*Official* Optoma HD20 Thread - Page 88

Originally Posted by AVS66

Does anyone know what color wheel on HD180? The HD20 is 4 but can't find any that info on HD180.

Sorry for asking not HD20. They look like same models with bit better warranty on HD180.

Originally Posted by AVS66

After searching and searching but still can't find the info I wanted.

Just called the Optoma's CSR (Josh) ant he told me he got the same question before. He asked the manager and the answer is as same as HD20's but he didn't know what specs's on HD20.

It's is 4 on HD20 so I assume it's 4 on HD180. May be picking up at CC later today. If I don't like it, I can return it.

Originally Posted by wecaz

Hello,
This question might have been asked several times. But I couldn't find satisfactory answer.

I am looking for a ceiling/wall mount for Optoma HD20. I use to change houses quite often due to work. So I am looking for a mount which is suitable for most scenarios, e.g. wall, ceiling, high drop etc.

I found this universal mount on amazon(amazon.com/gp/product/B00067OOHC/ref=cm_rdp_product) for $86 which seems perfect.

1) Can someone please suggest me a cheaper model?

2) Any feedback? I have doubts about its correct fitting because one guy has commented that he has to remove the rubber pad to use its holes.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by DrNegative

The HD20 has a 6-segment color-wheel (RBGRGB) with a 4X speed. I am pretty sure the HD180 is the same.

Originally Posted by xenon2000

It is strange that I spent a long time searching and all official and non-official info on the HD180 has no info on the segments and speed of the color wheel. I just don't understand why Optoma's websites would omit these details for the HD180 when they show it for all the other projectors I have seen from them. I even emailed Optoma AU since their site shows the HD180 and manual. But then have not replied to me.

I am still convinced that it's a re-badged HD20 with different firmware.

Originally Posted by whiteshirtkyd

So I'm deciding between buying this, or the Epson 8350... Is the slight increase in price worth it? I'm Very close to buying this within the next day or two, any advice would be greatly appreciated

Originally Posted by xenon2000

I hate being an HD20 owner siding with a different projector. I was originally going to go with the Panasonic AE4000U and do a CIH setup. Unfortunately I like in Phoenix and have a ton of dust even though I use air filtration in the home. I was reading that many LCD projector owners get dust blobs inside and have to clean the filter and the inside frequently. As in monthly to bi monthly in areas with high dust. I really didn't want to mess with that right now.

So because of the dust where I live, I decided to stick with DLP projectors. And out of DLP projectors I still feel Optoma has the best value.

If I went LCD and CIH, then the Panasonic AE4000U. Though I decided for this house that my 16:9 image would be too small with a CIH 2.4 screen. I need for room width. So with CIH out of the picture. I would go with the Epson for LCD.

Out of these 3 projectors, I wanted to go LCD for the lens shift ability. And I haven't seen any good value DLP with lens shift. I have done 2 installs of DLP projectors with fixed screens. And I can tell you that placement is a game of precision and fine tuning. So the Epson is one of the best LCD value projectors. So if you don't have a lot of dust, I would recommend the Epson.

Again, I love my HD20 and you will certainly be happy with the HD20 or HD180. But installation can be a challenge without lens shift. I haven't heard many people complain about this, but 3xLCD can also have dead/stuck pixel issues much more than DLP. And 3 chip systems can have convergence issues, causing bad color fringing. But I still would have tried LCD for the lens shift if I didn't have so much dust.

Originally Posted by whiteshirtkyd

I have heard these complaints several times, but I'm not too worried about it. I do have a bit of dust in the basement where I'd put it, but I'm ridiculously OCD about this stuff, so I'd make sure to watch this all the time, probably cover it when it's not being used and all that good stuff.

One question I have is how portable are these things? THe primary place I'll be using it is in my basement, but I have a huge whitewall in my bedroom too. I was wondering if it's easy enough to just place one of these on a table and project onto the wall? Thanks for all the help again.

Originally Posted by whiteshirtkyd

I have heard these complaints several times, but I'm not too worried about it. I do have a bit of dust in the basement where I'd put it, but I'm ridiculously OCD about this stuff, so I'd make sure to watch this all the time, probably cover it when it's not being used and all that good stuff.

One question I have is how portable are these things? THe primary place I'll be using it is in my basement, but I have a huge whitewall in my bedroom too. I was wondering if it's easy enough to just place one of these on a table and project onto the wall? Thanks for all the help again.

Originally Posted by xenon2000

In addition to Dr Negative's comments, you don't really need the lens shift and LCD if you are just going to use it with walls and a table top. The lens shift is mostly helpful if you have a fixed bordered screen and a fixed ceiling mount. In that case, I would save the $300-400 and get the smaller HD20. Without the need for the lens shift there isn't enough image difference to recommend the Epson.

