Epson today announced that two of its projectors — the Home Cinema 8500 UB and the Pro Cinema 9500 UB — have received THX certification. In the corresponding THX mode, the devices claim to produce colours that match studio standards.

December 16, 2009 — According to a statement released today, two projectors that are currently available from Epson America have now received THX certification and a corresponding THX mode. When running in this mode, the Home Cinema 8500 UB and Pro Cinema 9500 UB are supposed to match the parameters — colour model, gamma, colour temperature, luminance, etc. — used by studios, so that users can enjoy films in exactly the way the producers intended. According to Matthew Chrispen, THX’s director of certification, Epson’s new devices reproduce colour and black levels that closely match those used in the mastering studio, as well as “presenting sports and action movies with smooth motion and detail”.

Epson’s Pro Cinema 9500 UB (pictured) now carries THX certification.

The two devices also offer D7 projection chips, as well as Epson’s proprietary C2Fine and UltraBlack technologies, which claim to provide vivid images and “superb” black levels. Automatic-iris technology is also on board to increase the projectors’ dynamic contrast ratios. Features reserved for the superior 9500 model include an anamorphic picture mode and isf calibration capabilities, which should mean that all the necessary controls are present for expert users to calibrate the picture.

For an in-depth look at THX certification, see our article THX Technology Explained.