The CEDIA demo that changed my mind
I've owned 6 different reference projectors. One trade show demo still surprised me.
My own home theater has doubled as our company’s demo theater for years, which means it’s been through a rotating cast of some of the best projectors on the market. Over time I’ve owned 3 different JVCs — the RS420/X570R, the RS2000/NX7, and the RS2100/NZ7, which are the same projectors sold under 2 names depending on the market — and a Sony VPL-VW715ES. If a projector is genuinely good, I’ve probably lived with it long enough to know.
At the time I went to CEDIA Expo, the RS2100 was in my theater. Epson had their Q-Series lineup on the floor, and the unit that caught me was the QB1000 — 3,300 lumens, laser-driven 3LCD, with a fast, sharp image and noticeably strong HDR tone mapping. I was watching it next to my own reference point, that JVC, and the difference wasn’t subtle. The brightness was better. The sharpness was better. Motion handling — the thing that usually gives lower-end projectors away during fast action — was better too.
I don’t say that lightly, and I’m not the type to get won over by a trade show floor. Show lighting and curated content can make almost anything look impressive for 5 minutes. But I went home, bought a QB1000, and the impression held up. Not long after, I also picked up the model just below it, the LS12000, and was equally impressed. That one ended up staying in my own theater permanently, which means I can demo it for clients in a real room rather than a curated show booth — and it’s become one of the projectors I sell most.
I’ve since sold 2 QB1000s to clients as well. That’s really the only review that matters in this business — not what impressed me in a dark room at a trade show, but what earns its place in an actual client’s home after I’ve had time to be skeptical of it.