Disclaimer: I promise I have no affiliation with the vendor. I just can't keep a secret like this to myself. I do have a hidden agenda though. I hope all the HD65s get sold before I talk myself into buying one. I have an Optoma HD72 already and don't need another projector, but how can I possibly turn down a deal like this "IN" Canada! :o


Refurbished Optoma HD65

Finding sources for projectors in Canada is difficult. Finding a really great deal is even harder, so I just can't keep this one to myself.

Refurbished Optoma HD65 for $650 + $6.99 Shipping anywhere in Canada!
Until March 5, $100 instant rebate!
http://www1.canadacomputers.com/ProductImages/019587/11533.jpg
Click here for vendor's web-page. (http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=019587&cid=333.852)


Some feedback from a fellow AVSer who purchased one of the Optoma HD65s:

Hi Todd,

I've notice the special this morning while I was at work, I called my better half and I went to the store at 10am (when it open) to buy one of the units. Thanks anyways for thinking about me ;-). I was working on my basement till an hour ago and I was able finally to fire up the bad boy on my living rooms white wall... ;-) So far I'm very happy, I don't know half of the settings and it will take some time to tweak it...ahahha... Now I will drag my PC to play some 720P/1080P mkv movies. The SD DVD is very nice, HDTV (CBC Eng and French) look fantastic.... I've checked in the menu, and I believe the lamp reading says "0" ;-), the unit was packed very nicely and I haven't notice any scraches whatsover.... just like brand new ;-).....

I'll send you another update, after I get a chance to play with it a little more.

Cheers,


Checkout the AVS HD65 thread. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=947156)

HD65 Review (http://www.projectorcentral.com/optoma_hd65_review.htm)

HD65 Review (http://www.projectorreviews.com/optoma/hd65/index.php)

If you are a Canadian who has have been thinking about getting into front projection, this may just be the best chance to do so without spending a lot of money. I also noticed this vendor has some good pricing on cables and a ceiling mount for $30 Cdn.

To save even more on the screen, Visit the AVS DIY Screens Forum (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=110) for some information on how to make a really great screen for well under $100.



~ OR ~

Refurbished Optoma DV11 for $550 + $6.99 Shipping anywhere in Canada!

http://www1.canadacomputers.com/ProductImages//76465.jpg
Click here to see vendor's web-page (http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=020148&cid=333.852)

Checkout the AVS DV11 thread. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=898090&highlight=dv11)

The DV11 is similar to the DV10. The DV10 is native 16x9, 854x480, while the DV11 is native 4x3, 800x600.

DV11 Press Release (http://www.projectorcentral.com/news_story_997.htm)

DV10 Review (http://www.projectorcentral.com/optoma_movietime_dv10.htm)


NOTE: I hope I have not broken any of the forum rules posting this. It was worth the chance, if it provides one of my fellow Canadians an opportunity to jump into front projection. Come on! Jump in! The water is warm and the view is fantastic! :D

Hey Tiddler... that's where I pickup mine, at the ottawa store. Seems like new. I can't see how you can lose as you say, in Canada eh, you usually don't see stuff like that (ie. "B-stock").

Hey Budwich, I sure hope some of our DIY Screen friends can take advantage of this killer deal.

Man this is very tempting. I don't have a lot of money and was thinking about getting an Epson 6100 but that's like $2500 after tax here. So this may be the way for me to start things off at. The only things that has me a bit worried is the fan noise and the lens zoom. Small bedroom (8x12) setup with maybe a 9-12 foot throw. It would still be bigger then my 50 inch 720p RPTV

Man this is very tempting. I don't have a lot of money and was thinking about getting an Epson 6100 but that's like $2500 after tax here. So this may be the way for me to start things off at. The only things that has me a bit worried is the fan noise and the lens zoom. Small bedroom (8x12) setup with maybe a 9-12 foot throw. It would still be bigger then my 50 inch 720p RPTVUsing the Optoma distance calculator I determined the following:

Projection Distance: 9 ft (2.74 m)
Screen Diagonal: 72.9 - 79.9 in (185. - 203.1 cm)
Screen Width: 63.5 - 69.7 in (161. - 177.0 cm)
Screen Height: 35.7 - 39.2 in (90.8 - 99.55 cm)
Vertical Offset: 6.79 - 7.45 in (17.2 - 18.9 cm)

If the room is 12' long then the longest throw you will have is about 11'.

Screen Diagonal: 89.1 - 97.7 in (226. - 248.2 cm)
Screen Width: 77.6 - 85.2 in (197. - 216.3 cm)
Screen Height: 43.7 - 47.9 in (111. - 121.7 cm)
Vertical Offset: 8.30 - 9.10 in (21.1 - 23.1 cm)


From the review at Projector Central:

Relatively noisy. The HD65 packs a very bright lamp into a very small case, which makes it somewhat louder than many other home theater projectors on the market today. However, fan noise is low in pitch, which makes it much less noticeable.

At Projector Reviews they had this to say about fan noise:

fan noise is louder than most projectors, although not exceptionally so

It is stated at 29db which is still pretty quite. In a bedroom with very low sound volume it may be a problem. You will be running it in low lamp mode so it may not be that bad. It won't be as loud as the sound of the furnace air coming out of the register.

Here is something interesting to keep in mind for a bedroom setup. If you are laying down then tilting the screen would be nice. By tilting the screen you can also eliminate any need for keystone correction.

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l84/tiddlerPics/3a7819d5.jpg

Another projector you might find for a good price is the HD70. NCIX has it listed at $850. (http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=21722&promoid=1130)

At 11' throw you will be able to get close to a 96" screen size.

I know you were thinking 1080p but with a smaller screen do you really need to spend the extra $1500. I have an HD72 and a 115" screen and the image is nice and sharp from about 14'. You are closer but your screen will be smaller. I would think in terms of 94" so you are not right at the extreme end of the zoom range.

