What many home theater enthusiasts want to know more about are front projectors, and not just any front projectors, but affordable front projectors, specifically ones costing less than $3,000. To fulfill reader requests, I reached out to online retailer VisualApex and procured a bevy of affordable front-projection options. Among them was Epson's entry-level workhorse, the PowerLite Home Cinema 8350 reviewed here.
Retailing for $1,299, the 8350 is among the more affordable full-HD front projectors available today. The 8350 is clad in Epson's trademark white and grey, with an off-set manual zoom lens. It measures 17.7 inches wide by 15.5 inches deep and just under six inches tall. It weighs a respectable 16 pounds, which makes it heavy enough to feel sturdy and well-built, but not so heavy as to make it incompatible with many of today's universal projector mounts. Around back, you'll find the 8350's input options, which include HDMI (2), component, S-Video, composite, PC, RS-232 and a trigger output. A standard AC receptacle and a master on/off switch round out the 8350's back panel options.
Behind the scenes, the 8350 is a 3LCD or three-chip design with a reported brightness of 2,000 lumens via its 200-watt UHE lamp, which is said to be good for up to 4,000 hours. It is a 1080p native projector (1,920x1,080), with a stated contrast ratio of up to 50,000:1 (dynamic). Color processing is said to be full 10-bit, though any 10-bit color is upsampled from eight-bit, as that is all that is allowed for by our current broadcast and Blu-ray standards. Those using the 8350 in conjunction with a desktop or laptop computer may experience true 10-bit color, but for home or home theater use, it's merely upsampled. The 8350 does not support nor play back 3D content (thank you), though you can find such functionality in other Epson projectors, albeit at higher price points.
In terms of performance, the 8350 has the same initial issues as its fellow stable mates, in that there are some minor panel alignment issues, whereby the internal LCD panels are not resting in perfect alignment with one another, resulting in visible colors - in my case, red - to be seen along edges of text and/or the like. The projector on a whole has a decidedly blue shift to its color palette. This can be corrected with proper professional calibration, though with a projector costing this little, I have to assume most users are looking for the best out of the box performance they can get. In this instance, the best out of the box setting for accuracy when dealing with the 8350 is its Cinema picture preset. In its Cinema mode, the image is still plenty bright, though not as bright as Dynamic or Living Room, with largely natural-looking colors that err on the side of over-saturation, which some may like. Black levels are good, better than average, in fact, though not class-leading. Contrast is also good, thanks in part to the 8350's overall brightness, though it does give up a little in this area when it comes to low-light scenes or dark visuals. On the opposite side of things, highlights aren't immune to blooming, although many of these issues are lessened post-calibration. Motion is smooth and edges, once the alignment issues have been reeled in, are fairly sharp, although again not the best, even for a budget projector such as the 8350. Good enough to be enjoyed from proper viewing distances? Yes, without question, but under close scrutiny, there are some flaws. Overall, the 8350 is simply a good all-rounder and a great entry point into the front-projection game. If you shop online, via authorized retailers such as VisualApex, the 8350's value is almost unprecedented.
Read about the high points and low points of the Epson 8350 projector on Page 2.
High Points
Despite its budget price, the 8350 is well-built and looks to stand the test of time. Its manual controls may seem like a detriment, but they go a long way toward insuring a trouble-free existence, as too many motorized mechanisms can often lead to failures down the road.
The 8350 is bright, very bright, enough to illuminate screens up to 120 inches in diagonal width, though many will most likely be paired with screens between 84 and 110 inches.
While its out of the box image quality isn't what I'd call exact or even close to calibrated, simple adjustments made, using discs like Digital Video Essentials, will pay huge dividends here. Moreover, putting the 8350 into its Cinema preset will get you half the way there and the ball rolling in the right direction.
In its Cinema preset, the 8350's contrast, color and motion performance is very good and on par with or better than even its costlier peers from Epson.
Low Points
Out of the box and due to its three-chip LCD design, the 8350 does suffer some panel alignment issues, which are easily visible by lines of red, blue or green color along stark contrast lines such as text.
Contrast in the darks as well as highlights aren't fantastic, as in not as composed as some, though many first-time enthusiasts and/or casual viewers will most likely not notice.
Due to panel alignment errors, there is some slight pixilation visible in highlights and text.
