Dear TheLion,

HD81 will take 1080p/24Hz and display at 48Hz.

However, 480i/1080 60i will be displayed at 1080p 60Hz.

That's an unfortunate limitation. What's the chance in seeing an update to the video processor unit that would correct this limitation? Or, alternatively, being able to buy this unit in North America without the attached video processor, so that it can be replaced with another similarly-priced video processor that does not have this limitation?

Tom,

Thanks for the quick snapshots. This is a regular DVD on what player?
Looks pretty smooth. :p

That's with the Panasonic S97 set to 1080i now instead of 720p and delivered via HDMI. 1080i lets the Gennum pick up the deinterlacing which is excellent. Same procedure if you're using the Tosh HD-A1 in 1080i. You don't need a 1080p HD Player, just the HD81 and the Gennum scaler/deinterlacer box. Really a very nice feature when buying the HD81. I'll call in tomorrow and get a better idea when the first shipment arrives, that's what everyone really wants to know. Me too

Awesome....thanks everyone, now I'm hyped up and waiting for this sucker to come out too!!

Hi Rahul,

If the image options of 4:3 and letterbox are like those on the Optoma H77/8/9, then letterbox will do the stretch so you lose the black bars for a constant height set-up with an anamorphic lens, and the 4:3 option will squish th eimage to the equivalent of 16:9 within the 2.35:1 image so you don't have to remove the lens for 16:9 movies.

That's how I use my Optoma with the ISCO II which I don't remove.

Gary

Yes, HD81 has the said "4x3" and "LBX" modes, just like H77/H78/H79, so it's already CH 2.35 friendly.

Wait till you see the demo we are preparing for HD81 at CEDIA!!

Very nice black level with CRT smoothness (no pixels to be seen) yet DLP super crisp imaging. Things just got allot better for light weight digitals.


Tom,

Thanx for the pics!

You talk about crt smoothness. Because a crt projector is still the reference to beat for its superior image quality, can the h81 match a crt projected image? :)

Tom, i read the specs state 28 db in eco mode. Can you give us more details about this?Is the projector loud compared to its direct competitors?(ruby, pearl...)

...I'll call in tomorrow and get a better idea when the first shipment arrives, that's what everyone really wants to know. Me too...

My fingers are crossed!

Tom,

I see a bit of jaggedness in the pictures, particularly the 2nd one with the 3 men. You can see it around the edges of their clothing, for example.. Is this due to the camera? Thanks for all your help. I'm interested in this projector. .. Jeff

I see a bit of jaggedness in the pictures, particularly the 2nd one with the 3 men. You can see it around the edges of their clothing, for example.. Is this due to the camera?

Remember that those screen shots are from standard def dvd's. The really jaw dropping improvements are not apparent except with 1080 video.

480i dvd + HD81 = somewhat better than a 720p machine.
1080i video + HD81 = a huge improvement over anything you've seen yet !!

Screenshots of 1080p images are fun (and please post more), but I don't think they represent in any meaningful way how good (or bad) a projected image really is -- especially when the source material is 480i.

I'm in the que to hopefully get one of the first units from Jason here at AVS. I made this significant purchase decision based on the time I spent with this projector at CES last January, where it really blew me away. I'm willing to "roll the dice" that the production unit will be even better.

I'll call in tomorrow and get a better idea when the first shipment arrives, that's what everyone really wants to know. Me too

Tom, any news yet? While you are at it - can you please check if they changed the MSRP again? I keep reading posts like I spoke to a rep at Optoma yesterday who told me 5,999 is MSRP. He couldnt stop talking about how amazing it was as well!

Thank you!

Tom,

Thanx for the pics!

You talk about crt smoothness. Because a crt projector is still the reference to beat for its superior image quality, can the h81 match a crt projected image? :)

I think he was talking about CRT smoothness because CRTs excel in this area. There are other picture qualities where digital can exceed CRTs. I guess CRT is reference for deep black blacks.

Remember that those screen shots are from standard def dvd's

I played TFE Superbit on HD-A1, 1080i over HDMI into a 2005 Sony 60" SXRD, went to that exact same shot, and I see less of that jagged effect. I just assumed it's the camera taking the shot, but if not, then why is that (I would think the Gennum video processing is superior to what's bulit into the SXRD). I apologize for belaboring this. I am truly interested in this PJ, but I find that amount of jaggedness in the pictures to be more than I would expect for the playback of quality SD DVD's. Your help is appreciated. .. Jeff

I played TFE Superbit on HD-A1, 1080i over HDMI into a 2005 Sony 60" SXRD, went to that exact same shot, and I see less of that jagged effect.

Hi Jeff,

This is probably a stupid question, but just in case it's not I'll ask. I notice the screen shots are only 800x600 resolution. I don't see any jaggies until I blow them up beyond 800x600. Is it possible the jaggies are being introduced by scaling the screen shot beyond its resolution?

Joe

Screen shots themselves are really kind of silly. Unless you are a really good still photographer with excellent cameras, it's just an approximation of what you might see. And in no way can screen shots convey what moving video will look like either. Generally speaking, I find them a waste of time. There is no way a static screen shot over the internet can show the lack of motion artifacts with this projector!

I'm a newbie interested in the HD81. I will need about a 50 ft HDMI to HDMI cable to connect the HD3000 and the HD81. Any ideas on the the minimum cable gauge for best video at that length, or does it matter?

BTW, thanks to all for the great info on the product!

Hi Jeff,

This is probably a stupid question, but just in case it's not I'll ask. I notice the screen shots are only 800x600 resolution. I don't see any jaggies until I blow them up beyond 800x600. Is it possible the jaggies are being introduced by scaling the screen shot beyond its resolution?

Joe

Probable, actually. You want at least 2 (if not 4x) the resolution in each direction to provide an accurate representation of the image. This means, effectively, an uncompressed image at about 8000 x 4000.

Tom,

Thanx for the pics!

You talk about crt smoothness. Because a crt projector is still the reference to beat for its superior image quality, can the h81 match a crt projected image? :)


Mainly my CRT will look smooth but you can see horizontal scan lines when you move closer to the screen. The HD81 actually shows less of a problem. You can barely see the pixels even up close. So the image is smoother looking.

Screen shots themselves are really kind of silly. Unless you are a really good still photographer with excellent cameras, it's just an approximation of what you might see. And in no way can screen shots convey what moving video will look like either. Generally speaking, I find them a waste of time. There is no way a static screen shot over the internet can show the lack of motion artifacts with this projector!

I agree 100%.

Yet people still clamor for screen pics, and "ooh" and "ah" about them when posted. Including me. :eek:

;)

HD81 will be shipping before end of September.

MSRP is US$7999 in USA

Tom, any news yet? While you are at it - can you please check if they changed the MSRP again? I keep reading posts like

Thank you!

HD81 will be shipping before end of September.

MSRP is US$7999 in USA

yauwing, thank you very much for the official word! So I assume it will start shipping AFTER Cedia Expo? Will the HD81 be available in white and an optional black (as shown during some trade shows) finish?

HD81 will be shipping before end of September.

MSRP is US$7999 in USA
Ouch. From what Jason told me, Optoma has changed their business model and are now advertising MSRPs that are closer to street prices when compared to what they've done in the past. This means that heavy discounting is unlikely (especially initially).

At $6999 it was a no brainer for me since I need a high quality scaler. For $1k more I'll need to do a more careful comparison between this, the Pearl (coupled with an external scaler), Mitsubishi, etc. I may still end up getting it, but it is no longer the slam dunk it was a week ago.

If only I didn't have a huge work deadline that week, I'd definitely fly out to Cedia to see my options first hand...


-Dave

Ouch. From what Jason told me, Optoma has changed their business model and are now advertising MSRPs that are closer to street prices when compared to what they've done in the past. This means that heavy discounting is unlikely (especially initially).

At $6999 it was a no brainer for me since I need a high quality scaler. For $1k more I'll need to do a more careful comparison between this, the Pearl (coupled with an external scaler), Mitsubishi, etc. I may still end up getting it, but it is no longer the slam dunk it was a week ago.

If only I didn't have a huge work deadline that week, I'd definitely fly out to Cedia to see my options first hand...


-Dave

Call Jason :)

Joe

Call Jason :)
Already did... :(

-Dave

"At $6999 it was a no brainer for me since I need a high quality scaler. For $1k more I'll need to do a more careful comparison between this"

$7999 is the MSRP I can gurantee you Jason will get you one for the $6999 so you're still in the no brainer mode :) Maybe he'll do a little better also, beat him down! ;)

You will not have to pay $7999 for this machine.

"At $6999 it was a no brainer for me since I need a high quality scaler. For $1k more I'll need to do a more careful comparison between this"

$7999 is the MSRP I can gurantee you Jason will get you one for the $6999 so you're still in the no brainer mode :) Maybe he'll do a little better also, beat him down! ;)

You will not have to pay $7999 for this machine.

Or look on B&H when they get them in stock. They usually carry things at around 80% to 85% of MSRP, and it is tax free if you live outside NY, otherwise you have to pay the taxes which is why I ship them to friends in CT. ;)

By golly, I live in CT and would be glad to reveive shipping for all new pjs. . .I will of cause be glad to perform break-in and pre-transfer calibration at no charge. . . :D

[whisper mode] And then all is quiet.....Where is everybody?? [whisper mode] :confused:

[whisper mode] And then all is quiet.....Where is everybody?? [whisper mode] :confused:
They all went to the new thread:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=715140&page=1&pp=30

Already did... :(
I just wanted to post a follow-up to this since I finally got updated pricing information from Jason on the HD81, and it is VERY competitive, despite the MSRP increase. I bit the bullet and placed my order. He has units shipping from Optoma to him tomorrow; by the time he gets them and turns them around I hope to get mine by next weekend.

I believe he said he still has some unsold units available if anybody is interested.

-Dave

I just wanted to post a follow-up to this since I finally got updated pricing information from Jason on the HD81, and it is VERY competitive, despite the MSRP increase. I bit the bullet and placed my order. He has units shipping from Optoma to him tomorrow; by the time he gets them and turns them around I hope to get mine by next weekend.

I believe he said he still has some unsold units available if anybody is interested.

-Dave

The "VERY" in your sentance was why I told you to get a hold of Jason in the first place. :)

Joe

I am a new member but have been following many of your treadsfor quite some time now.I wanted to know if Jason Had any more HD81 that werent accounted for. Also how to get in touch with him.

One other question would be the throw ratio and zoom range. I will have to re-mount my nighthauk because I set it up for a 27% offset because the early treads said that was the offset. That wont be a problem but I still need to know how far away to set up my wiring.

:) The "VERY" in your sentance was why I told you to get a hold of Jason in the first place. :)

Joe

I am a new member but have been following many of your treadsfor quite some time now.I wanted to know if Jason Had any more HD81 that werent accounted for. Also how to get in touch with him.

One other question would be the throw ratio and zoom range. I will have to re-mount my nighthauk because I set it up for a 27% offset because the early treads said that was the offset. That wont be a problem but I still need to know how far away to set up my wiring.

:)

I don't know if Jason has any more available but his number is 315-538-9806.

Do a search for my posts and look for the last version of the HD81 calculator. You should be able to use that and estimate all of your answers.

Joe

Let me know if you can't get ahold of Jason. I can try to get him for you.

The offical offset is 136%. The throw is 1.85-2.2x. Retail is $7999. We have units enroute as well.

The offical offset is 136%. The throw is 1.85-2.2x. Retail is $7999. We have units enroute as well.

oh my... So they changed the throw from 1.8-2.2 to even longer throw 1.85-2.2x??? It is getting more and more difficult to make this projector fit in anything smaller than a church... :confused:

Naah, I don't know why you say that? I have an average room, 8' ceilings PJ is 14' back from a 106" diag screen and it's a clean fit. Exactly the same fit for my NEC HT1000. What I did was first install the projector 14' back lens is 6" down from the ceiling. Then I start adjusting the height of my screen while displaying a 1.85 video. It was easy for me.

I just may be keeping this projector so I'll be around for info and to get some questions answered from the engineer mgr. Wing.

About the black case. Mainly white will be shipped. Black is for special installs in the future.

Naah, I don't know why you say that? I have an average room, 8' ceilings PJ is 14' back from a 106" diag screen and it's a clean fit. Exactly the same fit for my NEC HT1000. What I did was first install the projector 14' back lens is 6" down from the ceiling. Then I start adjusting the height of my screen while displaying a 1.85 video. It was easy for me.

I just may be keeping this projector so I'll be around for info and to get some questions answered from the engineer mgr. Wing.

About the black case. Mainly white will be shipped. Black is for special installs in the future.

Tom, sorry but my statement was about people with really large screens (mine is 10 feet wide, 138" diagonal). I think with 1080p and 900 Ansi lumen @D65 light output the HD81 would be a perfect fit for large screens - the specs are clearly targeting large screens BUT think about which kind of room you need (with the 136% fixed offet and the long throw) to make large screens work. And there are lots of people with 12 feet or even wider screens. An ~100" diag. screen will fit with about any projector in about any standard sized room - but this projector was made for larger than that...

Tom, sorry but my statement was about people with really large screens (mine is 10 feet wide, 138" diagonal). I think with 1080p and 900 Ansi lumen @D65 light output the HD81 would be a perfect fit for large screens - the specs are clearly targeting large screens BUT think about which kind of room you need (with the 136% fixed offet and the long throw) to make large screens work. And there are lots of people with 12 feet or even wider screens. An ~100" diag. screen will fit with about any projector in about any standard sized room - but this projector was made for larger than that...

My projector will be here next week, hopefully. My screen is 10 feet wide also. I will let you know how the mirror works. My ceiling is only 8 feet. It will still work without the mirror by tilting the projector and screen but I want to see how well the mirror works too.

Joe

My projector will be here next week, hopefully. My screen is 10 feet wide also. I will let you know how the mirror works. My ceiling is only 8 feet. It will still work without the mirror by tilting the projector and screen but I want to see how well the mirror works too.

Joe

Thank you Joe, looking forward to it!

My projector will be here next week, hopefully. My screen is 10 feet wide also. I will let you know how the mirror works. My ceiling is only 8 feet. It will still work without the mirror by tilting the projector and screen but I want to see how well the mirror works too.

Joe

Thank you Joe, looking forward to it!

Now that the release date is upon us, has anyone found a PDF of the projector's manual? I remember some time back, someone posted a link to the PDF for the scaler. Now it would be nice to see the doc for the projector itself.

Joe

Quick question on the Optoma H81.. I already have a DVDO VP30 and I am thinking of buying the H81. Will it be an overkill with the processor that comes along with the projector. I was also using the DVDO as the video switcher...

Thx

Quick question on the Optoma H81.. I already have a DVDO VP30 and I am thinking of buying the H81. Will it be an overkill with the processor that comes along with the projector. I was also using the DVDO as the video switcher...

Thx

VP30 does not process 1080i.

VP30 does not process 1080i.

Are you sure?

http://www.dvdo.com/pro/pro_isvp30.php

Does not what the specs say...

VP30 does scale 1080i to 1080p, but it does not perform 3-2/2-2 film mode.

VP50 will include this film mode function.

