Epson Powerlite Pro G7905U Projector Review – Summary

G7905U Highlights

The short version would be that the G7905U and G7905UNL are powerful medium to large venue 3LCD projectors, that produce really good to excellent color and good to great skin tones in all modes but Dynamic, (which is the brightest).  Of course we don’t expect great color in any projector’s brightest mode.

The G7905 is loaded with features, such as CFI and Split Screen, but many of them are found on other competing projectors.

Go with the standard motorized zoom lens, or one of other nine motorized zoom lens options.  Plus, there’s a ton of lens shift – both horizontal and vertical to round out the truly impressive positioning flexibility of the Epsons.

The G7905 is WUXGA – slightly higher than full HD, but still about 2K res.  That works out to a screen being 2 megapixels of data.  By comparison, 4K is 8 megapixels. By using pixel shifting – (each pixel used twice but shifted a half pixel diagonally), that gets us up to 4 megapixels, but they still are larger pixels.

Overall, it’s handling of 4K content that separates this projector from the competition.

Whether you have 4K content to work with or not, the Pro G7905U and G7905UNL will likely meet your needs in terms of capabilities, as they are about as feature laden as projectors come (except for missing active 3D).  Tons of brightness (including lots of color lumens), pixel shifting, edge blending, projection mapping, 10 lenses, great warranty and support program, reasonably long lamp life, HDBaseT, advanced networking, plus, a few more features below, listed in the “pros.”

Epson G7905 - Value Proposition

We’ll look at the value from four angles:

1. Compared to other WUXGA projectors with interchangeable lenses.
2. Compared to WUXGA projectors without interchangeable lenses.
3. Compared to similar laser projectors
4. And the easiest comparison:  With 4K content, compared to true 4K projectors.

First.  The G7905 prices a bit higher than some DLP projectors that also have lens options, but those DLP’s normally have a lot less color lumens, so you really need a DLP with 9000+ white lumens to hold its own in terms of those important color lumens.  Pricing wise, the Epson is very competitive, and none of those (yet) have pixel shifting, or 4K content (though some have been announced).  When it comes to 3LCD and LCoS where the color lumens are present and accounted for, Sony has 7000 lumens, but it’s a dual lamp design (laser projectors will likely replace dual lamp projectors). Street price is $9500 so at least $4000 more than the Epson.  Canon offers up LCoS projectors, with their WUX6010 D, another excellent projector we really like. The Canon is a bit smaller, a bit less expensive, but is 1000 lumens less, has a few less lens options, lacks 4K handling or pixel shifting, and street prices for around $5K.  Hard to pin down where street price will be on the G, since it’s just starting to ship, but list is $6499, so the two should be close.  That Canon is the closest competitor around among WUXGA models.

2nd – How does the G7905 stack up against projectors without lens options:  It’s definitely more expensive. Best example would be NEC’s P502HL, a WUXGA laser projector.  List price is $5999 for 5000 lumens, so it’s not as bright (by 2000 lumens, and it’s a DLP).  It doesn’t accept 4K content (but does have a media player).  Generally, in this class you pay $2000 – $5000 extra for a laser engine,  so that makes the NEC seem not as powerful, and not as expensive.  Still the Epson has 4K content and pixel shifting abilities.  You can buy a basic 6000 lumen WUXGA DLP for about $2500, (BenQ SU931) but then, the G7905 is anything but basic, and after all, it is the flagship G series.  Other G’s start from under $3500.

3rd – Compared to similar laser projectors (with lens options) – That’s simple.  Epson’s new lasers – launched at the same time as the G7905, are more expensive, but very similar overall.  Epson’s L1200U – also with 7000 lumens is $9999 list, so $3500 more.  The L1200U offers some extras – besides the long life laser, such as HD-SDI.  We’ve reviewed several Sony Lasers.  Their 6000 lumen model street prices for just under $10K, so again, several thousand dollars more.  Both lasers have more flexibility in terms of tilting the projector, which could be an advantage for digital signage or museum use.  The Epson laser has 4K inputs and pixel shifting, the Sony does not.

And finally, working with 4K content, vs. true 4K projectors

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Impressively good color out of the box (full calibration controls available)
• Accepts commercial 4K content, including the ability to play 4K Blu-ray UHD discs
• Pixel shifting to maximize detail, and perceived sharpness on both 2K and 4K content
• Edge Blending, Projection Mapping for digital signage, museums, other multi-projector displays
  • Up to 9 Epson’s can be used in an array (they would know their respective locations for calibrating and positioning purposes)

• DICOM Simulation mode for teaching quality display of medical (and engineering) films
• Advanced Networking (includes support for Crestron, AMX…)
  • Can emulate some competing projectors, making it easy to integrate these Epson’s into existing environments with other brand projectors already in use.
• Optional Wireless ($99)
• Powerful Apps, supporting software
  • iProjection app supports tablets and phones
  • Easy MP for command and control
  • Moderator for projecting up to four sources at once
• 10 interchangeable motorized lenses (standard zoom is only $300 more than buying without a lens)
  • An ultra-short throw lens is one of the 10
• Projector can operate in Portrait mode
• Split Screen Capability
• Constant Brightness feature maintains brightness over years of operation, if needed
• Quiet mode reduces audible nose to 31db, a touch louder than the average home theater projector – surprisingly quiet for a large venue projector
• Built in sound system
• HDBaseT – HDMI over low cost CAT cable,  up to 100 meters (w/optional HDBaseT transmitter)
• Powering on or off takes only a few seconds
• Excellent 3 year parts/labor warranty with 3 year overnight replacement program!
• 30.9 ms Input lag – fast enough for most gaming, and demonstrations

Cons

• No 3D capability
• When pixel shifting engaged, (2K or 4K content) some other features are disabled, including CFI, edge blending, projection mapping, and mpeg noise reduction
• Black levels definitely could be better still- despite the  dynamic iris
• The standard zoom lens seems to have a fair amount of bloom, especially if viewing white text on a black background
• Only one HDMI (there is also a DisplayPort, and also another HDMI (over HDBaseT).   Having 3 regular HDMI jacks would make sense (in addition to the DisplayPort and HDBaseT (RJ45) network connector
• Lacks the Auto Calibration feature found on Epson’s more expensive laser projectors
  • that feature would be a real plus for edge blending applications
• You would think they’d throw in the $99 wireless module, for a projector at this price point.
• No MHL
• No internal media player

The end!

The next and last page has more complete specs than the first page of this review, plus a link to Epson’s Brochure.