Epson Home Cinema 2350 3LCD Projector
Projector Central Highly Recommended Award

Highly Recommended Award

Our Highly Recommended designation is earned by products offering extraordinary value or performance in their price class.

  • Performance
  • 3.5
  • Features
  • Ease of Use
  • Value
Pros
  • 4K support via 4K PRO_UHD pixel-shifting
  • HDR10 support
  • Vertical lens shift
  • Android streaming dongle with native Netflix app
  • Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support
  • ARC support
  • Built-in 10W speaker
  • Low input latency for gaming
Cons
  • 2x 1080p resolution instead of full UHD
  • Supplied streaming dongle defaults to BT.2020 color space and HDR dynamic range with SDR content
  • Requires some calibration to look its best
  • No 3D support
Our Take

Despite a few caveats, Epson's entry-level 4K PRO-UHD home theater projector provides solid performance and excellent value.

Epson Home Cinema 2350 left angle

The Epson Home Cinema 2350 is a traditional long throw projector and sits at the upper end of the company's streaming entertainment line of home theater projectors, being the only long throw with 4K resolution support in this family. This model was released last September and succeeds the HC2250 reviewed by Projector Central in December 2021, and sits just above the Home Cinema 1080 and just under the Home Cinema 3200. Its typical street price is $1,299, though with holiday promotions you may find it as low as $1099. Offering high lumen output in an all-in-one package with a competitive price, it's a great entry point for anyone considering adding projection into their home theater.

Features

The HC2350 home cinema projector uses Epson's tried and true 3-chip 3LCD and UHE (Ultra High Efficiency) lamp light source, which offers a high 2,800 ANSI lumens specification that proved accurate to what we measured—even better, in fact, with our reading of 2,875 ANSI lumens or 2.6% higher than Epson's ISO21116 spec. With its 3-chip design the HC2350 also provides high color luminance and elimination of rainbow effects, which are often seen with projectors at this price point that utilize single-chip DLP architecture. At the same time, the HC2350 offers a respectable 7,500 hours of lamp life in ECO (low lamp), or 4,500 hours in Normal (standard lamp) mode.

The HC2350 is a 1080p native resolution projector that utilizes pixel shifting and detail enhancement processing from Epson's 4K PRO-UHD technology that attempts to mimic 4K resolution on screen. This provides only a doubling of pixels (rather than the 4x shifting required for full 4K) and unfortunately does result in a somewhat softer image; the projector doesn't appear to fully resolve a full UHD 4K (3840x2160) resolution. The HC2350 accepts UHD 4K resolution signals at 30 Hz and lower frame rates with 4:2:2 chroma compression, but only displays 4K/60 Hz if the bit depth is 8-bit with 4:2:0 chroma.

The HC2350 is a standard long throw projector supporting a throw ratio of 1.32:1-2.15:1, capable of a projected image between 40 inches to 500 inches based on the projector's distance from screen. This distance can range from 3.7 to 6.2 feet to 48.7 to 78.7 feet based on Epson's documentation. I found the range provided to be accurate for projecting a 100-inch image in which I had the projector approximately 11 feet, 3 inches away with minimal zoom. Depending on the projector's location, the manual 1.6x optical zoom and manual 18.2mm-29.2mm focus can be used to dial in the image, though I wish the focus slider was a little tighter in terms of precision. In installations where a little more control is needed to dial in placement, the HC2350 does provide a manual vertical lens shift with +/- 60 degrees of travel. There is a slight offset on the lens from center which appeared to measure approximately 5 degrees. The ideal installation would have the horizontal placement perfectly centered and vertical placement pretty close to the center of the screen, with roughly a 5-degree offset below that. To determine throw distance for your preferred screen size you can utilize the ProjectorCentral Epson HC2350 projection calculator.

Epson Home Cinema 2350 front

The flexibility provided with the lens adjustments is very welcome to see because many projectors at this price point do not include a vertical lens shift, which can either require very precise placement or force the use of undesirable keystone correction for a permanent installation. In a pinch or for temporary installs the unit does have a digital horizontal and vertical keystone, as well as a 4-corner adjustment. Please keep in mind that using digital image warping like this does impact the integrity of the image.

The HC2350 allows for front- and rear-projection placements with either ceiling or table top mounting. Rear adjustable feet can be used to control tilt and a front adjustment foot controls the angle, all of which allows for a user to set up this unit without too much hassle. Considering that the HC2350 is not too large, coming in at 9 lbs. with the dimensions of 13.1 x 4.8 x 10.8 inches (WHD), it can be placed in a multitude of locations.