Another projector that is more available in Canada at reasonable prices is the BenQ W500. At 11' you would have a screen size range of 84-101". It also has lens shift so you could shelf mount it and tat would also reduce the fan noise that you would hear. You can find the BenQ W500 for as low as $920. The vendor selling the HD65 for $550 has the BenQ W500 for $970.

Yeah i think i could be ok with the sound because i'm surrounded by 35mm projectors at work all the time. The 7.1 surround setup i have should drown out a bit of the noise as well, but others might not be able to handle it. Thanks for the info and i guess i have 5 days to think about what to do.

Hmmm to roll the dice or not...
This looks like a great deal, considering I saw it last week at another store for 1100.
I just took the time to phone up C.C. and they knew the projector I was talking about. They have no idea of what, initially, went wrong but they say they've all been QC'd. Also there's no way of knowing how vigoriously it was used. I guess I'd ask to take one out and see what the lamp life is at?
Even at $550, i don't want to plunk some cash down on a unit that's been demo'd for 2500 hours already.

Anyone else know how this refurb deal works?

Man this is very tempting. I don't have a lot of money and was thinking about getting an Epson 6100 but that's like $2500 after tax here. So this may be the way for me to start things off at. The only things that has me a bit worried is the fan noise and the lens zoom. Small bedroom (8x12) setup with maybe a 9-12 foot throw. It would still be bigger then my 50 inch 720p RPTV

I was like going to buy 6100/HC5500 PJs....but after seeing this price I couldn't resist.... Like Todd said in 1-2 years the money I save, I'll be able to buy better PJ for $1500, than today for $2000...
So far so good. You can see my other thread where I got 'lamp failure' light, but it was my fault as I tried to turn off and on the unit too quickly...hahaha.... This is my first PJ so I'm still learning...
Yes it is a little noisy, but not too noisy (bearable) .... At the moment I'm using my living room to try it, and 108" looks very nice. I'll try to post some screenshots in the official HD65 thread...

Yes +100 is much bigger !!!!!!!!!! ;)

TVCalculatror 50 vs 100 (http://tvcalculator.com/index.html?273c4574aa56c8cebec7e39fce3ea0ae)

Hmmm to roll the dice or not...
This looks like a great deal, considering I saw it last week at another store for 1100.
I just took the time to phone up C.C. and they knew the projector I was talking about. They have no idea of what, initially, went wrong but they say they've all been QC'd. Also there's no way of knowing how vigoriously it was used. I guess I'd ask to take one out and see what the lamp life is at?
Even at $550, i don't want to plunk some cash down on a unit that's been demo'd for 2500 hours already.

Anyone else know how this refurb deal works?

Before I bought my I did call Optoma Canada (Toronto HQ) so did Todd (OP). We were told that all refurbs come with bulbs less then 10hrs. Casing, cables, manual, packing was like buying a brand new unit...fully reconditioned unit as far as I can tell.

On the other hand I wonder if there is a way to tell how many hours the lamp has? The lamp hour counter from the menu can be reset at any time, so I don't think it is very accurate...:rolleyes:

Hmmm to roll the dice or not...
This looks like a great deal, considering I saw it last week at another store for 1100.
I just took the time to phone up C.C. and they knew the projector I was talking about. They have no idea of what, initially, went wrong but they say they've all been QC'd. Also there's no way of knowing how vigoriously it was used. I guess I'd ask to take one out and see what the lamp life is at?
Even at $550, i don't want to plunk some cash down on a unit that's been demo'd for 2500 hours already.

Anyone else know how this refurb deal works?

They aren't likely to do that.... anyways, it doesn't matter since the lamp counter is zeroed. Only you will know if its a good deal. Let's face it, there aren't very many... to none electronics stores that are doing well and this one is probably no better... they are running as "thin as possible" so they probably aren't going to be very flexible in terms of "mine's got a scratch, I want to return it, etc... so.... if the "gamble" is too big, head to the "other retailer" who charges twice the price for the "don't ask return policy" and "normal warranty".

I pulled the trigger on this one.

I was in the boat of a few others.... thinking of getting the Epson 6100 or even the Benq W5000. But the price of those are around $2200 Canadian.

Having not owned a projector before, I figure this one will blow me away coming from a 42" 480p plasma.
It should last me a couple of years and the price is right to get into the projector game. I just completed my basement reno and have a DIY painted screen that's been begging to have something projected onto it.

I pulled the trigger on this one.

I was in the boat of a few others.... thinking of getting the Epson 6100 or even the Benq W5000. But the price of those are around $2200 Canadian.

Having not owned a projector before, I figure this one will blow me away coming from a 42" 480p plasma.
It should last me a couple of years and the price is right to get into the projector game. I just completed my basement reno and have a DIY painted screen that's been begging to have something projected onto it.

No regreds on my part... I was able to watch Leafs beat Sens on 108" white wall..... CBC in 1080I looks amazing using this little guy :D...

I was going to attach picture to the official HD65... but since the pictures contain only hockey pictures here is probably better place...... The pictures were taken without flash (high iso with some noise) and shaky hands do not justify the PQ of this little PJ... ;)

few more pictures...;)

Those are some nice screen shots Clark17.

I'm glad this has worked out for you.
I paid $2200 Cdn to get an HD72 a couple of years ago, so this seem like a pretty darn go deal to me. It is a great little projector to start out with.

Those are some awesome pics. Its like they are shoving me into purchasing this projector now and i really do want to obey. The whites are very nice looking and better then my current Hitachi 50v525 RPTV. I'll probably sit on this for another day or 2 but you guys are doing a fine job in peer pressure ;)

Thanks for the post. I just ordered one for my garage HT.

thanks guys :D

I just cannot wait to finish my basement and use Todd's DIY paint formula... ;)

Oh my. Time to replace my shoddy benq W100 :-)

I just hope I don't get in trouble with the wife.