FYI.

Attempting to order the HD 81 but hit roadblocks everywhere. Wrote Jason last week--no reply. So any suggestions on who may actually want an order?

Thanks

Steve

Attempting to order the HD 81 but hit roadblocks everywhere. Wrote Jason last week--no reply. So any suggestions on who may actually want an order?

Thanks

Steve

Callin Jason might help. Expect about a 2 day delay. Jason is a busy guy.

Joe

Attempting to order the HD 81 but hit roadblocks everywhere. Wrote Jason last week--no reply. So any suggestions on who may actually want an order?

Thanks

Steve

Broadway Photo says it will be available to ship in 2 weeks:

http://www.bwayphoto.com/product.asp?item=ophd81&l=DidUPrice

Beware, however: I am not sure if Broadway Photo gives a "U.S. Warranty". I would feel safer ordering from AVS.

Broadway Photo is part of a group of companies all under various names known for horrible business practices including forcing customers to buy numerous accessories many times over the manufacturer prices, i.e. a camera card for $300 that retails for $40 as just one example.

You would have to be pretty crazy to order from one of these companies. For full details:

http://www.resellerratings.com/seller1995.html

Moderators, please don't delete this post with the others that are about to be deleted.

Companies like Brxxxxxx Photo do exactly as romanesq describes. They take your order for the projector and then a couple days later call you up and ask if you want the extended warranty, projector mount, or extra bulb (all at inflated prices).

You can say "no", but they will give you the hardsell. If you continue to say "no", they will eventually take no for an answer; however, two weeks later you'll wonder where your projector is. By not taking the add-ons, you effectively cancelled your order. It might say your order is still pending, but they aren't going to sell it to you if they aren't making money on the order; you've been put permenantly at the end of the waiting list. What's worse is sometimes they will charge your card while you wait for your too good to be true order to come through.

There are some good internet sellers out there but the Ultracheap ones are almost always trying to pull some sort of scam.

-Mr. Wigggles

These guys aren't AVS sponsors so these posts might stick. I think this was the same outfit that added some kind of "Internet sales surcharge" of $250 or so when I bought my BenQ 8700 some years back. They added "Everybody does it." I agreed at the time because I was a newbie at getting higher cost stuff on the web and wanted the pj bad. Nowadays I'm prepared to cancel the order if the follow up hard sell as Mr. Wigggles describes occurs. You know it's coming when you get an email back after you've placed the order requesting you contact them for some reason.

Do CC companies allow one to cancel the order and retract the charge if a company like this charges the account and doesn't ship product after a week or so?

Dan

I saw the following statment from today's Digital TV Design Newletter concerning the rumored Optoma HD80:

"I recently viewed a prototype of the 10080p Optoma HD80 with a 2.35:1 lens solution for possibly under $10,000. "

If correct this may imply the HD80 is not the rumored lower cost configuration of the HD81 (i.e. HD81 minus scaler), but rather an alternative configuration with a different lens that may sell at or above the cost of the HD81.

Ron Jones

Optoma Starts Shipping the HD81, Its Distinctive Two-Piece 1080p Home Theater Projection System

DENVER, CEDIA, Booth #471, Colorado Convention Center, Sept. 14
/PRNewswire/ -- Optoma, one of the leading manufacturers of digital
projection and display devices, today announced the shipping of its HD81
home theater projection system. The HD81 is a distinctive two-piece
projection system that includes a native 1080p DLP(R) projector and a video
enhancement processor. Featuring the DLP DarkChip3(TM) DMD chipset and
BrilliantColor(TM) technology, along with the video enhancement processor,
the HD81 delivers remarkable color saturation and subtle details for the
best in 1080p image quality. The HD81 offers the best, all-around,
high-quality display experience for home theater enthusiasts.

The Optoma HD81 has the same resolution of modern digital movies,
offering an amazing home theater experience. If the home does not have a
true 1080p source, the HD81's studio-grade professional video/color
enhancement processor, with its motion adaptive HD/SD de-interlacer, will
flawlessly convert the content to 1080p.

The HD81's video enhancement processor delivers an advanced three-stage
process flow (decoding, image enhancement and color reproduction
enhancement) that offers impressive, personalized adjustment settings at
each stage.

This projection system features an active 16-step, auto-Iris function
that boosts the contrast ratio up to 10,000:1. With 10-bit color per
channel color processing and a 7-segment color wheel, the Optoma HD81
delivers great color saturation and subtle color details for the best image
quality.

The HD81 highlights Texas Instruments' BrilliantColor color processing
technology to deliver higher brightness and provide truer, more vibrant
colors to the projected picture. With its 10-bit color per channel color
processing, a 4x, 7-segment color wheel and an amazing 10,000:1(full
on/off) contrast ratio, the Optoma HD81 DLP home theater projection system
is able to deliver impressive color saturation and subtle color details for
the best in image quality.

With its new industrial design, the HD81 lowers the noise level usually
associated with other typical home theater projectors. The patent pending
tunnel cooling system is designed for near-silent operation with minimal light
leakage.

Specifications:
Display Technology: Single 0.95-inch DarkChip3(TM) DLP(R) chipset
Brightness (typical): 1400 lumens with a 300W lamp
Resolution: 1080p native, with 1080i HD de-interlacing and
color management

Image scaler: Gennum VXP solutions
Color Management: RGBCYM 6-color, 16-region adjustment
Video Compatibility: NTSC, PAL, SECAM, HDTV (720p, 1080i), EDTV
(480p), SDTV (480i, 576i/p)

Aspect Ratio: 16:9 native, 4:3 compatible
I/O Connectors: 3x HDMI(TM) + 1x External HDMI expansion, 2x

RBGHV/component (BNC), 2x RCA component, 3x
S-Video, 3x Composite, 1x VGA
(RGB/YPbPr/SCART), 2x RS-232, 2x 12V Trigger,
1x IR port extension
CEDIA certification: ISF ccc certification

The two-piece design of the HD81 eliminates the need for multiple
cables; all that is needed for the projector to be connected is a single
HDMI video cable and a single control cable. With the image enhancement
box's extensive inputs, there are more than enough connections to
up-convert sources to 1080p for optimal viewing.

The Optoma HD81 home theater projection system is available now for an
estimated street price of $6,999 through authorized Optoma dealers.
About Optoma Technology, Inc.

Optoma Technology, Inc. is an award-winning developer of projection and
digital display products for business and home. The company manufactures
multimedia projectors for mobile users, fixed installations and home
theaters, as well as HD displays. Optoma products combine superior image
processing technologies with exceptional engineering and innovation to
deliver images that are bright, crystal clear, and finely tuned for tone
and color. Optoma products are sold through the company's global network of
pro AV dealers, major consumer electronics retailers and Internet
resellers. For more information, visit http://www.optomausa.com.

(C) 2006 Optoma Technology, Inc. Optoma names and logos are registered
trademarks of Optoma Technology, Inc. Other product names mentioned herein
may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective
companies and are hereby recognized.


SOURCE Optoma

Some Pics

http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/1166/video1fi8.jpg

http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/9381/video2tg6.jpg

http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/2870/video3lb0.jpg

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/7575/video4nm6.jpg

What 4 x speed colour wheel???

I hope this does mean I will find the hd 81 at the end of the rainbow :p

Seriously, why such a low speed colour wheel.

Thanks
Ben

Thank you for the correction, it's a mistake.

HD81 spins at 180Hz, 3x 60Hz, adding 2x RGB in the 7-segment, it is 6x RGB.

I'll tell the USA marketing people about the mistake.

Thanks again.

Don't understand where did you read this 4 segments figure .I think Optoma's litterature is very clear just a few posts above this, before the big pics)

"This projection system features an active 16-step, auto-Iris function
that boosts the contrast ratio up to 10,000:1. With 10-bit color per
channel color processing and a 7-segment color wheel, the Optoma HD81
delivers great color saturation and subtle color details for the best image
quality."

May be you dont need Full HD , given the state of your eyes !! Just joking.

From los seres post above
With its 10-bit color per channel color
processing, a 4x, 7-segment color wheel

That is where he got the 4x from.

I have been running the HD81 (serial number 003) in my hometheater for a week, and my impression is as follows:
The HD81 delivers a very sharp image, even compared too my “old” VW100. My VW100 was really good when it comes too converges, but it just can’t compete with the HD81. The VP-unit does a “ok” job, it fails the jaggies test on my HQV disc, but film looks good anyway. I have used a d-vhs (1080i) and a Denon A1XV DVD-player as sources, running component from the DVD-player (480i and 576i).
What stunned me about HD81 was the fact that it runs boot dynamic iris and lamp-modulation. When feeding a really bright image, the lamp suddenly turns to full power the same moment the iris opens fully. The lamp stays at full power until a really dark image is being projected. Then the iris closes, and the lamp goes back to low power. Needless to say, this function needs allot better software too work properly. This maybe solved in the production units, but the auto-mode is useless on this “pre-production” unit. I measured the optical contrast ratio (iris closed at position 8 ) at about 3900:1 after D65 calibration (measured at 1,5 meters from lens with OpticOne). I have not posted my review in Hjemmekino (Norwegian AV-magazine) yet, so I can’t go into detail at this time. But I can say this mush; I really fell for the high ansi output and sharpness, and as a result I have just sold my Sony VW100. Lack of lens-shift, to mush dithering and insanely loud cooling fan (in this price range anyway) eliminated HD81 as my new singlechip 1080 DLP.

Can you disable the lamp modulation and only have the auto iris working? The lamp modulation means the fan speed will change and become noticably when it does it.

Gary

That was not an option in this units menu. The only option was auto, close and open on the iris, no mention of lamp-modulation at all.
And the fan is noisy enough in low mode, and “insane” in high mode. When applying high altitude as well, you better strap the projector down, or else it will take off. :eek: ;)

If that's the case, I don't think I could live with the lamp ramping up and down like that.

Gary.

Is I mentioned, the unit I tested had serial number 3, so I recon it is a preproduction unit. This “issue” better not be present on production units. I don’t know if anybody else has experienced this? Guitarman?

Hey guys,



Go to web site aboutprojectors look up optoma-hd81 and read the manual. This will help clear everything about mounting and offset. You can basically mount this anywhere.

Can you please elaborate on the "too much dithering" comment? The lamp mode/auto iris tie-in sounds like something that can be corrected in software, but I am more concerned about other fundamental flaws.

I'm also surprised you have negative things to say about the scaler. All I've read puts the Gennum near the top of the VP heap.

Thanks.

-Dave

The scaler just didn’t do as god as I expected on the HQV test-disc. When watching film based material it did a great job, especially de-interlacing 1080i from my D-VHS. Video based material (Beauty of Japan) was not that god (some jaggies), but acceptable. The Gennum is near the top of the VP heap as you mention, but the processor is not a guaranty of success. It needs god programming, and for example the CII from Pixel Magic, is a hell of a lot better programmed than the HD81 Controller. It also has a lot more options for tweaking.
When it comes to dithering, it is less dithering than most 720p DLP’s, included the ones with BrilliantColor technology, but it is nowhere near the Projectiondesigns model three 1080. That’s why I mentioned it. My guess is that the model three 1080 gets cleaner signal from its VP (CII), and thereby outputs less dithering.

Hey guys,

Go to web site aboutprojectors look up optoma-hd81 and read the manual. This will help clear everything about mounting and offset. You can basically mount this anywhere.


What?
Not without use of keystone, and that’s not an option in my book. When I received the projector keystone was applied, and all vertical lines had “steps”. If you need to use keystone, you’d better of buying a cheaper projector, with lens-shift.

I have been running the HD81 (serial number 003) in my hometheater for a week, and my impression is as follows:
The HD81 delivers a very sharp image, even compared too my “old” VW100. My VW100 was really good when it comes too converges, but it just can’t compete with the HD81. The VP-unit does a “ok” job, it fails the jaggies test on my HQV disc, but film looks good anyway. I have used a d-vhs (1080i) and a Denon A1XV DVD-player as sources, running component from the DVD-player (480i and 576i).
What stunned me about HD81 was the fact that it runs boot dynamic iris and lamp-modulation. When feeding a really bright image, the lamp suddenly turns to full power the same moment the iris opens fully. The lamp stays at full power until a really dark image is being projected. Then the iris closes, and the lamp goes back to low power. Needless to say, this function needs allot better software too work properly. This maybe solved in the production units, but the auto-mode is useless on this “pre-production” unit. I measured the optical contrast ratio (iris closed at position 8 ) at about 3900:1 after D65 calibration (measured at 1,5 meters from lens with OpticOne). I have not posted my review in Hjemmekino (Norwegian AV-magazine) yet, so I can’t go into detail at this time. But I can say this mush; I really fell for the high ansi output and sharpness, and as a result I have just sold my Sony VW100. Lack of lens-shift, to mush dithering and insanely loud cooling fan (in this price range anyway) eliminated HD81 as my new singlechip 1080 DLP.

Apparently, Optoma has released a new firmware for the unit but I'm not clear if it will conclusively address all the issues you raised in your "pre-production" post.

Did you measure the decibel level of the fan?

Is I mentioned, the unit I tested had serial number 3, so I recon it is a preproduction unit. This “issue” better not be present on production units. I don’t know if anybody else has experienced this? Guitarman?

I mentioned that in my review and even asked if they could or would seperate the AI function from the Auto Iris. The new firmware is supposed to make the Iris changes less obvious by being less aggressive. I still think the AI is linked to the Auto Iris though. They're going to have the firmware downloadable from their site, I'd like to see what it can do.

How are you seeing serial #3? Is it the first part of the number before the (H)? Like mine reads 085Hxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.

Thanks for clearing that up for me Tom. I should have read the whole tread before posting my impression of course.
And regarding the serial number, you are correct; the number 3 is at the end of a lot of zeros.

And the fan is noisy enough in low mode, and “insane” in high mode. When applying high altitude as well, you better strap the projector down, or else it will take off. :eek: ;)

Tom,

Did you also find the fan noise objectionable? I'm currently using an NEC LT100, which is quite loud. I suspect the HD81 will be considerably quieter than that?

Thanks

Joe

Did you measure the decibel level of the fan?

No, I didn’t am afraid. But I had it running side by side with VW100, TX200 and HC3000. All of these were dead silent compared too the HD81. I had an Action model one a while back, and HD81 are noisier even compared to this. Too bad the latest firmware was not available during my test period.

No I found the sound to be tolerable, it's a low bass tone, the LT150 which I had has more of the turbine metallic sound but I got use to it also.

EP910 fan specs s/b the same.
Innovative “Wind Tunnel” cooling system designed for whisper-quite operation and minimal light leakage. 30db/normal 28db/econo.

I saw the projector at CEDIA with the 170" 2.35 setup; it looked great! Planning to use it in my new home theater, with almost identical same screen size and seating distance.

Does anyone have any concrete info on the factory 2.35:1 lens option? It was demoed on the show floor ($4000 price tag for lens and mounting plate), but I didn't ask about availability.

whisper-quite operation, is a sales pitch that does not work well whit this projector. If someone whispers like this, it would be a scary experience having a normal conversation.
I’m sorry, the projector is quite impressive, but quiet it is not.