The gamut coverage of the HC2350 does leave a little to be desired, as its coverage in Rec.709 color space only reached 92.5% while in its BT.709 color space, and 73.2% for DCI-P3 in its BT.2020 color space in the CIE 1931 measurement. Ideally, an HD display should hit 100% Rec.709 coverage, so there is room for improvement in this area. The DCI-P3 coverage is also limited and could ideally be improved as well given that the projector is compatible with HDR.

While on the topic of color space, one issue that was present is that the Android/Google dongle that serves as the smart platform within the projector is always sending BT.2020 and HDR10 for all apps and sources connected through the dongle. This results in the dynamic range being incorrect based on content. If the content you are watching is HDR/BT.2020 it's not an issue. The issue comes into play when it's SDR/Rec.709 content as it results in high amounts of oversaturation. One would assume that selecting either Rec.709 for the color space or selecting SDR for the Dynamic Range would solve this issue, however when this is done the image becomes washed out. So SDR content through this dongle is not the most accurate experience, unfortunately. [Editor's note: A similar issue was also present back when we encountered the Android dongle included with Epson's LS500 ultra short throw projector, as reported in our review. I'm not sure why these Android streaming devices can't be set to output the native signal of the program being streamed and upconverts all content to 4K/HDR, but with the LS500 it negatively affected not only SDR (which was processed with Epson's HDR brightness control active) but also HDR content, which did not come through with the same high contrast and color fidelity I witnessed with the same programs watched via my Roku Ultra or Amazon 4K Fire Stick. HC2350 buyers should consider adding a Roku or Fire Stick 4K dongle and using that instead to ensure image quality, though at the potential sacrifice of some dongle functionality from the Epson projector remote.—Rob Sabin.]

Epson makes sure to highlight the HC2350's capability for gaming, including input latency under 20 milliseconds and support for gaming at 120 frames per second. It proved fairly capable in testing, however there are specific scenarios in which these things apply. Gaming at 120 FPS is limited to 1080p, and this is also where the input latency is at its lowest. This ideally wouldn't be too much of a problem for the newer consoles such as the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X; when they run games at 120 Hz the resolution is generally dropped to 1080p in many cases. On the other hand, this wouldn't apply to a gamer on PC who has the hardware to ideally run a game at 120 Hz or higher at higher resolutions. In that case the user who wanted to play at 120 FPS would need to drop the resolution to 1080p.

Also, as mentioned above, for gaming at 4K the HC2350 is only able to accept a 4K signal at 60Hz if the input signal is 8 bit with 4:2:0 chroma. If a 4K/60 Hz signal is sent in 4:2:2 or in 10 bit, the HC2350 will return a No Signal screen. I also found little to no variance between the Cinema EDID and Game EDID settings, which is used to alter the image processing for lower latency when measured. Through multiple tests they were the same result more often than not. The input latency measured at 18 ms for 1080p/120 Hz, 26ms for 1080p/60 Hz, 67ms for 4K/30 Hz, and 19ms for 4K/60 Hz. Generally, when the input frame is higher, such as 120 Hz, the input latency is reduced. This is why 120 Hz measured lowest, while 30 Hz measured highest. Unfortunately, 4K/30 Hz may be unusable for more hardcore gamers as the latency is fairly high, however many will find the 4K/60 Hz latency below 20 ms suitable for all but the most demanding gaming sessions.

Epson Home Cinema 2350 compartment
The Epson Home Cinema 2350 has a compartment that fits the included Android TV streaming stick.

The Home Cinema 2350 unfortunately has relatively limited I/O on the unit, though it still offers some very important features in what it does have. The HC2350 connections area is broken into three compartments. If looking at the rear of the unit, the first compartment on the left is a long-recessed area that holds the Android TV streaming stick. The dongle comes with two extension cables that wrap from the dongle compartment around into the second compartment to connect the HDMI cable from the streaming stick and its USB A power cord to the USB A port that supports 5V 2A to power it. You can use the same compartment and extension cables to house and connect/power a streaming dongle of your own choice. The last I/O section is exposed and offers an HDMI port with ARC support, plus a 3.5mm analog stereo audio output jack and a USB-B input designated for service only. Technically the projector has just two HDMI inputs, with one intended for the supplied Android streaming stick, though the user can disconnect this and use that HDMI input for any device they see fit. The HDMI inputs are both 2.0b/HDCP 2.3 compliant, with CEC support.

