is simply in a different class than the Epson, so its more a question if you want a new medium level projector with warranty, or a used high end projector without warranty.

Next is your eyes, do you see the benefit of the JVC superior image quality.

 

[alebonau]

I've not seen the JVC x5000 but did consider going down that route when looking at projectors about 3 years back and decided the future was in HDR and light output. It is now quite an OLD projector, maybe the x5900 or ideally the x7900 would be a better choice.....though a genuine bulbs is expensive and you just don't know the history, particularly with ebay!

x5000, x5500 or x5900 are pretty much identical same gen bar some very minor differences ... there is no need to be pushing a x5900 over a x5000

x7900 like the x7500 or x7000 (again all very similar same gen) are all in another league...contrast, WCG and dual iris upspec light engine.

trying to get any of these and good examples is just way too hard these days... easier to just get the epson...

 

[Luminated67]

There is no denying the pixel gap is greater on the Epson but with e-shift on this disappears to the point you need to stand extremely close to see pixels as my video below shows.


BTW I start the video at about 3ft away and end up 3-4” away.