Epson Home Cinema 5050UB Review: 4K Projector for Gaming & Entertaining

The Epson Home Cinema 5050UB is an update to the 5040UB with important changes including better support for 4K, HDR and better support for gaming with the Xbox One X. I tested out the 5050UB with the Xbox One X and the Apple TV 4K and am very impressed with the quality and the features.

Installation is super easy thanks to the lens shift that can easily put the image on the screen even if you are mounting or setting the projector somewhere that you can’t get the perfect placement.

This lens shift powers one of my favorite features. Using the lens memory option I can create a setting for gaming that is as big as my screen supports, but when I switch to watching a movie or show that normally shows black bars, I can press memory 2 and zoom to fill my screen for a more immersive experience. Since the lens positions are saved, it’s easy to jump back and forth with no tweaking as I go between gaming or watching TV.

The Epson 5050UB is an amazing home theater projector that fixes all the issues I had with the previous model and delivers a great image at an excellent value, which is why it earns a Gotta Be Mobile Editor’s Choice Award.

The Epson 5050UB retails for $2,999, but it is often on sale for $2,699 at Best Buy, B&H Photo and Amazon. You can also get the 5050UBe, which includes a wireless HDMI transmitter for $300 more. This easily sends your video signals to the projector without running cables.

You get a standard two-year warranty and two years of rapid replacement, so if something does go wrong, you’ll have a new model in your hands and in your theater fast.

Epson 5050UB Image Quality

The Epson 5050UB is brighter than the 5040 by 100 lumens and it features better HDR support, as well as full 18 Gbps, support over HDMI, which means that you can easily connect devices like the Xbox One X, Apple TV 4K, Amazon Fire TV 4K and other sources without worrying about compatibility.

I am impressed with the blacks as well as the vivid colors that the 5050UB is capable of. I primarily stream most of my content on the Apple TV or Xbox One X from Netflix and Amazon.

While catching up on The Expanse, binging through new Apple TV+ series and The Mandalorian on Disney+ I enjoyed the quality of the video. During the opening sequence of 6 Underground, the projector did an impressive job with the bright green Alfa Romeo Guila Quadrifoglio chase sequence that is full of action and explosions. It also does a great job with dark scenes in The Mandalorian and the Expanse.

Right out of the box there are handy image modes to switch between to get the look you want without a professional calibration. You can always dive deeper into the options, but I was impressed with the quality from the moment I started watching.

Gaming on the Epson 5050UB

This is an impressive gaming projector with very little input lag for a projector. I couldn’t appreciate a difference in input lag while playing a variety of online and single-player games. If you’re not playing at a professional level, this projector is going to be more then fast enough to keep up with you.

Gaming on a massive screen is an entirely different experience and in games like Spider-Man or even when playing Madden 20, it feels very immersive. I play a lot of PUBG, and my performance remained the same on this projector compared to on a TV or a monitor.

Thanks to the new HDMI ports, compared to the 5040UB, the projector handles 4K/60 content with ease.

Is the Epson Home Cinema 5050UB Worth It?

The Epson Home Cinema 5050UB is an excellent projector for your home theater. I love the motorized lens with built-in lens shift that allows you to worry less about the placement. Even with the projector slightly to the side and higher than our display, I was able to adjust the lens in seconds using the backlit remote to get the perfect fit on my 110″ Elite Screens screen. I ended up ceiling mounting the projector, but you could also easily set it on a table or a shelf.  With the lens memory, I am able to quickly switch between using the full screen for games and movies.

This solves the issues I had with the 5040UB and at the price, it offers incredible access to a massive screen in your home theater. If you’re looking for a new projector, Epson checks all the boxes with the 5050UB. For gaming or entertainment, this is an excellent upgrade for your media room.

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