The streaming Android TV stick supports Wi-Fi connectivity to 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz networks as well as Bluetooth version 5.0. Since the streaming platform is Android, users have access to the Google Play store and official native authorized apps for streaming services such as Netflix, Prime Video, Google Play, etc. Notably, this device is authorized to use the Android Netflix app, which is not the case today with many Android-based projectors.

Epson Home Cinema 2350 remote1

The last two noteworthy inclusions are Epson's auto iris, which adjusts the luminance of the image based on the content being displayed, and the 10-watt bass reflex mono speaker. The sound produced from this speaker was actually quite good considering it's not stereo. It played fairly loud with little to no apparent distortion when used at normal volumes against other general noise in the house, and it had sufficient output at a volume setting of 8. Never did I have to turn the volume up past 12, which is great when you consider the max volume is 40. It was lacking most in the lower mid-bass frequency range, which is to be expected. As always it is recommended to use an external sound system such as a more robust Bluetooth speaker, soundbar, or AVR/AVP. If needed this speaker will do the job in a temporary installation, though I would suggest something more robust.

Unfortunately, the HC2350 does not support 3D as found on many previous Epson projectors, and the included remote is not backlit. These are two things I would have liked to see included with this unit. The remote is well laid out and minimalistic and has pretty much everything you need on it. I do feel that one of the buttons could have been better utilized though. The keystone button is not usually needed for quick access since once the projector is set up you don't need to go back to constantly change. I think it and would have been better to have that button be assigned to something like Color Mode.

Performance

Color Modes. The Epson HC2350 has 4 picture modes referred to as Color Modes for SDR which are also shared with HDR. The modes are Dynamic, Vivid, Natural, and Cinema. Each picture mode had an inherent bias to the image that shifted towards a specific color that was visible to the eye. Dynamic was the brightest picture mode and too green, which is typical of the brightest mode on most projectors. Vivid was biased towards blue, Natural towards green, and Cinema towards red.

None of the picture modes were particularly accurate OOTB (out of the box) with both the grayscale and the color gamut for SDR and HDR measuring incorrect. Prior to any adjustment, the most suitable mode OOTB was Cinema, followed by Natural.

Epson Home Cinema 2350 Lifestyle1

The controls within the HC2350 allow for both grayscale and color management system (CMS) adjustment in all available picture modes. Grayscale adjustment allows for RGB two-point controls of Gain and Offset, with high-end (brighter) adjustments made using Gain and the low-end (darker) adjustments made with Offset. CMS allowed for Hue, Saturation, and Brightness adjustments within target color space for primary and secondary colors (RGBCMY).

Additionally, Epson provides controls to make a Custom Gamma which utilizes 9 color tone points in a +/- scale. The available Gamma options are 2, 1, 0, -1, -2, and Custom. These should roughly relate to 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4 gamma. However, when measured these options appeared to line up more closely to 1.9, 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3 gamma. Default Custom will match the 0 setting. The gamma tracked fairly consistent with a slight over tracking or under tracking in the midtone region depending on if the value selected was positive or negative.

As previously stated, OOTB performance wasn't the best and the projector did need some work to fix the bias in the color modes, as well as correction within the color gamut specifically for Saturation. Color luminance was pretty close to correct. Calibration can correct the skin tones and memory colors of grass, sky, etc. The biggest offenders with color accuracy were red, yellow, and green. Red and green had the biggest issues with saturation, likely due to the unit only reaching 92.5% of Rec.709.

Initial viewing of the out of the box (OOTB) picture modes was okay, and depending on the viewer's sensitivity to green or red bias, either Cinema or Natural would be the ideal go-to picture mode. In my case I leaned towards the warmer red-biased Cinema, however, since the picture modes are shared between SDR and HDR, I opted to use Natural for SDR and Cinema for HDR and to allow adjustments for each.

Nonetheless, for users who do use this projector with OOTB settings, I found the most accurate modes for dark room viewing to be Cinema for both SDR and HDR with a Gamma setting of -1 for SDR and 0 for HDR. For Lamp Power I would suggest Low for SDR or Standard if a brighter picture is needed, with contrast anywhere between 22-37 depending on desired brightness. Setting contrast at 37 minimum will help resolve the most detail and prevent clipping of peak whites. For the HDR 10 Settings within the Dynamic Range control I would suggest a setting of 2 or 3 depending on user taste, and Contrast between 45-47. For HDR I would suggest Lamp Power at Standard or High depending on need.

