The Power Behind Epson and Optoma

Two powerhouse performance projection companies are, in fact, Optoma and Epson. For years these two companies have been releasing new projectors with all new features. We have been blown away by these two companies time and time again. When we think about large companies such as Epson or Optoma, we think of the best of the best. Our imagination goes to, "I wonder if they're going to come out with a...". With Epson being the 1,423rd spot on Forbes List, and producing 9.39B in sales with a market cap of $8.3B (as of May 2017), Epson surely has shown us exactly what it has got. As far as Optoma goes, it is currently a private company, with revenue between one hundred and five hundred million per year. Optoma is an extremely new company, so we’ll have better measures of what they’re capable of as time goes on. Let’s begin this article with a little history of both companies, shall we?

The History of Epson

Epson's predecessor company, Daiwa Kogyo Ltd. was created in 1942, on the shore of Lake Suwa in Nagano, Japan. Fortunately, the Seiko Group was selected as the official timekeeper for the 1964 Olympic Games held in Tokyo. As 1968 rounds the corner, Epson produces the EP-101, the world's first mini printer. As 1970 approaches, the SAM-D samarium-cobalt rare-earth bonded magnet becomes the progenitor of Epson's magnet business. In 1975, Epson (Son of EP or electric printer) was formally made the powerhouse for the next generation of printers, all based around the EP-101. In 1977, the debut of the Epson EX-1 counts as the world's smallest office computer. The MX-80 comes out in 1980, as a serial impact printer, and is introduced and becomes the "de-facto" industry standard for dot matrix printers. In 1982, the HX-20 was created and became an astonishing bestseller as the world's first handheld computer. In 1984, Epson released the portable liquid crystal color TV (ET-10). In the same year, the SQ-2000, which was the first Epson inkjet printer, was released. As 1985 occurs, Suwa Seikosha Co., Ltd. and Epson Corporation merge and establish themselves as Seiko Epson Corporation. The first Epson brand 3LCD projector is released in January of 1989, named the VPJ-700. In March of 1993, Epson introduces the first inkjet printer with MicroPiezo technology. Over the next year, Epson introduces a 720dpi color printer and a high resolution projector, the ELP-3000. Although, it wasn’t until 1996 that Epson developed a photo quality printer, named the Epson Stylus Color Photo. In 1998, NASA used an Epson printer for the STS-95 mission.  Fast-forward to 2003, and Epson comes out with the Livingstation LS57P2 rear projection LCD TV; in this same year Epson released its line of home entertainment projectors - the Powerlite Home Cinema series. Over the next seven years Epson developed an all-in-one printer (WorkForce), sheet-fed document scanners, a document camera, and a dust-proof projector (EMP-6100). In 2010 Epson breaks through the industrial label printing market by applying its’ MicroPiezo technology with the SurePress L-4033A. In 2011, Epson introduces the TM-T88V-i series of receipt printers. Most restaurants and local shops now use these machines. In 2012 Epson launched a mobile application called Epson iProjection to allow projecting from mobile devices. In 2013, they released the F2000 direct to garment printer. In the beginning of 2014, Epson unveiled a ton of new technology at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. These pieces included next-gen smart glasses, an app-enabled printer, and the Pulsense™ fitbit style activewear monitoring bracelet. Following in 2015 and 2016, Epson releases the M-Tracer golf swing analyzer, and a new EcoTank line of all-in-one printers with convenient ink replacements. Another release during 2016 was the FastFoto™ photo scanning system. Epson currently stands as one of the longest-running audiovisual hardware producers on the earth.

The History of Optoma

The name of the company, created from two words: Optimal and Maxima. The company has shown a ton of productivity since their establishment in 2002. In the first year of production, Optoma launched the world’s first 65-inch DLP projection television and won the CES Innovations Award in 2003. In 2005, they announced the world’s first all-in-one DVD projector, the MovieTime™. In 2016, at Infocomm, Optoma announced the world’s first 4K UHD ultra-short throw laser projector. With the help of Texas Instruments’ DLP projection technology, Optoma became one of the quickest growing designers and manufacturers for home, business, and professional display solutions.

The Best of the Best Home Theater Projectors By Brand

In my opinion, the best of the best piece of Epson equipment available from Projector SuperStore would be the Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 5040UBe Wireless 3LCD Projector, including 4K enhancement. Just for starters, it’s wireless, which removes a ton of hassle when setting the projector up, or moving it if you’re deciding to do that. It’s got 3D full HD with an LCD display. The PowerLite Home Cinema 5040UBe also has 2500 lumens and has a native resolution of 1920 by 1080.

Features:

• The World's First Wireless HD Projector with 4K Content Support - revolutionary 4K Enhancement Technology accepts 4K input and supports HDCP 2.2

• HDR compatible - enjoy HDR content, with an extremely wide range of brightness levels for images bursting with real-life color

• Bright - ideal for a variety of lighting conditions.

• Home Cinema 5040UB has:

  • Color Brightness: 2500 lumens

  • White Brightness: 2500 lumens

As far as the piece of Optoma equipment goes - It’s got to be the Optoma UHD65 2200lm 4K DLP Home Theater Projector. This projector looks stylish and produces bright colors with 4K UHD display. It’s capable of delivering extremely sharp images with an acute and high level of detail. It weighs a bit less than the Epson, and it’s native resolution is 3840 by 2160.

Features:

• 4K UHD resolution and HDR compatible

• Amazing color - accurate Rec.709 colors, 2200 ANSI lumens

• Fluid viewing - PureMotion frame interpolation

• Easy installation - vertical lens shift

Overall, Epson’s advanced pixel shifting technology truly allows their projector to bring out quite a spectacular range of color. Optoma’s UHD65 still holds high quality and fantastic images, but the Epson PowerLite will make any motion capture look as though it’s right in front of you. If you’re hosting a slideshow with mainly still images, Optoma’s projector would be your choice.