I saw the projector at CEDIA with the 170" 2.35 setup; it looked great! Planning to use it in my new home theater, with almost identical same screen size and seating distance.

Does anyone have any concrete info on the factory 2.35:1 lens option? It was demoed on the show floor ($4000 price tag for lens and mounting plate), but I didn't ask about availability.

Wow! Can that be right, a lens option for $4000!!! :eek:

Is this an anmorphic lens?

I guess everything is relative. I just tried putting a sound level meter up to the air intake on my LT100. I measured 65dB with the meter right up to the projector. If the HD81 is only 30 dB, it will be a huge improvement for me, especially since it is a logrithmetic scale.

Joe

30db and 28db isn't bad, the NEC is 38db if I remember right.

Hi there ... I am an architect ... and planning to design a Dedicated HT .... i could'nt understand the Optoma HD81 Calc to get the required Dimensions and Distances.. i got a 22 FT depth , 12.8 FT wide , 8.3 FT high .... i wonder how much the throw distance from lense to screen , lense to ceiling gap and screen to Mid-Lense gap FOR a 123" Diagonal 16:9 HDTV format Firehawk 1.35 Gain Screen ??? could any one explain the Calculators Equations ??.. or spell out the numbers in demand for installation to get the best performance !! Thanx

Ultimate AV has a sneak preview review of the HD81 on their site.
Thomas Norton had some issues with the pre-production model
he reviewed, but most seemed easily fixable.

Jeff Regan

Ultimate AV has a sneak preview review of the HD81 on their site.
Thomas Norton had some issues with the pre-production model
he reviewed, but most seemed easily fixable.
Thanks for the link, Jeff. I'd love to hear if guitarman can corroborate any of the issues that were mentioned. The 2000:1 contrast ratio, in particular, just seems WRONG.

-Dave

2000:1 is close to what I measured with the iris in open position (2545:1). I measured a lot higher with the iris closed (poss. 8, like Ultimate AV had) as mentioned higher up on the page.
Are these HD81 models that different?

As a followup to prior comments on the inappropriate business practices of some NY Camera online sites, i offer the following.

on 9/4/2006, I ordered an HD81 from prestigecamera.com. Eric, a self proclaimed manager conned me into paying what I thought was a price of $6,282.00 for an HD81, a 50 ft. HDMI cable, a 3 yr extra warranty and $270.00 for shipping. My purchase was motivated because he swore that 12 units were at the warehouse ready to ship as soon as they logged then in. I would receive my projector in a matter of days. After a few days I received an email with my order no. but no itemization of what I had purchased. I spoke to Eric several times to verify the projectors were indeed to be delivered on the schedule he promised me. Each time we chatted the date kept moving back until he admitted that they he did not know where they were or when they would get here. In response to why the price had dropped$270.00 since I ordered my unit, he offered that those did not come with a US warranty. Mine was one of 12 that came with a US warranty and therefore would cost more. After reading the comments in this thread about the NY camera places, I called again and asked if they were a dealer. (I had already learned they were not. He said that they are so big and go by so a number of names that they get projectors a lot of ways. By this time I was ready to cancel. I emailed him asking him to call me since he was always unavailable but he never called.

Today I called and canceled my order with customer service. They kept trying to sell me another projector to which I said no. In the process, i learned that they had planned to charge my card over $6,881.00 rather than the agreed upon $6,200.00 I had originally agreed to with Eric. After 10 minutes waiting he returned to advise me that there would be a $75.00 cancellation fee. I blew my stack. I had never agreed to that when I bought it. In fact, Eric had said i could cancel at any time with no penalty. I was told that they were going to charge me a penalty regardless. After calling my credit card company and verifying the $6,881.00 hold on my account, I was given instructions on how I should proceed. I went back to the website to see if I could find anything about a $75.00 cancellation fee. I did not but in the legalese found a statement that said I should get a cancellation number from a member of their staff or without a cancellation number, I would be charged the shipping fee, and a restocking fee. So...I called customer service again and demanded a cancellation number. After 40+ minutes and a lot of rudeness I received a cancellation number.

Since then, I purchased a projector from a reliable dealer who is in fact an Optoma dealer for a price a couple hundred higher than my original price but less than what prestigecamera.com were going to charge me without my permision. All of you contemplating the purchase of one of these units should be aware that the price being offered by legitimate dealers who will get a shipment from Optoma in the next several weeks is around $,6,500- $7,000. Those who are advertising prices today in the mid $5K range are selling import models. These do not have US warranties. Beware!!!!!!!1 I began buying electronic devices by mail order in the early '60's. While I must admit I had a dew glitches over the years, nothing begins to compare in both quantity, ruthlessness and lack of morality. These people are unprincipled and without ethics. Used to be that Jewish merchants in NY contrlled the AV business. They were tough to bargain with but their word was their bond. These merchants have no conscience.

BTW, I bought the latest unit from Vince at Projectorpoint.com. They are a mail order arm for Kearney Bros. in Minneapolis. Honest straight people I believe. Yeah I know, i am not a good judge of character but i do believe they are telling the truth about the fact that they are getting some units allocatted to them when they finally ship sometime at the end of this month or the beginning of October.

MrHiFi,

Yes, it is disgusting what those companies are doing. They have absolutely no morals and what they are doing is criminal. They infiltrate the on-line store ranking systems and post tons of fake positive reviews. After word gets out, they simply change their name. Broadway Photo, Prestige Camera, etc. they are all the same. I wouldn't be surprised one bit if they were backed by the mob (seriously.)

I too saw the low, low prices offered up for the HD81. Unfortunately all the vendors with the low prices (in the $5k's) could be traced back to being one of these NY camera sites. The legitimate companies I found had prices in the same ballpark that you found.

I think the best way to combat these immoral NY camera sites is to waste their resources. Their phone numbers are toll free. I say we start a campaign to call up these places and waste there time. Of course, make it fun and see how far you can go before they hang up on you. :) Art, I'll give them a few rings in honour of your horrible experience with them.

Brett

p.s. I have an HD81 on order from a reputable vendor.

I really like Butterfly ..... - Mr "Amari"? (or some such - even called me at work to tell me the order had shipped).

Had good experience with Visual ..... also.

You have a call from a dealer confirming that your ordered unit is on the way to your home? Or, is it on the way to the dealer? AFAIK, dealers have not received their units. Please let us know when it arrives. Your HD81 may be the first to arrive. I wish you luck, REALLY I do.

OK, i did some research...Butterfly is one of the camera sites. Good Luck----This time it is sarcastic.

Uh oh, I hope Gaffo is joking. Butterfly is just another one of the many scam Brooklyn Sites. Some Brooklyn Camera Site Aliases (http://www.camcorderinfo.com/bbs/printthread.php?t=52497)

Brett

I just heard from Jason at AVScience and he is expecting his shipment of HD81s to arrive next Tuesday. If I choose to spring for overnight shipping, I may have mine on Wednesday.

Can't wait!

-Dave

I just heard from Jason at AVScience and he is expecting his shipment of HD81s to arrive next Tuesday. If I choose to spring for overnight shipping, I may have mine on Wednesday.

Can't wait!

-Dave

Jason just told me the same thing! However, I have decided that I am going to wait a bit longer to see what the JVC looks like early next year.

Looking forward to your review/comments before much longer! :)

I just heard from Jason at AVScience and he is expecting his shipment of HD81s to arrive next Tuesday. If I choose to spring for overnight shipping, I may have mine on Wednesday.

Can't wait!

-Dave

And I verified that they have indeed already passed through customs :)

Joe

Jason just told me the same thing! However, I have decided that I am going to wait a bit longer to see what the JVC looks like early next year.

If I weren't projectorless, I may have done the same thing. The JVC is the only other projector on the radar right now that I'm interested in. Five more months is an eternity; rather get some use out of the HD81 between now and then and then weigh my options.

Even my wife, who rarely sets foot in the theater, has been asking me when the projector is going to arrive.

Here's hoping that Optoma has a firmware update before next Wednesday!

-Dave

And I verified that they have indeed already passed through customs :)
And how exactly did you do that? I still won't believe they're enroute until I get the call from Jason that they've arrived...

;)

-Dave

If I weren't projectorless, I may have done the same thing. The JVC is the only other projector on the radar right now that I'm interested in. Five more months is an eternity; rather get some use out of the HD81 between now and then and then weigh my options.

Even my wife, who rarely sets foot in the theater, has been asking me when the projector is going to arrive.

Here's hoping that Optoma has a firmware update before next Wednesday!

-Dave

There is no doubt that if I were projectorless, I would go with the HD81. The Pearl or Ruby just aren't bright enough for my 123" screen. Plus I love the 2 box design with Gennum scaler.

And how exactly did you do that? I still won't believe they're enroute until I get the call from Jason that they've arrived...

;)

-Dave

Simple, I asked Jason :)

Joe

I also got confirmation from Jason that he would be receiving the units early next week. I expect to have mine by the end of next week!

Brett

Can some of you guys that are close to Optoma plead with them to make their next gen 1080p dlp projector to cover shorter throw distances, going down to at least 1.5? This would make it possible to use a Highpower screen, with the pj just above and behind the viewers' heads, or a ceiling mount at the back of the room for another screen.

I understand why Optoma did what they did with the HD-81--to get it out asap. Hopefully the next one, now in the planning stages, will be more flexible. And, of course, also with lens shift!

Hello from Athens Greece.

In our forum, www.avsite.gr we will have the oportunity to test and review the Optoma HD81 next Saturday 9/23! Unfortunatelly only 20 of our members will be the lucky ones as the show-room we are using for our tests is not big enough.

On Friday our professional calibrator Mr Lamprou will test and calibrate (if necessary...) the projector.

I will post pic and a summary of our member's opinion here in this thread, i hope a few hours after the test or by Sunday morning.

Here is the thread (in greek...):

http://www.avsite.gr/smf/index.php?topic=13615.new#new

From the Optoma website:


Q57: What is the vertical offset of the HD81?
A57: 136 % of the width of the screen.


Not sure what this means..?
For example, let's say you have a 128" X 50" W screen. So 50" X 136% = 68 total inches. Does this mean that your screen has to be mounted 18 inches from the ceiling? Please help clear this. Thanks.

From the Optoma website:


Q57: What is the vertical offset of the HD81?
A57: 136 % of the width of the screen.


Not sure what this means..?
For example, let's say you have a 128" X 50" W screen. So 50" X 136% = 68 total inches. Does this mean that your screen has to be mounted 18 inches from the ceiling? Please help clear this. Thanks.

Yes, screen should be 18 inches below the center of the lens (not ceiling) if you do ceiling mounting.

Will the HD81 work with 7.5 feet ceilings and screen mounted 13 inches from the ceiling...? I am very flexible with mounting, in a room that's 20' X 20' . Can this be done . Any help would be appreciated.
Thanx.

Will the HD81 work with 7.5 feet ceilings and screen mounted 13 inches from the ceiling...? I am very flexible with mounting, in a room that's 20' X 20' . Can this be done . Any help would be appreciated.
Thanx.

To answer this question you need to provide more data -- if it's the same screen height that you mentioned in the previous post then it is highly unlikely you can make it work -- for 50" high screen it needs to be 18" plus distance from the center of the lens to the ceiling (at least 4" with flush mounting) -- that makes 22" -- the only way to make it work is to tilt the projector and screen (search this thread for info).

HTH, Davie.

Can some of you guys that are close to Optoma plead with them to make their next gen 1080p dlp projector to cover shorter throw distances, going down to at least 1.5? This would make it possible to use a Highpower screen, with the pj just above and behind the viewers' heads, or a ceiling mount at the back of the room for another screen.

I understand why Optoma did what they did with the HD-81--to get it out asap. Hopefully the next one, now in the planning stages, will be more flexible. And, of course, also with lens shift!


LOL, These short throw projectors of 1.5 are exactly what causes us 2.35 CIH users grief...2.0 or better is ideal with anamorphic lenses.

I guess unique lense offerings with different throw ratios is the best bet for all...

LOL, These short throw projectors of 1.5 are exactly what causes us 2.35 CIH users grief...2.0 or better is ideal with anamorphic lenses.

I guess unique lense offerings with different throw ratios is the best bet for all...

OK, I sympathize! You are right, we need to have the option of one of two possible lens to get with these things. The lcd pj's seem to be able to cover the entire range with one, but not so the dlp's.

See my signature (picture of my space), I'm assuming it will be impossible for me to run the H81 :(

See my signature (picture of my space), I'm assuming it will be impossible for me to run the H81 :(

Need dimensions to give a complete answer but from the pics it might be possible to tilt the projector and the screen to eliminate or reduce the offset requirement.

Joe

greekviking,

From the Optoma website:


Q57: What is the vertical offset of the HD81?
A57: 136 % of the width of the screen.


Not sure what this means..?
For example, let's say you have a 128" X 50" W screen. So 50" X 136% = 68 total inches. Does this mean that your screen has to be mounted 18 inches from the ceiling? Please help clear this. Thanks.

Actually, if the quote is correct, 136% of the width of the screen would be 1.36 x 128", in your example, which would be approximately 174". So that offset would be 174"-128"=46". Are you sure the formula for vertical offset needs screen width and not screen height? :) Using screen height, it would be 18" in your example. Keep in mind that this is more likely from the center of the lens, and not the ceiling, since Optoma doesn't know your bracket configuration. Therefore, if your bracket drops the lens center 6" from the ceiling and the offset is 18", you would need the top of the screen to be 24" from the ceiling (18" offset + 6" for projector_ceiling distance).

You probably are just using arbitrary numbers, but just in case, be aware that you are doing calculations on a 2.56:1 aspect ratio screen in this example. Not that it matters for vertical offset, just FYI.

My understanding is that the % offset is that % of the screen HEIGHT, and is the amount that the pj must be above the top edge of the screen (if pj is inverted) or below the bottom edge (if the pj is right side up).

Guys,

I believe someone said that there has to be a minimum of 10" between the ceiling and the projector for cooling.

The User's Manual says 10 CM (3.94 inches) from the ceiling. See page 60.

My error!!!!!!! I have received all of the cables and adaptors I need to install the HD81. As time passes there sem to be a number of reviews commenting on the high noise level and the iris that ramps up and down too aggressively. I have always been concerned about placement. I finally got my CRT FP going again and keep asking myself if I should not wait for a projector I can place at the back of the room on a shelf. That is out of the question with this one. Anyway, the longer I have to wait, the more I think that I am making the wrong decision. Sorry to burden you guys...Just Venting.

My error!!!!!!! I have received all of the cables and adaptors I need to install the HD81. As time passes there sem to be a number of reviews commenting on the high noise level and the iris that ramps up and down too aggressively. I have always been concerned about placement. I finally got my CRT FP going again and keep asking myself if I should not wait for a projector I can place at the back of the room on a shelf. That is out of the question with this one. Anyway, the longer I have to wait, the more I think that I am making the wrong decision. Sorry to burden you guys...Just Venting.
Art,

There is no such thing as a "perfect" projector. There is always some sort of tradeoff. A very long throw has always been a high priority for me (I have a rear projection room about 22 feet from my screen) until about 6 months ago I decided I was sick of the lack of long throw projectors and I was willing to move the projector onto the ceiling of the theater itself to broaden my options.