Cheers,
Mitch

I haven't been on AVSforum in quite a while but decided to browse a bit last night and I found this thread. Boy, am I glad I did!:)

I just got back from CC in Brampton with my new HD65. I'm replacing my Infocus 4805 that I've had for 5 years.

When I saw the HD hockey pictures I was sold.

How is the HD65 for SD-DVDs? just wondering because my 4805 did such a bang-up job for SD-DVD content.

Can't wait to get it set up. Thanks OP.

Gotta keep this thread on the first page for a couple of days so us poor Canucks can get a good deal on a projector for a change. ;)

I haven't been on AVSforum in quite a while but decided to browse a bit last night and I found this thread. Boy, am I glad I did!:)

I just got back from CC in Brampton with my new HD65. I'm replacing my Infocus 4805 that I've had for 5 years.

When I saw the HD hockey pictures I was sold.

How is the HD65 for SD-DVDs? just wondering because my 4805 did such a bang-up job for SD-DVD content.

Can't wait to get it set up. Thanks OP.

From ok to excellent ;). HD65 is my first PJ and IMHO it all depends on DVD transfer. Some DVDs were better than others. I guess I got spoiled by trying first "cars" and "Ratatouille" 720P mkv files from my pc... and then it was hockey in HDTV :D

Well a possible big curveball has been thrown my way. My brother has a friend who just moved into a new home and the guy before them left a fully furnished home theater room (leather recliners, screen, in-wall built speakers and projector) The projector is said to be 720p but no idea on the brand. Brothers friend wants to upgrade it to something 1080p and i could possibly be looking at a cheap/free unknown brand projector coming my way. Wont know more really until the weekend or when this sale is over. So i'm thinking i should wait this sale out and see what happens and hopefully i don't screw myself in the end. For the guy to have such a nice setup for his HT i tend to think at least the projector would be a well known brand and with an HDMI connection.

So cross your fingers for me everyone

I picked up one last night. The units are like new.
We projected Wall-E bluray from the ps3 via HDMI onto our taupe walls (basements not done yet and just had to test this thing out).
In a word....WOW.
Absolutely unbelievable.
If you're on the fence, just go get it. You won't regret the decision!
As for SD DVD's we tried a couple (Matrix, LOTR) and both looked very good.
Similarly for SD satellite feeds.
For reference, we were projecting it up to about 115" diagonal and I didn't have any time to adjust anything other than aspect ratio.

Bad timing for me.. House isn't even finished yet (not talking about the Home Theater :p)

Hope to find a similar deal this fall since I don't see why I would buy a refurbished unit (with very low warranty) and leave it in a box for 6 months :(

Hi,
I'm picking mine up in 25 minutes!!!!

So, is this a 720 p Projector? (i know, i know, stupid quetsion, but I know ABSOLUTLY NOTHING)

Hi,
I'm picking mine up in 25 minutes!!!!

So, is this a 720 p Projector? (i know, i know, stupid quetsion, but I know ABSOLUTLY NOTHING)

Yes it is. Mine has serverd me well.

I just ordered one of these from their website, but it says it is out of stock. Do you know if I will still be able to get one through there, or should I be cancelling the order and heading to the local closest store that has them in stock? I don't want to miss out on this deal.

There is an Online Sales Support phone number: 1-866-432-5678 I would try calling that first

From the page for the HD65:Online Stock - 0
Ajax - 4
Brampton - 0
Hamilton - 4
Kingston - 4
London - 10
Markham Pacific Mall - 4
Mississauga - 7
Newmarket - 4
Ottawa Rideau - 3
Richmond Hill - 4
Toronto Down Town - 5
Toronto Kennedy - 7
Toronto North York - 6
Vaughan - 3
Waterloo - 3

There certainly seems to be a lot of them left.

wow. i bought a used screenplay 4805 for $100 a while back only to realize the colour wheel is going. it still works for now, has 1057hrs used but its a little noisy for my tastes.

ive been scouring ebay and the web for the last week or two trying to source out a deal on a 720p projector(no point in going any less)......stumbled on this deal today and i do believe it will do nicely.

FYI: i ordered mine from Express Canada(sorry, cant post URLs yet) as canada computers was out of online stock(im out west). its $20 more, but still cheap shipping and from what i understand the two companies are the same, i just didnt want to take a chance at missing this(considering the HD65 goes for $1200+ everywhere else).

wow. i bought a used screenplay 4805 for $100 a while back only to realize the colour wheel is going. it still works for now, has 1057hrs used but its a little noisy for my tastes.

ive been scouring ebay and the web for the last week or two trying to source out a deal on a 720p projector(no point in going any less)......stumbled on this deal today and i do believe it will do nicely.

FYI: i ordered mine from Express Canada(sorry, cant post URLs yet) as canada computers was out of online stock(im out west). its $20 more, but still cheap shipping and from what i understand the two companies are the same, i just didnt want to take a chance at missing this(considering the HD65 goes for $1200+ everywhere else).Could you spell out the Express Canada URL. For example "W W W dot Canada Computers dot com". I have tried Googling every variation of Express Canada I can think of and found nothing.

hxxp://www.xpresscanada.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=019587&cid=333.852

replace xx with tt. i found their website to be really slow on the checkout phase, but if you let it sit it goes through. and i verified through paypal that they are indeed canada computers.

Just a reminder that the $100 off the regular price for the Refurbished Optoma HD65 ends tomorrow March 5. The price will then go back to $650, which is still half the going price for a brand new never been opened unit.

