Domain Name Com's Electronics Optoma HD72 720p DLP Home Theater Projector

Electronics Optoma HD72 720p DLP Home Theater Projector

Domain Name Com's - Electronics : Optoma HD72 720p DLP Home Theater Projector

- Exceptional
I have owned this projector for over a year and a half now and it still blows me away every time I use it. Connected to a Toshiba HD-A2 or HD-A3, the picture quality on either HD-DVD or standard DVD is exceptional. I paid half again what it is currently selling for on Amazon and that was considered a bargain at the time. The current price is a very good deal. I have also used this projector connected to a laptop for digital slide shows with excellent results. I can recommend it without reservation.

Rating:

- Put through it's paces
The HD72 is a decent priced midrange DLP projector (even for Texas Instruments nestled between their HD70 and HD80)that does what it claims to do, but is not without it's limits. I tested it ceiling mounted on a 110" screen (96"x54" viewing) at approx 13'-15' distance. Various tests were done, first using the component(Red,Blue,Green) inputs, S-Video, and Composite (RCA), and finally HDMI for high def. Component input basically gives you the 720i, or 1080i if the source is there, without using the HDMI input. The projector will do its best to digitalize the signal on all inputs, but it does not do well with the lower end inputs. Even in componet mode darker colors are not perfectly read across the grey scale and results in the familiar "metalic sheen" look in certain areas (when certain colors can not be determined by the processor and as a result produces the next closest color which gives off distinct lines rather than a smooth transition between colors). Even with Optomas TrueVivid and TrueVision technology turned "on" it did not correct the problem. This would probably not be as noticeable if the screen size were smaller, or the viewing distance was further away. Which is fine if you were, say, in a "theater" but assuming that most people will be using this in a designated rec room, or even their living room, larger pictures will propose this problem. I would advise that if you plan on being within 12-13' of your screen at any angle, produce a picture around 72"-80" maximum. I was impressed however that I had to get very close to the screen to see the actual squares of the projected image. They are very small and virtually unnoticed as compared to older models that produced what many have referred to as the "screen door" affect.
Optoma claims that there is a 7-segment color wheel to deliver great color saturation. Outside of the problem mentioned above, I will say that the colors in the basic spectrum are indeed bright and true. By putting up a test pattern and going through the contrast and brightness settings using a blue filter, I did fine that the spectrum of these two settings needed a little fine tuning. Turning off the TrueVivid and TrueVision settings, and sharpness set to zero, I was able to at least get the brightness and contrast little closer to where they should have been, but still was prevented from getting them perfect. [A note on sharpness: You should really always have this setting to zero or less, especially for Hi-Def, as it produces artifical elements that are not part of the original source material and can cause bad destortion].

After getting the 16:9 format centered on the screen (which, if necessary, can be done with various methods of Keystone correction, screen shift, zoom, etc) when I switched to the 4:3 format (for those older films or video tapes that certainly exist in most librarys)I was saddened to see a very small square in the center of the screen. Yes, the zoom function can make it a little larger, but the result was that the picture shifts dramatically to one end of the screen and under no circumstances can you get it to fill the whole screen. I should also mention that you would also need to refocus whenever you use the zoom funtion on the projector. The problem exists that both the focus and the zoom are manual on this projector, so if you have it in the ceiling mounted posistion you will need to go up there and do it yourself the hard way. If you set your projector in the maximum resolution (1920x1080) which can be done by the remote in setup mode, it does make the picture a little larger. [Helpful Hint: In the 1920x1080 resolution you can actually view anything recorded in the 4:3 format (even televison) in 16:9 and even get enough away from the "Short-fat" syndrome that results in trying to view 4:3 source in a 16:9 invironment].
The seperate modes available [Cinema, Bright, TV, RGB, Native] can all be adjusted to your liking individually (brightness, contrast, color, etc) and the projector's memory chip will remember these settings for you. You can also lock in your source if you don't wish for the projector to continually search for a source everytime you have multiple sources going into the projector that are turned on at the same time.
There are also computer inputs RS-232, and DVI inputs if you don't have a recent Hi-Def DVD player or Blue-Ray yet to connect to the DMI input.
Finally, there is also a life meter for the lamp (ave life 2000-3000hrs)that can remind you when it is time to think about replacing the bulb (average price around $350).
I used to own a 3-CDD LCD projector that probably out performed this one in overall performance, but did not have as high a contrast ratio and was not ready for the HDMI future. If you really want a dedicated smooth picture with all color and gray information interpreted correctly, I would probably stick with a LCD projector or televison. But again, with a little more work, the right adjustments, and viewing distance, and lets not forget the price range, this little quiet DLP projector can deliver as much as the it's bigger brothers.

