Epson Debuts 1080p Home Projector

Epson's forthcoming PowerLite Pro Cinema 1080 home projector will offer 1080p resolution, 12,000:1 contrast, and a $4,999 price tag.

Epson has announced a high-end addition to its PowerLite Pro line of home theater projectors in the form of the Epson PowerLite Pro Cinema 1080. Although the system won’t be available in the U.S. until January of 2007, it packs some impression specifications, including a native resolution of 1,920 by 1,080 pixels 1200 cm/m² brightness, a whopping 12,000:1 contrast ratio, and HDMI input.

“One of the primary reasons Epson is the number one projector company in the world is because Epson develops and manufactures virtually all of the major technologies that go into every one of its projectors,” said Aaron Marinari, senior product manager, Epson America, in a statement. “And, because Epson knows how to integrate all of those elements into one cohesive system better than anyone else, the PowerLite Pro Cinema 1080 will establish a new standard for 1080p projection.”

The PowerLite Pro Cinema 1080 is compatible with a wade variety of video formats (including NTSC, NTSC4.43, PAL, M-PAL, N-PAL, PAL60, SECAM, and HD offerings up to 1080p), offers mini D-Sub, composite, component, S-Video, and HDMI inputs, and sports a 2.1× optical zoom. The unit uses Epson’s own C2 Fine 3LCD chips (which operate without a moving color wheel), OptoCinema graphics, E-TORL lamp, and 1080Perfect video processor; Epson’s Absolute Black technology helps the system achieve that 12,000:1 contrast.

Just be prepared to spend: when available through CEDIA dealers in January, the PowerLite Pro Cinema 1080 will run $4,999.