*Official* Optoma HD20 Thread - Page 2

I just realised that the vivitech didnt mention a 500:1 ansi contrast ratio, just a 5000:1 on and off contrast. Either there the same unit, or this one isnt as good because of the contrast. Anyone know the ansi of the vivitech?

I guess they both have there ups and downs, the Hd20 has 4000h lamp.. the other is 3000h.. hmm so hard to decide!

Well, im not saying that one is better than the other. One might be better but by how much I dont know and there is allready positive reviews on the optoma hd200x which is the same unit but for canada.

It's been a while since I've had a projector, I just might jump back in with this unit. I loved my old Optoma H30 - awesome color, great contrast, amazing scaler (HD material looked quite a bit better than SD material...even though the projector res was lower than 480p). Optoma definitely makes quality gear. And this blows the old H30 away, at least going by the specs. It's also far better than my second projector, the Infocus SP5000, and even my current 38" LCD TV. And for only $999! We sure live in good times.

Wow you almost described what I've owned lol. I first owned a x1 projector, then an x3. Then i moved onto the infocus sp5000 (which was a really great projector)

I was going to get the viewsonic pro8100, but that unit is way to big, plus this one has much better lumen's. I also decided against it because i wanted to try DLP this time around. I've always owned LCD and its been good, but i seen DLP at bestbuy and figured i'll give this one a go.

I just bought my HD20, So i hope to be useing it very soon! Hopefully VisualApex get's these out tomorrow!

I decided on this one, for 2 reasons. 1) we know its 500:1 ANSI 2) it has a 4000 hour lamp, compared to the vivitech. Lastly i want a Projector now, and i looked back at projectorcentral, it says preorder before the 15th for free shipping and actually nothing about a shipping date. So i was like F that, Projectorcentral just lost my business, and bought an HD20 from Visualapex. I'll post a review once i receive it. Like others will as well I'm sure.

I figured ill keep it for a year or two, then sell it and upgrade.

Just got a HD20 for testing. For the money its a nice machine. Nice punchy picture (good ansi), with not so good black level. Fan noise is ok.

The measuerments are 1400:1 on/off, and ~600 lumens at 6500k and low lamp mode.
(measured with light meter)

Without true CMS it was not possible to calibrate the colors perfectly, but te results are not so bad... I liked the picture for the money, except the not so good on/off contrast...

Overall: better than expected... good colors, very good ansi, clean image, average rainbows, below average on/off, and the optics are ok...

Calibrated measurements (by the Eye-One)

How about some screenshots?

I just got my Fedez tracking a few minutes ago...mine will be here tomorrow.

I dont do screenshots. It's not possible to show the dynamic range and the true colors of a projector through a cheap digital camera and a computer monitor...

ok....

Just pulled the trigger. order this baby. The lamp life coupled with the price how can you go wrong??? Hopefully it will ship soon. Now all I have to do is run all the wires, build a screen, build a rear floor for the raised back row, paint the walls and ceiling.

Sigh......

A friend of mine just ordered a HD20, and wants to build a screen that can be moved indoors and outdoors as needed. I was thinking along the lines of 72"x128" Wilsonart designer white laminate on a reinforced wooden frame. Is this appropriate?

EDIT: I can't find any laminate sheets wider than 5'x12' - it's probably going to end up as 60" x 106".

You must have ordered 1 day shipping! I bought it last night, got it shipped today and will be here Friday. I bought second day shipping. I also live in Davis CA, which is next to you lol

LOL...so you ended up getting one cool.....I go to davis once a week.


It only cost 65$ for 1 day shipping!! So, I said screw it....Now we can use this thread to share settings and stuff ...sweet!

This is getting more and more interesting!

We are finally start getting some End User reviews!

Rew

Your measurements pretty much confirm what my eye told me: about the same lumen output as the HD65 but slightly lower on/off contrast(basically the same as my Epson 720, which is not that great). Without Brilliant color, it's not as punchy as the HD65 and really an inferior machine except for being 1080p. I returned it and am now waiting for my Viewsonic Pro8100...a steal at only $250 more.

Yeah thats what it was going to cost me, but after i finally made my order it ended up in stock and the price went up. 1 day was $77 after that. I got 2nd day for $50. All that mattered to me was getting it before the weekend.

What part of sac do you stay at? What type of screen setup do you have?

I have a 100" electric 1.3gain white screen that i got off ebay for $250 a year ago and its really nice. I was surprised with the quality of the cheap screen. I used it with a PT-AE1000u and it looked nice. I hope this projector looks equal to it if not better. I sold my other projector a year ago because of financial issues.

I cant wait to checkout this unit. I need to learn to calibrate now. For now ill just get a calibration disc.

Inferior?

Harsh words for a sub 1k 1080p dont you think?


And how is the Viewsonic better...elaborate thanks.

I agree with you here, mostly because of the fact that the viewsonic is an LCD projector. I have read over an over on here that ANSI contrast is better than on and off, on top of that i have heard that a low contrast on and off on a dlp is like a high contrast lcd when compaired to each other.