Competition and Comparison
Among the affordable front-projector sect, the projector that comes to mind as the one most likely to do battle with the 8350 is Optoma's HD33. The HD33 is a single-chip DLP design, though it retails for about the same as the 8350 and boasts similar specs. Which is best is going to be a matter of personal opinion and preference, though despite their different technologies, the two are very evenly matched. The Optoma does add 3D functionality to the mix, whereas the Epson does not. For more on these affordable front projectors, as well as others like them, please visit Home Theater Review's Front Projector page.
Conclusion
There's no denying the Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 8350's price to performance ratio, especially given its online price of $1,099 on VisualApex. For the first-time
front-projection enthusiast, the 8350 is a solid go-to choice and one that can be easily paired with a 100-inch screen, some modest speakers and electronics, all for under $3,000. That's incredible. Is it perfect? No, but I doubt that 99 percent of the consumers out there will notice or take any offense at what the 8350 may get wrong here and there. Of all the affordable Epson projector options - and there are a few - the 8350 is far and away my favorite and the best value of the lot, so long as you don't need (or like) 3D. If I were getting started in home theater and was shopping for a front projector, I'd definitely take a good long look at the 8350 before all others.
2014-11-02 06:31:40
Hi. Perhaps you can help me. I've had my 8350 for about 3 years now and LOVE IT. It's like you say, a great entry level projector which isn't crazily complicated and still gives you a good picture. I have one problem I can't figure out. I'm getting scrolling horizontal lines during projections. I notice it a lot during fast action scenes. I've read elsewhere this could be "tearing." What setting would I need to change on my Mac or on the projector in order to fix this? Any guidance is appreciated Thanks!
2014-10-22 17:59:18
I have had the Epson 8350 for 2 years now and it has been outstanding. Best purchase I have made. Everyone who visits is amazed by the picture. I made the screen myself by purchasing porjector screen material, frame at the woodmill, and getting it wrapped at Michaels.
2014-10-21 00:31:06
What is the error auto iris issue? I tried starting my 8350 up yesterday and heard repeated clicking sounds then flashing red lights. Any idea what this may be?
2013-10-11 18:43:26
They still sell them. do not buy this product, Epson will rip you off. the units breaks and you get a refurbished one which also breaks. to top it off they do not renew the warranty with the refurbished one they sent. look it up online, they keep breaking and breaking.... error auto iris, etc...
2013-01-24 19:12:52
Why are we even discussing a projector that is discontinued, over a year and a half old, has no 3D, only has HDMI 1.3a... etc? Why?
2013-01-21 17:48:01
Thanks for the recommendation. The Mitsubishi and benq are dlp, so definitely still in the mix. But seems LCD is able to get better light output, which is nice for a living room. 3d is not important to me, so the Epson 8350 at a much lower cost is a great suggestion.
2013-01-21 04:08:42
It is my humble opinion that if you can't pop for the JVC, and based on my personal experience, then the projector at or below $2,000 that I would recommend is the Epson 8350 reviewed here. I have no direct personal experience with the Mitsu or the BenQ so I hesitate to say good or bad about either. I would throw the Optoma HD33 into the mix, but it sounds like you're leaning towards LCD or LCD variant technology. Hope this helps.
2013-01-20 22:52:02
Andrew, thanks for the well balanced review and as usual not shying away from comparisons. So from all the projector reviews you've done recently, I gather in the $3k range your favorite is the JVC dla x30, but the epson 5020 is still a good buy if I could go above $3k. What about around $2k where I have the choice of the Epson 3020, Mitsubishi 7900dw, benq w7000, or the older panasonic ptae7000. For the darkened living room home theater, with minimal but not zero ambient light, what would your pick be?
2012-12-22 08:00:36
I am guessing the Disney disc will help with the set up of brightness and contrast? Thanks for the info Chris.
2012-12-22 07:50:07
You are on the right path. Just set your brightness and contrast and go from there. I have done a calibration on an 8350 with consumer level tools and if I remember correctly I bumped up color saturation to 3 and skin tones to 3 also. The Disney disc will help you get it setup, if you want to learn how to calibrate on your own you can pick up a pretty decent kit for around $600.
2012-12-20 20:51:25
Andrew thanks for your review of the 8350, picked it up for the value as you indicated in your article. Are there any general tips for calibration on this projector? I picked up the Disney Blu-ray essentials and want to use that, but short of a professional with the right equipment, are there any other adjustments I can make? ( I am in Cinema mode already) Been reading your site for the past year, and have read most of your reviews. Thanks as well for reviewing products that are more reachable to the average consumer. Without products like the 8350, I would not have a home theater. One you go projector, there is no way you can go back to only having a regular TV :)