Epson has announced two new additions to their Home Cinema line with the 5050UB and 5050UBe projectors. Features and specs are the same for both models except for the inclusion of a 4K wireless HDMI transmitter with the 5050UBe. These new projectors feature an updated pixel-shifting technology to deliver improved picture clarity and also adds Epson’s latest Digital Cinema color mode that achieves the full DCI-P3 color gamut for today’s HDR (high dynamic range) 4K UHD content. Epson has also added HDR tone-mapping and support for HLG along with HDR10 content.

These 3LCD projectors offer 2600 lumens of brightness and a dynamic contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1. The 5050UB and 5050Ube have HDR support for both HDR10 and HLG high dynamic range content, and a new 16-step slider control to fine-tune the gamma curve for specific content. Another addition to the new model is an 18 Gbps HDMI 2.0 port which allows gamers to play 4K/60p games with HDR. The HC 5050 series fully supports 4K HDR at 60 Hz with up to 4:4:4 (uncompressed) chroma subsampling at 8 bits, or 4:2:2 with 10- or 12-bit processing.

Epson has included their high quality 16-element/15-glass element powered lens which has wide-range setup capabilities such as 2.1x zoom; +/- 96% vertical, +/- 47% horizontal lens shift. Improvements have been made in the 5050 to the fine adjustment of the lens shift to better accommodate the narrow bezels on “zero-edge” screens. The ability to store multiple lens memories for constant-image-height (CIH) setups on 2.35:1 screens remains.

The HC 5050UBe model is shipped with a WirelessHD transmitter that allows connection of up to four HDMI devices and transmits up to 4K/30 Hz content with HDR.

The 5050UB and 5050Ube utilize Epson’s newest generation 4K PRO-UHD pixel-shifting technology to create a 4K-like image using 1080p imaging chips. This latest iteration employs more rapid pixel shifting to deliver sharper edges to the pixels. These new models also feature Epson’s UltraBlack LCD imagers, which use a proprietary filter designed to suppress light leakage and improve black level.

Both the Home Cinema 5050UB and Home Cinema 5050UBe are available now through Epson’s online store and select online retailers. Priced at $2,999 and $3,299 respectively.

Analyst firm PMA Research follows the Projector market. Their latest Reseller Tracking report shows Home Theater projector unit sales rebounded sharply after two seasonally slow months. Each of 1080p, 4K UHD, and 4K Native were higher. With 4K UHD slightly over-performing the other resolutions.