Epson 3500 Projector After Test Review

Discover How Epson 3500 Projector Works & Why It’s Popular

The Epson Home Cinema 3500 is a projector that can be used for both home entertainment and home theatre systems. It offers qualities, such as a brilliant image that can withstand ambient light, thus making it appropriate for use in a family room. The 3500’s image quality (for both 2D and 3D), brightness, reasonable price, and setup conveniences like the 1.6x zoom, make it an obvious choice when come to the Home Cinema projectors list.

Both in 2D and 3D, the 3500 delivers full 1080p resolution in HD quality. Because it can’t display the rainbow effect, its three-chip LCD construction sets it apart from DLP projectors like the BenQ HT1075. You don’t need to be concerned about differences between the two; potentially compromising the quality of the projected colors. Because the LCD engine makes sure that the projector’s white brightness and color brightness match. 

For how close you can place the projector to the screen for a specific image size, a 1.6x zoom is a pleasant option Epson 3500 provides. A substantial degree of vertical and horizontal lens shift may be much more beneficial. Lens shift enables picture movement without projector movement or trapezoidal transformation of the rectangular image. Epson claims that the 3500 can move images as much as 24% of the width left or right and as much as 60% of the screen height up or down from the center.

EPSON 3500 PROJECTOR

General Specifications Epson 3500 Projector

• Panel Type: 3-chip LCD
• Native Aspect Ratio: 16:9
• Native Resolution: 1920 x 1080
• Anamorphic Lens Support: No
• 3D formats: Frame-packing, Side-by-Side, Top-Bottom
• 2D-3D Conversion: Yes
• Throw Ratio: 1.32 – 2.15
• Lens Shift: 60% Vertical, 24% Horizontal
• Light Output: 2,500 Lumens
• Contrast Ratio: 70,000:1
• Iris Control: 2-speed Auto
• Image size: 30” – 300”
• Inputs: 2 x HDMI 1.4a (1 MHL), 1x Composite, 1x VGA, 1x USB
• Audio: 1 RCA Stereo Input
• Speakers: 2 x 10 Watt
• Control: 1 RS-232, 1 12V Trigger Out
• Lamp Power: 250 Watts
• Rated Lamp Life: 5000 (Eco) / 3500 Hours (Normal)
• Dimensions: 6.4″ H x 16.1″ W x 12.6″ D
• Weight: 14.9 Pounds
• Warranty: 2 Years, 90 Days 
• Price range: $1599.99 USD
• 3D glasses: 2 Pairs

Features of Epson 3500 Projector

Next, we have some of the main features of the Epson 3500 projector that are elaborated on in this article in detail. Let’s have a look:

Design

If compared Epson 3500 projector with the start-up level projectors, it is way better than all of them. Because of the speakers it offers, which are two 10w stereo sounds and surpass the built-in sound in most projectors. The Epson Home Cinema 3500 will make you feel like the owner of a true theatre just based on its size and weight.

In this example, size means the overall quality of the projector, therefore doesn’t detract from the overall design. Although it could require a little more space to produce larger images than smaller hardware. Yet, the projector will function in the majority of situations either brighter or darker. However, you must take extra care to ensure that all of your hardware is installed safely.

With regard to size aside, the Epson’s overall design is stylish and well-organized enough to stand out without bringing undue attention to itself. You have plenty of space to position your pictures; special thanks to the strategically positioned controls, rear ports, and adjustable feet and lenses.

Related: Check Epson Home Cinema 3200 Review.

Setup

The 3500, according to Epson, measures 6.4 by 16.1 by 12.6 inches (H x W x D) and weighs 14 pounds. It is intended to fit on a bookshelf. Additionally, it has front ventilation, eliminating the need to provide space for airflow in the back. You’ll need an additional 2”-3” of free space behind the projector to accommodate wires, as all the ports are on the rear.

In addition to the benefits of lens shift, the configuration is typical, using manual focus and zoom. Two HDMI ports, VGA and composite video ports, and a component video port with three RCA connectors are all available for image input. 

