Home Cinema 5050UB (V11H930020)

The LS11000 will be handily outmatched by the Titan Noir. Hell, the 7+ year old Epson 5050UB is a better option than the LS11000. The Valerion Max also is a step up on the LS11000. The LS11000 is a LCD laser projector, other than that, it is a pretty weak overall performer. Careful where you get your reviews from. AVS Forum is a good resource. Reddit can be dodgy, but some people know what they are talking about.

I have read, heavily, reviews. I have personally seen the 5050UB, I have a JVC DLA-X590R which is generally considered better than the 5050UB. I have seen the Valerion Max, myself, and put it up against my JVC, and was thoroughly blown away by how much better the Valerion performs compared to the JVC. Any number of reviewers have been disappointed by the LS11000 in that it doesn't match the contrast of the 5050UB which is years older. It is between the 4010 and the 5050UB in terms of contrast, and yes, contrast is king. Considering the Valerion Max has been put up against the current JVC models, which are several steps better than the LS11000, and the Titan Noir Max is compared better, from trusted reviewers than the Valerion Max, it once again, makes it a no-brainer. It's less money and looks better and sharper than the LS12000. Why would you spend even more money on the LS11000 to get a drop in quality? When I say better, I mean for HDR performance. For contrast. For motion handling. For color accuracy. Placement flexibility goes to Epson almost every day of the week. For good reason. But, the Titan Noir comes closest of any sub $3,000 DLP projector. Far better than the competing BenQ models or Valerion Pro. It's not an all-or-nothing scenario. Epson will have wins. No RBE on Epson, that's massive for people who are RBE sensitive. But, a step down in contrast from the 7 year old 5050UB is a slap in the face to consumers. Yeah, I'm informed. I do my homework. I own multiple projectors. I've seen many different models. I don't think the LS11000 is crap. It is a very solid $2,500 (maybe $3,000) projector. It is a very overpriced $4,000 projector. The competition it has is very real and the only reason to spend that type of money is because someone is seriously RBE sensitive.

FYI: YouTube independent reviewers have had their hands on the Titan Noir, such as The Hook Up. As well, the very reputable [ProjectorCentral.com](http://ProjectorCentral.com) has reviewed the Titan Noir. It's not just influencers looking at that product. This is important as it heavily speaks to the quality of the reviews and of the testing being done. Real world brightness testing. Reviewed contrast testing. Calibrated brightness testing. These aren't people reading specifications sheets, but actually doing independent measurements to confirm. [https://www.projectorcentral.com/xgimi-titan-noir-max-projector-review.htm](https://www.projectorcentral.com/xgimi-titan-noir-max-projector-review.htm) The Hook Up refuses to do sponsored videos. This has been massive in him gaining a reputation. He has also come a very long way from his early videos where he mostly put them side to side. He now calibrates and does ISO lumen measurements. Color error testing, and more. He put the Titan against the $16,000 Epson QL3000B. Why? Because that's the type of testing he can do. It matter to people truly wondering how strong the Titan Noir is as a product. [https://www.youtube.com/@thehookupextras](https://www.youtube.com/@thehookupextras)

Dammit man! :-) The issue with Epson is that their modern lamp models aren't modern. They are over half a decade out of date. Epson typically would refresh their models once every 2 years. Maybe 3 years. But, the 5050UB has been in production for about 7 years now. It's insanely out of date. It looks good, but it is lacking basic features and support that is showing up in all the competing models. If they just kept the 5050UB the way it is, but switched to laser, it would be good, but it is still lacking support for new formats that others are supporting, and the brightness is okay, at best. A big reason laser/led is so good is that it doesn't dim the way lamps do. I mean, yeah, if you leave it on nonstop for a couple of years, you will get some dimming. But, a few hours a day, and it will be many years. I have lost a ton of respect for Epson and what they are doing to their customer base. Their entire mid-tier lineup needs to be updated. From the 2350 to the 5050UB. It's not just about dropping a solid state light engine into these products, it is about actually updating them to keep up with the competitors. Epson knows this. They just don't give a damn. That's a problem. On their website, they have 2 UST models that are under $3,000. Those are far easier to recommend than any of their long throw home theater models. It's insane! Their lamp-based models also haven't moved their pricing since they were released half a decade ago. Where every other technology has been competing and dropping prices, the 5050UB is the same $3,000 it has cost for the last 7 years. The 4010, which was typically $2,000, is now $2,500. WHAT? Their 4050, which is the Pro version of the 4010, is $2,400. Once again, the 4010 is $2,500, while the upgrade model is $2,400. Help it make sense!?!? Note the 4050 is identical to the 4010 but it is black. It does come with a 3-year warranty instead of a 2-year warranty. It also includes a ceiling mount, plus a spare lamp. Much better deal. But, still, buying a lamp-based projector that is years out of date.

