hmmm...bit tough to say, actually.
You've got a fair bit of ambient light coming through that glass door on the left side. And your room certainly isn't a "black hole" or anything.
Let's put it this way - the JVC RS45 in that room is not going to look 100% as good as it possibly can. But that doesn't mean it isn't still worth it!
If you only watch at night, and you don't ever have to worry about the ambient light coming through that glass door, then the JVC is still going to have the best contrast - but it isn't going to be quite as remarkable as if you had a "black hole" room with no reflective surfaces for light to bounce off of and scatter. If you do ever watch during the day, the JVC should still be watchable, but it isn't going to look terribly bright or "punchy".
Let's put it another way - your room is not going to allow the JVC to perform as well as it is capable of performing. Even at night. So, in that sense, you
could think of it in terms of - you'd be spending some extra money for performance that you're never going to actually see in that room. However, I think that might be too negative a viewpoint. At night, you'd still see some benefit from the JVC's higher contrast. On the other hand, going back the other way again, the Epson and Panny are certainly not slouches! Without the projectors side by side to compare, it's not as though you'd look at the Panny or Epson and ever think, "oh, those don't look very high in contrast". No sir! In fact, given that you have some ambient light - again, even at night - the brighter output of the Epson will make it look "punchier" just because it will be brighter.
So my honest opinion is that the Epson is probably your best, "all around" choice when considering price as well as your room. However, that comes with some caveats!
If you plan on watching 3D, then the Epson isn't really a good choice. If 3D is only ever a really rare - "oh, let's check it out for fun" or just for a football game or something, then it's fine. It's a very good 2D projector that can occassionally do 3D in a pinch. But if you want to watch 3D movies on a regular basis, I wouldn't choose the Epson. The Panasonic is the best choice for 3D, IMO.
If fan noise REALLY bugs you, and you always find yourself being able to notice the fan noise, then the Epson might not be the best choice. It is by NO MEANS noisy or loud. But it is "audible". And if you're the sort of person who simply cannot stand any fan noise, then the Epson isn't the absolute best in that department. And give your projector's placement directly overhead, you'll be able to hear the fan on the Epson for sure. Again, it is by no means loud, but you CAN hear it. So if that bugs you...
I don't expect that having manual-only zoom, focus and lens shift controls would be any problem in your setup. You have the one screen size and the dedicated ceiling placement, so your settings are a "set once and forget it!" situation. That said, if you simply must have motorized controls for some reason, the Epson 5010 lacks those.
Other than those three potential drawbacks, I'd say the Epson is your best choice. It is the brightest in both calibrated and "light cannon" modes - and that's going to give you the best looking image in a room with some ambient light. It produces really deep blacks, so no problem there. And it's the least expensive, so if 3D, the slightly audible fan and no motorized controls are no concern for you, you can save yourself a fair bit of cash and get what is likely to be the best looking image in your room!
It's tough to say to not go with the JVC. If money is of little concern - go ahead and get the JVC! You can simply put it in "high lamp" mode during the day for some extra light output and at night, you'll enjoy a little bit higher contrast than the Epson or Panny - although it will never look quite as good as it is capable of looking in your room.
The Panny takes everything the Epson does and eliminates those three potential drawbacks, but for a higher price. The ever so slightly higher black levels of the Panny are of no concern in your room. Even at night, you'll have some ambient light, which will make the very minor differences in absolute black level moot. While the Panny has the least light output in its absolute best calibrated mode, you can easily get more light out of it with only a very minor loss to the color calibration. I'm talking about the sort of variance away from perfect color calibration that you can only measure and really cannot see with just your eyes! So I would not consider light output a problem for the Panny in any way. Yes, you have to move
slightly away from perfect color calibration, but it really is not something your eye is going to notice - only your spectrophotometer can tell
The Panny's got the best 3D, it's almost dead silent, and it has the motorized zoom, focus and lens shift. So if any of those are concerns for you on the Epson, then the Panny fixes that!
So there you have it! Personally, if spending less money IS highly desireable to you, then I would have to say - given your room - the JVC isn't really worth it. It IS still the best looking projector out of the 3. And if you had them side-by-side, even in your room, the JVC would likely still win. But at the same time, with the JVC, you'd be paying a fair bit more money for performance that your room is never going to allow you to fully see! So it's very hard to say that it's truly worth it. Money's no issue? Get the JVC. But if money IS an issue, I'd say you're honestly better served with the Epson. It's just the best value when budget is a consideration. And if you have any concerns about 3D, fan noise or motorized controls, then the Panny becomes the best choice, IMO.
Finally, it's really important to remember that all 3 of these projectors look excellent! It's easy for people to sometimes say - "oh, just get the JVC because it has the best contrast and black levels." Well yeah, that's entirely true! But it's not as though anyone looks at the Epson or Panny contrast and black levels and says, "oh, those don't look good"! No, quite the opposite. So I have to say, when you have some ambient light, like you do, and if a lower price IS preferable, I'd go for the Epson. The black level is limited by the room in your case, not the projector, so the JVC holds no advantage there. And the contrast is going to have a lot to do with peak light output whenever there's some ambient light to consider. With its high brightness, the Epson wins there. So really, it's only when you have black and bright white on the screen at the same time that the JVC will hold any advantage in your room. While that's certainly still nice to have, I don't know that I can say it's worth the extra money. Without them side-by-side, you're never going to notice that difference. So my final vote is - go for the Epson
unless you want to watch a lot of 3D, can't stand ANY fan noise, or just HAVE to have motorized controls...in which case, get the Panny
Hope that helps!
