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NEW PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENT

EPSON PRO CINEMA 4050 4K PRO-UHD
Home Theater Projector

Allan Abbott, September 6, 2018

Epson has announced the Epson Pro Cinema 4050 4K PRO-UHD Projector with an improved version of the company's advanced pixel-shifting technology, HDR compatibility, and a reduced price of $2399, down from the $2699 for the Pro Cinema 4040 it replaces. The Pro Cinema 4050 4K PRO-UHD also boasts automated lens memory to allow constant image height display of multiple aspect ratio sources on 2.4:1 screens without an external anamorphic lens--a rare feature on home theater projectors in this price range.

The Pro Cinema 4050's 15-element all glass lens is an unusual bonus at this price, and the projector offers a long zoom ratio of 2.1:1 as well as extensive horizontal and vertical lens shift to expand placement options. The powered lens allows remote control of zoom, focus, and lens shift, so image adjustments are easy even when the 4050 is ceiling-mounted.

Epson ProCinema 4050

Epson Pro Cinema 4050 key features:

  • 1920x1080x2 UHD resolution

  • Improved pixel-shifting precision and 4K enhancement processing

  • 2400 ANSI lumens

  • 200,000:1 contrast ratio

  • HDR10 compatibility

  • Up to 5,000-hour lamp life

  • All-glass 15-element 2.1x zoom lens

  • Powered zoom, focus, and lens shift

  • Automated Lens Memory for CIH installations

  • Switchable auto-iris

  • Frame interpolation

  • 3D at full HD resolution

  • No color wheel, so no rainbow artifacts

  • 3-year projector warranty


The Pro Cinema 4050 is HDR10 compliant to take advantage of high dynamic range content. It delivers equal color and white brightness,and can display the full DCI-P3 color gamut in Digital Cinema Mode. Contrast is specified as 200,000:1. It is also 3D capable in full HD (1920x1080) mode.

Epson Pro Cinema 4050

Epson claims that the Epson Pro Cinema 4050 4K PRO-UHD Projector delivers an improved, next generation pixel-shifting technology with associated refinements in video processing that together render a more precise 4K approximation than was achieved by the Pro Cinema 4040. It arrives with a ceiling mount and extra lamp as part of its cost and is covered by Epson's 3-year warranty for the projector and 90 days for the lamp. If service is needed during the warranty period, an exchange unit can be provided within two business days under Epson's Extra Care Home Service policy.

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Reader Comments(25 comments)

Posted Sep 6, 2018 1:47 AM PST

By Micah Hamer

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Why is it taking so long for Epson (or most other projector manufacturers for that matter) to release actual native 2160p projectors?

Posted Sep 6, 2018 2:00 AM PST

By Rob Sabin

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Micah, we are starting to see a few more native 4K projectors this year at CEDIA, including three new models from JVC that we'll discuss in an upcoming show roundup. But Epson told us they're sticking with 1080p pixel-shifting for now because the extra light output it provides vs native 4K imaging devices allows them to do more with HDR. This projector also introduces their new generation pixel-shift technology, dubbed 4K Pro, which delivered extraordinary detail with 4K content in their show demo. We'll say more about this later...

Posted Sep 6, 2018 6:42 AM PST

By Peter

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Very interesting. Your initial info says "no color wheel" - I would presume that this is an LCD-based projector so why would a color wheel even be mentioned? I look forward to the usual comprehensive review from Projector Central and hopefully with a comparison to the 5040/6040 (which are both performance-wise the same) with a focus on picture quality and black levels. Thank you.

Posted Sep 6, 2018 2:40 PM PST

By Barry Koehler

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Any idea when you will be able to review this projector?

Posted Sep 6, 2018 3:02 PM PST

By Steve Atkinson

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Great News....

Now when can we expect a review Evan?

Posted Sep 6, 2018 3:06 PM PST

By Evan Powell, Editor

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Barry and Steve, Rob and I will be meeting with Epson tomorrow and will get a feel for review timing.

Posted Sep 6, 2018 3:37 PM PST

By Jason Cohen

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It would be great to check if the 3D support for 1080p is 24 Hz (HDMI 1.4a) or 60 Hz (HDMI 1.4b), if it has a low-latency mode, and if the 3D mode works with low-latency. It would be amazing to *finally* get a 1080p 3D gaming projector.

Posted Sep 6, 2018 4:47 PM PST

By Brett

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Will there be a 5050?

Posted Sep 6, 2018 4:56 PM PST

By Evan Powell, Editor

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Brett, sorry, no word on that yet.

Posted Sep 7, 2018 4:00 PM PST

By Tom Roseman

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For my first faux k projector would you suggest this or the 6040.

