Audio Video News

Epson Home Cinema 5050UB Pro-UHD 3LCD Projector: $2,700 (original price: $3,000)

Kudos to Epson for figuring out how to bring high-end features and performance to an affordable projector, which is precisely why it was named Sound & Vision’s 2019 Top Pick of the Year in video projectors. The 5050UB offers motorized lens shift and focus and uses a proprietary filter to deliver solid black-level performance and excellent contrast, hence the UltraBlack (UB) designation. Throw in high dynamic range (with HDR curve adjustment), impressive brightness, and convincing “4K” images created by Epson’s 1080p-plus-pixel-shifting process, and you have a projector that can keep up with models costing much more. Since we reviewed the 5050UB last year, the price has dropped to $2,700 on epson.com and bestbuy.com.

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Extended color
Excellent brightness and contrast
Great value
Minus
Fan noise with High Power Consumption setting active

Full Review Here

LG OLED65E9PUA OLED Ultra HDTV: $2,800 (original price: $4,300)

Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology’s long streak of delivering the best overall picture quality among today’s 4K televisions continues with LG’s 65-inch OLED65E9PUA. Though not as bright as its LCD counterparts, the E9’s impossibly thin screen comes as close to fully covering the P3 color gamut as we’ve seen from any TV, while delivering breathtaking images with superb black levels, outstanding color and detail, and almost unrestricted off-center viewing. Best of all, the price of this 2019 Top Pick of the Year finalist has been reduced to $2,800 on lg.com — a $1,500 savings off its original price.

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Powerful contrast with inky blacks
Wide viewing angle
HDR format support includes Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG
Minus
Pricey
So-so built-in audio
No HDR10+ support

Full Review Here

Sony Bravia XBR-65A9G OLED Ultra HDTV: $3,500 (original price: $3,800)

People tend to forget that Sony introduced the first (11-inch) OLED TV way back in 2008 and then disappeared from the scene for a decade. As far as we’re concerned, the more OLED TVs, the better, so it’s great to have Sony back in the game with an award-winning 65-inch model that’s so good it received Top Pick of the Year accolades in 2019. The XBR-65A9G is guaranteed to wow you with incredible detail, eye-popping color, lifelike contrast, and a surprisingly good onboard sound system. And we would be remiss if we didn’t mention that the 65A9G was also named top dog in the 15th Annual TV Shootout hosted by Value Electronics. Since we reviewed this TV last year, Sony has dropped its price to $3,500 on sony.com and amazon.com.

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Unsurpassed contrast
Superb color and resolution
Viewable from any angle
Minus
Complicated picture adjustments
Pricey

Full Review Here