Then CEDIA rolls around and it looks like the new JVC has a perfect throw for my situation... :) If it were available right now I'd probably go with it instead of the Optoma.

The HD81 has a huge number of positives, however, and a great price as well. I'm certainly willing to give it a try and see how it goes. This won't be the last projector I'll own (heck, it'll be the third one I've owned this year alone!).

FYI the first group of AVScience HD81s are currently "out for delivery". Unless Optoma shipped boxes full of bricks or the UPS truck falls into Lake Ontario, I should have my projector TOMORROW!

A review will certainly follow!


-Dave

looking forward to hearing some of the real world user reviews - my order is on hold until I hear a bit more about the noise and DI.

Art,

There is no such thing as a "perfect" projector. There is always some sort of tradeoff. A very long throw has always been a high priority for me (I have a rear projection room about 22 feet from my screen) until about 6 months ago I decided I was sick of the lack of long throw projectors and I was willing to move the projector onto the ceiling of the theater itself to broaden my options.

Then CEDIA rolls around and it looks like the new JVC has a perfect throw for my situation... :) If it were available right now I'd probably go with it instead of the Optoma.

The HD81 has a huge number of positives, however, and a great price as well. I'm certainly willing to give it a try and see how it goes. This won't be the last projector I'll own (heck, it'll be the third one I've owned this year alone!).

FYI the first group of AVScience HD81s are currently "out for delivery". Unless Optoma shipped boxes full of bricks or the UPS truck falls into Lake Ontario, I should have my projector TOMORROW!

A review will certainly follow!


-Dave

Oh you luck guy just in time for the weekend. Awesome! I hope you'll be able to make some comments on the HD81 with their H78/79 720p models.

What screen and size will you be firing the HD81 on?

Oh you luck guy just in time for the weekend. Awesome! I hope you'll be able to make some comments on the HD81 with their H78/79 720p models.

What screen and size will you be firing the HD81 on?
As I had stated before, I have very little DLP experience (including H78/79). Most of my recent experience has been with a number of different JVC D-ILA models (most recently a William Phelps-calibrated HX1U). For those that aren't familiar, these are 3-chip LCOS projectors with a resolution of 1400x788. Beautiful color, but absolutely pitiful contrast ratio. My calibrated HX1U only had a CR of about 750:1

I have had a Ruby in my theater but it simply wasn't bright enough to keep.

I have two screens and I'll most likely be trying them both. They are both scope-ratio screens. One is a 51" x 120" curved micro-perf Grayhawk. The second is a 56" x 132" Dalite HiPower. I'm hoping to be able to use the Grayhawk with the ample brightness of this projector.

I'm not a big fan of DI and while I will certainly play around with it, my intention is to used a fixed iris setting (as closed as brightness allows to improve contrast ratio). When I use my anamorphic lens I'll bump the iris open a couple of clicks to get an equivalent brightness level.

-Dave

Dave,

Okay it certainly sounds like you'll have no problem going with the Grayhawk. Doesn't seem like the HiPower is neede for the 300w lamp you'll have. You're going to see a nice bump on the contrast too, that's for sure. 120" vs. 132, wow what a dilemma. :)

Guess your earlier Optoma/DLP viewing experience won't be applicable but nevertheless, it's exciting to hear you'll be watching the HD81 soon enough. Hopefully, you'll be comfortable with a fixed iris or the upgraded auto iris.

Congrats!

I received a call from Vince at projectorpoint.com. UPS just delivered 3 units to their parent company and mine is one of them if I want it. I said yes. It should be here next week. Hope it is as good as my HD700 CRT. Not as quiet I'm sure but for $6,500 including the ceiling mount and a couple hundred more for cabling and adaptors, the picture better knock my socks off. I have two HDMI, one RGBHV, two component, one S and 2 composite video sources. Aghhhhhh the anticipation provides more joy usually than the reality of getting the piece.

Congrats Art. Looking forward to your review/comments.

So you were one of the 3? I was one of the other ones thanks to my friend Joe Linn!!! But I am lucky enough to live close by to projectorpoint so I actually am currently unboxing mine. No damages so far. Everything is looking good. I will report back soon once I have it up and running.

Joe

I received a call from Vince at projectorpoint.com. UPS just delivered 3 units to their parent company and mine is one of them if I want it. I said yes. It should be here next week. Hope it is as good as my HD700 CRT. Not as quiet I'm sure but for $6,500 including the ceiling mount and a couple hundred more for cabling and adaptors, the picture better knock my socks off. I have two HDMI, one RGBHV, two component, one S and 2 composite video sources. Aghhhhhh the anticipation provides more joy usually than the reality of getting the piece.

So you were one of the 3? I was one of the other ones thanks to my friend Joe Linn!!! But I am lucky enough to live close by to projectorpoint so I actually am currently unboxing mine. No damages so far. Everything is looking good. I will report back soon once I have it up and running.

Joe
Man, I'm so jealous! :D Please post impressions as soon as you get a chance.

-Dave

The Eagle has Landed!

Ok, first impressions.

1. The unit is real solid and everything works great.
2. It is a requirement that you plugin the serial cable. I had thought that was optional but it is not.
3. The Gennum processor is fast enough I did not notice and lip-synching issues as I was not hooked up through my av receiver.
4. The best way that I can describe the image is moving photographs. Each scene is like looking at high quality photos. IT is Amazing
5. My home theater is not finished so I have it all rigged up in my living room. This space has a LOT of ambient light. BUt at high bulb it is definitely watchable. I cannot wait until it is dark here to really see what things look like.
6. The remote is really cool with a neat blue glow about it.
7. The fan noise? I never noticed it even on high and the projector was 3 feet from my left ear. I don't believe that will be an issue at all.
8. On the other hand, I can really hear the iris changing when there is minimal sound in the movie. I might get used to this and I might not even hear it when the projector is further than 3 feet away.
9. When I heard the iris change my eyes noticed the picture change. But with loud sound in the movie when I could not hear the iris I did not notice the picture change.
10. I noticed no screen door at 1 1/2 feet from the screen.
11. WARNING - Do not watch a movie that you really like. You will get engulfed in the movie and forget to play with the projector. :) The image is that good!!!

I will be gone for the next few hours but will probably be up til the wee morning hours playing.

Joe

Thanks Joe!

I certainly don't like the idea of being able to hear the iris opening and closing. At least fan noise is constant/consistent. Hearing the iris could be very annoying.

Thanks a lot for your first impressions, Joe. I know how hard it is to tear yourself away to write this but it is greatly appreciated.

-Dave

Has anybody heard from Jason lately? As of about 2 hours ago, he hadn't received the projectors. Unless I am reading the chart on the FedEx site wrong, I think you need to have something to FedEx by 4:30 if you want next day delivery. Since it is now 5:20 in New York, I'm wondering that means we won't be able to get delivery tomorrow after all. I'd like to know what is going on, so if anybody has heard anything, please post. Or if I am wrong about FedEx deadline, let me know so I can relax.

Thanks

Joe

Has anybody heard from Jason lately? As of about 2 hours ago, he hadn't received the projectors. Unless I am reading the chart on the FedEx site wrong, I think you need to have something to FedEx by 4:30 if you want next day delivery. Since it is now 5:20 in New York, I'm wondering that means we won't be able to get delivery tomorrow after all. I'd like to know what is going on, so if anybody has heard anything, please post. Or if I am wrong about FedEx deadline, let me know so I can relax.
I haven't heard from him recently but I do have the tracking numbers for the packages and they haven't been delivered yet. There is some sort of exception listed in the tracking info; looks like whoever shipped them may have put an incorrect address on the label.

Right now I'm assuming they won't be shipping out today so we'll be getting them on Tuesday at the earliest.

At this point I find the whole thing a bit comical. I'm beyond the :mad: stage already. I think I need a beer.....


-Dave

One important factor that I forgot to mention and I don't remember reading about it before. There is a vertical offset. It has 50 positions each way from horizontal and on my currently projected 7 foot width screen it adds up to about a foot.

So it seems that we will be able to reduce the 36% offset to some degree without tilting the project and screen.

The manual itself comes on a CD so I have not had the chance to read it yet.

More to come later.

Joe

One important factor that I forgot to mention and I don't remember reading about it before. There is a vertical offset. It has 50 positions each way from horizontal and on my currently projected 7 foot width screen it adds up to about a foot.

So it seems that we will be able to reduce the 36% offset to some degree without tilting the project and screen.



Very interesting. I definitely want to hear more about this. When you say it has 50 positions, what do you mean? How is it adjusted? Is this a manual adjustment, or is it done in the pj?

Ok, first impressions.

1. The unit is real solid and everything works great.
2. It is a requirement that you plugin the serial cable. I had thought that was optional but it is not.
3. The Gennum processor is fast enough I did not notice and lip-synching issues as I was not hooked up through my av receiver.
4. The best way that I can describe the image is moving photographs. Each scene is like looking at high quality photos. IT is Amazing
5. My home theater is not finished so I have it all rigged up in my living room. This space has a LOT of ambient light. BUt at high bulb it is definitely watchable. I cannot wait until it is dark here to really see what things look like.
6. The remote is really cool with a neat blue glow about it.
7. The fan noise? I never noticed it even on high and the projector was 3 feet from my left ear. I don't believe that will be an issue at all.
8. On the other hand, I can really hear the iris changing when there is minimal sound in the movie. I might get used to this and I might not even hear it when the projector is further than 3 feet away.
9. When I heard the iris change my eyes noticed the picture change. But with loud sound in the movie when I could not hear the iris I did not notice the picture change.
10. I noticed no screen door at 1 1/2 feet from the screen.
11. WARNING - Do not watch a movie that you really like. You will get engulfed in the movie and forget to play with the projector. :) The image is that good!!!

I will be gone for the next few hours but will probably be up til the wee morning hours playing.

Joe


Joe,

Congrats on the new Optoma. Sorry to ask but what is a serial cable for and connected to in the system?

Have you confirmed the version of your firmware and if you in fact have the new firmware or need to upgrade?

You seem pretty excited about the early results. Please tell us the replacement and your previous DLP/Optoma projectors along with screen size/setup.

Thanks!

You find firmwares in the system menu (C-05) is the latest.

I haven't heard from him recently but I do have the tracking numbers for the packages and they haven't been delivered yet. There is some sort of exception listed in the tracking info; looks like whoever shipped them may have put an incorrect address on the label.

Right now I'm assuming they won't be shipping out today so we'll be getting them on Tuesday at the earliest.

At this point I find the whole thing a bit comical. I'm beyond the :mad: stage already. I think I need a beer.....


-Dave

That stinks, as one of those units is for me, but thanks for the info Joe and Dave. I just got through paying $$$ for overnight shipping/Sat delivery on a 35' serial cable too... My fault for not getting it done sooner, but still frustrating. It sure would be nice to hear from Optoma about what's up with their shipping process...

Mike

To all our customers Optoma delayed us one day, we have not heard why:(
Tracking numbers have been issued. Add one additional day.

Thanks.

That is actually a three day delay. I paid for overnight Saturday shipping. Instead of Saturday, it will be Tuesday at the earliest. :(

I'm frustrated. A local dealer had three of them. I could have had one in my hands now. Instead I have to wait until the middle of next week.

New users, if you don't have colorfacts or Sencore here's my values for 1080i HDTV. Probably won't be best but you might take a look at them.

R Contrast 7
G Contrast -1
B Contrast -12

R Brightness -2
G Brightness 0
B Brightness 1

Also tune your blacks and whites by eye.

My values -
7.5IRE

Contrast 1
Brightness 10
Color 5
Tint -2
Sharpness 0

That is actually a three day delay. I paid for overnight Saturday shipping. Instead of Saturday, it will be Tuesday at the earliest. :(

I'm frustrated. A local dealer had three of them. I could have had one in my hands now. Instead I have to wait until the middle of next week.


Does anyone know if this is a "signature required" item (most things at this price level are). If so, I will have to add at least one day on top of that as I will not be home when they attempt to deliver, and it is hard for me to get to the local offices during the week. I could be delayed until next weekend :(

Alan, Jason,
I understand that you guys have no control over this, and am not venting at you... I really would like to hear from Optoma about what is going on though. So many shipping delays and problems either speaks to some serious competency issues or something else would appear to be up.

Mike

I feel your pain Mike. I drove 40miles the minute I heard I could pick one up.

Mike we were told one thing and they did another. We also have no explanation at this point. We were told our units were on their way. When the manufacture is the cause of the delay with no explanation it effects everyone down the line from the dealer to the end user. We can only offer support as good as the support we have behind us. It never fails this stuff always happens at the end of the week when theres no time to work on a remedy.
Sorry for the disappointment from our end.

You find firmwares in the system menu (C-05) is the latest.

Thanks Tom, I have C-04. Is the new one up on their web site?

Joe

Very interesting. I definitely want to hear more about this. When you say it has 50 positions, what do you mean? How is it adjusted? Is this a manual adjustment, or is it done in the pj?

My bad. I played with it some more. It actually moves the top of the image up or down. It does not actually shift the image. It is more like a customizable blanking system.

Joe

My bad. I played with it some more. It actually moves the top of the image up or down. It does not actually shift the image. It is more like a customizable blanking system.

Joe

Thanks for the follow up Joe.

The serial cable goes between the 2 boxes. It allows the scaler box to control the pj.

I have an older version. I will wait for Tom to respond to see how I update it.

This is my first projector. I have other hdtvs in the house but no pj. I am using SMX AV screen. I currently have a temporary setup that is a 7 foot wide screen. My permanent one will be 10 feet.

Joe

Joe,

Congrats on the new Optoma. Sorry to ask but what is a serial cable for and connected to in the system?

Have you confirmed the version of your firmware and if you in fact have the new firmware or need to upgrade?

You seem pretty excited about the early results. Please tell us the replacement and your previous DLP/Optoma projectors along with screen size/setup.

Thanks!

Thanks Tom, I have C-04. Is the new one up on their web site?

Joe


It will be made available to checked out owners. I'll follow up.

Man this projector is great. I'm watching Fast/Furious Tokyo Drift in HD right now. In Auto Iris, the projector leaves you wanting for nothing. Blacks are unreal and void of haze. Bright sequences are lit up greatly. Ansi contrast within any scenes is high. Wow the best DLP projector I've even had the pleasure to view.

Mike we were told one thing and they did another. We also have no explanation at this point. We were told our units were on their way. When the manufacture is the cause of the delay with no explanation it effects everyone down the line from the dealer to the end user. We can only offer support as good as the support we have behind us. It never fails this stuff always happens at the end of the week when theres no time to work on a remedy.
Sorry for the disappointment from our end.
While I know Optoma has been to blame for all of the shipping delays so far (heck, I originally overnighted my cashier's check to AVScience on 8/30 because the projectors were already supposedly enroute to you). According to the UPS tracking information that I have on the projectors, they were put on a truck for delivery today and then they figured out the address was wrong (the exception says that you moved). Either your distributor has an old address, or they just sent it to the wrong place.


-David

It will be made available to checked out owners. I'll follow up.