I caved. Picked mine up at lunch yesterday.
thanks for the heads up on this one, Tiddler. That was a great find.

This is pj No.2 for me, so I was thinking that this MIGHT tide me over until a Holy-Grail-1080p-LED-HighLumen pj comes out.

This is a whole lot of pj for the money. Sharper than my H27, more colourful. Hey, it's even quieter! (That was a REALLY pleasant bonus!), and WAY brighter. And I finally got a much needed HDMI 1.3 connection. The DVI on my H27 was not liking any kind of adapter I threw at it.

Quickly spent about 5 hours on it last night and was projecting onto my bedroom wall. Chucked in:
Blu Digital Video Essentials (BD)
SW: Empire Strikes Back (SD)
Transformers (BD)
Underworld (BD)
Fifth Element (BD)
and Speed Racer (BD)...gotta love those DLP colours. soooo rich.
I have to say, I'm very impressed. It was a big enough jump from 480x848 to 720x1280
that i think I can survive for a little while longer. It seems VERY sharp (which is exactly what I personally prefer). Only saw 1 or 2 rainbow flashes, and that's when i was fiddling with high lamp settings. can't wait to get this properly set up.

cheers, and thanks!
L.

Just picked up a reburbished optoma hd65!
How can I test if the unit is in GREAT working order? i.e. colour is supposed to be what its supposed to be?

Just picked up a reburbished optoma hd65!
How can I test if the unit is in GREAT working order? i.e. color is supposed to be what its supposed to be?Here are some examples of what it should look like:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=135281&d=1235958308

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=135282&d=1235958315


I would connect an upconverting DVD player and view some of the DVDs used in the reviews linked in the first post.

Of course how good those review images look will depend on your monitor, but it is a place to start. If your computer has a dual monitor connection, you could project the images and view them on the monitor at the same time.

I would try connecting something to each of the inputs just to make sure they all work properly. A typical an upconverting DVD player will allow you to test the HDMI, Component Video, S-Video, and composite video connections. Then try attaching the PC to the projector via the VGA.

Based on the screen shots above I would expect you will be pleased with the color if all is working properly.

Just got this HD65 as an upgrade over my 480p DV10 today.

But it wasn't that much better viewing the same 720p/1280p mkv blu-ray rip than on the DV10 from 12 foot away. A little more detail here or there and definitely sharper picture, but can't really tell once you are into the movie. It is that close!

Browsing the net with it though, is MUCH better. Can see all small fonts clearly due to the larger resolution. Where with the DV10, you can't see nothing without jacking the fonts size all the way up.

Overall a good experience, just wasn't as much an upgrade as I expect it will be from watching HD materials.

Watching DVD or dvdrips is the same with an HTPC (or MAC) on either the HD65 (720p) or DV10 (480p)

This taught me my next upgrade will not be blindly following just the resolution, but will take consider in reliability, color, contrast, and such.
Because you can hardly tell the difference if you are sitting in a reasonable distance, and the source material is Good enough (HDrip, blu-ray rip, blu-ray, HDTV etc)

One thing about the HD65 though is it's so bright i can watch with my lights on, it's a big plus for someone that needs it for sure. (And that's why the screenshots here are so amazing, the HD65 is so god darn bright lol)


EDITED:
by the way, this post is not to diss the HD65(which I own now), it's an awesome projector. It's me that haven't done enough research of what I need to consider an upgrade that's all.

I just snatched the last one here in Ottawa. I have a buddy out in the country who has an old Sanyo Z2 that is flickering and not so good on the blacks. I phoned him to let him know about this deal and he asked me to pick one up.

I also pickedup a Monster 6m HDMI cable for $60. To avoid any long drives to and from the country he asked me to set it up and make sure it works.

I basically table mounted it so that it would hit my screen properly and gave it a whirl with the Gladiator DVD in my old Sony upconverting player. It looked great. I then switched and watched the same scenes using my HD72 with a new bulb installed just yesterday. The HD72 is hooked up to my Sony 350 Blu-ray player. I would say they are quite comparable with the HD65 being slightly brighter. The fan noise was about the same for the two projectors.

Considering the HD72 cost me $2200 Cdn a couple of years ago, this HD65 at $550 is a steal. It is smaller than the HD72 and also housed in a nice looking white case. The HD72 looks just great against the white living room ceiling and so would the HD65. The difference is the HD65 is noticeably smaller and it would be less noticeable.

At the store they told me that if it was DOA they would get a replacement sent in from another store. If we just did not like it there would be a 15% restocking fee. That's a lot better than I had expected.

anyone buying bulb warranty for this baby?

Don't miss out! Today is the last day for the $100 instant rebate. Tomorrow the price will be back up to $650.

Well it is still out of stock online. Hopefully I don't miss out on this deal. I tried calling their online sales support line but they don't want to answer their phone.

I would imagine they should be getting some more of these in for sale online, and should honour my price since I already made the order, correct?

just give this a shot
hxxp://www.xpresscanada.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=019587&cid=333.852

Cap, I'm surprised you didn't notice more of a difference from your Dv-10.
You sound a little bummed out.
You're making me wonder what the jump would have been to move straight up to a 1080p Pj. One of the things I noticed right away was a much better pixel structure. The Screen Door was sometimes distracting on my old H27, but its way better on this little unit. There's a lot of things that this projector does better.

Cap, I'm surprised you didn't notice more of a difference from your Dv-10.
You sound a little bummed out.
You're making me wonder what the jump would have been to move straight up to a 1080p Pj. One of the things I noticed right away was a much better pixel structure. The Screen Door was sometimes distracting on my old H27, but its way better on this little unit. There's a lot of things that this projector does better.

yeah coming from a 480p PJ, I can see the difference quite easily close up.

