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.

Yup, I went projector maybe 15 years ago? I’ve been using an Epson 5030ub on a 130 inch screen for about 7 or 8. I just picked up an Epson 6050ub yesterday, excited to hook it up and experience 4k! My motivation was a friend of mine bought a projector, and it just blew me away and exceeded my expectations. I thought projectors would be pixelated, dim, just not as good as a good TV….but it literally looked as good as a movie theater IMO. We still have a bedroom TV, but the projector/movie room is our main.

I have an EPSON 6050UB. Definitely look into an EPSON PJ. Should be budget friendly for you.

I bought the $60 dollar one and it was reasonable for watching low stakes entertainment. It crapped out 3 days into it. I bought a used $200 Epson 1080p 3D capable one and haven’t regretted it. (dont remember the model)

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

If that's the case, see if you can look at an Epson 1080, maybe refurbished or open-box. It will be a good starting point and its retail price is around $500 US. The Epson 8350 (my first ever projector) is also a good option. They have been out of production for awhile but they can be had for $250 or less. Only down side is they are larger than that Optoma or the 1080.

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.