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Optoma HD25 and HD25-LV owners

35K views 135 replies 66 participants last post by  JediFonger 
#1 ·
Just got the HD25-LV and found out that the brightness drops significantly in 3D mode. Plus I have massive crosstalk in the green channel. I'll try a full reset to try to get rid of that but the brightness is an issue.

A call to Optoma and they confirm that the brightness will drop in 3D but will be brighter in 2D. So what's the point of buying a brighter 3D projector if it doesn't use the extra brightness for 3D?

They also said they know nothing about this PJ since it is so new and had no idea about the crosstalk.


Another issue is when you go to adjust contrast or brightness, the displayed sliders are so bright that they interfere with the adjustment, especially when using a calibration disk.

Also in 3D the lamp does not brighten, you have to go into the lamp menu to set it to bright then back into it to return to eco mode for 2d viewing.

BrilliantColor drastically changes the white balance.


On the plus side, it doesn't clip the primaries like my HD33.


td
 
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#2 ·
There should be zero crosstalk. The projector could be DOA.all projectors drop their brightness in 3D.Having said that, the HD25-LV is the brightest projector out there and is still actually very bright in the 3D mode (you lose around 60-70% with brightness in lumens) Regarding the lamp menu, there is a dedicated single button on the remote located in the upper center part for quick access. Also,the menu disappears when you change a particular setting and goes on the very bottom of the screen.


P.S.

Art from projectorreviews stated that a defective HDMI cable caused some crosstalks.That could be the problem. 3D movies also have different brightness levels. Try a different movie and you might be surprised how bright it might appear.
 
#3 ·
Here's what I'm getting. The user menu resets did not help. I will try to get into the service menu to find a factory reset there.

This was taken through RF shutter glasses. My DLP link glasses that worked on the HD33 do not work with the HD25-LV.

They should have left in the video processing (Pure motion, etc) and left out the dopey speakers.



If you can watch the little hour glass as it switches from 2d to 3D mode you will see a dramatic dimming of it. (without glasses)

But if it's brighter than the 33 that's still an improvement. The lens seems sharper also than my HD33.


td
 
#5 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by tucsondave  /t/1473160/optoma-hd25-and-hd25-lv-owners#post_23326602


Just got the HD25-LV and found out that the brightness drops significantly in 3D mode. Plus I have massive crosstalk in the green channel. I'll try a full reset to try to get rid of that but the brightness is an issue.

A call to Optoma and they confirm that the brightness will drop in 3D but will be brighter in 2D. So what's the point of buying a brighter 3D projector if it doesn't use the extra brightness for 3D?

They also said they know nothing about this PJ since it is so new and had no idea about the crosstalk.


Another issue is when you go to adjust contrast or brightness, the displayed sliders are so bright that they interfere with the adjustment, especially when using a calibration disk.

Also in 3D the lamp does not brighten, you have to go into the lamp menu to set it to bright then back into it to return to eco mode for 2d viewing.

BrilliantColor drastically changes the white balance.


On the plus side, it doesn't clip the primaries like my HD33.


td

When the Brightness drops in 3 D mode . It does the same for the Hd 25 as well.

Is There a difference in 3d mode between these 2 models in terms of brightness. Or is the difference only significant in 2d mode between the hd25 and hd25 LV .
 
#6 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by sargeant  /t/1473160/optoma-hd25-and-hd25-lv-owners#post_23335239


When the Brightness drops in 3 D mode . It does the same for the Hd 25 as well.

Is There a difference in 3d mode between these 2 models in terms of brightness. Or is the difference only significant in 2d mode between the hd25 and hd25 LV .
I don't know about the HD25 but here's a comparison with the HD33.

Here's what I found using a light meter on a 100% white patch from the Spears & Munsil 2nd edition disk. Rough conversion to foot candles at 13 feet from lens. Not measured through glasses. Eco mode on both.

Mode:................. 2D .................. 3D


HD33.................11 fc ................10 fc


HD25-LV............ 23 fc................13 fc


Just for grins I measured the relative black level from both pj's. No actual units here.


Hd33 value 1.4

HD25-LV value .1


Both projectors calibrated with Disney WOW.

td
 
#7 ·
I've done all the research I can possibly do and am left with a question that can probably only be answered by an owner of the Optoma HD25 or HD25-LV. I plan on projecting on a 1.1 gain 120" screen. Can the lumen on the LV be brought down low enough that it won't be blinding bright in a darkened room (very little ambient light) and will the HD25 be bright enough to do good 3D at that size (taking into account the dimming from the active shutter glasses)? I'm assuming that the LV will be fine for 120" 3D because if 3000 lumen won't do it I don't know what would. Essentially I am torn between the two and don't know if 3000 lumen is total overkill and will leave me squinting at the brightness or if it will be necessary if I want to do the 3D. What do folks think?
 
#8 ·
You can always make bright projector dimmer, but you can't make a dim projector brighter. I went from an 1800 lumen HD33 to the HD25-LV and the 3D is vastly different despite the slight increase in light that I measured. Possibly from the increased contrast and black level of the 25.