In addition to the USB Type-A port to read files from USB memory devices and connect an optional Wi-Fi dongle, one HDMI port supports Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL). Both HDMI ports can output 3D video from devices like Blu-ray players, cable boxes, and FiOS boxes.

Brightness

Epson Home Cinema 3500 provides 2500 lumens of brightness which is enough to brighten the image quality. However, the screen size of roughly 195 to 264 inches at 1080p’s 16:9 aspect ratio, makes it the best opted projector for theater-dark lighting and assuming a 1.0 gain screen. 

In addition to all that, it is bright enough for an image that is around 130- to 145 inches when ambient light is moderate. You can adjust the brightness by utilizing Eco mode, a lower-brightness preset option, or both for dimmer lighting or more realistic screen sizes for home usage.

Sound System

The two 10-watt speakers produce great audio quality—at least for a projector. Also, it has a loudness that is sufficient to fill a living room or family room. You may easily put in an extra audio system if you’d like even higher sound quality. Even if not, then you can have a setup with speakers placed far enough apart to produce a stereo effect. 

Also, keep in mind that the projector’s speakers are located in the rear, so even if you place the projector on a bookshelf in the back of the room, you’ll probably want to utilize an external sound system.

2D/3D Image Output

The 3500’s image quality is consistently good or very close to it. When comparing its performance with 2D, the color quality was remarkable and the image displayed fine. Only in the most difficult test clips, each one tends to highlight a different problem. A little loss of shadow detail in one scene with poor lighting and a nudge of posterization in faces are two major problems that might happen here. The projector, however, handled both skin tones and shadow detail without any issues.

The Epson 3500 comes with two sets of RF glasses for 3D. Epson says you may use any glasses that adhere to the Full HD RF 3D standard, but additional pairs cost $99 a piece which is quite affordable. With great color quality and a level of crisp detail that stands out as unique for 3D projectors, image quality is practically the same as for 2D. 

Input Lag

The performance of the 3500’s lag time is the only letdown. Most of the reviewers tried to use it using the projector’s normal settings, and the result is 116.9 milliseconds (ms), or a 7-frame lag at 60 frames/sec. It records a 45.8 ms or 2.7-frame lag even with all lag-related parameters disabled. Also, the Image Processing sets to Fast rather than the default Fine. The Optoma HD141X measures 33 milliseconds as a comparison which is way less than the Epson 3500 projector. 

If you’re searching for a projector for gaming, you’ll probably choose one like the Optoma HD141X that has less lag time. The Epson Home Cinema 3500, however, offers the benefit of rainbow-free images, outstanding color quality, and nearly excellent overall image quality for both 2D and 3D. Thus, making it ideal for a home theatre or as a replacement for a TV in a family room. 

Likewise, the metaphorical frosting on the cake is the additional conveniences of the 1.6x zoom and lens change. Because of these factors, the 3500 is an excellent choice for a reasonably priced home theatre and entertainment projector.

Bonus: Check Epson Home Cinema 2100 Review

Color Contrast Ratio

Although the top brightness of the Epson 3500 is 28fL, which sounds really bright, there is no issue. Obviously, blacks are not as deep, but it is much simpler to see little details. The overall contrast ratio is greater than 11,000 to 1 when the auto-iris is turned on. It’s almost 15,000 to 1 for the Eco mode. The difference is not very significant. What matters is how dark you want your blacks to be.

However, the natural contrast of the 3500 isn’t that poor. After calibrating in Natural mode with the bulb on ECO, the results are superior to those of many LCD televisions. The Iris’s Normal mode produces the same white level but improves black to.0025fL and contrast to 11450.3:1.

Conclusion

When it comes to giving image quality and color brightness, Epson’s Home Cinema 3500 excels as a projector. It costs fairly for people who are looking for something to use solely for large occasions only sometimes. Here’s a troubleshoot guide for Epson users.

Also, it occupies a lot of room. It’s difficult to put a figure on greater image quality, especially if you’re an AV port seeker under the price range of $2000 only. Preferring over-the-image quality on more affordable devices doesn’t seem to be in line with this. 

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