It is like a 7 year old computer. It still works, but it should not command the same high price is did when it was new. Technology moves forward. The 5050UB isn't crap, but it is significantly outclassed by models like the Valerion Visionmaster. By a fair bit. I've put my JVC DLA-X590R, which is arguably better than the 5050UB up against the Valerion Max and it wasn't even close really. The Valerion just bested the JVC by a fair bit. Most notably was the significant jump in brightness and quality for HDR content that the JVC simply couldn't keep up with. I can't speak to how long Valerion, or AWOL, or Soundcore (Anker), or XGimi will truly stay in business. BenQ has been around for years and is a strong company. But, companies like XGimi aren't brand new. I mean, BenQ has been around over 40 years. So, strong stuff. But, XGimi is only 13 years old. That's still nothing to ignore. As well, you don't see Pioneer TVs on shelves. Nor Sharp. Nor RCA. These brands which were massive are just gone. Licensing their names rather than delivering what they used to directly. This matters because the ability for companies to actually succeed is by innovating and delivering quality products at a reasonable price. Vizio made this happen for many years. Hisense has come out of almost nowhere (they bought Sharp I believe), and they are now one of the largest producer of TVs in the world. In reality, they started 50 years ago. But only entered the US about 25 years ago. Hard to imagine that was 2001. My point being that RCA didn't stay on top of innovating and moving forward. Optoma has struggled similarly. BenQ isn't quite keeping up, but they do keep innovating. XGimi/Valerion/etc. are all innovating and delivering the latest DLP products for reasonable prices to consumers. Right now, to get the latest DLP chip? XGimi and AWOL have products. Nobody else has anything else yet that I'm aware of. Certainly not Optoma or BenQ. But, when the .47" chip was having significant issues, BenQ tilted to the larger .65" chip. Optoma hasn't budged. What about Epson? LS11000. LS12000. QB series. They are making reasonably priced UST projectors. So, why not a mid-tier standard throw laser model that's updated? Take a look at their business models on their website. They have half a dozen laser projectors under $3,000 on the business market. The fact that they have ZERO proper home theater models in that price range that are standard throw is a choice by Epson. A shitty fuck you to consumers choice that Epson has made. The LS12000 is very good looking, but they are flat out ignoring a massive market that still wants and needs mid-tier LCD projectors. Fuck you is what Epson is saying to those consumers. Not even sure they realize it. But, I expect they are quite aware. They simply don't give a damn.

As good as it is, the 5050UB is the obvious newer version of the 5040. Unfortunately, it is 7 years since it was introduced, which is ridiculous. Epson is long overdue for updating their entire mid-tier product lineup to laser-based models. So, I don't recommend it, even though it looks good. Instead, I would recommend the XGimi Titan Noir on Kickstarter. It is in the same quality class as the Valerion Visionmaster Max, but has a better price point. It also has a lot of zoom range and optical lens shift, which will make it easier to drop into the place of your existing 5040UB. The Epson has about the most zoom and lens shift on the market, so if you don't want to move your mount, you need to ensure that what you are getting actually works from where you intend to put it. This takes CAREFUL and fairly exact measurement. Within about an inch on all measurements. Screen to lens. Ceiling to center of lens. Ceiling to top of screen. Screen diagonal. Assuming a 16:9 screen. The Titan Noir is very well reviewed, and is said to perform better than the Valerion Max. I have put the Valerion Max against my JVC DLA-X590R, and the jump in quality is pretty darn significant. The Titan being better? I ordered one.

