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Epson Home Cinema 5050UB

Epson Home Cinema 5050UB

Scored on 77 verified owner verdicts, from 901 comments read across 5 communities
TL;DR
A long-standing favorite home projector: deep blacks, excellent contrast, generous motorized lens shift, and low gaming lag, hard to beat without spending far more. Best in a darkened room and its long throw won't suit every space.

75% of 77 verified owners recommend the Epson Home Cinema 5050UB, based on real owner verdicts aggregated from Reddit, enthusiast forums, and YouTube.

See the problems 6 owners report →

What 77 owners say
901 comments reviewed · scored on the 77 clearest verdicts
75%
Recommend
58 owners
17%
Neutral
13 owners
8%
Don't recommend
6 owners
Source
Score
N
Counted in the score
Reddit
77%
69
Other forums
57%
7
Independent blogsino affiliate links
100%
1
Reviewed, but not counted — and why
YouTubeiowner comments
100%
4
Affiliate blogsipaid commission
100%
4
No clear verdictiSetup, tips & quirks
3

Affiliate blogs here say 100% recommend, while the owner-based score is 75%. They earn a commission on every sale — so we show them for transparency but never let them move the score.

The headline score reflects owners (Reddit, enthusiast forums), independent lab tests, blogs with no affiliate links, and YouTube owner-comments when they line up with owners. YouTube and Affiliate blogs are shown for perspective but kept out here — hover the i for why.

What owners like
  • Great picture with bright colors, deep blacks · 4 · 5%
  • Best all-rounder value at the price · 3 · 4%
What owners flag
  • Fan noise gets loud on high mode · 3 · 4%
Who it's for
A great fit if
  • Dedicated home theater rooms wanting a strong all-rounder
  • Viewers who like to tweak and dial in HDR
  • Buyers wanting bright colors and deep blacks at its price
  • Those unwilling to pay far more for marginal gains elsewhere
Look elsewhere if
  • Anyone sensitive to fan noise on the high lamp setting
  • Purists who won't accept 1080-shift instead of native 4K

Synthesized from what Epson Home Cinema 5050UB owners say — not a spec sheet.

How buyers rate it elsewhere

Retailers' own star averages, for comparison — separate from our vetted owner-verdict score above.

Top quotes, sourced

901 reviewed · 85 shown
Sentiment
Community
Sort
Reddit▼ don’t recommend

5050UB owner here, got the vertical stripes a little over 3 years of ownership, a year or so after the warranty ended. Super disappointing, my first Epson lasted much longer with no issues.

YouTube▲ recommend

It’s bright and colors are awesome. Highly recommended it

Reddit— neutral

It's a great projector until it's not. Dust blobs are a ridiculous problem and it's a shame there's not a simple owner friendly way to fix the problem.

Reddit— neutral

I returned 3800 and got 5050ub. It is definitely better than 3800 but quite frankly I can’t see enough difference for spending so much.

YouTube▲ recommend

I've had the 5050 for a while and am in love with it

Reddit▼ don’t recommend

I have been very disappointed with my epson 5050ub performance in hdr on windows and in plex, and it was not really resolved when testing on a nvidia shield

Reddit▲ recommend

I love the Epson Home Cinema 5050UB 4K PRO-UHD- $2500 rn from $3000 on amazon. Lots of give in the screen positioning and throw distance. Had mine for a year and love it.

Reddit— neutral

Had 5050ub, but sent it back… the picture was great but it was a monster, I need (want) something smaller in the living room.

Reddit▼ don’t recommend

I would never buy another Epson projector. My 5050UB just died about 3yrs after I bought it new. It did not even last the life cycle of a single bulb.

Reddit▼ don’t recommend

I stuck with the 5050ub for about a month then ended up back on the C3… the black levels just weren’t there.

Reddit▲ recommend

the 5050UB is capable of great image quality

Reddit— neutral

5050ub owner here and what I really want is better motion handling. Compared to my plasma, the 5050ub is a blur.

Reddit— neutral

For SDR I agree with you. The Epson 5050ub is the best $3000 projector. It’s also the lowest price /best option projector for large rooms. If, however, your focus is HDR and/or games and you have a smaller space I think the 5050ub has already been bested.

Reddit▲ recommend

I was looking at them and ended up buying a great condition Epson Cinema 5050UB as an upgrade. I’m thrilled with the performance bump over my old projector

Reddit▼ don’t recommend

my first lamp just died with only ~500hrs. Not heavy use, always low brightness, used in a cool basement room. Was expecting the advertised 3000-5000 hrs under those ideal conditions.

Reddit▲ recommend

I bought a couple projectors that were new tech at the same cost and they didnt stand up. The Epson5050UB really is GOAT

Reddit▼ don’t recommend

Still bummed I didn't get more than 5 years out of the Epson.

Reddit— neutral

I have a decent projector. 5050ub. HDR is never on. Tone mapped to sdr.

Reddit— neutral

my Epson 5050UB did actually short itself or something or I got shipped something defective and the main board was fried only a couple of inconvenient months after my warranty was up. But fortunately (and this is why I'll happily endorse them here) I found out from extensive googling that Epson has a flat rate repair program for like $300 or $350ish (can't r

Reddit▲ recommend

I replaced it with a 5050UB. Much happier. Way more light and it's quiet.

Reddit▲ recommend

I just got epson 5050ub on black friday. Was debating between this or hisense c2 but ended up with epson. Absolutely blown away by the quality. Currently projecting 150” from about 13 feet

AVS Forum— neutral

The Epson is a great projector but it’s not perfect. I really like it though. It’s all about the value prop at the respective price points and if you can live with the niggles that each projector has.

Reddit— neutral

Having enjoyed the Epson 5050 for the last year+ I can say my biggest request is more brightness. It can be painful in my non light controlled living room.

Reddit▲ recommend

I've had a 5050UB for coming up on 2 years and have had no issues. It's my second Epson projector and I had no issue with the prior one either. It puts out a great picture.

Showing 124 of 85

Common problems & things to know

Practical notes owners raise — setup, quirks, and issues to watch for. They don't say whether the person likes the product, so they're not counted in the score, but they inform the pros, cons, and who it's for.

Redditⓘ good to know

What I experienced going from a 5050ub with pixel shift to a native 4k jvc is that I could see with the 5050ub what I would call 'pixel hopping' it was very faint but I could tell it was there.

Redditⓘ good to know

I have the 5050ub placed right above my listening position and I can hear the projector especially during quiet scenes. It's not unbearable but something I do notice.

Redditⓘ good to know

dying to find out if VRR works because I want so badly to just have my sources identified without the 3-5 second tapout from my projector