Epson - Pro Cinema 6040UB 3LCD Projector with 4K Enhancement, HDR and ISF

im in the exact same boat. my 6040UB failed on me, too expensive to fix. looking for an alternative under 3k. Valerian looks the best but dang, missing out on the optical zoom and lens shift is a huge downgrade. I cant find anything else that has those options thats under 3k.

I am not susceptible to RBE (have had Epson LCD projectors though for the last 12 years after previously having DLPs at the 480p and 720p days in the 2006-2012 era). I recently went from an Epson ProCinema 6040UB to a Valerion Vision Master Pro 2 and I am thrilled with the unit, its performance and the customer service I have so far received from Valerion. The loss of vertical and horizontal lens shift, lens memory and some optical zoom were all difficult decisions for me - I built my custom screen to project 110" at 16:9 and to zoom out to 127" at 21:9 aspect ratio, and to achieve this with the Valerion requires a lot more effort than the Epson - which was a simple button press and under 10 second adjustment by the motorized optics of the projector. For me, maintaining that ability to optically zoom the image from a 16:9 frame to a wider 21:9 frame for films was essential. The brightness and "pop" of the colors for the Valerion was far better than my Epson unit and the Enhanced Black Level (EBL) feature on the Valerion really made a huge difference as well. In the end, I have chosen to list my Epson for sale on eBay and have stayed with the Valerion as my projector. I did this with a coffee table side mount that requires keystoning to square the image (11' back from the screen, right next to my primary viewing location). I can't say that the longevity or reliability of the Valerion is there yet because I have owned it for less than a month at this point, but I can say that image quality, input options, Google TV convenience and true 4K @ 120hz gaming (over even 1080p @ 240hz) are game changers to me. I have the optional ceiling mount if I decide to later move the unit up to the ceiling location, but if no one wants to buy my Epson, it may just stay mounted to my ceiling while I use the lower mount on the Valerion! This attached picture is a bad representation overall, but its all I had on the phone... I corrected a few issues (like the noticable light spill outside of the projected image, the incorrect geometry of the image shown here, and the obvious mess on the floor in front of the screen...LOL). I also did not bother with the screen masks I have (behind Pennywise on the left...LOL) that mask the 21:9 screen size for 16:9 viewing if I choose to use them - frequently I don't care about the sides of the image for gaming or TV and most of my film viewing does not use them anyway!) Overall, I am very happy with my purchase and would willingly do it again at this point; even though I was dumb enough to buy a bundle which included a custom ceiling mount, 2 pairs of 3D glasses and a 135" fixed frame screen (which turns out to be too large for this space - the image would be 66" high which would take it down to just over 7" from the floor and speaker placement becomes an issue along with the image getting kind of ridiculously large in the space). The inclusion of Google TV out of the box also allowed me to ditch my RokuHD and minimized my inputs as well, so that 95% of my usage is now directly connected to the projector instead of routing through the AVR. I get all of my streaming services, access to my Plex account and files and my X-box Series X without any problems. https://preview.redd.it/5tmjjqscn8kf1.jpeg?width=8160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0992708e46aeb455a318db6ddadf747539d94dbc

Ouch. I am sorry to hear that. Sounds like at least one of the LCD panels blew out. I'm sorry that happened to you. Those 6040UB units (at least the ones that work) are great projectors. On the flipside, there are options like the Valerion and Nebula laser projectors in the $2,000 - $2,500 range that can outperform it. Good luck, I hope you catch a break!

I got my last Epson 5050 and 6040 UB on Ebay a couple years ago.  One's at my mom's house, one's at my old house (now my friend's house).  Both projectors are still fine.

5050 has better contrast and deeper blacks than the 11000. The LS12000 is the laser update to the 5050 but it loses 3d for better 4k pixel shifting. I had a 6040 for just shy of 2 years and replaced it last April with a 6050. Lamps are $300 through a dealer, but can be found cheaper. ~9.5 months in and I’m just over 300hrs. I can get through this lamp’s life and probably another’s before seriously considering replacing it, and by then it’ll be a JVC for me.