For a multiple location table top projector that will use walls and general pull down screens, I would recommend the HD20 or HD180. If you were doing a ceiling mount setup, I think the extra money is worth the lens shift with the Epson.

Originally Posted by whiteshirtkyd

Really now? The pictures not much different? Now I'm conflicted all over again. With the projector I don't really plan on putting it on a mount or anything, maybe in the future when I build a specific room for it. I'm probably going to build a DIY screen anyways, so the HD20 is better?

Originally Posted by sdubey

I could not have said it better. I was too much debating between Hd20 and Epson 8350. Finally I bought HD20. I bought HD20 because

In order of importance:

1. Easy return policy and 3 year warranty from Costco (most important)
2. No percieved degradation in PQ compared to Epson
3. $300 Cheaper
4. Lens shift not a requirement for me.
5. Smaller size (Least important)

Originally Posted by xenon2000

When I say the picture quality is not that different. I don't feel it's a $300-400 difference. But if you don't mind spending the difference and both where running side by side, you would likely pick the Epson if the price was not an influence at all. But if I didn't know the prices and someone said I could have image B or image A for $300-400 more, I would said it's not worth it.

Though if you had 2 separate rooms and had to walk 5 mins between them, the difference would be hard to spot without knowing in advance what to look for. Because the images are very close in quality. Though some would say any improvement is worth more money.

So I can't say the HD20 is better than the Epson without cost as a factor. Because it's not. Darn close though. But I think saving $300-400 going with the HD20 and having the much smaller size is better suited for you if you plan on using it table top with a wall or hanging screen.

When I used my first DLP HD70, I had a coffee table with a lower level below the table top. And just put it there so I didn't have to move it and it was always out of the way. And the HD70 had a big offset so it put it a decent height on the wall. I then went ceiling mount and fixed screen and have gone that way since.

Originally Posted by whiteshirtkyd


edit edit- Also What's the deal with lens shift? If I'm putting the projector on a table, will it make that big of a difference? I really don't think I'll be mounting it, just probably on a coffee table or something.

edit edit edit- Damn, the HD180 is 899.99 at costco. Is the HD180 significantly better than the HD20?

Originally Posted by 42Plasmaman

If you're putting the HD20 on a table, the bottom of the screen must be higher than the projector lens. How much higher will depend on the screen size and distance from the screen.

http://www.projectorcentral.com/Opto...ulator-pro.htm

Lens shift allows you to place the projector "almost" anywhere in front of the screen and adjust the projector lens left, right, up, down as needed to center the picture on the screen.
The HD20 and most DLP projectors under $3000 do not have lens shift.

Originally Posted by whiteshirtkyd

Doesn't sound too hard to place it. The thing really keeping me from the HD20, is the contrast ratio, seems so one sided in that regard, is that as much a factor as I would think?

Originally Posted by DrNegative

Sup guys, I noticed there were a few gamers asking about the input lag of this projector so I decided during my free time today to do a test.

For my test, I used my PC and cloned to image to both my LCD monitor (Dell 2407WFP which has a rated response time of 6 ms), and the HD20 using my dual-outputs on my graphics card.

Note: I used a cheap point-and-shoot 2MP camera with a fast shutter setting and ran the images through Photoshop to try and brighten them for easier viewing. The quality is horrible but I was more focused more on getting the timers more legible. The projector image looks much better than that when viewed under normal conditions. This does not show the image lag of the projector, only the image lag vs. the screen it's being tested on, my LCD. Results with other people using different LCD/CRT/Plasma/etc. displays to test their projectors are not cross compatible.


Conclusion: It varied between 10-30ms input lag. Even on my other snapshots where it looked like 30ms, the camera shutter caught the timer on my LCD fading/blurring enough to call it around 20-25 ms sometimes. Generally, most people cannot see or feel a difference of less than 30ms, roughly 2 frames. In other words, the HD20 should not have any noticeable lag when playing games. So there you go, hope it helped someone out there.

Originally Posted by DrNegative

If you carefully observe the pictures, the LCD is ahead of the HD20 by about 10-30 ms every snapshot.

Since my LCD has a rated response time of only 6 ms, this makes it an excellent control for the experiment. I would say a CRT would be the best candidate for control though for comparison's sake, but this will get you close enough.

Originally Posted by jagzjagz

I know, but let's say the computer sends a signal to update from 24seconds to 25 seconds. Since the projector is slower to process the update by a few milliseconds (10-30 you say), then the LCD would display 25 seconds while the projector would still be on 24 seconds.

This means the projector should be "lagging" behind on the LCD in terms of refresh. But the clock shows the other way around?