It's just with my average eyesight sitting at a distance about 12' from the screen, the PQ difference from watching a 720p source (say a HDRip mkv) movie between the 480p and 720p PJ diminished dramatically.

It shows me the pixels available in source material is more important than how many pixels can be displayed. ( at least in my trail with the two PJ)

But the HD65 displays fonts (aka subtitles) much better than the 480p PJ, a big plus for watching animes.

I like how bright the HD65 gets though, even after a little calibration(the image is so cartoonish out of the box). I can literally have my lights on at the seating area without seeing a wash-out image.

I do see some flickering once in awhile, but switching to bright mode for a sec or two fixes that.

So afterall, HD65 is a GREAT projector if it's reliability can back it up in the long term. The only problem lies on my own expectation of 480p->720p upgrade. It's too bad there's no place to demo any projectors unit properly in Canada before buying, or I most likely would hold off for the upgrade till the DV10 dies.

My buddy out in the country has an unfinished basement with the floor joists exposed. His current Sanyo Z2 is sitting on a board he hung with electrical wiring. I just could not sleep last night thinking about how he might hang this poor little HD65 with some binder twine and duct tape so, I threw this little ceiling mount together:

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l84/tiddlerPics/My%20HD65%20Photos/DIY%20Ceiling%20Mount/th_IMG_9269.jpg (http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l84/tiddlerPics/My%20HD65%20Photos/DIY%20Ceiling%20Mount/IMG_9269.jpg) http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l84/tiddlerPics/My%20HD65%20Photos/DIY%20Ceiling%20Mount/th_IMG_9270.jpg (http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l84/tiddlerPics/My%20HD65%20Photos/DIY%20Ceiling%20Mount/IMG_9270.jpg) http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l84/tiddlerPics/My%20HD65%20Photos/DIY%20Ceiling%20Mount/th_IMG_9273.jpg (http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l84/tiddlerPics/My%20HD65%20Photos/DIY%20Ceiling%20Mount/IMG_9273.jpg)
Click thumbnails to view full size image.

The long bar is meant to span the floor joist which run across his theater area. There are many holes so we can vary the throw distance.

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l84/tiddlerPics/My%20HD65%20Photos/DIY%20Ceiling%20Mount/th_IMG_9274.jpg (http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l84/tiddlerPics/My%20HD65%20Photos/DIY%20Ceiling%20Mount/IMG_9274.jpg) http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l84/tiddlerPics/My%20HD65%20Photos/DIY%20Ceiling%20Mount/th_IMG_9276.jpg (http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l84/tiddlerPics/My%20HD65%20Photos/DIY%20Ceiling%20Mount/IMG_9276.jpg)

The mount has three degrees of freedom. You can tilt the projector forward & backward, as well as side to side. The attachment to the spanning bar allows the projector to be panned. Of course I will discourage him from doing any excessive tilting or panning to minimise the need for keystone correction. His ceilings are 10' high so we may need to lower the spanning bar to avoid excessive tilting.

lol.
Tiddler, I dont know what's worse.
the fact the you were bored and put together a primo wooden mount for yer bud,
or the fact that you took the time to shoot it on a black velvet backdrop.

never let it be said that you're not thorough.
*laughs*
Wish I had more buds like you!

cheers!

well, mine shipped out today via purolator. i do have a question for anyone who has mounted this, what thread type are the 3 mounting screws? my current sp4805 used standard M4 bolts......are these the same? i intend to adapt my current mount to use on this.

The mounting screws are M3 bolts.

Todd awesome job ;)

If you still have some problems sleeping, please make me one too ;-)...

My buddy out in the country has an unfinished basement with the floor joists exposed. His current Sanyo Z2 is sitting on a board he hung with electrical wiring. I just could not sleep last night thinking about how he might hang this poor little HD65 with some binder twine and duct tape

So afterall, HD65 is a GREAT projector if it's reliability can back it up in the long term. The only problem lies on my own expectation of 480p->720p upgrade. It's too bad there's no place to demo any projectors unit properly in Canada before buying, or I most likely would hold off for the upgrade till the DV10 dies.

Hi Crazycap,
Sorry to hear that you didn't see much improvement coming from 480P. From what I understand you should get better kick form upgrading 480P->720P than 720P->1080P. For me it is my first PJ, and coming from 36" Sony HDTV CRT is a huge improvement. I wish in Canada we could go to BB to try few models before buying it. Myself first I was going to buy 50"-58" panny plasma TV, then I was going to buy 1080P PJ for around $2000, and at the end I bought this little guy, which perfectly fits my needs at very good price at least in Canada. Like Todd said, in 1-3 years when my bulb dies, I'll more likely replace it with 1080P PJ for the money I saved now.

Hi Crazycap,
Sorry to hear that you didn't see much improvement coming from 480P. From what I understand you should get better kick form upgrading 480P->720P than 720P->1080P. For me it is my first PJ, and coming from 36" Sony HDTV CRT is a huge improvement. I wish in Canada we could go to BB to try few models before buying it. Myself first I was going to buy 50"-58" panny plasma TV, then I was going to buy 1080P PJ for around $2000, and at the end I bought this little guy, which perfectly fits my needs at very good price at least in Canada. Like Todd said, in 1-3 years when my bulb dies, I'll more likely replace it with 1080P PJ for the money I saved now.

yeah it sucks that the Canadian market for PJ is so small, it's not even funny.
Everything aside, it's is a very good deal for a projector in this class.

Hope it can last till the 1080p LED comes out

clark,

That was my thought process too.
It's also my first projector but I'm coming from a 42" plasma.
I figure with the money I saved by not buying a $2200 1080p projector now, I can still afford to get the necessary accessories (cables, mount, maybe screen), and Wii or Xbox.

And by the time the bulb goes, hopefully I can get a 1080P projector for only $600 again!