Man this projector is great. I'm watching Fast/Furious Tokyo Drift in HD right now. In Auto Iris, the projector leaves you wanting for nothing. Blacks are unreal and void of haze. Bright sequences are lit up greatly. Ansi contrast within any scenes is high. Wow the best DLP projector I've even had the pleasure to view.
Please do follow up. I'd like to get that installed ASAP after I get my projector.

-Dave

David I responded to your PM. I am refunding your money first thing Monday Morn. Laurie will contact you. Sorry for the frustration this has caused you.

Refunding! wait these projectors are in such small suppy starting over it futile. Be happy you can get one in a few days. really

The serial cable goes between the 2 boxes. It allows the scaler box to control the pj.

I have an older version. I will wait for Tom to respond to see how I update it.

This is my first projector. I have other hdtvs in the house but no pj. I am using SMX AV screen. I currently have a temporary setup that is a 7 foot wide screen. My permanent one will be 10 feet.

Joe

Yes congrats, you have one in the house. Others understand dealers are getting a handful like 5 hear and there. Some to Europe/Asia and amount here in the US. If you have a shot at locking one in jump on it. It's worth it you're not just getting a projector you're getting a ultra high end video processor also. Video smooth as glass.

I'll find out next week about how you can get the firmware access. Wing told me they'll be more advances available later. Like it could get better lol
goodnight.

David I responded to your PM. I am refunding your money first thing Monday Morn. Laurie will contact you. Sorry for the frustration this has caused you.
Alan, I don't want a refund. I just want the projector. I'm sure Tom is right and they are in short supply everywhere.

Sorry for the short fuse; it is late at night and a result of a months worth of pent up frustration. Please don't turn into the "projector nazi":

NO PROJECTOR FOR YOU!!!!

:)


-Dave

p.s. I've edited my rather hasty and not totally thought-through post above...

David

Got you covered :)

I received a tracking number from Kierney. HD81 will be here October 4. I will spend this weekend setting gray scale and 6500 degree color temp on my DWIN HD700 to optimize. I am wondering what folks use these days to set color temp on HD projectors. I have always used the values I get using Video Essentials or AVIA for NTSC. I have 20+ memories set up for different sources so I just input the same gain and drive values for memories that contain setups for HD sources. Sure hope the Optoma system has comparable memories. I guess I may not need as many since the 3000 box has different inputs. My HD sources have run directly to the projector without the benefit of color and hue adjustments for HD sources. Other than setting Gain and Drive Level on the projector, I have had no control of color variation between HD sources. I look forward to this benfit.

From reading the comments of those who received the first shipment, it looks like we are not getting the latest and obviously necessary firmware. I would think that a reputable company like Optoma would make the latest firmware available immediately so that we don't have to install the projector and then take it down a few days later or maybe even send it back if the IRIS loud adjustment issues become a deal breaker. You woul think that a CD could be stuck in each box before shipment with the upgraded software. I do have to wonder though why at the 12th hour the IRIS adjustment protocols had to be changed. Is it because the marketing department received such negative comments from testers and a decision was made to "dumb down" the response of the IRIS? Are there a bunch of Optoma engineers siiting around disgruntled because a major contrast improving benefit has been mutated by marketing folks who do not know any better? I guess I'm kind of happy that I will get to try the original firmware first. Problem is that if I wind up preferring the original algorithms for Iris control, I will have no way to go back and install the original firmware.

Sorry about the long and rambling post. Just my thoughts this weekend which I figured I would spend installing the new projector but now find myself fixing up my CRT FP.

I would think that a reputable company like Optoma would make the latest firmware available immediately so that we don't have to install the projector and then take it down a few days later

There is a second serial port on the scaler. I have not read the manual yet but I am guessing you hook this up to a pc and the pj is updated through the scaler in this fashion. Come to think of it, the pj itself probably doesn't even get the update. Probably the firmware in the scaler only.

Joe

There is a second serial port on the scaler. I have not read the manual yet but I am guessing you hook this up to a pc and the pj is updated through the scaler in this fashion. Come to think of it, the pj itself probably doesn't even get the update. Probably the firmware in the scaler only.

Joe
That makes sense. One of the many cool things about this projector is how much the scaler does for you. This is also one of the reasons that I don't think it would be possible for Optoma to sell the projector without the scaler. Many of the controls that I think used to be in the projector are now handled by the more capable scaler.

Of course, I think the projector has a USB connector on the back so who knows. Maybe it is possible for it to get updates, too.

-Dave

There is a second serial port on the scaler. I have not read the manual yet but I am guessing you hook this up to a pc and the pj is updated through the scaler in this fashion. Come to think of it, the pj itself probably doesn't even get the update. Probably the firmware in the scaler only.

Joe

So Joe, will you be watching with a fixed iris based on your local conditions until the firmware comes or are you going to be playing with all the doodads?

If it was me, I'd get the firmware, find my settings and enjoy for a spell. But of course no one asked me how to play on my imaginary projector. :p

What kinds of stuff have you been watching? I would imagine that all sources, film, video and 1080i sports would be so great.

It will be made available to checked out owners. I'll follow up.

Man this projector is great. I'm watching Fast/Furious Tokyo Drift in HD right now. In Auto Iris, the projector leaves you wanting for nothing. Blacks are unreal and void of haze. Bright sequences are lit up greatly. Ansi contrast within any scenes is high. Wow the best DLP projector I've even had the pleasure to view.


What kind of screen and size are you using? I'm thinking about getting one for a 16:9, 150 inch screen, do you think it is bright enough. Also can you post any pics? Thanks.

I don't know how they managed it, but my HD81 was just delivered by UPS! This will be a very short note, as I am going to go open the box now...

Thanks to Jason, Alan, Laurie and whoever else helped to pull this off, as I had completely written off the possibility that it would arrive today.

Mike

I don't know how they managed it, but my HD81 was just delivered by UPS! This will be a very short note, as I am going to go open the box now...

Thanks to Jason, Alan, Laurie and whoever else helped to pull this off, as I had completely written off the possibility that it would arrive today.

Mike


Congrats! I can't wait to hear your first impressions.

Some how part of our order was shipped to the wrong Depot and Mark was working on getting this corrected end of day Friday which looked liked it caused a days delay.
Optoma promised to remedy this but we were left hanging. Looks like they came through with flying colors. Thanks Optoma. Those expecting Sat delivery will get your delivery today so answer the door when you hear the knock :)

Our inventory hits our docks Monday. Yippe!

I love happy endings. Thanks everyone.

Mine arrived this morning too! AVScience really went out of their way to make sure these were delivered to us today and had these overnighted straight from California!

I had 30 minutes with it before I had to take the kids to soccer. I took a ton of unboxing pictures that I'll post later when I get home in a few hours.

Thanks again for the great service Alan, Jason, and company!

-Dave

Mike -- You just ruined my Saturday! ;) Now I'm going to stay at home all day based on a slim reed of hope that mine will likewise appear. May "Photon" the projector god smile on me this day.

The firmware was a piece of cake, easy for me and I'm no computer wizz. Both the Scaler and the projector are updated. Instx specifically say to use the supplied RS-232 cable only. There's no CD to make everything gets done by a Wizard. One thing it calls for Microsoft OS.

I was told not to give out what I was sent. They plan on setting it up on their website for projector owners. What I have looks like an internal data place with more than the HD81 firmware. sri

What screen am I using? 106" diagonal Graywolf. The projector can handle a 150" screen, a 1.3 gain Studio Tech would be good. Good and expensive.

Alan:
Are you saying Optoma has filled the rest of your order? So I can expect to hear soon (Mon. or Tue.) that mine is being shipped?

Thanks

Hi Scott

I am not in sales but if you were in the first batch yes:)
I will have someone follow up Monday.

Mine arrived also. Thanks Alan, Mike, Jason, and whoever else managed to make this happen!

I'm just setting it up now. YPbPr looks great. I haven't been able to get it to recognize HDMI either from my Motorola HD cable DVR or from my Toshiba HD DVD player. I'm trying to figure out what I need to do to make that happen. I even unplugged the cable box to make it do a complete reset. If anybody has ideas, please let me know.

Thanks again to everybody at AV Science!

Joe

We appreciate the thanks from our customers!!

I want to thank Optoma:)

Mine arrived also. Thanks Alan, Mike, Jason, and whoever else managed to make this happen!

I'm just setting it up now. YPbPr looks great. I haven't been able to get it to recognize HDMI either from my Motorola HD cable DVR or from my Toshiba HD DVD player. I'm trying to figure out what I need to do to make that happen. I even unplugged the cable box to make it do a complete reset. If anybody has ideas, please let me know.

Thanks again to everybody at AV Science!

Joe

Did you use the small HDMI cable that loops HDMI? It's like 3" long.

12:30 p.m. here in Utah, and I'm still on the edge of my seat waiting for that knock on the door. How about some more reports from the lucky ones?

Did you use the small HDMI cable that loops HDMI? It's like 3" long.

Thanks Tom! That was it. I guess I was rushing to hook it up...

Joe

Thanks Tom! That was it. I guess I was rushing to hook it up...

Joe

Joe,

There are only about 14 steps in the quick start card. In your rush to get going it sounds like you only did 13 :D

Joe

Tom,

I am using a Daylite 1.3 gain screen. Always thought it gave me too much bounceback from the tubes, i.e. I have a localized bright spot where the three guns reflect when I am sitting in my easy chair. I may be able to close the IRIS a ways to get less light out of the HD81. Interesting that we both have made so many of the same choices. My screen has small little shiny spots on it that have developed over time. Since the screen is unwashable, I live with them. DayLite replaced my first screen when it developed the same shiny spots. I never tried to exchange the replacement. My Dad uses my 72" diagonal curved gray/silver screen that was supplied with the Kloss Novabeams in the '80's. It has a gain of 13, yes 13. His Infocus X1 is visible in a room during the day with the curtains closed. At night, it is way too contrasty for me but he and his friends love it.

It's 3:00 and no projector. The sun is beginning to set on my hopes of 1080p joy for this weekend :(

It's 3:00 and no projector. The sun is beginning to set on my hopes of 1080p joy for this weekend :(

Bummer. Time to change your avitar. It is still smiling. Maybe only for a couple of days?

Joe

All I can say is that I just cannot stop watching it. Everything I put on I just get into the content and forget to analyze. Hmmm, maybe that's not so bad?

Joe

The image simply stunning.

I have had one odd problem though. I've had several spontaneous power-offs. The blue LED on the projector blinks as if I had pressed the standby button and the projector shuts down. It has happened about 5 times so far. At first I thought I might have a conflict that one of the remote control codes for my cable DVR was also the power off code for the HD81. The last time it happened, I was just watching a DVD and not pressing any buttons on the remote.

UPDATE:
It just happened again. This time I noticed that the temperature LED is blinkling blue and continued blinking blue after the power LED went back to red. I see in the manual that means RS232 error. I wonder if I have a bad RS232 cable. Could that cause the projector to shut down?

Ideas anyone?

Thanks

Joe

Are you using the one that came with the projector?

Are you using the one that came with the projector?

No, that wasn't long enough. The projector is ceiling mounted. I sent away for a 25' RS232 cable. Could it be defective? Would that cause a power-off?

Thanks

Joe

Yes a bad RS-232 will shut the PJ down. I'll bet if you were able to use the supplied cable there would be no problem. looks like you'll have to swap for a new cable.

No, that wasn't long enough. The projector is ceiling mounted. I sent away for a 25' RS232 cable. Could it be defective? Would that cause a power-off?

Thanks

Joe

Do you have the ends screwed in?

Joe

Bad RS-232 cables can happen. I had a short RS-232 that didn't work for my firmware loading of the H77. They owe you a new cable, but what are you going to do in the mean time?

I'm sure this has been answered already, but a quick search didn't turn it up.
Does the HD81 come with a short hdmi cable? I know it comes with an rs232.

Thanks

6ft cables, HDMI, RS-232.

Kevin,
Sorry to hear that your HD81 did not arrive, and for getting your hopes up :(

Joe,
I agree with Tom. The flashing "temp" light is exactly what I saw before I plugged my RS232 cable in, so I think you got a dud cable, or it is not seating properly. You could ohm out the cable if you have a multimeter handy. The connections should be :

Pin1 -- Pin 1
2 -- 3
3 -- 2
4 -- 6
5 -- 5
6 -- 4
7 -- 8
8 -- 7

Hope this helps

Scott,
Yes, the projector comes with RS232 and HDMI cables of the same length (about 6' IIRC - I am not using them), plus a short 4-5" HDMI "jumper" cable if you decide not to route the signal through your receiver.

Mike

Edited to get Scott's name right - sorry, it was late!

Thank you

A few quick first impressions before I head to bed. I have spent most of the time I have had available today rewiring my room and setting up the equipment. Once that was done, I threw in a couple of DVDs in my Oppo and watched for a while. We sat down as a family after dinner to watch Lion King 1 1/2, and the kids loved the big image. I have made no adjustments to the PJ other than focus and zoom and did not get the screen (a 110" diag. Firehawk) set up until late this evening, so most of my viewing was on a textured beige wall. Not exactly the ideal surface for making judgements, but here goes anyway...

Light output
The PJ is nice and bright. I ran it only in regular (non-"brite") mode, and even though my room is not totally light-controlled, it did a nice job of projecting a very viewable image. After dark, it was way more than adequate. I should note that the iris is currently off (default mode).

Noise
I can hear the fan in this mode, but only when the audio is off. The PJ is mounted near my 8'4" ceiling (currently on top of a step ladder - no mount yet :( ), about 4 feet behind me. Switching to brite mode was quite noisy. If I ever need it, I will definitely have the volume cranked up a bit. Turning the iris on and off gave a pretty loud thunk (I did not experiment with the iris, just turned it on and off a couple of times).

Colors
Look pretty good out of the box. Once the kids were in bed, I did get some time to watch HD with the Firehawk up (not mounted) and grass, flesh tones etc looked natural. Bright colors were nice and bright and vibrant without being over done.

Picture
No pixel structure visible until you get a few feet away. I would really like to see what this thing can do with a great source, but I don't yet have HDDVD or Bluray. The Oppo is a great player, but I was left wanting more detail when watching DVDs. To be fair, I did not have the screen up at that stage, so that definitely detracted from the picture. College football on ESPN HD looked very good, although it was marred by the usual noise that I also see on my 37" Plasma.

Mike

After spending about 4 hours with the projector last night, I wanted to share my initial review. I had family commitments for much of the day yesterday so I couldn't lock myself in the theater until after dinner.

I will be posting a ton of unboxing pics later today that should help people see what it looks like and what comes in the box. Overall I was very impressed with both the packaging and number/quality of cables, etc.

The scaler box is very professional looking and appears nicely built. I just LOVE the fact that this is a 2-box solution. I've only hooked up 3 sources to it so far but the fact that I never need to worry about running another cable to the projector is brilliant. By the way, my scaler/projector came with the latest firmware already installed (C-05 - although it is dated 8/28 which still seems quite old).

I used a Chief Universal Ceiling Mount (which I purchased from AVScience) and it works perfectly. I have a ~8 foot ceiling with double layers of sheetrock so I used simple toggle bolts (3" long screws) to attach the mount and it is very secure. The projector is located above my second row of seats, near the far end of the throw range.

