Reviews You Can Rely On

Epson Home Cinema 2150 Review

A great home theater machine, but not quite as good as the Editors' Choice
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epson home cinema 2150 projector review
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Price:  $900 List
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Manufacturer:   Epson
By Max Mutter and Steven Tata  ⋅  May 14, 2018
72
OVERALL
SCORE
  • Image Quality - 45% 8.0
  • Ease of Use - 25% 7.0
  • Brightness - 15% 6.0
  • Fan Noise - 15% 6.0

Our Verdict

The Epson Home Cinema 2150 is the best model in the best you can get in Epson's home cinema line without verging into 4-digit pricetag territory. In our opinion, it lives up to its pedigree. It delighted us with a superb picture during our home theater testing. However, we've found better mdoels at or near the same price, so it may not be the best value for the money.
REASONS TO BUY
Very good image quality
Good color accuracy
Full HD
REASONS TO AVOID
Dim lamp
Not ideal for well-lit rooms

Our Analysis and Test Results

The Epson Home Cinema 2150 is a great home theater projector for less than $100. It offers a great, 1080p HD picture, and is fairly easy to set up. However, in our testing it wasn't the best performer in its price range.

Performance Comparison


The Espons Home Cinema 2150 fell behind only the top models in our testing. In the sections that follow we go over its performance in all of our tests in detail.

Image quality


The Home Cinema 2150 was one of the best performers in our image quality testing. When we used it in a home theater setting, it produced a crystal clear picture with good color composition and contrast. Skin tones were generally rendered quite accurately, one area where many other models struggled. The 1080p resolution rendered everything from small text to detailed photographs with great clarity.

The only slight weak point in the 2150's cinematic performance is that bright scenes can sometimes look a little bit washed out. In our testing we noticed some loss of detail in bright areas on the screen. This is by no means a dealbreaker and is a relatively minor complaint.

epson home cinema 2150 projector review - here you can see that the epson 2150's (right) extra...
Here you can see that the Epson 2150's (right) extra brightness washes out some detail in the horizon and sky.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Ease of Use


The Home Cinema 2150 was one of the most user friendly models we tested, sharing the top score of 7 out of 10 in this metric. It offers a lot of adjustability with both vertical and horizontal keystone correction and vertical lens shift. There is alos a 1-1.6x optical zoom. this gives you a lot of room for error if you want to the 2150 on a permanent mount. If you place it on a flat surface, the leg adjustment is quick and easy. Just press the release button, slide the leg the height you want, and then release the release button.

epson home cinema 2150 projector review - the epson 2150 offers vertical lens shift, somewhat of a rarity for...
The Epson 2150 offers vertical lens shift, somewhat of a rarity for models in this price range.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

We weren't fans of the 2150's remote. Its buttons are fairly small and grouped close together, making pushing the wrong button by accident a common occurrence. The remote is also not backlit, making things even harder in a dark home theater setting. This isn't a huge deal as, once you have your projector set up, you probably won't use its remote for much besides turning it on and maybe selecting inputs.

epson home cinema 2150 projector review - we wish the epson's remote had slightly larger buttons, but it's not...
We wish the Epson's remote had slightly larger buttons, but it's not a huge deal in the long run.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Brightness


The 2150 was the brightest of the home theater geared models we tested, producing 1943 lumens in our testing. In a dark, home theater setting the 2150 has more than enough brightness. However, the 2150 still struggled when we used it in a well lit room. During our presentation testing it struggled to overpower ambient light and project a clear, white background. Instead, the backgrounds of graphs had a blueish tint to them. Images projected in a bright room didn't look terrible, but this certainly wouldn't be our first choice as a presentation machine. If you want a good, 1080p projector that can handle presentation take a look at the Epson EX9200.

Fan Noise


Earning an average score of 6 out of 10 in our fan noise testing, the 2150's fan gets loud enough to be noticed, but generally isn't annoying, nor does it ruin a movie watching experience.

When we first turned on the 2150, its fan noise was barely perceptible. As the lamp heated up the fan got louder and noticeable, but still quiet enough that we couldn't hear it while watching action scenes or heavily scored movies. When there was nothing but dialogue we could hear the fan, but we didn't feel like it truly distracted us from the movie.
epson home cinema 2150 projector review - the 2150's inputs and outputs.
The 2150's inputs and outputs.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman

Value


The Epson Home Cinema 2150 lists for $900. It is an excellent projector, but the some similarly priced models have slightly better image quality and a quieter fan, and lists for $750. If you can find the Home Cinema 2150 on sale for less than $750, it's a worthwhile purchase.

Conclusion


The Epson Home Cinema 2150 is one of the best sub-$1000 home theater projectors you can get.

Max Mutter and Steven Tata