I began calibration of the HC2350 using Calman Ultimate calibration software from Portrait Displays, a Colorimetry Research CR-250 Spectroradiometer, a Colorimetry Research CR-100 Colorimeter, and a Murideo 8K Seven Generator. The HC2350 was calibrated to 100-inch diagonal on a 1.3 gain Stewart Filmscreen, at approx. 11 feet 3 inches in distance. Prior to beginning calibration, I ran various measurements to confirm what I saw in OOTB viewing.

SDR pre calibration measurements had large errors for dE (DeltaE), which is the metric used to determine the visible error. It has been determined that anything over a dE of 3 is visible, anything over 2.3 is a just noticeable difference for trained eyes and anything below 2.3 should ideally not be seen to the eye. The HC2350's pre-calibration grayscale measurements for the Natural picture mode had dE errors ranging from 2.4 dE to 10.3 dE. Color gamut color points for the Rec. 709 color space exhibited lower DeltaE errors for 100% saturated colors but had high DeltaE in the 20% through 80% range due to oversaturation. HDR pre-calibration measurements showed undersaturation within the color gamut and high errors within grayscale.

Utilizing the provided 2-point gain and offset controls for White Balance, I targeted the production industry standard D65 neutral gray white point. Afterwards, a full CMS calibration for the RGBCMY primaries and secondary colors was performed in with Natural for SDR and Cinema for HDR.

Epson Home Cinema 2350 top

Post calibration DeltaE errors were acceptable given the unit's color space coverage and the projector calibrated fairly well taking that into account. I ran a large ColorChecker in the Calman software, which measures accuracy on a wide range of color swatches corresponding to skin tones, blue sky, and other common colors. This resulted in an average of 2.1 dE, and a max of 5.1 dE, with the max errors due to the unit being unable to fully cover the Rec.709 color space. Post calibration errors for HDR also improved across the board for both grayscale tracking and color, however green was unable to be fully dialed in as it is just unable to hit the specified gamut target. EOTF tracking was off and over tracked on the lower end of the scale and under tracked on the higher end.

The devices I used for reviewing content post calibration were Apple TV 4K, Fire TV, and an Oppo UDP-203 Blu-ray player.

1080p/SDR Viewing. Post calibration I started watching True Grit (2010) on Apple TV. The scene that stood out most was when Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) was in court. The look and color palette of the movie was correct and what I expected to see. I was also glad to see that the smoke behind Rooster that rolled around in front of the window didn't exhibit any posterization or banding. The main issue with the scene was the loss of detail in the all-black clothing. The HC2350 doesn't have fine control of black and in many cases it will either appear lifted or crushed, which results in losing detail in the darker areas, though the projector's Scene Adaptive Gamma control may help with some overall dark content. Typically, it's a tradeoff of exposing too much within the darker areas or not enough, though in the case of SDR I found it better to have black slightly crushed to prevent the image from looking washed out. Overall, skin tones looked accurate for the entire scene.

Mad Max: Fury Road on Blu-ray via the Oppo 203 was my next pick for 1080p/SDR viewing. I chose this specifically because when I originally viewed this same movie on the HC2250 it was not presented correctly, showing with heavily over-saturated reds visible on all of the faces and in the desert landscape. It was the same when Furiosa was first driving through the wasteland and they were attacked by the Buzzards, and Furiosa turned to the camera as it zoomed in on her face. Thankfully all of the heavy red push and saturation seen in the earlier model was resolved in the HC2350. I also reviewed this scene in HDR, which was also presented well. So, this is definitely an improvement over its predecessor.

UHD/HDR Viewing. Viewing of HDR content started with The Rings of Power, Episode 1 on Prime Video via Fire TV 4K. I choose this episode because at the very start of the show there is a lot of bright highlights and also some areas with shadow detail that can be lost due to clipping or crushed due to a display being unable to properly come out of black. I quickly saw that skin tones looked good, as did the color of grass and the sky when Galadriel was a child and making her boat. Overall, it was a very appealing and convincing HDR image. The few areas that were somewhat problematic were when Galadriel's brother was walking away and over the hill where the trees of Valinor were first seen, where a lot of the detail was clipping and it almost looked like one tree when in actuality there are two. Some of the clouds in the sky were clipped as well. Once the light was destroyed and the realm became dark, it was evident that the blacks were slightly lifted. Later, Galadriel took up her brother's vow and the camera panned over some water, where unfortunately a lot the sun bouncing off the water surface clipped; instead of resolving the detail it was just a bright white. The tradeoff would be losing the impression of HDR to resolve the detail and having an overall darker image, vs. allowing the detail to be clipped out in exchange for the brighter picture.