The 2D image is now like looking at a RP DLP or flat panel TV. I have the User mode calibrated to a Disney WOW disk but if I want something more subtle I can change to Film or Reference mode and reducing the contrast setting. The other option is a neutral density filter over the lens. My room is dark until I fire up the pj. Sadly I have a white carpet and white ceiling. I may add a dark throw rug for those times I need it.

My screen is 121" with a gain of 1.3 and I'm sitting about 12 feet away normally. I move closer for some 3d and the cinerama films.


td
 
#9 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ethan Fineout  /t/1473160/optoma-hd25-and-hd25-lv-owners#post_23344991


I've done all the research I can possibly do and am left with a question that can probably only be answered by an owner of the Optoma HD25 or HD25-LV. I plan on projecting on a 1.1 gain 120" screen. Can the lumen on the LV be brought down low enough that it won't be blinding bright in a darkened room (very little ambient light) and will the HD25 be bright enough to do good 3D at that size (taking into account the dimming from the active shutter glasses)? I'm assuming that the LV will be fine for 120" 3D because if 3000 lumen won't do it I don't know what would. Essentially I am torn between the two and don't know if 3000 lumen is total overkill and will leave me squinting at the brightness or if it will be necessary if I want to do the 3D. What do folks think?
If you can justify the $300 difference for just more lumens, then you can go with the HD25-LV.


As I said before the HD-25 LV is designed for living room where the lights are on (optoma site). So if you are going to be watching mostly in the dark then go with the HD25
 
#10 ·
Thanks, all! I pulled the trigger on the LV. I figure if I get really ambitious it will allow me to go bigger than if I ever get a bigger house or sooner if I want to spend some money on a bigger outdoor screen.


The only think I can compare it to is my Acer 500 lumen LED 720P projector so I won't be able to post much helpful comparison-wise but I'll chime in whether I am impressed or disapointed. I assume the color "depth" might be where I would notice anything "worse" than what I have now, if even that.


I appreciate the help
 
#11 ·
I have the LV and the best way I can describe it is that it's like a huge tv, it's so bright. I'm projecting it on a 160" white wall and I'm amazed at the brightness. Blu rays and 1080p games are incredible.


I am encountering this issue, whenever I flip between windowed mode to full screen it takes a few moments to register. So if you opening and closing videos successively it becomes a major pain.


Also, I'm not sure why, but the HD25 has a color option in the main menu, where the LV hasn't. It only has contrast and brightness.
 
#12 ·
Silly question but are your HD-25LV's black or white?


The one I got from Amazon (Arrived Friday) is black. I called Optoma (Because all of the pictures showed a white projector) and they said they only made White for that model. But the serial number checked out.
 
#13 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by bradonis  /t/1473160/optoma-hd25-and-hd25-lv-owners#post_23356175


I have the LV and the best way I can describe it is that it's like a huge tv, it's so bright. I'm projecting it on a 160" white wall and I'm amazed at the brightness. Blu rays and 1080p games are incredible.


I am encountering this issue, whenever I flip between windowed mode to full screen it takes a few moments to register. So if you opening and closing videos successively it becomes a major pain.


Also, I'm not sure why, but the HD25 has a color option in the main menu, where the LV hasn't. It only has contrast and brightness.

You must be feeding it an RGB signal. In that case you won't have color or tint controls. Color and tint adjustments are only there in YUV mode.

I agree with you about the picture brightness. I think they use a Krell furnace instead of a lamp.
 
#14 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ethan Fineout  /t/1473160/optoma-hd25-and-hd25-lv-owners#post_23344991


I've done all the research I can possibly do and am left with a question that can probably only be answered by an owner of the Optoma HD25 or HD25-LV. I plan on projecting on a 1.1 gain 120" screen. Can the lumen on the LV be brought down low enough that it won't be blinding bright in a darkened room (very little ambient light) and will the HD25 be bright enough to do good 3D at that size (taking into account the dimming from the active shutter glasses)? I'm assuming that the LV will be fine for 120" 3D because if 3000 lumen won't do it I don't know what would. Essentially I am torn between the two and don't know if 3000 lumen is total overkill and will leave me squinting at the brightness or if it will be necessary if I want to do the 3D. What do folks think?

In 3D both projectors are the same. Even though technically LV should be brighter but that's not the case at all. That's the reason I returned my LV and

decided to pocket the $400.00 instead. If you don't need the brightness in 2 d mode than there is no point getting the LV.


3D image is the same.
 
#16 ·
No I haven't received my projector yet dave.

I could have ordered it from another dealer and gotten it by now. Just wanted to stay loyal

to my seller their service is just outstanding they accepted my return and gave me 100 %

refund no questions asked. Love their 30 day satisfaction guarantee.


They Should be shipping out shortly now they did say end of may.
 
#17 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by sargeant  /t/1473160/optoma-hd25-and-hd25-lv-owners#post_23359129


In 3D both projectors are the same. Even though technically LV should be brighter but that's not the case at all. That's the reason I returned my LV and

decided to pocket the $400.00 instead. If you don't need the brightness in 2 d mode than there is no point getting the LV.


