The slightly lower lumen level compared with its pricier siblings means that this projector really will be at its best in a very dark room, and it’ll be in this environment that you’ll see what the N5 is really capable of. Built around Epson’s 3LCD light engine, the 3200/EH-TW7000 is designed to be used occasionally in living rooms – most likely for sporting events, movie nights and gaming at varying times of day (and, therefore, daylight) – and outputs in a bright 3,000 lumens. However, it’s less capable on contrast than the 3800/EH-TW7100, with just a 40,000:1 quoted contrast ratio. Still, the 3200/EH-TW7000 ought to be able to create likeable images picture quality daylight hours. I should say that I used Natural mode for maximum color accuracy, which appears quite close to Cinema mode. Vivid mode looks ridiculous as expected, not recommended. I also did not find that the auto iris feature did much. It is disabled by default on Natural mode, and I decided to keep it that way after initial testing.

We play Venom on 4K Blu-ray and this projector explodes into life from the start, with some excellent HDR handling and dark detail in the opening shuttle crash scene. The light levels run from the dark forest shadows to the extreme brightness of the floodlights. Despite this range, the tone of the scene is expertly controlled. That might seem a bit of a shame considering the capabilities of today’s consoles, but when the SDR images are as clean, bright and crisp as they are here, it’s actually not a bad trade off at all. Intuitive menus and handy motorised lens controls (unusual at this price) mean it’s pretty easy to setup too, which isn’t always the case with projectors, and a definite plus for the EH-TW9400. Epson have a number of great home cinema projectors available with a model to suit every budget. To make it easier, we have produced the below comparison table to show you what features you can expect to get for your money..

Similarly, with a film more heavily graded for colour and texture, such as Fargo, there are different changes to make. Both colour saturation and particularly the image sharpening tools take careful tuning to avoid ruddy skin tones and a noisy picture. The Noise Reduction filter is excellent in this instance. In terms of performance these projectors don’t disappoint either, and while not native 4K they are still capable of big, bright and detailed images that are uncompromisingly cinematic. The use of the three LCD panels also allows Epson’s projectors to reproduce 100% of the Rec.709 and DCI-P3 colour gamuts with impressive accuracy. As mentioned, this projector doesn’t have a native 4K chip, but that doesn’t affect its ability to produce a lushly detailed 4K resolution picture, with HDR to boot. HDR is not a technology that’s easy for projectors to handle, but the EH-TW9400 gives it a good go, and delivers bright, vibrant HDR images that are among the best we’ve seen at this level. The EH-TW6150 also has a few advantages over the EH-TW7000 that I neglected to mention. It has better power efficiency, the lamp uses 70W less and lasts 7,500 hrs on Eco (Low) mode. It has a much more attractive look IMO, and can be positioned upside down if needed, perfectly flat without any wobbling. Epson’s 4K PRO-UHD home cinema range is in a good place right now and the EH-TW7000 is yet another great example of an affordable 4K projector done well. Its relatively feature-free and stripped-down approach means as many of your pennies go towards the picture performance as possible.

As you’d expect at this sort of price, there are full calibration controls if you’d like to go professional on the set up, but there is also an auto calibration feature for ease too. In terms of limitations, the technology has a slower response time compared to DLP – much like LCD TVs – and thus the motion handling isn’t as good. In addition, the light path in an LCD projector isn’t sealed, so it can occasionally suffer from those dreaded dust blobs. PRO-UHD 4K enhanced takes native Full HD (1080p) resolution and uses sophisticated 4K Enhancement processing allows the EH-TW7000 to double its frame rate, creating crisp and clear images. Although not strictly a 4K projector, it gives it a much more detailed, denser image than an equivalent Full HD version. The EH-TW7000 also supports 4K streaming services from providers such as Netflix. Considering the price point, this projector is capable of some brilliant detail. Tom Hardy looks typically rugged in close-up –his stubble is sharp and his blemishes lend a great feel to the character. Don’t be afraid to push on the Image Enhancement menus (Super-resolution and Detail Enhancement) and the Sharpness settings when watching in HDR to get the most out of this projector. Out of the box, the calibration is a little soft. Epson is the biggest manufacturer to employ this approach, with main competitors Optoma and BenQ both using DLP instead. The advantage of three LCD panels – one each for the three primary colours of red, green and blue – is that there’s no need for a colour wheel.Based around Epson's own 3LCD engine, the 3800/EH-TW7100 is also capable of projecting in sizes from 40-inches to up to 500-inches in diameter, which is … way too big. With lens shift and keystone correction, the Epson EHTW7000 is easy to install. The ability to physically move the lens by +/- 60% vertically and +/- 24 horizontally reduces picture distortion when mounting the projector in awkward positions. The vertical keystone correction offers a digital version of the same thing with a wide adjustment of +/- 30% in both vertical and horizon plains.

Picture: 4K HDR | Brightness: 2500 lumens | **Inputs:**2 x HDMI 2.0, 2 x USB | Ethernet: Yes | Laser life: Up to 20,000 hours | Zoom: 1.2x | Projection ratio: 1.43 - 2.94:1 | Screen size: 40 – 150 inches | Throw distance: 1.15m to 4.3m | Dynamic contrast ratio: 150,000:1 | Built-in speakers: Yes | Dimensions (hwd): 47 x 16.5 x 16.5cm | Weight: 6.7kg

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The biggest advantage LCD has over DLP is flexibility when it comes to installation. Epson’s projectors have full lens controls with focus, shift and zoom. The higher end models even include motorised controls and offer lens memories for different aspect ratios. The result is a hugely enjoyable big-screen experience, both for 4K and HD content. If it’s within your budget, the more capable and slightly smoother TW7100 is still well worth the step up, but the character and tone of what you get here, and for much less, is very much in line with its Award-winning bigger brother. The Epson EH-TW7000 is a must for your shortlist.