Epson Home Cinema 2350 front angle

Hacksaw Ridge on 4K Blu-ray via the Oppo 203 was next. I primarily focused on the movie from when Desmond (Andrew Garfield) began rescuing soldiers from the ridge and lowering them down. The skin tones were good and accurate, as was the landscape. The uniform colors for the American troops were slightly off in terms of hue, though outside of that everything looked pretty good. When Desmond was making his rescues after nightfall, I noticed the black floor was still slightly lifted and a little too much detail was shown, even with the High-Speed Iris on, though overall, it was a pleasant viewing experience. All other details in the scenes resolved nicely and, outside of the lifted blacks, nothing appeared too out of place from what I expected.

Solo: A Star Wars Story on Apple TV 4K wrapped up my viewing of HDR on the HC2350. Watching the Kessel Run was actually a fairly enjoyable experience. The slightly lifted blacks didn't hurt this scene at all. Those familiar with it will know that at times it is on the darker side, such as when the Millennium Falcon is maneuvering through the maelstrom with flashes of blue lightening that light up the clouds in the backdrop. Here I could see that the blacks were slightly lifted but it actually helped in seeing more detail in the scene as it frequently changed between the interior to outside the ship, and offered many explosions and flashes of light. The only time it was evident that the blacks were lighter than they should be was the moment just before power was restored power to the Millennium Falcon, and all of the lights come on revealing that the crew is sitting right in front of the eye of the creature hiding in the darkness of space. Afterwards, upon approaching the Maw, the saturation and color of the reds and oranges in the Maw was actually quite good. Motion was also very good as well, and you can see the High-Speed Iris at work during this scene's entirety.

Epson Home Cinema 2350 Lifestyle2

Conclusion

The Epson HC2350 is interesting due to its price point and features. It provides the ability to play UHD signals up to 4K/60Hz (though with some limitations), built in streaming options with its Android TV dongle using authorized apps from the Google Play store, high lumen output, a high speed iris, a built-in speaker, vertical lens shift, HDR support, and a fairly compact size. Price-to-performance, it's a very strong offering. It's capable of providing a pleasing viewing experience while bringing the user the ability to enjoy 4K without too large a financial commitment.

However, when compared to some of its siblings, specifically the HC3200, it becomes a slightly different discussion as you factor in the HC2350's various shortcomings. Examples would be how the Android TV dongle forces HDR and BT.2020 for everything, or that the projector will not accept a 4K/60 Hz input signal with higher bit depth or chroma. For approximately $200 more, the HC3200, also a 4K PRO-UHD projector with 1080p native chips, provides some noticeable upgrades. These include a slightly higher rated contrast ratio, 3D support, 4K/60 Hz compatibility, higher maximum signal resolution supporting 4096x2160, etc. In this scenario there's a decision on which projector you might purchase depending on your needs.

Overall, though, the Epson HC2350 provides a nice well-rounded set of features and a great entry into 4K projection. There's some room for improvement in a few areas, but it's sure to please a good majority of buyers seeking the big screen experience. It's suitable for viewing in a lit room with its high lumen output, offers flexible installation options, and performs better than many projectors found at this price point.

Measurements

Brightness. The Epson HC2350 is rated for 2,800 ANSI lumens. The brightest picture mode in SDR and HDR was Dynamic, which had a green bias and wasn't really suitable for viewing, though it can be adjusted to be more suitable at the expense of losing some brightness. In SDR and HDR, this picture mode measured 2,875 ANSI lumens or 2.7% higher than Epson's ISO 21118 lumens specification.

Selecting Standard for the Lamp Power mode measured a 16.4% light decrease vs. the High lamp mode, while Low Lamp Power measured a decrease of 32.1%.

Epson HC2350 ANSI Lumens

SDR/HDR Modes High Standard Low
Dynamic 2,875 2,404 1,951
Vivid 2,186 1,828 1,484
Natural 1,892 1,582 1,284
Cinema 1,957 1,637 1,328

Zoom Lens Light Loss. The Epson HC2350's light loss when shifting from the widest zoom position to its longest telephoto position was 5.9%.

