Epson Auto Iris On Or Off

[Cumelén Mackin]

This is probably a long shot here... but I'm trying to see if it's possible to bypass the Epson Auto Iris found it a lot of their 720p projectors (such as their brightlink series and so forth). The auto iris has 7 wires coming from it, 4 for the motor, 3 for the movement sensor. I know Epson documentation is nearly impossible to find, but never hurts to try? lol

I just want to see if I can trick the projector into thinking the auto iris is "fine" at startup, which is when the failure occurs, and prevents the projector from even working. I've had enough of these things come in that it would be nice to have a solution to them. bypassing the iris would be great if possible, since in these projectors it seems quite useless, and doesn't really have any effect on the image brightness or contrast when it is working.

Just to name a few And from what I've found so far just from having these around, the iris design is pretty much identical between all the models. I don't think the 1080p projectors Epson makes use the same iris system, so those wont be of any help. The iris system in the projectors above is just 2 pieces of metal that open or close, not like some of the more elaborate designs.

Yes I do, I have 3 brightink projectors here that have the issue, a 4th is on its way back as of today >_

Anyway I can test it, but I wanted to ask, would me sending you one to mess with help? I have no problem doing that if you're up for it, and im not in a rush to have you get it done. These projectors are worth $300-$1000+ depending on the model all day, that's why I've been rather persistent on getting them going.

I have been using the projector with the auto-iris off. I am thinking of turning this feature on to see how much of a difference it would make. In the past, I did all the calibrations with the auto-iris off. I am just wondering if this is the correct procedure if I intend to use the auto-iris feature?

My thinking is this - if I do the calibration with auto-iris off, wouldn't the setting be less than optimal after I turn on the auto-iris? Assume that with auto-iris off, the iris position will be fixed - say position A that is halfway between min and max opening. And say I calibrated the brightness level 'properly' with the two moving black bars till one of them is barely visible. When I turn auto-iris on for normal viewing, I imagine the same very dark scene with the two moving bars will engage the auto-iris to close up to min, and render the calibration less than optimal? Is this line of reasoning correct?

For a more accurate and less frustrating calibration experience due to the transitioning from white balande/greyscale 10IRE to 90IRE, the DI might kick in depending on the mode (aggressive Vs less aggressive) but why leave it to chance.

But definite "No-No" for Auto IRIS. When it comes to calibration, try to disengage any form of on-board processing as possible - say JVC projector which comes with its own Clear Motion Drive (CMD) technology to emulate Black Frame Insertion for smoother moving images to reduce motion judder etc...its good to disable that as well. When it comes to calibration, select a "neutral" setting like USER 1 setting try to do an initial reading of the white balance to get good starting point for the Primary colors (RGB), it will provide more accurate results.

Seems to me like you are merely using the DVE disc for basic calibration for brightness, contrast, color and tint etc...if that is the case, my recommendation serve little use for you. Sadly. Apologies I didn't read your post in its entirety and jumped to conclusion. In that case, Alf's initial advice is applicable.

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An auto-iris lens automatically adjusts the iris (or aperture) in order to regulate and optimize the amount of light or infrared energy a camera receives. This is ideal for outdoor video surveillance cameras as they often have to deal with changing light conditions and high-contrast situations. The iris is not a digital image process but is a physical opening built into a lens that is controlled by a small servo motor and is often used in tandem with DSP image processing such as WDR, HLC and BLC. It allows security and surveillance cameras to adjust and optimize the image on the fly based on the changing light conditions.

Overview - For a budget home theater projector, the Epson Home Cinema 4010 comes packed with a lot of value in its price point of just under $2,000. Among its highlights are 4K Ultra HD and High Dynamic Range (HDR) support, extremely flexible lens shift and zoom range, automated lens memories, and (most importantly) very good to excellent picture quality right out of the box. Although the projector may not be able to fully compete against higher-end models in some areas (notably, contrast), it does enough things well enough and at a great price to still come Highly Recommended.

I need to admit up front that, for many years, I've had a bias against LCD projectors. This mainly stems from the early days of digital projection, when LCD models had a distinctive look that tended to be flat, smeary, and very "digital." Even as the technology improved in leaps and bounds over time, I've continued to favor the Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS) display technology in JVC and Sony projectors for a richer, more film-like image quality, with DLP as a secondary preference. Honestly, I've hardly given LCD projectors much thought in ages. However, when Epson offered the opportunity to evaluate the HC 4010, I was happy to approach it with an open mind. I'm glad I did, because this projector has certainly made me reconsider those old prejudices.

The HC 4010 is a 3LCD projector with separate color panels for red, green, and blue. According to Epson, the unit will deliver 100% of the DCI-P3 wide color gamut used in digital cinemas, though that's only available in one of the setup modes. (More on this below.) It's also a so-called "Faux-K" model that supports 4K video content by shifting a 1080p pixel grid rapidly back and forth, with some overlap between pixels. While this falls short of the full 3840x2160 Ultra HD resolution, most viewers at typical seating distances will never be able to discern the difference on normal movie content. (Those also using the projector as a computer display may be more demanding.) Quite frankly, the added pixels are one of the least compelling advantages of the UHD format anyway.

With dimensions of 20.5" x 17.7" x 6.7", the projector is a fairly substantial physical presence, but its 24.7 lb weight is lighter than it looks. I'm not overly fond of the white plastic molding, which clashes with my dark home theater dcor, but I'm sure it would look fine in a living room or great room space. Buyers who are concerned about this may note that Epson's Pro Cinema 4050 model is essentially the same projector in a black case, sold through the professional installer market. It's a few hundred dollars more expensive, but it also comes with a ceiling mount and a spare lamp that you won't find here. Other than the projector itself, all you get with the 4010 are a power cable, the remote, a pair of batteries, and a Quick Start setup guide. You have to go online to get the full owner's manual.

The HC 4010 has a very long 2.1:1 zoom range and extremely flexible lens shift latitude in both the vertical and horizontal directions. It's a breeze to install in either ceiling-mounted or shelf-mounted locations. The last projector I reviewed was a DLP model with a high image offset and limited zoom or lens shift, which made placement extremely difficult. Thankfully, I had no such issues here. I got the 4010 aligned on my screen with hardly any effort.

The projector also has two automated lens memory positions that are selectable from buttons on the remote. That's a huge benefit for viewers such as myself with 2.35:1 Constant Image Height screens. I programmed Lens 1 for 16:9 content, which will appear pillarboxed in the center of the screen, while Lens 2 will zoom the image up to fill the screen width and let a 2.35:1 movie's letterbox bars spill off the top and bottom onto the wall. The "Pattern" button on the remote will even bring up a grid with markings that are useful for finding the proper 2.35:1 lens shift position.

The only scenario in which the Zoom Method of Constant Image Height may be problematic is the small selection of movies with a variable aspect ratio, such as The Dark Knight or Dunkirk. When watching those, scenes that contain IMAX footage expand in height, leaving you with image content distractingly projected onto the wall. All is not lost, however. Within the Signal section of the projector's setup menu is a Blanking feature that can be used to mask off the excess picture, turning it into letterbox bars. Unfortunately, you'll have to do this manually every time and reset it afterwards. What's more, you need to adjust the top of the image and the bottom of the image separately, bumping each up from 0 to about 135. It's a slow process and there's no way to save the results to a Memory preset. (Resetting back to the defaults is a little faster.) This may be a bit of a nuisance, but thankfully the number of movies with this problem is still pretty small. (Complete list HERE.)

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