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Epson reveals three new 2015 projectors under a grand

Epson has announced three affordable home theater projectors including the entry-level Home Cinema 740HD and the enthusiast-level 2040.

Ty Pendlebury Editor

Ty Pendlebury is a journalism graduate of RMIT Melbourne, and has worked at CNET since 2006. He lives in New York City where he writes about streaming and home audio.

Expertise Ty has worked for radio, print, and online publications, and has been writing about home entertainment since 2004. He majored in Cinema Studies when studying at RMIT. He is an avid record collector and streaming music enthusiast. Credentials

Ty was nominated for Best New Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism awards, but he has only ever won one thing. As a youth, he was awarded a free session for the photography studio at a local supermarket.

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Ty Pendlebury

Aug. 5, 2015 6:53 a.m. PT

Epson's new projector line includes the all-in-one Home Cinema 740HD and the enthusiast-targeted Home Cinema 2040 and 2045.

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All three projectors include Epson's 3LCD display technology, which is a competitor to DLP and is not susceptible to rainbow effect, and while the 204x feature 1080p resolutions the 740HD is 720p.

The 740HD offers the highest brightness of the three at 3000 lumens and Epson says it can be used in semi-lit environments. Meanwhile the 2040/45 has a lower 2200 lumen brightness but much higher contrast and is therefore more suited to a dedicated home theater.

The 204x models also offer 3D playback and image processing features such as Image Enhancement (sharpening) and Frame Interpolation. However based on an Epson demo the frame interpolation isn't as sophisticated as is available on some TVs with significant image artifacts.

Connectivity on the three projectors includes two HDMI ports with MHL which can also be used to connect a Roku Streaming Stick (MHL).

If you want to mirror your laptop (or compatible Android phone) on your TV the Home Cinema 2045 offers Miracast and WiDi for a $50 premium over the 2040.

The Epson Home Cinema 740HD ($649), the Home Cinema 2040 ($799) and the Home Cinema 2045 ($849) will be available in late August.