I'm currently tilting the projector upwards a little due to the offset. I'm projecting on a 51" x 120" scope ratio curved microperf Grayhawk screen. I tilted the top edge of the screen forward a bit to compensate for the tilt on the projector. As far as the tilting is concerned, it works, looks great, and easily overcomes the slight lack of vertical height in my room.

I have not mounted my anamorphic lens yet so everything I've done so far is projected on the center 16x9 portion of the screen. I'm waiting for GetGray's CineSlide (see the 2.35:1 forum) automated slider before I mount the lens.

The remote (which does come with batteries) is absolutely awesome. It is beautifully backlit in blue, is a great size, and has lots of buttons for all the many capabilities exposed by the scaler (all the inputs, and direct buttons to many of the image processing capabilities, aspect ratios, etc.)

When I first fired the projector up, the fan was definitely noticeable. It is not an obtrusive sound, though, and seated in my usual position in the center, front row, it is less noticeable and I quickly tuned it out. Brite mode and High Altitude mode are certainly louder, and could be an issue if you require those modes.

Before I give my picture impressions, a bit of a background on my projector experience. After about a year or so of using a hulking CRT front projector back in the late nineties, I made the switch to digital with a JVC G11 DILA projector. I've since stayed excluseively in the DILA family (moving to a G15 followed by a couple of HX1Us - the most recent one calibrated by William Phelps). The DILA projectors are fantastic, bright, 3-chip projectors with great color but pretty lousy contrast ratio (especially by todays standards). My most recent one topped out at about 750:1 post calibration; CR was one of the biggest things I wanted to improve with this projector.

Viewing the image on this projector for the first time was just mind boggling. The first source I got working (HDMI is a bit picky) was HD satellite via my HD-Tivo (DirecTV). I started with a few recorded shows (Prison Break, Battlestar Galactica, Deadwood) and was stunned with how good the picture was. I kept the iris in the default setting initially (which is OFF - i.e. iris fully opened). My screen is a very difficult one to light up but this projector put off plenty of light.

The first thing I noticed was how black the blacks are. The grayhawk material has a lot to do with this, but I just loved the contrast ratio I was seeing already, without any tweaks. Later in the evening I tried the settings that Guitarman suggested (post #1884) and it improved things even further. I'll be doing a Calman calibration probably sometime today and will post the settings I come up with.

Even before proper calibration, though, I've got to comment on the colors. They are just beautiful! I can't get over how rich and saturated the colors look. Whether watching HD college football or an HD movie, the image just pops off the screen and gives you that 3D look I've been hearing so much about.

I popped in a few HD-DVDs, next. For some reason I had some HDMI issues initially but it eventually started working. Watched a bit of Chronicles of Riddick, Apollo 13 (my wife came in at this point and sat down for a bit - she couldn't believe how good it looked). Finally I popped in Grand Prix (which just came out last week). Let me tell you that I don't think I've EVER seen a picture look as good as this one. For a movie released in 1966 it looks better than any movie I've seen in a theater in the past 5 years. Simply gorgeous.

I then decided to try out the Auto Iris and watched an episode of Deadwood I had recorded on my HD-Tivo. This is a show that is very dark in general and I thought could really benefit from the improvements of a DI. Let me just say that between the noise of the iris (it is loud) and the jarring behavior of the iris (you can notice the brightness of the image changing mid scene) that Optoma really has a long way to go here before I would use it. I don't have a lot of experience with auto irises, but if this is how they all work I don't know how anybody would ever use one.

Fortunately for me, at least, I am totally happy with the brightness of the projector and contrast ratio in a fixed iris mode. I ended up settling down to Iris ON, setting 8 (which is about midway). I may even close it another couple of notches after more playing. This projector has a LOT of brightness packed away in there!

This is the first DLP projector I've owned or even spent substantial time with. I love the sharp look and perfect convergence. I can see rainbows on this projector if I move my head side to side or blink rapidly. Haven't seen a single one during normal viewing, however. I don't think they will be a problem for me (HUGE sigh of relief....)

Near the end of the night I hooked up my HTPC, set it up at 1080p 48Hz, and flipped through a few standard DVDs. I need to do some tweaking of my ffdshow settings before I comment much but (as expected) it is a bit of a letdown after all the HD sources. If you don't own an HD-DVD player, you simply MUST get one with this projector. No ifs, ands, or buts. Go out TODAY and buy one.

Ok, I've rambled on long enough. In short, I'm happier than can be. This projector is going to keep me happy for a LONG time.


-Dave

After spending about 4 hours with the projector last night, I wanted to share my initial review. I had family commitments for much of the day yesterday so I couldn't lock myself in the theater until after dinner.

I will be posting a ton of unboxing pics later today that should help people see what it looks like and what comes in the box. Overall I was very impressed with both the packaging and number/quality of cables, etc.

The scaler box is very professional looking and appears nicely built. I just LOVE the fact that this is a 2-box solution. I've only hooked up 3 sources to it so far but the fact that I never need to worry about running another cable to the projector is brilliant. By the way, my scaler/projector came with the latest firmware already installed (C-05 - although it is dated 8/28 which still seems quite old).

I used a Chief Universal Ceiling Mount (which I purchased from AVScience) and it works perfectly. I have a ~8 foot ceiling with double layers of sheetrock so I used simple toggle bolts (3" long screws) to attach the mount and it is very secure. The projector is located above my second row of seats, near the far end of the throw range.

I'm currently tilting the projector upwards a little due to the offset. I'm projecting on a 51" x 120" scope ratio curved microperf Grayhawk screen. I tilted the top edge of the screen forward a bit to compensate for the tilt on the projector. As far as the tilting is concerned, it works, looks great, and easily overcomes the slight lack of vertical height in my room.

I have not mounted my anamorphic lens yet so everything I've done so far is projected on the center 16x9 portion of the screen. I'm waiting for GetGray's CineSlide (see the 2.35:1 forum) automated slider before I mount the lens.

The remote (which does come with batteries) is absolutely awesome. It is beautifully backlit in blue, is a great size, and has lots of buttons for all the many capabilities exposed by the scaler (all the inputs, and direct buttons to many of the image processing capabilities, aspect ratios, etc.)

When I first fired the projector up, the fan was definitely noticeable. It is not an obtrusive sound, though, and seated in my usual position in the center, front row, it is less noticeable and I quickly tuned it out. Brite mode and High Altitude mode are certainly louder, and could be an issue if you require those modes.

Before I give my picture impressions, a bit of a background on my projector experience. After about a year or so of using a hulking CRT front projector back in the late nineties, I made the switch to digital with a JVC G11 DILA projector. I've since stayed excluseively in the DILA family (moving to a G15 followed by a couple of HX1Us - the most recent one calibrated by William Phelps). The DILA projectors are fantastic, bright, 3-chip projectors with great color but pretty lousy contrast ratio (especially by todays standards). My most recent one topped out at about 750:1 post calibration; CR was one of the biggest things I wanted to improve with this projector.

Viewing the image on this projector for the first time was just mind boggling. The first source I got working (HDMI is a bit picky) was HD satellite via my HD-Tivo (DirecTV). I started with a few recorded shows (Prison Break, Battlestar Galactica, Deadwood) and was stunned with how good the picture was. I kept the iris in the default setting initially (which is OFF - i.e. iris fully opened). My screen is a very difficult one to light up but this projector put off plenty of light.

The first thing I noticed was how black the blacks are. The grayhawk material has a lot to do with this, but I just loved the contrast ratio I was seeing already, without any tweaks. Later in the evening I tried the settings that Guitarman suggested (post #1884) and it improved things even further. I'll be doing a Calman calibration probably sometime today and will post the settings I come up with.

Even before proper calibration, though, I've got to comment on the colors. They are just beautiful! I can't get over how rich and saturated the colors look. Whether watching HD college football or an HD movie, the image just pops off the screen and gives you that 3D look I've been hearing so much about.

I popped in a few HD-DVDs, next. For some reason I had some HDMI issues initially but it eventually started working. Watched a bit of Chronicles of Riddick, Apollo 13 (my wife came in at this point and sat down for a bit - she couldn't believe how good it looked). Finally I popped in Grand Prix (which just came out last week). Let me tell you that I don't think I've EVER seen a picture look as good as this one. For a movie released in 1966 it looks better than any movie I've seen in a theater in the past 5 years. Simply gorgeous.

I then decided to try out the Auto Iris and watched an episode of Deadwood I had recorded on my HD-Tivo. This is a show that is very dark in general and I thought could really benefit from the improvements of a DI. Let me just say that between the noise of the iris (it is loud) and the jarring behavior of the iris (you can notice the brightness of the image changing mid scene) that Optoma really has a long way to go here before I would use it. I don't have a lot of experience with auto irises, but if this is how they all work I don't know how anybody would ever use one.

Fortunately for me, at least, I am totally happy with the brightness of the projector and contrast ratio in a fixed iris mode. I ended up settling down to Iris ON, setting 8 (which is about midway). I may even close it another couple of notches after more playing. This projector has a LOT of brightness packed away in there!

This is the first DLP projector I've owned or even spent substantial time with. I love the sharp look and perfect convergence. I can see rainbows on this projector if I move my head side to side or blink rapidly. Haven't seen a single one during normal viewing, however. I don't think they will be a problem for me (HUGE sigh of relief....)

Near the end of the night I hooked up my HTPC, set it up at 1080p 48Hz, and flipped through a few standard DVDs. I need to do some tweaking of my ffdshow settings before I comment much but (as expected) it is a bit of a letdown after all the HD sources. If you don't own an HD-DVD player, you simply MUST get one with this projector. No ifs, ands, or buts. Go out TODAY and buy one.

Ok, I've rambled on long enough. In short, I'm happier than can be. This projector is going to keep me happy for a LONG time.


-Dave

Thank very much Dave, awesome read!

The best news for me came last night. The projector passed the "wife test". My wife, who would not know the difference between 1080p and the model number on her washing machine thought the image was amazing. She too thought it looked 3D.

A recommendation: For those of us who lean toward "guys" movies, my wife picked out a very nice (almost chick flick) movie last night. The name of the movie is "The thing about my folks" and Peter Falk and Paul Riser are the main characters in it.

The great thing about this movie is that it will be wife approved and it has some absolutely fantastic scenery in it. During part of the movie they take a drive through what must be the UP in an old Ford during the time of the color changes. There are fantastic scenes of hilltops covered in multitudes of colors. There are also scenes of them fishing in a stream that is also surrounded on the sides with trees changing colors.

This movie amazingly showed the rich color potential of this projector and I was watching upconverted 480i with an uncalibrated pj !!

I would highly recommend this movie for those of you looking for a little wife approval for your big expense. make sure you comment during the movie about the imagery ;) I guarantee she will be on board after it. At least mine was.

Joe

Great report Dave! I am excited after reading your post because I didn't think I could get this projector with my 8' ceilings (I also want to go with a 120x51 screen. When you get to taking the photos, can you show what the the tilt on your screen and projector look like? Also, want is the anamorphic lens you will be using with it when you get the slide?

Dave,

That's funny, I had some HDMI issues initially also. It would not stay "locked" on the picture (Pirates of the Carribean DVD). I wondered if it was a DVD issue, so I tried the Serenity DVD and it still did it, though less. At this point I had the projector on a box on the floor, just to test it out. After moving it to the back of the room and inverting it, the image was stable and has been ever since. Strange. I brought an HD receiver (D*) in to the room and hooked it up to the HDMI2 input later in the evening and have seen no issues there either.

It is good to hear that your mounting scheme is working well. I will be using the same system (Chief RPAU and toggle bolts into sheetrock).

My firmware is the same as yours. I agree that the iris is "suboptimal" in operation ;)

I also thought that the packaging and build was very good. The PJ is well protected against shock, and was nice and easy to get out of the box. It feels solidly built, as does the scaler. You can actually read the remote in the dark when it is on, which cannot be said of a number of my other remotes.

It is difficult to tear myself away from the picture. I watched a lot more TV last night than I planned, and found that it is very easy to watch. HBO HD looked the best last night from a lack of source noise perspective, but the programming (George Carlin, Dane Cook) did not really showcase the projector's abilities. I guess I really have to follow your advice and go get me an HD-DVD player now so I can watch some uncompressed 1080p goodness...

Mike

I guess I really have to follow your advice and go get me an HD-DVD player now so I can watch some uncompressed 1080p goodness...

Mike

I hope this isn't against the rules but I found this in an email that I got. (Alan, I apologize and please delete if it is.)

http://www.ecost.com/ecost/ecce/shop/detail~dpno~707060.asp

Joe

Dave, congrats on your new Optoma and thanks for the thoughtful report. Just curious if the auto iris is the new firmware. It sounds like everyone will be gong to Optoma for the upgraded firmware.

Joe,

The Toshiba A-1 has been available for less for a while now via Continental Airlines' mileage program.

Many AVS folks have used this.

Do you have the ends screwed in?

Joe

The ends are screwed in. It was odd. It would run fine for a long time then suddenly shut down. I unhooked each end of the cable, re-seated it, and screwed it back in. So far (knock on wood), I haven't had another shut down. I hope that took care of it.

As for the image from this projector - wow!

I've had projection TVs since the late 70s or early 80s with the very first model Advent CRT TV with the free-standing aluminized screen. After many years, I traded that for a Zenith CRT projector. I used that for many years, then went to an NEC LT100 DLP projector about 7 years ago. When I heard about the Ruby, I wanted to get that. I went to a local Ultimate Electronics to see one and just didn't like the image. To my eye, it looked flat and lifeless. It is entirely possible that it was something to do with the way Ultimate had it set up, although their screen was only 7 or 8 feet diagonally. I really wanted to like it so I went back about 5 times to look at it. The last time, I had the salesman fire up a Sharp 720p DLP they had sitting nearby. Even he felt the Sharp produced a far more vibrant image. Again, I am fully willing to admit that there have been something terribly wrong with the way it was set up. The experience made me decide I needed to wait for a 1080p DLP. When I read about the HD81, I decided that is what I wanted.

After all the glowing reviews, I had impossibly high expectations for the HD81. It has lived up to them.

First, I watched it on my 120" diagonal 4x3 DaLite DaMat (gain 1) screen. Then, I mounted it to the ceiling. I discovered that the part of the Chief universal mount that screws into the ceiling was identical to the same part of the mount that was holding my LT100 to the ceiling. I was able to use that so that saved me a lot of effort. I used the part of the Chief mount that screws onto the projector and attached that to what was already in the ceiling. That left it mounted at the same slight upward tilt that I was using for my LT100. My ceiling is only 86", so I had planned to tilt the screen. With that slight projector tilt, the image ended up 11.5" from the ceiling. That was lower than I had planned to have the screen, but it was an acceptable location. The good news was that I couldn't detect any keystoning at that projector tilt without any screen tilt. I mounted my new 119" 16:9 DatLite HCCV screen there and didn't need to use any screen tilt. The HCCV screen material is light gray with a 1.1 gain.

