I have not been keeping up on projectors the last year or so. I’ve been holding out for a 4K projector with a laser light source. Much to my surprise, I stumbled onto a couple reviews of Epson’s latest models.

The LS10000 is has 4K upscaling. MSRP is $7900. It is not a native 4K machine, but will accept 4K input. I’m not real sure what that means. How can it accept 4K if it’s not native 4K? Weird… Looks like this one is pretty hard to get, but a few are hitting the streets. This one has good lumen output too.

The LS9600e is its little brother. Sounds like it might be a good machine at a $2000 lower price point.

Projector reviews has reviewed both, and Art is impressed with them both.

http://www.projectorreviews.com/epson/epson-pro-cinema-ls10000-laser-home-theater-projector-review/

It does what a number of the big name projector companies have been doing... Pixel shifting the image. The panels are "just" 1080p panels, but through a bit of magical trickery, it can shift pixels around to give the illusion of 4K. A true 4K projector in the same class would run about 50% more (which isn't a small price at about a $5000 and up increase).

Imagine rapidly "shifting" the entire 1080p panel rapidly enough that you can fire one full set of pixels, shift a tiny amount, fire another set, shift again, fire again, and so on... all within a fraction of a second. That is how some (if not all, I just don't know) are doing it.

Here is an article (from 2013, so the projectors they talk about are a bit dated, but the tech is the same) about it:

What is pixel-shifting?

You can YouTube videos about 4k pixel shifting. And while some reviewers love the idea, others say that it isn't worth it and you should wait for true 4k.

Thanks Nick. I have seen the term E-shift, but just didn't pay any attention to it, or what it does. Thanks for the link.

But why is that the LS-10000 can "accept" 4K input, and the other one not, but yet it isn't a true native 4K projector? Do you understand what that means?

I sure do like the laser light engines. I wonder if JVC is going to have this on their next generation of projectors?

I will basically "downscale" the 4K input down to 1080p, and then do its own "upscale" to its faux "4K". So it still isn't true 4K either way, but at least has the processing power to accept the 4K input (and then sort of degrades it)...

JVC announced late in 2014 a line called "BLU-Escent" which uses laser technology. I don't know if they have hit the streets for purchase yet though.

That doesn't sound good....

I think I'll wait to see what else comes out, but I do like the direction Epson is going. Quite a bit less money than the Sony 4K machines.