Yes it is. Got mine open box in 500$. For anime it's a no brainer.

For $800 you’re looking at 1080p not even pixel shift. You’ll have to do the math on throw distance but an Epson 1080 or Benq 585 are decent machines

Lots of decent options. The Benq 2150 will look best but an Epson 1080 or 90 will have more pop but less refinement. Could be good for your use. It’s less bright and not requested 4k but the xgimi horizon pro would fit some people’s setups in that budget.

I have the Epson 880 and 1080.  They're both fantastic projector and some of the best values you can possibly get, especially in the 200 - $250 range, which is phenomenal value.  1060 is, as I understand it, similar to between the 880 and 1080 so I would absolutely recommend it.

For $1000 or less you’re either getting the cheapest lamp based 4K unit or a pretty nice 1080p model and solid state (laser or LED) is probably on the table. My no. 1 recommendation for a $1000 model USED to be the BenQ HT2060. I say used to because the price has gone up since this tariff insanity. Assuming you can catch a sale or deal on a refurb the HT2060 would still be my top pick. The reason: image quality. It produces a bright, crisp, colorful image with one of the highest native contrast ratios of any projector under $5,000 (my $3000 4K projector produces around half the native contrast). It’s 4LED so no bulbs to replace. 1080p/120Hz with 8-16ms of input latency and instantaneous pixel response which makes it perfect for even competitive gaming. The only negatives if you can call them negatives is it’s not a portable or ‘lifestyle’ projector so it doesn’t have built in streaming or a gimmicky gimbal mount. It’s an honest-to-goodness home theater projector with optical zoom and lens shift. Though it does have pretty good built in sound if you’re into that. I would recommend the H2060 for screen sizes of 90-120”. Any larger and you might want a brighter projector which at this price probably means going bulb. The BenQ TH575 or Epson 1080 are good alternatives. Neither will have the contrast nor will either be as colorful as the 2060 but you’ll get more output to push a larger screen or compete with more ambient light. The Epson in particular lacks the sharpness of the DLPs but is a certified light canon cable of driving enormous screens. https://www.avsforum.com/threads/benq-ht2060-4led-hdr-home-theater-gaming-projector-review-and-owners-thread.3270380/

The Epson hc 880, 1060, and 1080 are wonderful little light cannons and great quality for value. If I find one at that price I'm buying it for a secondary or movable protector They still won't compete with the sun but will work well at night/ late evening and they are physically small and easy to move

Try to look locally and find a used epson 880/660/1080/1060 or benq ht2050. They're old enough that they're probably around that price used and they have well documented response times. I sold my HT2050 for 250$ on fb marketplace last year. If you can go up to 500$ you can find an epson official refurbished hc1080 https://epson.com/Certified-ReNew/c/cc?q=%3Aprice-asc%3AdiscontinuedFlag%3Afalse%3AinStockFlag%3Atrue%3AproductType%3APROJECTOR

Maybe try and find a used Epson 880, 1060, 1080, 660. You'll need a lot of light for 200in, those are very high brightness 1080p projectors. Most affordable while still being designed for home theater use (vs office use). If you can afford 400$, Epson sells factory refurbs for around that much

Epson 880, 1080, 1060, 980 Benq ht2050 or 2060 Might have to look used or refurbished to get some of those in your price range

the benq will have better color generally and I think the response time is pretty good. The epson 1080 is a light cannon but color/contrast not as good, not sure about response time.

with cheap 100" 4k LED's available (walmart has a 98" Samsung for 1997 right now, costco has 98" TCL for 1599), maybe look at those before spending over $2k for a projector. Unless your screen is bigger than that, then a projector still the way to go since budget TV's max out at 100" right now (another couple years and you'll probably see 120" for $2k). Redoing my basement this is my dilemma - will stick with my 1080p Epson until the price comes down for 120"