Brightness Uniformity. The Epson HC2350 projecting a 100-inch diagonal image resulted in measured brightness uniformity of 80.3% while in wide angle zoom, and 78.1% in telephoto zoom. The brightest portion of the screen was the middle center sector, and the dimmest the right top. The difference in brightness on a full white and solid color screens was slightly noticeable though it was not noticeable in actual moving content.

Fan Noise. Epson reports the HC2350's fan noise at 36 dB or 32 dB in Quiet Mode using the industry-standard, averaged multi-point measurement technique. Using Room EQ Wizard software and a Umik-1 microphone, with my theater room ambient noise floor reading 33.3 dBA, it measured as follows for both SDR and HDR. All measurements were taken at a distance of approx. 4.5 feet away from each side of the unit.

SDR/HDR (all picture modes)

Low Lamp Power
Back: 34.1 dBA
Left: 33.9 dBA
Right: 35.7 dBA
Front: 35.2 dBA
Top: 35.7 dBA

Standard Lamp Power
Back: 36.0 dBA
Left: 35.8 dBA
Right: 38.2 dBA
Front: 39.3 dBA
Top: 37.2 dBA

High Lamp Power
Back: 38.3 dBA
Left: 40.2 dBA
Right: 41.2 dBA
Front: 41.9 dBA
Top: 41.1 dBA

Input Lag. Input lag measurements were done using the Game EDID setting. Measurements using the Cinema EDID setting were the same. The following supported resolutions and frame rates were tested: 1080p/60 = 26ms, 1080p/120 = 18ms, 2160p/30 = 67ms, 2160p/60 = 19ms

Connections

Epson Home Cinema 2350 connections
  • HDMI 2.0b (X2; HDCP 2.3)
  • USB 2.0 Type B (Service Only)
  • USB 2.0 Type A (5V/2A power delivery)
  • Analog audio out (3.5mm)

Calibrated Settings

Calibrated image settings from any third-party do not account for the significant potential for sample-to-sample variation, nor the different screen sizes and materials, lighting, lamp usage, or other environmental factors that can affect image quality. Projectors should always be calibrated in the user's own space and tuned for the expected viewing conditions. However, the settings provided here may be a helpful starting point for some. Always record your current settings before making adjustments so you can return to them as desired. Refer to the Performance section for some context for each calibration.

SDR

IMAGE

Light Output: Low/Standard
Color Mode: Natural

EXPERT SETTINGS

Brightness: 47
Contrast: 23/32 (depending on if using low or standard light output)
Color Saturation: 50
Tint: 50
Sharpness: 5

WHITE BALANCE

Color Temp: 6500K

CUSTOM
Offset R: 48
Offset G: 50
Offset B: 50
Gain R: 53
Gain G: 45
Gain B: 52

Frame Interpolation: N/A

IMAGE ENHANCEMENT

4K Enhancement: On
Image Preset: Preset 2

Noise Reduction: N/A
MPEG Noise Reduction: N/A
Detail Enhancement: 15

Scene Adaptive Gamma: 6

Gamma: CUSTOM
Color Tone 1: 0
Color Tone 2: -4
Color Tone 3: -9
Color Tone 4: -8
Color Tone 5: -11
Color Tone 6: -12
Color Tone 7: -14
Color Tone 8: -14
Color Tone 9: 0

(Alternative would be using -1)

RGBCMY
R - Hue: 49 / Saturation: 33 / Brightness: 62
G - Hue: 72 / Saturation: 58 / Brightness: 39
B - Hue: 51 / Saturation: 41 / Brightness: 54
C - Hue: 53 / Saturation: 44 / Brightness: 53
M - Hue: 52 / Saturation: 41 / Brightness: 54
Y - Hue: 49 / Saturation: 30 / Brightness: 70

