Given its $7,000 street price, you'd expect the Optoma to be stripped down, and in some ways it is. A two-piece system with a separate video switcher/processor that connects to the projector via HDMI and RS-232 cables (2-meter strands are included; 25-footers are optional), the HD81 has only manual zoom and focus rings for its lens, which has a throw ratio of 1.85 to 2.2. There are no vertical or horizontal lens-shift functions to aid in positioning the image, and a 136° lens offset means that you'll need a fairly high ceiling: In my setup, the projector's lens needed to hover more than 1.5 feet above the screen's top edge to avoid keystone distortion. And the HD81 required a minimum 14-foot throw distance to fill up my 93-inch wide Da-Lite high-contrast Da-Mat screen.
But while the HD81's install features lean toward the rudimentary, its video features are anything but. The outboard processor boasts three HDMI inputs. There's a pair of RCA component-video inputs, another pair of inputs that willtake RGB+H/V or component signals via BNC connectors, and front-panel VGA and composite-/S-video jacks. An HDMI “loop” output routes audio signals carried on HDMI to an A/V receiver or processor.
Standard- and high-def signals get upconverted to 1080p resolution by a Gennum VXP — a high-performance video deinterlacing/scaling chip that's also in Anthem's excellent AVM-50 preamp we reviewed (October 2006, available at soundandvisionmag.com). Along with extensive controls for carefully fine-tuning color, gamma, noise reduction, and detail enhancement on each video input, the HD81 also provides an Auto Iris function to deepen picture contrast on a scene-by-scene basis — a feature found on some LCD and LCoS projectors that's showing up for the first time here in a DLP model.
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The Short Form
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| Price $7,000 / www.optomausa.com / 408-383-3700 |
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Snapshot
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| Despite quirks, this 1080p projector puts out a stunning picture at a great price. |
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Plus
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•Crisp, detailed pictures with all sources •Bright image with strong contrast and rich colors •Wide range of picture setup options •Affordable (compared to competition) |
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Minus
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| •Auto Iris feature ineffective and noisy |
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Key Features
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•1,920 x 1,080 resolution single-chip DLP •Outboard video switcher/scaler •Accepts native 1080p-format signals •1.85–2.2 throw ratio •Manual zoom and focus •Inputs (controller): (3) HDMI, (2) component, (2) component or RGB+H/V (BNC), (3) composite/S, VGA, RS-232C •Outputs: HDMI, RS-232 (to projector); HDMI audio loop; (2) 12-volt trigger; IR •16.5 x 4.5 x 12.3 in; 10 lb (projector) •17 x 2.5 x 12 in; 9.3 lb (controller) |
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Test Bench
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The Optoma HD81's Warm color-temperature preset measured close to the 6,500°K grayscale standard, and after adjust-ments, grayscale tracking measured ±200°K from 40 to 90 IRE — a very good showing — with only a small dip toward blue at the high and low ends. A slight amount of color-decoder error showed up on the HDMI and component-video inputs, both of which measured —5% green. Color points were very accurate — a factor that, along with the projector's precise color decoding, contributed to its rich, well-saturated color on all kinds of source material. Overscan measured 0% for both the HDMI and component-video inputs with 1080p test signals and either the 16:9 or Native display modes active. Both 1080p and 720p detail test patterns were fully resolved, and the HD81's brightness on my 93-inch screen, at 15.6 ftL, was nearly that of the much more expensive Sim2 HT-3000 tested in October. Full Lab Results |
SETUP You can create and store up to three custom User settings for each input (and for different video scan rates on that input) on the HD81, and you can copy and transfer picture settings from one input to another — a feature that greatly simplifies setup. The menu also offers Day and Night modes for an Imaging Science Foundation (ISF) tech to store settings permanently.
There's no shortage of picture tweaks here. They include variable pedestal (black level); variable Iris with Auto and Off options; standard-def, high-def, and automatic Color Space; Color Vividness and Color Temperature to adjust color balance for each input; and an array of gamma adjustments.
When I began my adjustments, I assumed the DVI-Video black level setting for the HDMI inputs was the correct preset for watching high-def discs and cable TV. But I was surprised to find that images looked too dark, and there wasn't enough range in the brightness adjustment to compensate. Selecting the DVI-PC preset, which sets the projector's black level at 0 IRE, proved a better option. Another surprise was that the performance of the Auto Iris was a far cry from the rapid, transparent operation I've experienced on LCD and LCoS projectors. Each time the brightness of the onscreen picture changed, the iris was painfully slow to register, visibly (and audibly) stepping contrast up or down several seconds into the scene change. Fortunately, the manual Iris function still worked.
PICTURE QUALITY Watching the HD DVD of the Ray Charles biopic Ray, I was immediately impressed by the Optoma's bright, crystal-clear picture. In a scene where Charles (Jamie Foxx) records with an orchestra in a studio, I could easily see patterns in the period clothing worn by the musicians. And wide shots in the same scene also revealed the notation in the sheet music they read from — a fine detail that really stood out.
After playing with the HD81's manual iris adjustment on a few other movie scenes, I fixed on the level 3 setting, which struck a good balance between inky shadows and punchy yet natural-looking highlights. On another HD DVD, Friday Night Lights, the blacks looked solid in a scene where the football players lift weights in a gym. And the subtle play of light cast by overhead fluorescents on the high-school jocks gave them a sculpted, heroic appearance that also lent the image a realistic sense of depth.
Sure, high-definition discs can look great on a 1080p projector, but how about programs from other sources? Watching a documentary on the Discovery HD channel about the Navy's Blue Angels pilots, the bright blue and yellow hues of the planes and the pilots' uniforms looked remarkably rich. Even so, the pilots' skin tones came off as perfectly natural. A 720p broadcast of a World Cup soccer match between Brazil and France that I had recorded from ESPN HD also looked crisp and clear. And standard-def shows like Nip/Tuck on the FX cable channel came across reasonably well after the HD81's noise reduction and edge enhancement options sharpened them up.
BOTTOM LINE At $7,000, the Optoma HD81 1080p DLP front projector is an undeniably great deal. Its setup features are somewhat basic, and the Auto Iris feature is, unfortunately, a work in progress that Optoma claims will be fixed with a firmware upgrade. Those minor issues aside, the HD81 delivers fantastic, full-rez HDTV pictures. Home theater enthusiasts on a budget have never had it so good.
Full Lab Results
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