I made a template for knocking off mounting plates for the bottom of the HD65. There are two slides in the attached Power Point file. If you print the slide that just has the plate layout, it should be the correct size. The two holes at the bottom should be 11cm apart. The forward hole is exactly between them and 8.215cm from a line through the other two holes.

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l84/tiddlerPics/My%20HD65%20Photos/DIY%20Ceiling%20Mount/Slide1.jpg

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l84/tiddlerPics/My%20HD65%20Photos/DIY%20Ceiling%20Mount/Slide2.jpg

I used the photograph to determine where the notch should be to allow access to the lamp.

I made a template for knocking off mounting plates for the bottom of the HD65. There are two slides in the attached Power Point file. If you print the slide that just has the plate layout, it should be the correct size. The two holes at the bottom should be 11cm apart. The forward hole is exactly between them and 8.215cm from a line through the other two holes.

I used the photograph to determine where the notch should be to allow access to the lamp.

thank you, should make life a little easier. im currently waiting in anticipation for mine to arive(this week sometime)......

The mounting screws are M3 bolts.

Hi Tiddler,
For the ceiling mount, is there a spacer required between the plate and the projector (is the bottom of the projector flat around the mounting area)? If a spacer is required, can you tell me the length you are using.

Hi Tiddler,
For the ceiling mount, is there a spacer required between the plate and the projector (is the bottom of the projector flat around the mounting area)? If a spacer is required, can you tell me the length you are using.The threaded mounting holes are raised from the bottom of the projector. About 3/16". The tripod mount is also about the same height.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=136074&stc=1&d=1236620002

I took 1/4" beveled faucet washers and drilled out the bottom so they fit snugly over the mounting standoffs. The mounting standoffs just look to flimsy and I thought this sort of rubber mount would spread the stress out a little, or at least look more robust. :p

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l84/tiddlerPics/My%20HD65%20Photos/DIY%20Ceiling%20Mount/Rubber_Washers.jpg

This left about 1/16" of rubber between the plate and the mounting stand off. The plate was 1/16" aluminum. I also put a #4 flat washer, and #4 lock washer on the screw. The screws I used were button head cap screws that were 10mm long. The manual specifies a maximum length of 10mm and a minimum length of 7.5mm. Of course the length is dependent on the thickness of the mounting plate.

Thanks for the quick reply, I believe I receive the projector today....looking forward to seeing a 100" hd movie.

The advantage to making a template is that you can easily make more than one of something like this mounting plate:

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l84/tiddlerPics/My%20HD65%20Photos/DIY%20Ceiling%20Mount/IMG_9290.jpg

Of course making more than one of something does not make much sense if you don't even need one let alone two spares. ;)

I picked up the HD65 and love the picture (for the price, of course), but I noticed a circle in the image projected on the wall - about 3" in diameter. It's only visible in dark scenes and even then it's barely visible. The circle is slightly lighter than the rest of the scene around it. Has anyone seen this/do you know what it is?

I'm still in the 14 day store warranty period, so I can exchange/return it, but I just want to make sure it's not something I can take care of myself.

Oh, I've already tried dusting the outside of the lens with my camera lens brush, so it's not that...

I've also ruled out that it's something in my wall - I've moved the projector around and the circle moves with the image.

well, mine came today. so far im happy with it, definately an improvement from the 4805.........and sooooo much quieter! im still in the process of calibrating and fine tuning it as i just ceiling mounted it now. as far as the physical condition of the unit, its great.....no dust at all, one or two tiny scratches on the side and thats it. only issue is the remote doesnt work, which is kind of a bummer. i programmed my harmony and that works fine, but still i would like to having a working remote in case i sell it down the road. guess i will have to call xpress canada and see what my options are.

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l84/tiddlerPics/My%20HD65%20Photos/DIY%20Ceiling%20Mount/th_IMG_9276.jpg

from the plate, how did u manage to connect that piece of wood? what did u used? tnx..

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l84/tiddlerPics/My%20HD65%20Photos/DIY%20Ceiling%20Mount/th_IMG_9276.jpg

from the plate, how did u manage to connect that piece of wood? what did u used? tnx..The first piece of wood is attached to the plate with 2 screws from underneath. I used screws with a wide but shallow head.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=136419&stc=1&d=1236862241

I beleive the correct name for this type of screw is Truss Head screw, or Modified Truss Head screw.

I found this ceiling bracket on Monoprice for $14.70 (US$) + ~$15 shipping. I haven't ordered it yet, but it looks like it should work on the HD65.

(OK, I can't post URLs here yet, apparently...)

Go to monoprice and search on product id 3874.

They are are back on for $550 Canadian from Mar-27 to April-4, and there appears to be lots of stock.

Excellent news, thanks for sharing with others ;)

They are are back on for $550 Canadian from Mar-27 to April-4, and there appears to be lots of stock.

hey guys need your advice.

i have 17' of throw for the projector and 100" width screen on the wall.

is this projector right for me? i cant tell from the optoma calc.

sorry for the noob question will be my first PJ

hey guys need your advice.

i have 17' of throw for the projector and 100" width screen on the wall.

is this projector right for me? i cant tell from the optoma calc.

sorry for the noob question will be my first PJ

At 17' it looks like you will get ascreen width of about 126" and 145" diagonal

This is a short throw projector. If you're looking to mount it 15-20' feet, get something else unless you have room for a giant screen.

thats what i was worried about thanks guys

Has anyone in the US bought one of these, if so, what was shipping?

Has anyone got one of these shipped to the states?

I picked up the HD65 and love the picture (for the price, of course), but I noticed a circle in the image projected on the wall - about 3" in diameter. It's only visible in dark scenes and even then it's barely visible. The circle is slightly lighter than the rest of the scene around it. Has anyone seen this/do you know what it is?My buddy that bought one of these HD65 projectors had similar light areas in dark images. Actually they were only visible in an all black scene.