Auto Iris: High Speed

HDR

IMAGE

Light Output: HIGH
Color Mode: Cinema

EXPERT SETTINGS

Brightness: 45
Contrast: 47
Color Saturation: 50
Tint: 50
Sharpness: 5

WHITE BALANCE

Color Temp: 8

CUSTOM
Offset R: 52
Offset G: 51
Offset B: 46
Gain R: 50
Gain G: 47
Gain B: 56

Frame Interpolation: Off

IMAGE ENHANCEMENT

4K Enhancement: On
Image Preset: Preset 2

Noise Reduction: 2
MPEG Noise Reduction: 1
Detail Enhancement: 20

Scene Adaptive Gamma: 4

Gamma: 0

RGBCMY
R - Hue: 45 / Saturation: 83 / Brightness: 47
G - Hue: 50 / Saturation: 50 / Brightness: 50
B - Hue: 50 / Saturation: 94 / Brightness: 53
C - Hue: 47 / Saturation: 92 / Brightness: 90
M - Hue: 40 / Saturation: 64 / Brightness: 78
Y - Hue: 43 / Saturation: 66 / Brightness: 95

Auto Iris: High Speed

SIGNAL > DYNAMIC RANGE > HDR10 Setting: 3

For more detailed specifications and connections, check out our Epson Home Cinema 2350 projector page.

To buy this projector, use Where to Buy online, or get a price quote by email direct from Projector Central authorized dealers using our E-Z Quote tool.

 
Comments (16) Post a Comment
Cory Potts Posted Dec 5, 2022 4:35 PM PST
Guys, It’s been mentioned before in every review, but I’m mentioning it again as maybe persistence is what drives you guys…Please get bigger screens for reviewing purposes. A 100” (especially Robs 90”) are quite honestly insufficient for serious reviewers testing a 3000 lumen pj…it’s a Lamborghini that never leaves the school zone. Also, “Despite a few caveats, Epson's entry-level 4K PRO-UHD home theater projector provides solid performance and excellent value” I honestly couldn’t tell from the review. The 4 stars for value certainly don’t demonstrate “excellent value.”
Steve Posted Dec 5, 2022 6:15 PM PST
THANKS FOR YOUR REVIEW! I’m enjoying my 2350. Glad that some of the measurements I made manually mimic some of the ones you did with proper equipment. Some thoughts: I wished the manual buttons could be tweaked a little finer. I find the fan noise to be a little higher than I’d like. I pump up detail to 7, and had higher contrast settings as well. I usually run on low, but will try some things on higher light. NFL in particular I need to brighten things up (which probably is all user preference). I don’t use the dongle in favor of firestick 4K. Use universal backlit remote (harmony) rather than the one provided.
Matt Posted Dec 6, 2022 10:37 AM PST
Been waiting to see a review of this one. Great article. Glad to see fan noise has made its way into your review processes as that's important to me sitting under my ceiling pole-mount.

Methinks I will skip this one and save up for one of the laser models.
Rob Sabin, Editor Posted Dec 6, 2022 10:48 AM PST
Thanks, Matt. We've been doing casual measurements of fan noise for a while primarily for the reason you cite. I do my own casual measurements from 5 feet away and about 3 feet below the front of the projector specifically to simulated a ceiling mount above and behind the viewer.
Justin Posted Dec 6, 2022 1:31 PM PST
Hello. Thanks for the review. I would love to hear more of a comparison to the 2250. Primarily contrast. Some user reviews I have read suggested that the 2350 was a step backwards from the 2250. I'm considering upgrading from a 2045 but have seen the 2250 and like the improved contrast and color but wouldn't want to get less on those fronts with the 2350. Also, any comment on how much, if any, the pixel shifting improved the picture detail and if it can be turned off to compare the difference? Thanks again.
Kevin Posted Dec 7, 2022 1:58 PM PST
Thank you so much for the review. I got this projector last week, using it like a living room "TV". One quick question. Does the 2350 support 4k 60hz HDR?
José Luis Posted Dec 9, 2022 3:46 AM PST
Hello, the slider at the top for image keystone correction, is it an optical-mechanical adjustment? it would be like a horizontal adjustment, with no digital limitations.

I'm still looking for a 4K projector with no more than 1500 lum for home cinema, with the ventilation of this Epson and the same SIZE (The HC3200 is too big), with vert-horiz adjustments and with a reduced noise level; like the Panasonic PT-AE from 10 years ago...
jeff Posted Dec 15, 2022 7:35 PM PST
I just received mine and noticed something kind of funny. With the built in Android TV stick it defaults to HDR10 for everything - at 4k60 8bit 4:2:0. If I use a Chromecast at 4k60 & 8bit 4:2:0 then HDR never works - it's only when I go down to 4k30 or 1080p60 with 4k Enhancement on that I get HDR enabled.