Everyone's setup is different, 1) it depends on your what type of screen you have. 2) it depends on the lighting. 3) it depends whether or not your walls are painted, or if you have windows. All these factors can cause color and lumen issues. Just like any protector. Not even a high cost projector can fix these issues. Its up to you to create the right setup. As for measuring ANSI and contrast, again every detail of your setup can determine whether or not you get good ansi. You can have a bad setup and get 50:1 on and off contrast.

deez although you bought the Pro8100, you really cant go off the on and off contrast ratio. What if you hook it up and it looks worse. Like i mentioned there it so many factors. You should have com paired them side by side to see which one works best for you, with your current setup. They also need to be calibrated for best looks.

The projector is also only 1k.

Read this thread, it has lots of good info on contrast.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=761806

and
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1111029

and some more info here
http://www.avforums.com/forums/proje...-contrast.html

Hey man, I ma using a Elitescreens cinegrey fixed frame 1.0 gain at 106".


I love it.

Sounds like a nice screen, How do you like the grey factor?

I can tell that ours will look different, I wish we could compare them side by side.

Kind of disappointing, this unit does not have better contrast/seem better than the Infocus X10.

On paper it shows higher contrast, but no one knows the true ANSI of this unit, instead all we see is the on and off ratio posted all over. Since the ANSI numbers are not posted we don't know how it compares to the HD20 really.

http://www.projectorcentral.com/InFocus-X10.htm

Both have there ups and downs, you need to decide whats best for you. For me any many others the HD20 offers lots more features that make it a better deal than the X10, The small amount of contrast difference wont be that noticeable to most human eyes. But the HD20's brightness will. If you have a completely dark room it should look very similar.

x10 ($1199)has 1200 lumens, 2500 lamp life, 150' max screen size

Hd20 ($999)has 1700 lumens, 4000 hour lamp life, and a max size of 301.1, Image AI, Projector is Much Smaller, and weighs much less than X10

http://www.projectorcentral.com/pdf/..._spec_5039.pdf

Grey is the only way to go for me....it makes colors richer and improves black levels for the cheaper units like this from what ive read....also, i got mine with black backing and it cost less than $500.

X10 most likely has a sharper picture with superior lense quality and better processing.
The X10 has many of the same internals of the more expensive models with better darkchips which is most likely why it is heavier - a good thing.
I didn't realize the 2500 hour lamp life on the X10, however Optoma does not have the best reputation with lamp life/problems.

I'm not sure about the internals, but i do know that with the way technology advances and how prices drop, its very possible that the HD20 has just as good, if not better internals. The in focus is a yeah and 1/2 old. I'm not saying your wrong, just saying in till the full spec sheet is posted and people can really find out whats inside we'll never know. Every year everything advances so fast that prices drop so much. Last year you would have never thought about a $999 1080p projector and this year its a reality.

As for reputation, your right optoma does suck in that department, but again they had an extra 1 1/2 to make a better more reliable unit.

Same goes with the ps3 and xbox360's they were crap in the beginning, but have been much improved, although they still lack long reliability.

But if the $999 projector lasted a year i would be happy, It would suck paying 3k and having it break before 3 years. I'm sure a year from now, the 1080p's out now will be twice as good next year.

We'll back on subject, i cant wait to see it and i hope projector central reviews these new units and compares them to the rest.

Are you in the market, or did you own the x10?

I don't own the X10, I now have a Planar 7130 which is 720p.
I want some more brightness and while I'm at it 1080p and I am concerned about a big downgrade in other areas since the 7130 is a darkchip 3 projector.
I might get stuck paying a bit more and getting the Benq W5000 unless one of these low budget projectors gets a real good review.

Maybe you should read this before you assume anything about the x10. This review below is from a very unbiased reviewer. IMO.


http://www.projectorreviews.com/infocus/X10/index.php

I read the review, but the reviewer does not go into alot of detail about the black levels with different iris settings. Peoples opinions about the X10 are all over the board. Some claim DC23/ black levels can be achieved through the iris settings.One user in the AVforums prefers it to his IN78(DC3 chip) another claims his Infocus 4805 has better black levels.

Here are a couple screenshots of my HD200x on an Accuscreens 100" electric screen.

Keep in mind a few things: my camera is a crappy point-and-shoot, the projector is not mounted and was just sitting on a box, my screen is not completely leveled yet and I didn't touch any of the settings on the PJ, it's stock out of the box.

I'm hoping to have it ceiling mounted by the weekend and my wife takes better photos than I do, so I'll have some more, higher quality pics at that time. Sorry for the crappy quality of these pics, they don't do the projector justice but there haven't really been many screenshots posted yet.

If there are too many photos I apologize, feel free to edit mods.

Ok.... I have a 119" Accuscreen. I'm about to drop 1K on a HD20... I hope it looks as good, if not better than my Samsung 56" DLP. Anxiously waiting for some high quality pics...