Posted Sep 7, 2018 7:05 PM PST

By Rob Sabin, editor

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Tom, there's a significant difference in price between the two, and that's still reflecting the 6040UB's price drop as of CEDIA to $3,495 from $3,695. The 4050 includes Epson's newest pixel-shifting technology and also an improved tone-mapping profile for HDR. From what we could see at the show, these are significant improvements. The 6040 has the better specified contrast ratio, but contrast with HDR content looked very good in the 4050 demo. This strikes me as a very high value projector. We'll look forward to seeing what it looks like under review conditions.

Posted Sep 10, 2018 7:48 AM PST

By Kelvin Pena

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Will this projector finally have the 18gb HDMI chipset?

Thank you!

Posted Sep 10, 2018 8:55 AM PST

By Rob Sabin, editor

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Kevin, let me check on this with Epson. They don't specifically mention the bandwidth of the HDMI inputs in their specs, but the projector does perform 12-bit or 10-bit color processing depending on frame rate and color compression, which seems to suggest the ability to take in a wide bandwidth signal.

Here's the HDMI details straight from Epson for the 4050: - One HDMI 1.4 (10.2Gbps bandwidth) with HDCP 2.2 (i.e., copyright management for 4K content) - One HDMI 1.4 (10.2Gbps bandwidth) with HDCP 1.4

Posted Sep 13, 2018 11:19 PM PST

By Ricardo

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Does anyone knows if this projector will do 2.35.1 aspect ratio? Will it project a 2.35.1 image on an ultra wide 135" 2.35.1 screen? I didnt see the info in the product description. Thanks

Posted Sep 14, 2018 6:36 AM PST

By Rob Sabin, editor

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Yes. The 4050 has a motorized lens with 10 memory positions. So with a 2.35:1 screen, you can create one setting for 16:9 content (full height with side-bars) and another for widescreen content (which will bleed the black top/bottom letterbars off the edge of the screen.

Posted Sep 16, 2018 5:25 PM PST

By NJ M.

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This projector a TRUE 4K?

Posted Sep 18, 2018 12:19 PM PST

By Alan

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1920x1080x2 UHD resolution is still pixel shifting. Yet this is similar to the Optoma UHD60 so the quality should be very good. Looking forward to PC doing a deep dive.

Posted Sep 18, 2018 12:41 PM PST

By Rob Sabin, editor

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Alan, you are correct that both this Epson and the Optoma are pixel-shifters. However the DLP chip used in the UHD60 and other 4K DLP models starts with a pixel count of 2716 x 1528, which doubles up to the full 8-million plus pixels inherent in 4K UHD signals. The 1920 x 1080 imagers used in pixel-shifters from Epson and JVC's past models double that count to around 4 million pixels total. The DLP models put more pixels on the screen, but the apparent differences vs. late generation 1080p pixel-shifters can be difficult to see. Epson and JVC have both narrowed the gap in successive generations of their technologies, and Epson has done so again with this new Pro-UHD version.

Posted Sep 20, 2018 8:06 AM PST

By Kelvin Pena

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Too bad that Epson didn't upgrade to 18gb HDMI which makes is one of the key limitations o the previous generation. Many of the streaming devices and game consoles require this for true 60PFS HDR.

Posted Sep 21, 2018 11:05 AM PST

By NJeezy

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This isnt a TRUE 4K projector right? 4K enhancement only?

Posted Sep 21, 2018 11:19 AM PST

By Rob Sabin, editor

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As noted, not 4K native but a 1080p pixel-shifter, which Epson refers to as "4K Enhanced" technology.

Posted Oct 17, 2018 2:23 PM PST

By John Dirk PHILLIPS

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I agree. I'm in the market and this sounds like a great overall projector but I want something [reasonably] future proof. I'm not a gamer but I do love movies and UHD content. I would happily pay more for this projector to offset the cost of 18Gbps HDMI inputs. The 2017 JVC models have them and this one could seemingly compete at a much better price point.

Posted Nov 5, 2018 2:07 PM PST

By Kinder

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Any report of the lag on this unit?

Also any mention of an upcoming firmware update to achieve 1080p/120hz game mode?

Thanks.

Posted Nov 5, 2018 7:07 PM PST

By Rob Sabin, Editor

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Kinder, the Epson Pro Cinema 4050 is identical to the Home Cinema 4010, which we just reviewed. We measured 28 ms lag time on it; you can see more details in the review. As for 1080p/120Hz game mode, this projector has HDMI 1.4 ports that will not support 1080p/120Hz with any kind of firmware update.

Posted Nov 13, 2018 1:15 PM PST

By George Toth

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My 4050UB has been hanging in the great room for a week! It’s a stunner! Replaced a 6030UB. Not sorry. At less than half the cost of the Sony 295ES!

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