Optoma HD 180

It's entirely possible that they are the same projector. Manufacturers will often give a new model number to items sold in warehouse stores.

Jim

I found this link

I've looked all over and that's all I can find, must be new.

These are starting to pop up at Costco's all over; my local one just got a giant pallet of them in.

They appear to be HD20's but there are some subtle differences: For example the published specs on the HD20 give a 4000:1 contrast ratio, for the HD180, 3500:0. I know what manufacturers report and what reality gives often differ however this seems to suggest either the contrast is slightly lower on the HD180, which would mean they are using a different TI chip, or perhaps Optoma just decided to publish specs that better reflect real-world performance, I don't know.

Also published noise levels for the HD20 are 32/34db in regular/bright mode - it's known to be a noisy projector. For the HD180 they claim 29/31, which probably means they are just using a different fan. Still fairly loud.

Other than that most other specs, including dimensions, weight, throw, lumens, etc, look the same. So call it a "HD20 lite" if you like

The thing is, the Costco price I see it for is actually a little more than what you can get the HD20 for online, so unless a couple DB (claimed) noise reduction means that much to you this really isn't that great a deal. Now, if they put these out there for like $799 or something this will be the steal of the year but that isn't looking likely.

I just picked one up at Costco out of curiosity wondering if was of any value for home entertainment and my wife and I were both so impressed with the picture quality, size and quality, we are setting up a home theater on a low budget using our existing audio gear. The most surprising thing was that everyone told us we'd have to spend several hundred dollars for a special screen, but it is working amazingly well projecting directly on to an existing wall that has a knockdown texture, Gliden satin traditional tan latex paint and making an image 12.5 feet across! The viewing angle is nearly 180, limited by perspective rather than brightness or color. We are using it only at night in a dark room or with some low light behind the projector. It has electronic keystone (skew) adustment, so it does not have to be centered vertically with the wall or screen. Zoom is limited, size mainly controlled by distance to the screen. Durability unknown, just got it.

Looks like all costco stores carry this now. Good thing is Costco has 90 days return policy, costco gives 2 year warranty and if you use amex card to buy, amex gives one more year of warranty in addition to manufacturer's warranty. I guess 90 day return policy + 3 year warranty is a good deal.

Tried this projector, amazing quality. No noise at all, fan turns on only when the projector is turned off and it runs for few seconds. May be 2.5 hours of movie is not enough to heat up the bulb. Did NOT see any rainbow effect even in low quality videos. All thumbs up from me. 100 times better than a LCD flat screen TVs. Occupies no space when mounted on ceiling.

I looked at the link and found another small difference and it appears that the HD180 has a 1-year lamp warranty over the HD20's 3-month lamp warranty. I guess you could say thats a "comfort" bonus. Same lamp spec-wise though.

New to this so pardon my ignorance...

I am looking at projectors too and this one on their site looks good. I want to project from the rear for outdoor movie night and wondered if reverse imaging is pretty standard these days, etc?

Thanks for the input!

duh...found my answer!

Can anyone post the firmware. Might bd the same as the hd20 C07 ?

Hello all,
I'm thinking of getting this projector
What is the usual life of a lamp?
thanks

I have the HD20 and came from the HD70. The HD70 claimed 28db in eco (or normal mode, not bright mode) and the HD20 claims 32db in normal mode. But personally, I used the HD20 with no sound for well over an hour during setup and video/game testing; and the noise was silent. Sounded the same as the HD70 to me, nice and silent. When doing video testing with my laptop, everything was silent. But when I did game testing with the PS3, the PS3 (which I normally thought of as quiet compared to my 360) was the loudest thing in the room.

Anyway, I don't think people will find the HD20 noisy at all in normal mode. Haven't really used the bright mode without sound yet.

HD20 C08 Feb 2 2010
8051 FW C03


nice rename to HD180 from HD20 with little tweaks in firmware
I'm returning this to ******

So I buy this Optoma HD180 off Ebay for $620. (Open Box item - Store Return)

When I receive it, the serial/model number sticker had been removed from the bottom of the projector. So It does not say hd180 anywhere on the projector.

It has firmware version C07 and My pc and mac recognize it as an hd20.

Is anyone else's HD180 recognized as an HD20? Or do I actually have an HD20?

its 2 different model heres the comparison not sure what else is the difference
http://www.pureprojectors.com/compar...vs_optoma_hd20

So, looking at the chart from that link (thanks very much for that), what's the difference when it says:

Recommended for use: Office vs Home Theatre

They sure do have very very similar specs. I wonder if you put these side by side, if you'd be able to tell any difference. Or is it just "marketing". That's my guess.

Since there is no thread for Optoma HD180, I would post it here.

I have about 35hr on HD180. Does anyone here have a calibration set up for it? Can uou post it?

Thanks

so can anyone say if this has the bottom row pixel delay as the hd20?

so how does this badboy perform?

I have a 720p sanyo projector now...it is lcd because I could see rainbow effects in the optoma hd60 720p projector I had...

would there be any new technology in this hd180 that would make me NOT see any rainbow effects? Id like to upgrade to 1080p.

this is on woot today refurbished for $649.99, is there anymore feelings of this vs hd20?

Bought a HD180 a week ago, we are very pleased with the picture. I have not done any calibration, waiting to find a copy of Disney WOW online to purchase. Watched Despicable Me last night and the pq was awesome. Projecting to a painted SS screen, 100" diagonal. We picked ours up at Costco for the two year warranty.

150$ (more)will get you a brand new hd 20, new is the better deal IMO.

Where can you get an hd20 for $800 I only see them at $900 and up.

$810
from 215 stores

This site accepts Google Checkout

25+ nearby stores - Limited stock
Optoma Home Theater Series HD20 1920 x 1080 DLP

Google is your friend

Ok thanks I saw that one but it is from ebay and has actually been used a couple times, all the new ones I see are from $899 and up. I'm probably not ready to get this yet anyways so I'll keep my eyes open for more deals.

Not only that one but come on, contact some sellers,(I do it all the time and get deals-Abes) but there is the one above that one brand new for$852.62,you can walk into a store and wave 800$ in their face and they will sell you one.(Dont try this in chain stores )

just picked one up, does anyone have any calibration settings?

On sellout.woot.com for $649 + $5 shipping if anyone is interested. I'm still using a Panasonic PT-AE900U which is 720 and lcd. Long ago I had a dlp and never saw rainbow effect. And that was probably 8 years ago.