I watched some video that I shot with my Sony HC1 high definition 1080i camcorder. Wow! I never knew video from that little camera could look that great. I was dazzled. Then I watched portions of Riddick and Phantom of the Opera on HD-DVD. The colorful costumes in POTO where absolutely eye-popping. I watched part of the remastered standard definition DVD of Blade Runner so I could see how some dark stuff looked. It looked great, but I could sure tell a huge difference between standard definition DVD and HD-DVD. I agree with what Dave said that anyone with this projector needs to go right out and get an HD-DVD player. HD-DVD on this projector is incomparable!

I watched the Wonders of Japan D-VHS demo tape. I never knew that demo tape looked that great. I watched parts of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory that I had recorded from HD cable to D-VHS. The vivid colors of that movie on this projector are eye-candy beyond belief! I was just stunned as I watched it. I can't wait for the HD-DVD of it to come out.

With my cable HD DVR, I watched some Discovery HD then I watched all of the movie The Island in HD. I watched part of Rent. I had previously started watching Rent on my LT100 but many of the scenes are very dark night time scenes. Much of the image just disappeared into the shadows on the LT100. The LT100's contrast ratio is only 200:1. I decided to save it until the HD81 arrived. What a difference! There is a whole movie in the areas that were just shadow on the LT100. The detail in those dark areas really impressed me.

My projector came with the 05 software. I haven't had a chance to try Tom's recommended settings yet. That is on my agenda for today. I have been using the auto-iris. From my seating location, I can barely detect the fan noise of the projector and then only during very quiet scenes. However the iris does cause a noticeable thunk. I'll have to try it without and see how much difference I notice in picture quality

These are my impressions going from the LT100 to the HD81: I measured the fan noise of the LT100 at 65dB. Going to the quiet 28dB of the HD81 is a great improvement. The colors are much richer and more saturated than the LT100. At 4 times the resolution, the image is much sharper, crisper, and more detailed. I have to be right up to the screen to see pixels. The image is sharp and crisp yet very smooth. The color wheel is 3 times faster on the HD81 than the LT100 so the rainbow artifacts are much less noticeable. I have to try really hard to see them. I can only see them if I really dart my eyes around in a very dark scene with something really bright in it. Even then, since the color wheel is going so much faster, they are much smaller - to the point where I question whether I saw them or not. For normal viewing, they will be a non-issue for me.

The scaler does a great job. I haven't seen any interlacing artifacts. I really like the two box solution. Only two cables run to the projector. All the rest of the cables stay in the cabinets with all the components.

That's enough for now. More will probably occur to me later, but now I want to go back and enjoy the projector.

Joe

Joe,

The Toshiba A-1 has been available for less for a while now via Continental Airlines' mileage program.

Many AVS folks have used this.

Wow, I have Northwest miles. Can I use those with Continental?

Joe

Nice report Dave, we really appreciate it!

I am disappointed in the reports of the relatively loud fan noise. That is one thing that I really want to improve on in my next projector, and it doesnt sound (pardon the pun) like this will do it.

I hope they get the DI issues worked out as well.

I am disappointed in the reports of the relatively loud fan noise.

There is no way I would consider the fan noise of the HD81 loud. My last projector was 65dB. THAT was loud. This one is 28dB. From my seating location, I can only barely hear the fan and then only during extremely quiet scenes. The rest of the time, it is not noticeable at all.

Joe

There is no way I would consider the fan noise of the HD81 loud. My last projector was 65dB. THAT was loud. This one is 28dB. From my seating location, I can only barely hear the fan and then only during extremely quiet scenes. The rest of the time, it is not noticeable at all.

Joe

Thanks Joe. What mode were you in? If you were not in the high brightness mode, how much louder does it get in that mode?

I've had projection TVs since the late 70s or early 80s with the very first model Advent CRT TV with the free-standing aluminized screen.
Joe

Thats sure brings back memories. I thought this was the neatest thing. Boy have we come a long way sense then but we are talking 30 years worth of advancement from that Advent.

Thanks Joe. What mode were you in? If you were not in the high brightness mode, how much louder does it get in that mode?

I wasn't in bright mode. The image is already so bright on my 119" diagonal screen that I can't picture a situation where I'd want to turn on bright mode. I did have the auto iris on, which I think automatically goes into bright mode for very bright scenes. Does anyone know if that is the case? I never noticed a difference in fan noise, although I did notice the sound of the iris.

I'll try bright mode some time today & post my impressions.

Joe

What firmware do you show in System? The fan should go into bright mode sound level with a super bright scene or 100IRE pattern.

What firmware do you show in System? The fan should go into bright mode sound level with a super bright scene or 100IRE pattern.

I have the 05 firmware. That's the new one, isn't it?

Joe

Yes, that's why you didn't hear the fan increase. It really takes a bright white level to shoot the PJ into bright mode. About a 90 IRE pattern. They worked on making things less noticable and will improve on it even more, so I hear.

Yes, that's why you didn't hear the fan increase. It really takes a bright white level to shoot the PJ into bright mode. About a 90 IRE pattern. They worked on making things less noticable and will improve on it even more, so I hear.

Tom, I'm very worried that Optoma cannot do anything about the Auto Iris really. We all be aware of the fact that this auto iris mode was just added to an existing iris construction that was never constructed/developed to perform a dynamic change. The result is

- very slow and imprecise response (because the motor driving the iris was never intended to do a per-frame adaption in the first place, you cannot do much with firmware about that either other than making it even slower and above all finer (not just the 16 steps))

- noise when the iris changes - which is REALLY annoying and a firmware update cannot do anything about it.

In the end we should not get our hopes high for a potential future firmware upgrade that fixes the auto-iris issues - they are mainly a result of the iris/motor contruction which was originally developed for manual fixed iris mode.

But I take it the HD81 has quite a striking performance even without the auto iris bonus...

Joe,
Thanks for the link.

Rob,
The fan is significantly more noisy in bright mode. Like Joe, I cannot see needing to use it, at least until the bulb dims significantly. I watched some of Batman Begins this morning on HBO HD. There are of course a lot of night scenes in that movie, and I had quite a bit of ambient light. I was very impressed how good it looked, and how much detail there was in the image.

TheLion,
I was surprised just how noisy the iris is. I do not see that I will ever want to use auto iris - much too distracting. It was not a feature I was banking on anyway, so I do not think I will miss it.

Mike

Are you making this stuff up? :)

This is not the first auto iris work from Optoma. Big Vision Wobbler 100" RPTV had an auto iris all along. I think I saw my first Big Vision over a 1 1/2 years ago.

Anbody else with C05? Other must have better hearing than me. I had Auto checked and didn't know it. After watching some movies I'd thought I'd check and the darn thing was on. I think I do prefer setting a number to maintain the movie darkness you prefer. ANSI is very high.

TheLion,

I completely agree with your auto iris assessment. In my opinion there is no amount of firmware tweaking that will make it usable. It is simply too noisy and too slow.

Fortunately, the picture is stunning in fixed iris mode (which is how I planned to use it all along).

-Dave

p.s. yes I have the latest firmware

I am also worried about the iris noise /slowness, since I am specially "paranoid" about distractions while watching a movie. I can grow accustomed to a slight constant noise, but not to sudden noises or brightness changes.

So let me ask you a "worst case scenario" question. Do you still consider the HD81 a better projector than Ruby/Pearl -in terms of image- even with a fixed iris against Pearl autoiris? I remember a post from Bob Sorell (and I trust his opinion) saying more or less that autoiris is a must nowadays. And besides it seems a waste of money to buy a projector with auto iris and then having to turn it off...

I am not taking sides, specially when I have not seen the projector yet, but I would like the current owners opinion

Regards

Jose

http://www.knightspot.net/HD81/IMG_1242.jpg
http://www.knightspot.net/HD81/IMG_1243.jpg
http://www.knightspot.net/HD81/IMG_1244.jpg
http://www.knightspot.net/HD81/IMG_1245.jpg
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http://www.knightspot.net/HD81/IMG_1247.jpg
http://www.knightspot.net/HD81/IMG_1248.jpg
http://www.knightspot.net/HD81/IMG_1249.jpg
http://www.knightspot.net/HD81/IMG_1250.jpg
http://www.knightspot.net/HD81/IMG_1251.jpg

http://www.knightspot.net/HD81/IMG_1252.jpg
http://www.knightspot.net/HD81/IMG_1253.jpg
http://www.knightspot.net/HD81/IMG_1254.jpg
http://www.knightspot.net/HD81/IMG_1255.jpg
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http://www.knightspot.net/HD81/IMG_1258.jpg
http://www.knightspot.net/HD81/IMG_1260.jpg
http://www.knightspot.net/HD81/IMG_1261.jpg

No screenshots yet. Sorry :)

-Dave

Are you making this stuff up? :)

This is not the first auto iris work from Optoma. Big Vision Wobbler 100" RPTV had an auto iris all along. I think I saw my first Big Vision over a 1 1/2 years ago.

Anbody else with C05? Other must have better hearing than me. I had Auto checked and didn't know it. After watching some movies I'd thought I'd check and the darn thing was on. I think I do prefer setting a number to maintain the movie darkness you prefer. ANSI is very high.

Tom, there is a HUGE difference between providing an Autor Iris per se and providing an usable, non distracting one. A slow and noisy implementation without proper gamma adjustment resulting in sudden brightness "pumping" is certainly not usable for anybody with discerning eyes (and ears :rolleyes: )

But I think the performance of the HD81 is so great (I had the pleasure to see it at the photokina fair) in fixed iris mode that this auto iris bonus is not really needed. But somebody who really wants to have and use an auto iris mode should be aware of the fact that the HD81 is certainly not up to the par (set by Ruby/Pearl, A900 and others). So buying the HD81 for its auto iris feature will result in a sure disappointment. Firmware updates will and cannot turn this feature into an usefull one - it will stay slow, noisy and with brightness pumping.

A quote from the HD81 review at Ultimate AV that beautifully describes my own experience with this feature: "First, the Auto iris was unusable. While it did more than double the measured contrast ratio to 4700:1 (28fL peak white, 0.006fL video black), it pumped mercilessly. If the image shifted from a very bright scene to a dark one (and I'm talking about real program material here, not test patterns), nothing would happen for a second or two and then suddenly, WHAP! The black level would instantly be cut in half. The pumping was also obvious on mid-level to bright scene transitions, but the change there was not nearly as dramatic. I could also hear the whirring of the auto iris mechanism as it opened and closed the shutter."

So buy the HD81 for its great PQ BUT NOT for its auto iris implementation. ;)

I am also worried about the iris noise /slowness, since I am specially "paranoid" about distractions while watching a movie. I can grow accustomed to a slight constant noise, but not to sudden noises or brightness changes.

So let me ask you a "worst case scenario" question. Do you still consider the HD81 a better projector than Ruby/Pearl -in terms of image- even with a fixed iris against Pearl autoiris? I remember a post from Bob Sorell (and I trust his opinion) saying more or less that autoiris is a must nowadays. And besides it seems a waste of money to buy a projector with auto iris and then having to turn it off...

I am not taking sides, specially when I have not seen the projector yet, but I would like the current owners opinion

Regards

Jose

The slowness part I like. I just watched the start of Dark City and watched the black level slowly creep down, couldn't hear clicking changes while blacks were getting better either. Easy movie for auto iris because it's mainly dark. I tricked the iris from closed to open by shooting to the very ends Shell Beach, then I could hear the Iris. But I would expect to from fully close to fully open. Sony's Iris will make no sound when tricked from fully closed to fully opened?

Lion, Looks like it's much better now than when that review came out. It was more noticable before the firmware for sure, especially the bright mode thing. That they should elimnate. Bright mode is better it takes up to about 90IRE to trigger it, still much better if it was gone IMO.

To give you an idea I switched over to a football game and this brightness level isn't enough to trigger bright mode. But still lets get it out of there. :)

Dave, nice job on the walk through. One thing the picture showing the serial numbers, I've heard companys frown on this and some would cxl the warranty. Something like that, maybe someone knows more about it and why.

A quote from the HD81 review at Ultimate AV that beautifully describes my own experience with this feature: "First, the Auto iris was unusable. While it did more than double the measured contrast ratio to 4700:1 (28fL peak white, 0.006fL video black), it pumped mercilessly. If the image shifted from a very bright scene to a dark one (and I'm talking about real program material here, not test patterns), nothing would happen for a second or two and then suddenly, WHAP! The black level would instantly be cut in half. The pumping was also obvious on mid-level to bright scene transitions, but the change there was not nearly as dramatic. I could also hear the whirring of the auto iris mechanism as it opened and closed the shutter."

So buy the HD81 for its great PQ BUT NOT for its auto iris implementation. ;)
I completely agree with the Ultimate AV assessment (even with the newer firmware) and even more so with your final sentence above.

PQ is fantastic without the Auto Iris. In my opinion, they should have just left the Auto Iris out. The 16 step manual iris, however, is a great feature and one that I definitely plan to use. When I use my anamorphic lens I'll open the iris up a couple of clicks. As the bulb ages I'll also be able to open up the iris to maintain a constant brightness level.

Regarding the question posed previously about how the HD81 (without AutoIris) compares to the Ruby (with AutoIris), I'm afraid I haven't spent enough time with the Ruby in Auto mode to answer that. From what I understand the HD81 has significantly higher ANSI contrast than the Ruby, which I particularly like.

-Dave

Put me in the will use auto-iris camp. Different strokes!

So let me ask you a "worst case scenario" question. Do you still consider the HD81 a better projector than Ruby/Pearl -in terms of image- even with a fixed iris against Pearl autoiris?Jose

If it is at all possible, I would recommend checking out LCoS and DLP with your own eyes. They look different. Some people prefer one. Other people prefer the other. I wanted to buy the Ruby until I saw it. Compared to what I was used to with DLP, I found the image on the Ruby dull and lifeless. I saw it at Ultimate Electronics, so it is entirely possible there was something very wrong with their setup. I suspect it is capable of looking better than what I saw. I had them fire up a Shap 720p DLP projector. The salesman agreed with me that the DLP has a much more vibrant image. Other people have very different opinions. Try to see both technologies (if not the exact projectors) with your own eyes to see which you prefer.

Joe

I know what they need to do with the Iris if they can. It has to be made to go even slower, from bright scenes to dark or the other way around. A steady very slow close down to avoid you seeing a quick level change and take out the sound from going there so fast. I did notice a click from going from high bright to very dark, just like from dark to bright.

I know what they need to do with the Iris if they can. It has to be made to go even slower, from bright scenes to dark or the other way around. A steady very slow close down to avoid you seeing a quick level change and take out the sound from going there so fast. I did notice a click from going from high bright to very dark, just like from dark to bright.

Tom, a "good" auto iris is not slow but fast enough to change from full open to full closed on a frame-by-frame basis. Even more important is a correlated gamma correction that avoids ANY brightness pumping/change to begin with. Have a look at the new Sony Pearl - it is IMHO not only the very best auto iris implementation out there (even better than the Ruby) but also perhaps the first and only one which is really "videophile approved".

Nevertheless you just gotta love the HD81 for its super bright, punchy picture with great sharpness, no convergence troubles and superiour ANSI contrast. And I agree strongly with Dave - the 16 step manual iris is a really great feature in order to accomplish a "constant brightness" setup throughout the lifetime of the lamp.

