Expert's guide on best alternatives for the Epson 5000 lumen Laser Projector

For collaboration rooms, classrooms, and huddle spaces that fit more than 10 people, a large display makes all the difference when trying to solve a problem or explain a concept The Epson L510U laser projector with 5000 lumens is a popular models in the North American market, but how does it stack up to the latest laser projectors with the same brightness and resolution? To evaluate the best alternatives to the Epson L510U, we will look at what is different between the Epson projector and the best alternatives from popular brands.

There are three major categories to evaluate:

• Imaging Technology

• Color Accuracy

• Maintenance Costs

For a 5000 lumen projector, there are only two imaging technologies used by major manufacturers in the projector market - DLP from Texas Instruments or LCD. According to Futuresource, DLP is now used by nearly twice as many brands as LCD. BenQ is the largest projector brand using DLP technology, while Epson is the largest brand that uses LCD technology.

There are three key advantages to using DLP technology in a 5000 lumen projector for you to consider when you are evaluating alternatives to the Epson L510U:

• No Color Decay – DLP chips to last over 100,000 hours and won’t turn yellow over time

• Easy to read– The DLP chip controls over 97% of the light in each pixel– making smaller text easy to read

• Sharp image – DLP only uses one chip – so you don’t have fuzzy images if the colors incorrectly overlap in a three chip system.

Just because a color is “bright” doesn’t mean that it is accurate. Today’s 5000 lumen laser projectors are significantly more accurate when rendering colors than older lamp based projectors and now can replicate nearly the same color pallet as computer monitors. Color accuracy is not measured by brightness, but by “color space”- a standard set of colors targets defined by the display industry. There is a great deal of information available on how to measure color accuracy on all types of displays – including projectors. According to the Netflix Partner Guide, Rec. 709 is the most common color space for delivering higher resolutions for home video. For companies advertising on the platform, it is a color space they can use to ensure their logo’s and products look correct on your screen. For projectors, you will want to look for a projector that specifies 90% or above Rec 709 color accuracy to ensure that a red Netflix logo has the right shade of red.

Both the Epson L510U laser projector and its alternatives have laser life span of 20,000 hours when used at full power. The biggest weakness of the Epson is that it uses a paper filter to keep dust out of the projector. The Epson L510U has detailed instructions on how to clean the filter – and a warning light that goes off whenever the projector has to be cleaned.

The best alternatives to cleaning messy paper filters is to eliminate them. Many DLP laser projector alternatives seal the projector light engine and certify it using the same industry standard IP5X dust test that are used on sport watches. These models may cost slightly more at the time of purchase – but these costs are offset by the fact you will never have you or your staff climb a ladder or rent a lift to fix a “clean filter” light that went off in the middle of a lecture or meeting.

5000 lumen laser projectors have a lot more feature options than basic projectors. Here are some features you may want to look at in your decision.

Here is an example of some of the alternatives you can consider when looking at alternatives to the Epson L510U projector. BenQ is the second largest projector brand in the world, and the leading brand of projectors using DLP technology. For the most part, the prices between the base models are very close, while features such as short throw lenses and 4K resolution will be slightly higher in price.