I wonder if Epson is fudging the numbers on HDR when using the built in Android TV stick.
Matt K Posted Dec 16, 2022 7:10 PM PST
Did you actually get the HC2350 to go into a 120hz mode? Epson support told me that it doesn't support 120hz in any mode and that feature has now been removed from their website page for this unit. Please let me know. My PC can definitely push out 120hz at 1080p, but the projector doesn't recognise the signal.
Michael Posted Dec 16, 2022 10:22 PM PST
I'm having trouble turning on 4k enhancement. I've followed the directions you provided, but can't find it. I can't find any other resources to turn it on either. How'd you do it?
Rob Sabin, Editor Posted Dec 20, 2022 10:04 AM PST
Matt, this response from Sammie Prescott:

"When sending the sample unit I tested 120Hz, I was utilizing Game EDID and 1080P 8bit YUV. Generally the PC will send an RGB format signal which does not play well with this unit. A perfect example is 4k/60Hz the unit will only accept that signal in YUV 8Bit 4:2:0. If RGB is sent No signal is returned.

This was the case as well when I sent it 120Hz."

Thomas Posted Jan 30, 2023 11:31 AM PST
Does this have anamorphic lenses? Or when you play a movie this is filmed in 2.35:1 aspect ration do you lose a lot of light in the black bar area?
Rob Sabin, Editor Posted Jan 30, 2023 5:07 PM PST
This projector has no aspect picture modes for use with an anamorphic lens, the cost of which would likely be several multiples the total cost of the projector.
Nick Posted Mar 30, 2023 9:33 AM PST
Hi! I bought this and love it. I am having issues running my Xbox through my reciver and projector. I am wondering if its an HDMI cable issue. What HDMI cable would you recommend to run from the reciver to the projector??
marco Posted May 17, 2023 5:07 AM PST
In terms of achieved 4k via pixel-shifting technology, is there a considerable difference between Epson Home Cinema 2350 and BenQ TK700STi?

It is my understanding that both projectors' native resolution is 1080p and that they both achieve 4k through pixel-shifting technology. However, according to your reviews, there seems to be a noticeable difference between the two, and I would like to confirm which projector is best in terms of resolution before purchasing one.
Rob Sabin, Editor Posted May 17, 2023 8:09 AM PST
Marco, there is absolutely a "potentially" noticeable difference in the on-screen resolution of the BenQ TK700STi or any other full 4K DLP projector vs. what Epson does in the HC2350, the HC4010, or the HC5050UB/HC6050UB models. The 4K DLP models are what we describe as "full 4K" (not "native" 4K) because they put all of the 8.3 million pixels in a frame of Ultra HD video on the screen in the timeframe of a single frame. The common 0.47-inch chip is 1080p (1920x1080) native but subjected to 4-phase pixel-shifting during that interval to allow every pixel in the signal to be displayed. The less common 0.66 chip is native 2716x1528, which only has be doubled (two-phase pixel shift) to put the full UHD pixel count on the screen.

By comparison, Epson's "4K enhanced" approach used here and on most other Epson 4K-compatible projectors merely doubles the pixel count of its 1080p imagers (two-phase pixel shifting). It's a very obvious difference when you get close to the screen, where the pixel structure on the Epsons becomes quickly visible the closer you get. However, as we have reported in many reviews, Epson's video processing/electronic detail enhancement makes the image look very close to the 4K DLPs (if not true native 4K) from normal viewing distances. The lens can make a difference here -- I have always felt that Epson's 4K PRO-UHD technique is better executed on their large-chassis projectors like the HC5050/6050 and HC4010 due to their large and excellent lenses. Both the Epson HC2350 and BenQ TK700STi are budget projectors with relatively pedestrian lenses (compared with something like the 5050), so I can't say how the would directly compare. But I gather they are both decent lenses suitable for the price point and I'd be surprised to find one was much better than the other.

I should note that Epson's newest premium models, the LS12000 and LS11000 laser projectors, do apply 4-phase pixel shifting to the native 1080p LCD panels to achieve full-4K resolution. But that is presently exclusive to those Epson models at $5,000 and $4,000 respectively.

All that said, one key benefit for the Epson projectors is their 3LCD architecture, which makes them immune to the rainbow artifacts you can get with single-chip DLPs. You may encounter some panel alignment issues with these or any 3-chip projectors, including the high-end native 4K LCoS models from JVC and Sony. But this is usually addressable with menu adjustments if its noticeable.

Post a comment

 
Enter the numbers as they appear to the left