We removed the lamp and used a camera cleaning puffer to blow out any dust we could see. Then we use an air mattress bellows pump to blow out all the vents. If you try this make sure the pump does not have any moisture or powder in it.

This removed all but one light area. I am therefore quite confident that what we are seeing is dust in the light path somewhere.

I picked up a HD65 from CC this week. The colour and brightness is great. However I noticed the picture isn't 100% rectangular/straight even though the project is sitting on a flat level coffee table. I had to use the V keystone which I hate. Anyone else have the same problem?

Also, anyone know where I can find M3 screws? Would like to ceiling mount this. Thanks.

I picked up a HD65 from CC this week. The colour and brightness is great. However I noticed the picture isn't 100% rectangular/straight even though the project is sitting on a flat level coffee table. I had to use the V keystone which I hate. Anyone else have the same problem?

Also, anyone know where I can find M3 screws? Would like to ceiling mount this. Thanks.

I have the same issue, My hdmi is not working either.
I also noticed last night while watching Fringe that I could sublety see the red and green bands from the colour wheel.is this supposed to be the "rainbow effect"? This was the first time I noticed it in a week, seems to be more prevalent on dark material.

Just thought I'd throw this out there for anyone in the Toronto Area....

I just went by canada computers in Richmond Hill.....they have 3 HD65's in stock for five forty nine each.....it was sooo hard for me not to buy one on the spot. Money's a little too tight for me right now unfortunately.

This post is for anyone living in the Ottawa area needing a screen for their new HD65. It's not completely free. An initial review and ongoing feedback is the cost.

Over the past few months I have been working on a prototype DIY Rollable Tab Tension Screen. You can read more details about it's development here (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=100421). Here are a couple of photos to show you what it looks like:

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l84/tiddlerPics/DIY%20Removable%20Screens/Rollable_Reversible_TabTension_Screen_Build/Installed%20For%20Trials/th_IMG_9297.jpg (http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l84/tiddlerPics/DIY%20Removable%20Screens/Rollable_Reversible_TabTension_Screen_Build/Installed%20For%20Trials/IMG_9297.jpg) http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l84/tiddlerPics/DIY%20Removable%20Screens/Rollable_Reversible_TabTension_Screen_Build/Installed%20For%20Trials/th_IMG_9298.jpg (http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l84/tiddlerPics/DIY%20Removable%20Screens/Rollable_Reversible_TabTension_Screen_Build/Installed%20For%20Trials/IMG_9298.jpg)

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l84/tiddlerPics/DIY%20Removable%20Screens/Rollable_Reversible_TabTension_Screen_Build/Installed%20For%20Trials/th_IMG_9300.jpg (http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l84/tiddlerPics/DIY%20Removable%20Screens/Rollable_Reversible_TabTension_Screen_Build/Installed%20For%20Trials/IMG_9300.jpg) http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l84/tiddlerPics/DIY%20Removable%20Screens/Rollable_Reversible_TabTension_Screen_Build/Installed%20For%20Trials/th_IMG_9299.jpg (http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l84/tiddlerPics/DIY%20Removable%20Screens/Rollable_Reversible_TabTension_Screen_Build/Installed%20For%20Trials/IMG_9299.jpg)

It is a 105.6" 16x9 rollable (from the bottom), reversible (white / N8 Gray), and it has integrated masking flaps for wide screen movies. The N8 gray side has been a joy to watch with my HD72 which is very similar to the HD65. If you have a bat cave for a theater room the white side may be your preference. Or you can use the side most appropriate to the situation. White for all lights off and N8 Gray for game night with the boys when you don't want to be sitting in the dark with a bunch of beer drinking pranksters.

I had assumed that someone taking advantage of this great deal on an HD65 would offer to carry on with the longer term testing of this prototype screen. Then it occurred to me that people who knew about this projector deal might not know about the offer to give this screen to anyone in the Ottawa area willing to post an unbiased review of the design and periodically report on how the screen was standing up to regular use.

So that is why I am posting this seemingly unrelated offer here in this thread regarding the $550 sale price of the Refurbished HD65 projectors. By-the-way, the regular price of $650 is still a very good price for this projector and it will probably go on sale again since they still have quite a few in stock.

So if you are in the Ottawa area, can use this screen, and you will agree to post a review of how it works, what needs improving, along with periodic reports on how well the painted BOC screen surface is standing up to being rolled/handled, it is yours. Just post here or send me a pm.

P.S. I would prefer to give it to someone that will be able to regularly take advantage of the ability to roll the screen up. If you are not rolling it up and down a couple of times a week, then you will not really be testing the ability of the painted BOC to stand up to this sort of handling and flexing.

wow! What a deal.....very nice of you. Someone should definately jump on this. If it were me I would agree to take it and agree to put a daily review etc if thats what you wanted.

Too bad I live in Barrie and you already helped me with my painted 128" wall :P

I'd love to try this screen, the only problem is, I'm not in Ottawa. I just bought a hd65 from CC though.

Have you ever thought about shipping one? I know it would be expensive, but it's still cheaper for me than a new screen. Look around and see what you'd have to pay for shipping so I can think about it. I like the idea of a roll up screen.

shipping to 45177, Wilmington, ohio, usa. ;)

I really want to pick up an HD65, but I see they are now 649.00. I have a CC store right up the street from me!

Wondering if I should just pay the 649 or hope they put another sale on soon for the 100$ off coming to 549 and go without a PJ for a few weeks.....

arrgh! Decisions Decisions

I really want to pick up an HD65, but I see they are now 649.00. I have a CC store right up the street from me!