Rating:

- Home Theater by Home Owner
I completely renovated a room in our basement to a home theater using the Optoma HD72 and DaLite 110 diagonal Cinema Vision screen. What I learned:
- you've gotta plan any projectors location, whether Optoma/JVC/Panasonic/etc, including distance from screen, offset from ceiling, height/size of room, etc. So...if the HD72 fits within your room requirements it should be strongly considered
- the screen is as important as the projector, so any review that doesn't tell you what type/size screen is teamed with the projector limits its usefulness.
The basement room I put this in is 7ft 9in with excellent light control. Being 110" diagonal, the screen sits a little low on the wall. However, it is just fine when either sitting or standing.
Picture is outstanding...rivals a 50" plasma
Bottom line, I can't imagine I could have the quality image I have for the price I paid with any other combination.

Rating:

- bright and clear but poor packing
great projector! with HD now a days..can't stand S-video anymore..
easy hook up and auto detect is just great! whatever you input, it will find the signal and you are good to go with no setup hassle.
right out of the box was good enough setting already ready to shoot and watch your favorite movie. 1.take out from the box 2.plug the AC cable
3.plug the video cable of your choice 4.play DVD! so simple!!!
while watching the intro, get the fresh batteries out which is included and watch your remote light up in the dark!
only negative is the heat. it gets hot really fast...instantly.
don't put any soft things near this fire...

and finally, i didn't like the packing they (amazon labeled box) did..
much bigger than the projector(about the size of laptop box)and it was
losely packed with just one SHEET of brown paper..what's with that?
no air bubbles, no peanuts
i picked it up from UPS and it was all shaking.. I hoped the "bulb" was alright..afterall..bulb is the most expensive part of the projector...
luckly everything was alright...but i hope these guys see my review and pack their boxes really good next time!!! it's not cheap stuff we are buying you know.....

Rating:

- HD Projector review for first-timers
I am writing this review in order to give some helpful guidance to those of you who are on the fence when it comes to HD projectors. Like me, you are probably wary of straying away from the norm of Plasma or LCD televisions...possibly even frightened by the notion of using a projector system instead of a steadfast TV system for your home theater. Well, I made that plunge last week and now I am back to talk about it so that you will have a little more confidence in your purchase.

I will state right now that I do NOT have any other HD projectors (nor have I seen any other) and therefore I cannot comment on this unit's pros/cons over other units. My review is just a first-timers look at the projector, its PROs and CONS, and overall performance.

I purchased this unit because I had a problem brewing with my HD setup. I have a 50" Panasonic Plasma HDTV. After using the unit for 2-3 months I noticed that I was getting burn-in due to heavy video game usage. I didn't want to plop down another 2 grand for a new LCD HDTV (LCD units do not endure burn-in like Plasma) so I started snooping around online forums for alternatives.

I am now a true believer in HD Projectors. It looked OK thrown up on a wall, then it looked slightly better when thrown on a bedsheet...then I built my own screen out of blackout cloth and man does it shine! I went from a 50" Plasma display to a 90" display (both in HD) and the 90" display cost me far less. I will also note that since this is a HD Projector you truly do get incredible images when feeding the unit a HD signal (component or HDMI).

So overall I'm thrilled that I made my purchase. Now for the pros/cons, some of which are obvious but I'll list them anyways.

PROS:
- Great HD Picture Quality
- HUGE upgrade in screen size for those upgrading from normal HDTV
- Very low noise form the fan...the only real noise it makes is when it cools off after operating (and you aren't watching TV then anyways since it is off)
- Easy to setup
- Cost savings over Plasma/LCD HDTV alternatives
- No problems with Burn-in
- If you know how to download movies on your PC then you've got yourself you own home theater.

CONS:
- Room must be kept dark for OPTIMAL image quality. Just like in a theater, the darker the better. This is the #1 problem with this kind of setup, but hey if you want a theater experience then understand it will need to be dark.
- Bulbs are expensive and they will eventually burn out after 1,000 - 2,000 hours (has not happened to me yet)
- My screen size was limited to 90" because my den is only 10 feet deep. Deeper den = larger screen
- Very slight light leakage seen out of bottom of unit (my unit is mounted up-side down so this light hits the ceiling. This wouldn't be a problem for units mounted right-side up)
- No sound system...don't buy this if you have problems running your own sound system
- Not 1080p...but come on, can you really afford a 1080p Plasma/LCD? The only units that I have seen that are 1080p and affordable look like junk when you see them in stores.
- Costly screen if you don't know how to make your own*

*I built my own screen which took about 30 minutes once I had the supplies. Screens can run anywhere from 300+ in stores. Don't be a sucker; build your own and you will not be disappointed. No painting or anything like that required if you want to keep it simple. If you need help building your own then send me an email and I'll point you in the right direction.

Andrew

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