BenQ is a high quality brand. Their projectors, out of the box, often are very color accurate. They have a full support system and repair centers in place that many manufacturers don't have. They have been at it for years and have been pretty consistent with reliable products for ages now. I would say the same is true of Epson, but Epson projectors that are still using lamps are significantly outdated. They aren't bad, but Epson knows they are screwing you over with those products and they have abandoned their mid-tier lineup at this point. As a choice. So, they aren't ideal. You have Optoma that has struggled with quality in the last ten years. Getting worse instead of better and making poor choices. Other brands tend to loosely play in the projector market. Acer. Viewsonic. etc. Then you get a long list of new players in the projector arena that are really challenging the stalwarts. XGimi, Dangbei, Nexigo, Valerion, Soundcore, and several others. But, BenQ is still doing its best to keep up with the challengers and doing a fair job along the way. It also still maintains a long lineup of projectors that are really designed for home theater instead of lifestyle models. If anything has been a knock against the new players it is that they almost exclusively live in the lifestyle projector category. It is only XGimi with their Titan Noir that is putting out a more traditional home theater projector. Frankly, to very high praise. Now, you still have fanboys of specific brands. If Epson had a replacement to the 5050UB that was in the same price class, but updated a fair bit and similar contrast, then I would recommend that. If the Valerion Max was in the needed price range, then that's a good option. But, the Titan Noir is what I'm going with right now. If I were looking at BenQ, their 4100i is a strong option... [https://www.benq.com/en-us/projector/cinema/w4100i.html](https://www.benq.com/en-us/projector/cinema/w4100i.html) As is often the case, it is well reviewed by those who actually know projectors. [https://www.projectorreviews.com/benq/benq-w4100i-4k-4led-home-theater-projector-review/](https://www.projectorreviews.com/benq/benq-w4100i-4k-4led-home-theater-projector-review/) The rub is that at that price point, the XGimi Titan Noir is a solid step up in overall quality, in almost every category.

The Titan has been compared, head to head, with other products. This has happened, and the product has gone into the hands of professional reviewers that know their shit and are NOT being paid by XGimi for the reviews. It is almost unheard of for release models to be worse than the demo models sent out for review. It is not speculation. Come on Kiran. You can go out and look at these reviews yourself. You're not usually so cynical. XGimi has the Titan listed at $4,000 MSRP. It likely will drop some after it has been out for a while. This is NORMAL behavior for most manufacturers. JMGO has really been pushing their pricing down. BenQ, has seen the X500i drop from nearly $2,000 down to $1,500. Normal. So, the early price on the XGimi Noir Max won't be around again for a while I expect, but we will likely get them in the long run. If you look at pricing on the Horizon 20 series, you'll see that pricing has dropped from when it was released. But, someone buying now, should get a Valerion if they want the best looking DLP projector right this second. The Max is a very strong recommendation. But, the Titan Noir is coming out next month according to XGimi (who knows their stuff) so jumping on the price right now shouldn't be a wait of five months to get a step up on the Valerion. I will be comparing the Noir to the V Max. But, The Hook Up has already made this comparison.

This is a terrible list. There are tons of projectors which are FAR better than those listed. Even from BenQ. The contrast figure you use is holding this list back. Because there is no > option for contrast so models with super high contrast can't be included. Plus 10,000:1 is WELL beyond what the HT3560, TK850, and TK860i is capable of. Dynamic? Maybe. But not native. So, it's not accurate at all. This list is far more accurate... [https://www.projectorcentral.com/projectors.cfm?g=2&r=1017&br=2000&br=10000<g=101&p=500&p=4000&oop=1#list](https://www.projectorcentral.com/projectors.cfm?g=2&r=1017&br=2000&br=10000<g=101&p=500&p=4000&oop=1#list) I've limited it to JUST solid state projectors (laser/LED) and you can see just how extensive this list actually is. Contrast is a bullshit claim by manufacturers. You MUST read reviews to find out how the contrast of any specific model actually performs. The BenQ GP520, for example, claims 200,000:1 dynamic contrast. In reality it only delivers 470:1 native contrast and 1503:1 dynamic contrast. Per The Hook Up... [https://youtu.be/F6mFV7XQC3o?si=yjRe6hNc3p3csS4a](https://youtu.be/F6mFV7XQC3o?si=yjRe6hNc3p3csS4a) The video I just linked also highlights just how strong the competition really is. BenQ, in head to head testing, ranked near the bottom. That's not good for them. I do believe that BenQ is playing a bit of a game of catch up right now with these other manufacturers. But, they do still have very strong models like the W4100i which I wouldn't have any problems recommending overall, but it lacks the zoom range that is likely needed and isn't nearly the value right now that the Titan Noir is on Kickstarter.

The 9300 is the same as the Epson 5040UB/6040UB. On the used market it still performs very well as a solid 1080p product. You do need to be aware that Europe is cutting down on traditional lamps being available for sale. This is a massive issue long term as you won't be able to get new lamps for your projector at some point. You may need to get a couple of them to keep until the projector is dead. But, the projector itself is quite good. The lens on it is amazing with extensive zoom range and lens shift. It is a LARGE projector, so don't be surprised by it. You can read tons of reviews of the 5040 from Epson that are out there. All of them are likely to be really strong about the performance.