Opinions on the Epson Ultamite HD?
10-06-08, 09:29 AM
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Opinions on the Epson Ultamite HD?
I just bought a new house and am ready to start building my theater. I was wondering if its like buying furniture, if its easier to jsut go to the roomstore and buy a whole set put together or buy the best pieces one by one? I was looking at the Epson Ultamite HD and for 5K you get basically everything in a pretty nice set up. So what are you guys' take on this topic and this particular product? Here is the website:
ensemblehd.com
ensemblehd.com
10-06-08, 05:43 PM
#2
DVD Talk Gold Edition
I can tell you right now, you won't get good advice on this unit from internet forums. Most people will poo-poo this unit without giving it much consideration. Why? Mainly because, if you have a dedicated room or space, you can do better with individual components (and then waste days buying it, installing it, and working out the details of configuration of the different devices).
Why might one get the Ensemble HD? What's nice about the Ensemble from Epson is that is quickly installed and is very unobtrusive. 5.1 Speakers are in the projector screen and projector mount. For folks putting a FP into their living room, the Ensemble is probably just fine if somewhat pricey solution. But if the $5K number is for the 1080p version installed, it's not a bad deal considering what it takes to get installers to come out and do something for you.
The one major stumbling point for Ensemble is how it handles lossless High-Def sound. From the specs, I'm sure it would play regular DD and DTS surround sound from all Blu-ray titles. But, I'm not sure it can do anything with Blu-ray hidef audio like TrueHD or DTS-HD MA. Then again, the speakers included may not reveal much of the additional fidelity in that step up. If you don't think about it or read forums very much, you won't miss it (and will likely be happy and have more time and money on your hands).
You can of course match many of the features of the Ensemble with other products, and pay less (and, depending on your opinions, might end up with better separate components). Of course, you have to find and buy all the parts of FP system that way -- Projector, Receiver, 5/7 pcs surround sound speakers, sub, DVD & Blu-ray player.
Buying any of these is much more complicated by Internet Forum standards than they need to be.
And that has nothing to do with installing and cabling all this together. And then configuring everything correctly is another task.
What if you wanted to duplicate the Ensemble for yourself?
Buy the Epson Home 1080P UB projector and a mount. You might as well purchase Atlantic Technology (like those from the Ensemble) in ceiling speakers to go with it, along with a reasonable receiver (Onkyo 606, for instance). For a subwoofer, something direct from a speaker manufacturer that matches the Ensemble's 10" sub, like Hsu Research's STF-2 or VTF-1. A 100" Elite or Dalite Electric Screen. Pick up a PS3 or Panasonic 35 Blu-ray player. And, might as well throw in an Oppo-983 for good measure to take care of any doubts reading forums may have about the SD performance of the Blu-ray player. Wrap it all up with a Harmony remote.
So --
Epson Home UB 1080 UB
Ceiling Mount
100" Elite or Da-lite Electric Screen
Onkyo 606 Receiver
5.1 Atlantic Technology In-Ceiling or In-Wall speakers (3 x ICTS-6 LCR, 2 or 4 x ICTS-6.3e)
HSU Subwoofer (STF-2 or VTF-1)
PS3 or Panasonic 35 Blu-ray Player
optional: Oppo 983
Harmony 670 Remote (add Bluetooth adapter to PS3)
25'-50' in-wall HDMI cabling
500' in wall speaker cabling
50' of 16AWG speaker cable to wire from wall-plate to receiver
Subwoofer cable (6' quality RCA to RCA cable)
HDMI wall jacks - 2
Power receptacle for ceilings - 2 (recommend recessed)
5.1 or 7.1 Wall Plate
2 shorter HDMI cables
Plus lots of misc little tidbits
Then spend 2-3 solid days of work making all that work out for you and running cabling, setting the inputs on the receiver, etc. Running, cutting, splitting, and wiring the 5.1/7.1 speakers will take some time. You'll need power near the projector and near the electric screen. HDMI from receiver to projector (Monoprice). Lots of in wall speaker cabling (Home Depot or Monoprice). Most people take weeks to do this themselves. I helped someone do this over a 3-day weekend and it was brutal. All that ceiling work is exhausting if you aren't used to it.
-beebs
Why might one get the Ensemble HD? What's nice about the Ensemble from Epson is that is quickly installed and is very unobtrusive. 5.1 Speakers are in the projector screen and projector mount. For folks putting a FP into their living room, the Ensemble is probably just fine if somewhat pricey solution. But if the $5K number is for the 1080p version installed, it's not a bad deal considering what it takes to get installers to come out and do something for you.
The one major stumbling point for Ensemble is how it handles lossless High-Def sound. From the specs, I'm sure it would play regular DD and DTS surround sound from all Blu-ray titles. But, I'm not sure it can do anything with Blu-ray hidef audio like TrueHD or DTS-HD MA. Then again, the speakers included may not reveal much of the additional fidelity in that step up. If you don't think about it or read forums very much, you won't miss it (and will likely be happy and have more time and money on your hands).
You can of course match many of the features of the Ensemble with other products, and pay less (and, depending on your opinions, might end up with better separate components). Of course, you have to find and buy all the parts of FP system that way -- Projector, Receiver, 5/7 pcs surround sound speakers, sub, DVD & Blu-ray player.
Buying any of these is much more complicated by Internet Forum standards than they need to be.
And that has nothing to do with installing and cabling all this together. And then configuring everything correctly is another task.
What if you wanted to duplicate the Ensemble for yourself?
Buy the Epson Home 1080P UB projector and a mount. You might as well purchase Atlantic Technology (like those from the Ensemble) in ceiling speakers to go with it, along with a reasonable receiver (Onkyo 606, for instance). For a subwoofer, something direct from a speaker manufacturer that matches the Ensemble's 10" sub, like Hsu Research's STF-2 or VTF-1. A 100" Elite or Dalite Electric Screen. Pick up a PS3 or Panasonic 35 Blu-ray player. And, might as well throw in an Oppo-983 for good measure to take care of any doubts reading forums may have about the SD performance of the Blu-ray player. Wrap it all up with a Harmony remote.
So --
Epson Home UB 1080 UB
Ceiling Mount
100" Elite or Da-lite Electric Screen
Onkyo 606 Receiver
5.1 Atlantic Technology In-Ceiling or In-Wall speakers (3 x ICTS-6 LCR, 2 or 4 x ICTS-6.3e)
HSU Subwoofer (STF-2 or VTF-1)
PS3 or Panasonic 35 Blu-ray Player
optional: Oppo 983
Harmony 670 Remote (add Bluetooth adapter to PS3)
25'-50' in-wall HDMI cabling
500' in wall speaker cabling
50' of 16AWG speaker cable to wire from wall-plate to receiver
Subwoofer cable (6' quality RCA to RCA cable)
HDMI wall jacks - 2
Power receptacle for ceilings - 2 (recommend recessed)
5.1 or 7.1 Wall Plate
2 shorter HDMI cables
Plus lots of misc little tidbits
Then spend 2-3 solid days of work making all that work out for you and running cabling, setting the inputs on the receiver, etc. Running, cutting, splitting, and wiring the 5.1/7.1 speakers will take some time. You'll need power near the projector and near the electric screen. HDMI from receiver to projector (Monoprice). Lots of in wall speaker cabling (Home Depot or Monoprice). Most people take weeks to do this themselves. I helped someone do this over a 3-day weekend and it was brutal. All that ceiling work is exhausting if you aren't used to it.
-beebs
Last edited by beebs; 10-06-08 at 05:48 PM.