Can anybody please check the so called "Edge Enhancement" feature. Does this sharpening/detail extraction filter add halos/EE artifacts to the picture? What is the effect of using it together with a high quality source like HD-DVD?

Dave, nice job on the walk through. One thing the picture showing the serial numbers, I've heard companys frown on this and some would cxl the warranty. Something like that, maybe someone knows more about it and why.
Thanks, Tom. I'm not sure why they would do that, but I've blurred them out anyways.

-Dave

Can anybody please check the so called "Edge Enhancement" feature. Does this sharpening/detail extraction filter add halos/EE artifacts to the picture? What is the effect of using it together with a high quality source like HD-DVD?
One of the first things I did was to turn off all of the image/color "enhancements" simply because in my experience, settings like this typically do anything but "enhance" the picture.

I'll certainly try playing with them some and will report back on my results.

I'm not sure I mentioned anything about the Gennum scaler in my earlier posts, but it is really a fantastic scaler. I tried LBX mode (just to see what the vertical stretch looks like) and it looks awesome. Very high quality scaling and deinterlacing.

I'm a big fan of using HTPCs (especially because of their superior scaling) so it will be interesting to see how the Gennum stacks up against a well tuned HTPC for standard DVD scaling.


-Dave

No screenshots yet. Sorry :)

-Dave


LOVE that ceiling!
Loved the HD81 at CES, congrats!

"full open to full closed"

I don't know, If I were to switch from a very dark scene to a bright white scene as soon as the white scene shows I'm going to see the Iris brightness change. The Iris can't foresee this fast change coming. Any Iris

"full open to full closed"

I don't know, If I were to switch from a very dark scene to a bright white scene as soon as the white scene shows I'm going to see the Iris brightness change. The Iris can't foresee this fast change coming. Any Iris

If the iris is fast enough to do it on a per-frame basis you will not see the brightness changing as it takes only a few milliseconds... It changes instantly. This change is not more obvious to the eye than the frame change every 1/24th a second. Look at the Pearl to get an idea what I talk about. There is nothing to see there - no pumping, no change in brightness, hardly any BC, it is probably as good as it gets.

I'd have to test it with my Accupel to see. It goes from black to white in an instant. Are you saying the Sony snaps open and you don't hear it or see it?

Instead of installing my HD81 this weekend (because it has not arrived), I set up my newly repaired DWIN HD700. 3 hours into lst night's lineup, it quit. This time I lost all three guns. That's it for me. After 30 years my CRT life is over. It is disappointing that it quit because I was going to A/B the HD81 and my HD700.

Reading the comments about auto iris I cant help but be depressed that the auto iris function is so poorly implemented. Sounds like it was something added at the 11th hour in order to compete with all the other small projectors in this price/quality class. We should understand that the reason for the auto iris is to provide the kind of visual dynamics that CRT projectors provided routinely. Don't get me wrong, I never liked having to adjust convergence every time I used my CRT projector (something I will not have to do with the Optoma). However, I am extremely pissed that the auto iris is unusable. I believe it even without seeing it because I have experienced brightnes level pumping before on my CRT when I used particular source equipment whose front and backporch timing issues did not agree with the HD700's input circuitry. When scenes changed brightness by more than 50 IRE the whole image would get brighter or darker. It was totally unacceptable.

When you advertise a working auto iris, it ought to work. I am disappointed and I have not received it yet. I will keep it because my CRT is dead but I am not happy and as I see it, we all should be pissed when a company provides an auto iris function whose lag is so great as to make it annoying. We should be pissed enough to demand relief from Optoma.

I will withhold further comment until it arrives on Wednesday.

One last question...We had a lot of discussion in this thread about the illegitimate Broadway Camera, NY dealers who were lowballing by selling import units that had no US warranty.. Has anyone received a projector from any of these dealers?

I'd have to test it with my Accupel to see. It goes from black to white in an instant. Are you saying the Sony snaps open and you don't hear it or see it?

Yeah, you don't see and definitely don't hear it working - it is that good/fast. Everything other than that is just distracting and therefor totally unacceptable. But lets see it this way - there is not a single DLP FP with Auto Iris other than the HD81 out there - so it certainly does not need it to be competitive.

One of the first things I did was to turn off all of the image/color "enhancements" simply because in my experience, settings like this typically do anything but "enhance" the picture.

I'll certainly try playing with them some and will report back on my results.

I'm not sure I mentioned anything about the Gennum scaler in my earlier posts, but it is really a fantastic scaler. I tried LBX mode (just to see what the vertical stretch looks like) and it looks awesome. Very high quality scaling and deinterlacing.

I'm a big fan of using HTPCs (especially because of their superior scaling) so it will be interesting to see how the Gennum stacks up against a well tuned HTPC for standard DVD scaling.


-Dave

Dave, I'm looking forward to your comments. I agree that most about any of these so called "enhancements" do much more harm than good. But looking at the description of this "Edge Enhancement" (which marketing genius came up with this name :rolleyes: This term has become a swearword more than anything else) filter it seems to be a simular approach as the "Limited Sharpening" avisynth filter - which shows big potential. You as HTPC guy surely understand what I'm talking about...

Looking forward to your scaling shootout. I myself use Theatertek with ffdshow Lanczos3 scaling up to 3840*2880 (with luma sharpening at 1.0), and than let the video card (VMR9 renderless exclusive mode) downsample back to native display resolution. Technique is called Supersampling and provides IMHO "better" scaling than all the dedicated video processors I have ever compared it to (eg. Lumagen, DVDO, Vantage, Crystalio). Looking forward to your comments!

Here's some different colorfacts numbers. 1080i component

Contrast 8
Brightness -3
Color 8
Tint 0

Image mode PC
R contrast 3
G contrast 0
B contrast -13
R brightness 0
G brightness 0
B brightness 2

Color Vividness 2
B/W Extension 1

0-IRE setup setting

Good points, many think like you. Optoma's Engineering Mgr. always preferred the Iris stopped at 11 or 12.

Sunday night football looks pretty niffty! This is where the 1080p comes into play, all the distant shots of player setups, the smaller figures have good definition. Not so choppy looking. Text looks great also.

With that tuning I just posted. Motorola HD-PVR on components.

When I've seen the Ruby, numerous times now, I still do not like the DI feature - I can see it change brightness and it seems artifical, much like what you guys are describing. I would prefer a good contrast with no BS iris trying to trick my eyes. I like the idea of the 16 manually stepped iris controls and I would probably like that on the Ruby/Pearl as well. I would easy take rainbows over the DI any day (my eyes are light sensitive)! I am gonig to checkout a Pearl in Atlanta or Orlando over the next few weeks (when I am passing thru) and I would like to checkout a H81 as well - I don't have any of these to demo where I am currently located :(

OT but the Pearl has a 100 (!!!) steps manual iris in addition to an improved Auto Iris... I still prefer the brightness, punch and sharpness of the HD81.

I think we're all watching football now on the HD81. :)

Can I ask for clarification (one more time!) re the 36% offset business? E.g., if my 9x16 screen is 60" high, my understanding is that the center of the pj's lens needs to be .36x60 = 21.6" above the top edge of the screen (independent of throw distance, and ignoring any tilt of the pj and screen)--right?

I am planning to replace my 12 year Sharp projector with the HD81. I set the Sharp up using Video Essentials. Is that still a good source for setup for those without professional tools? Any recommendations?

LOVE that ceiling!
Thanks, Robert. It was recommended to me by my theater designer (Dennis Erskine). It was either sky blue or kodak gray - made the choice real easy!

-Dave

36% of the screen height, so yes correct.

Can I ask for clarification (one more time!) re the 36% offset business? E.g., if my 9x16 screen is 60" high, my understanding is that the center of the pj's lens needs to be .36x60 = 21.6" above the top edge of the screen (independent of throw distance, and ignoring any tilt of the pj and screen)--right?

Right, Bill. It is 36.2% to be exact ;)

Thanks, Robert. It was recommended to me by my theater designer (Dennis Erskine). It was either sky blue or kodak gray - made the choice real easy!

-Dave

The guy must have been at the Forum Shops Ceasars Las Vegas. One of my favorite hang outs. :)

Back to the game, Chicago massacre.

Good points, many think like you. Optoma's Engineering Mgr. always preferred the Iris stopped at 11 or 12.
Interesting. I just settled in on an iris setting of 12 myself.

Considering that 1 is the brightest and 16 is the dimmest, that just shows you how bright this projector is. I'm projecting on just about the dimmest screen imaginable (microperf Grayhawk) and I can still drop the brightness down to just a few clicks above the lowest setting.

Wow!

I just watched parts of the HD Star Wars Episode III (recorded off of HBO-HD) and was stunned at the quality. It is an OAR presentation so it had the letterbox bars and I swear they completely blended in to the surrounding blackout border. That is the first time I've seen that from a digital projector in my theater.

-Dave

My wife and I were amazed at the ANSI contrast on the fly over of the blackend city/lights during Sunday Night Football. Beautiful contast

Can I ask for clarification (one more time!) re the 36% offset business? E.g., if my 9x16 screen is 60" high, my understanding is that the center of the pj's lens needs to be .36x60 = 21.6" above the top edge of the screen (independent of throw distance, and ignoring any tilt of the pj and screen)--right?

I don't think it's independent of the throw range -- you'll get 36% offset at the short throw -- once you increase throw it should increase the offset as well -- in HD81 manual they list offset angle of 6.25, tan(6.25) = 0.1095, if you multiply your throw distance by 0.1095 you will get the value of offset.

So longer throw will cause the offset to increase, at least according to HD81 manual -- I don't own the PJ to confirm but I hope others who do will chime in.

HTH, Davie.

I don't think it's independent of the throw range -- you'll get 36% offset at the short throw -- once you increase throw it should increase the offset as well -- in HD81 manual they list offset angle of 6.25, tan(6.25) = 0.1095, if you multiply your throw distance by 0.1095 you will get the value of offset.

So longer throw will cause the offset to increase, at least according to HD81 manual -- I don't own the PJ to confirm but I hope others who do will chime in.

HTH, Davie.

Interesting. It does make sense that the throw distance would have at least some effect on the offset.

I just had another spontaneous power-power off. The temperature light was flashing blue to indicate an RS-232 error. The projector is ceiling mounted and the cable that came with the projector isn't long enough to reach. I had been using a 25' cable I purchased. After this latest power-off, I decided to try another cable. I found an old male to female RS-232 extension cable. I added that to the cable that came with the projector to create a male to male cable long enough to reach the projector. I used that combined cable instead of the 25' cable. This time the projector powered back off again within a couple minutes after it finished warming up. I rechecked all the connections and tried again. Again, it powered off within a couple minutes of warming up.

It is an odd problem. It is very intermittent. I can watch for hours with no problem then suddenly I start having the power-offs. The flashing blue goes away after a couple seconds, so the problem must be very transient. I'm getting concerned since I am still having problems after switching to a different cable.

Is there anything else I should be trying? Should I buy yet another cable and try that? Could it be a defect either in the projector or the scaler?

Help! :(

Joe

UPDATE: The problem seems to be getting worse. Now I can't keep the projector on for more than a couple minutes. Either the problem is rapidly getting worse, or it is worse after the projector has been on a couple of hours.

UPDATE 2: I was looking through the troubleshooting section of the manual. It says with a RS232 error, there should be a message on the screen saying that there has been an RS232 error and that the system will shut down in 30 seconds if the RS232 connection is not restored. I don't get any message at all. The projector just suddenly shuts down.

Interesting. It does make sense that the throw distance would have at least some effect on the offset.

Some has an exact number -- each extra feet of throw will add 1.3" to your offset.

Some has an exact number -- each extra feet of throw will add 1.3" to your offset.

OK, this and the above sounds consistent. With a 60" high screen, the min throw is ~ 16 ft, and 1.3" x 16 ~/= 21".

Some has an exact number -- each extra feet of throw will add 1.3" to your offset.

Thanks. So "each extra" foot is from the minimum throw distance for the given screen size, correct?

Thanks. So "each extra" foot is from the minimum throw distance for the given screen size, correct?

Correct. I think it will be less confusing if one will calculate offset as throw distance multiplied by 0.1095. I don't think that screen size will affect the value of the offset -- at minimum throw they will all be = throw * 0.1095.

"Each extra" foot was a response to a question if longer throw would cause the offset to increase -- so the answer is yes, each extra foot will cause your offset to increase by 1.3".

Again, this is all based on the info from HD81 manual.

Makes sense eclipse, thanks for the explanation.

Joe,

As an experiment can you put the scaler close to the HD81 and just use the 6ft stock cable and see how long it runs? That would narrow down whether it really is the RS-232 connection loss or not...

Mike

Joe,

As an experiment can you put the scaler close to the HD81 and just use the 6ft stock cable and see how long it runs? That would narrow down whether it really is the RS-232 connection loss or not...

Mike

That's a good sugestion. If it fails after that then a phone call to the tech area in in order.
Let's hope it's just a cable problem.

That's a good sugestion. If it fails after that then a phone call to the tech area in in order.
Let's hope it's just a cable problem.

Joe,

One other thing to look at... take a small object and see if you can push in any of the male pins. It is rare but I have seen it where a pin doesn't get seated correctly. If one does move then take a needlenose pliars and pull it out t match the other pins.

Joe

I powered off the projector for a while and tried again. Everything was working fine. The problem only appears to happen when the projector has been on for several hours. Shutting things off for a while appears to fix it. This leads me to suspect that it is something thermally induced. Air flow around the projector itself is good. I've felt the area around the projector when this is going on and it isn't particularly warm. I've felt the scaler and it does appear warm. The scaler is in my equipment rack, on the shelf above my receiver. I'm going to try taking it out of my equipment rack and placing it on top of the rack to see if that changes things. I'll try that before I try moving it near enough to the projector that I can use the original cable. That allows me to change one variable at a time since moving it near the projector will also get it out of the equipment rack. Also, because of the room layout, it will be difficult to get the scaler close enough that I can use the 6 foot cable.

It will be interesting trying to tell when it is fixed, since it only happens after several hours of use.

Thanks everyone for the help!

Joe

I powered off the projector for a while and tried again. Everything was working fine. The problem only appears to happen when the projector has been on for several hours. Shutting things off for a while appears to fix it. This leads me to suspect that it is something thermally induced. Air flow around the projector itself is good. I've felt the area around the projector when this is going on and it isn't particularly warm. I've felt the scaler and it does appear warm. The scaler is in my equipment rack, on the shelf above my receiver. I'm going to try taking it out of my equipment rack and placing it on top of the rack to see if that changes things. I'll try that before I try moving it near enough to the projector that I can use the original cable. That allows me to change one variable at a time since moving it near the projector will also get it out of the equipment rack. Also, because of the room layout, it will be difficult to get the scaler close enough that I can use the 6 foot cable.

It will be interesting trying to tell when it is fixed, since it only happens after several hours of use.

Thanks everyone for the help!

Joe

That's a good idea cause I'm sure your receiver adds a lot of heat to the scaler if it was right above it. This will be good to know if this fixes it.

Joe