Wondering if I should just pay the 649 or hope they put another sale on soon for the 100$ off coming to 549 and go without a PJ for a few weeks.....

arrgh! Decisions DecisionsAre you in Ottawa? Woodfield Area?

The last time they were on sale then not for about two weeks. I bet they go back on sale in another week or so. I would consider waiting two weeks if it is worth the $100 plus $15 tax.

nah, I live in Barrie Ont, and work in Markham.

I suppose your right, with a 2 year old boy and 5 week old twins, I guess i can wait another week or so. However, now I will have nowhere to escape to...

quick question about these refurb units, do they come with a new bulb? Is there anything I should be concerned about in going with a refur unit from CanComp etc?

(sorry havent had enough time to read thoroughly through this thread about this question.)

quick question about these refurb units, do they come with a new bulb? Is there anything I should be concerned about in going with a refur unit from CanComp etc?

(sorry havent had enough time to read thoroughly through this thread about this question.)These are "factory refurbished" units. That means they were opened and returned for some reason. Then they were sent back to the factory to be tested and repackaged. I called Optoma regarding these units. I was told they are actually tested more rigorously than the ones coming off the line. If the bulb has more than 10 hours on it they are replaced.

So far the only problem reported is light areas visible in very dark or total black scenes. My buddy purchased one of these HD65 projectors and observed 3 or four of these light circular areas. We removed the lamp, and blew out the area with a camera cleaning puffer. Then we used an air mattress pump to blow out all the vents. After this there was only one light area when the image was all black. So we are pretty sure these light areas are caused by dust and therefore could be blown out.

Posted Warranty:Canada Computers' Warranty: 15 Days Instore
Manufacturer's Warranty: 90 Days by Vendor

Sales and Warranty Condition: 30 Days Manufaturer Warranty on Lamp

ahh jeeeeeeeze :P

Yesterday I was 99% sure about picking up the HD65, now Tiddler you just dropped that to 75%....Anyway you can put that number back up? lol. (Im just a tiny bit concerned about the light circular areas).....

ahh jeeeeeeeze :P

Yesterday I was 99% sure about picking up the HD65, now Tiddler you just dropped that to 75%....Anyway you can put that number back up? lol. (Im just a tiny bit concerned about the light circular areas).....This sort of issue could happen with any projector. Determining that it was just some dust is a good thing. Dust can be blown out of the projector.

If you were 99% before my post you should have been 105% after. I paid $2300 for essentially the same projector 2 years ago. To get the same image quality and only have an issue of a lighter area in all black scenes that only occur 0.01% of the time during viewing, the price of this projector makes the purchase a no brainer. :)

For those on the hunt for the elusive M3 screws in Canada. Tried all the hardware and electronics stores to no avail. Finally found them at Canadian Tire. They have three sizes there 8mm, 10mm and 12mm. For my mount I just needed the 10mm. Also, the M4 washers work.

Ok thanks ....comfortable again and at 105% :). Now just going to hold off a little to see if it drops to 549 again.

Just sold my H31 with 360 hrs on it last night for 350, not sure if that was better for him or for me though. All in all, if CC puts that sale back on, then i;ve just upgraded to High Def for approx 270 bucks. Sounds good to me...

They are on sale again!

http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=019587&cid=333.852#warrinfo

This time the regular price is set to $549.99 Cdn ($6.99 shipping) and the sale price is $539.99 Cdn.

DONE! Getting one tomorrow, got approval from the wife....not that I need it...LOL.

Gonna make a trip to crappy tire (for screws) and then home depot for parts for the mount I guess tonight and start making a mount :).

Question, I have a nice big 128" painted DIY wall screen that was made off of the image size of my H31. This was mounted approx 15' back. Do you think I will have any problems making the HD65 fit my painted screen size? Ie, If I could get the H31 to work, then I should have no problem with the HD65 then right?

Thanks

Does anyone know if they will ship to the States? I also saw xpresscanada.com had the same model for $527.09CDN. Even at $539.99CDN, give the exchange rate, that is about $454USD - way better than we can geta a refub down here!

Best I have found in the States right now is $600

DONE! Getting one tomorrow, got approval from the wife....not that I need it...LOL.

Gonna make a trip to crappy tire (for screws) and then home depot for parts for the mount I guess tonight and start making a mount :).

Question, I have a nice big 128" painted DIY wall screen that was made off of the image size of my H31. This was mounted approx 15' back. Do you think I will have any problems making the HD65 fit my painted screen size? Ie, If I could get the H31 to work, then I should have no problem with the HD65 then right?

ThanksAccording to the Optoma distance calculator (http://www.optoma.ca/distancecalculator.asp) the HD65 needs to be between 14.4 and 15.8 ft from the screen for 128" Diagonal 16:9.

Hi I'm new to the projector scene, but just picked up my HD65, 1 of 3 they had left at 539.99 CAD. Hope to get it put up in the garage (man cave) soon. I'll post some screen shots if I get some that are worth it. I'm sure I'll have some questions for the projector experts on here. Awesome forum!:D

getting mine in 2 hrs. Forgot my gdamn bank card at home so I have to drive 1 hr home, then come back.....its all ok though, I have cold beers waiting for me and my installation job which will purposely take all night :) (wife, 2.5 year old boy and 5week old twins will do that to a guy)

i received mine yesterday, did a little testing to my grey wall. not as bright as i thought, but the unit looks brand new except the dust on the camera. due to my small living room, i can only throw it to 77" screen. but sill a huge advantage to my current 32" LCD. i am waiting for my projector screen and i will do more testing after this long weekend (am going to vegas). i am kinda worrying about the bulb life, ppl comments on it the bulb will dead after few months of using, that's why we are seeing so many refurbrished units out there, they mostly are from bestbuy. anyway, really can't complain too much for that price, i decided to take my risk on it.

purchased HD70 from CC