3D image is the same.


Ok, good to hear as I have a HD25 and would be annoyed not having bought the LV as my main use is 3D. But what makes you sure about this?
 
#19 ·
\
Quote:
Originally Posted by tucsondave  /t/1473160/optoma-hd25-and-hd25-lv-owners#post_23357546


You must be feeding it an RGB signal. In that case you won't have color or tint controls. Color and tint adjustments are only there in YUV mode.

I agree with you about the picture brightness. I think they use a Krell furnace instead of a lamp.

Okay thanks for clearing that up. I selected YUV in color space, the whole picture turned blue, so just changed it back to AUTO. I come from the lcd/plasma tv world (first PJ and swore to never return to the dark side again) and not having a colour setting was certainly strange.


3d is definitely much darker and I'm sometimes left wondering how more awesome it would look at the brightness levels that 2d possesses...regardless, it's still mind blowing the 3d here I can't stress this enough, and plenty bright on a simple wall. When u sitting 5 metres from a 160" screen and you have crystal clear full hd fish floating around in the middle of your lounge you can't help but grin like a little kid at the technological spectacle. It was this PJ that completely sold me on 3D, have a 51" plasma and what a novelty 3D was....with this it's full on weekend movie nights at home (ps Life of PI is simply breath-taking on this PJ whale jelly fish scene just wow).


I am still getting over how this projector looks like a massive damn LCD TV.... I mean okay during the day sunlight completely overpowers the picture, no question, but I it looks like a lcd tv still when I have my chandelier and all lights on in the lounge at night...it's madness. All lights off and you're just sucked into this gigantic screen...blu ray and 1080p pc game picture quality looks like how 1080p looks on my 52" 6 years old sharp LCD from where I sit. That I don't get, I thought it was going to look like some blown up SD quality. I will say though, it does not handle 1080p or 720p rips from blu ray...or HD broadcasts... nearly as well. In fact q few 720p rips look similar to some of the DVD's I have. Also, I play gears of war competitively on xbox live and there is no input lag I can notice. And I would notice, I played on a laggy (45-50ms) LCD and it is a game breaker I don't care what people say you will get thrashed in gears with those numbers....this was a deal breaker for me that's why the Epsons were a no go. I must admit though, playing 720p gears sitting about 2m away from a 80" screen, the picture leaves a lot to be desired. Maybe it's my seating distance for that size, but it seems this pj was meant for 1080p uncompressed, it's just night and day.


Anyways, still saving up for a screen, and at that size, it's going to take a few more months. Overall the little niggles pales in comparison to the value for money and wow factor you get from this bad boy, best investment I've made in a long time. PIty I discovered the PJ scene so late, cheated myself out of many a good time oh well got some making up to do and will most certainly do just that.
 
#20 ·
I came from the Epson 5020UB and that had 2400 lumens.The HD25-LV that i have is noticeably brighter in 3D.It has 3200 lumens.

When it comes to 3D blu ray movies,there are 3 categories in brightness that they fall in.They are:very bight,properly bright and dark.Not all of them have the same level of brightness.For example:The HARRY POTTER 3D's are in the dark category as well as THOR.I compared the brightness levels with both the EPSON and OPTOMA and it was brighter with the OPTOMA.I'm not sure why it is being stated that the 2000 lumens of the HD25 is the same brightness of the 3200 lumens HD25-LV in 3D.It is not the same lamp.The LV would have to lose about 90% of its brightness to match the 2000 lumen HD25.

All of the 3d projectors as far i know drop around 60-75% in brightness compared to their 2D counterpart.

Point is,that same percentage is taken from 3200 lumens and not 2000 lumens from the LV.
 
#21 ·
Actually, they both use the same lamp. That's confirmed by Optoma and parts lists. I don't know if the 3d levels are the same or not and it would make sense that the LV is brighter if not for the fact of having the exact same lamp. Really need some quantifiable test instead of speculations in that.
 
#23 ·
Yea totally agree. But for sure the output will be higher in 2d of course so 3d certainly isn't at 3200 lumens. But the assumption that 3d is significantly brighter is fair and expected. Just not sure that's the case based on the measurements in another post where 3d was compared to the HD33
 
#25 ·
The explanation for the black chassis might be that there is a European model that is identical from Optoma except that it has a black chassis. It is the HD 131X. Maybe they ran out of white chassis and slapped the black one on?


I got my LV yesterday and love it so far. I am having a 3D issue I thought folks might want a warning about. Some of this is speculation so chime in with your theories if I seem off base.


The projector does 144hz 3D which by all accounts makes up for the lack of frame interpolation and gives super smooth 3D. I believe that cinemas run at 144hz with their active shutter glasses. I bought a "universal IR emitter" to hook up to the VESA port. I have XPAND 103 universal glasses that are stated to run at 96hz-144hz so they should be capable of running in sync with the projector. I thought this would work and have a ton of the glasses for my TV so figured it would save some money. However, it isn't working out for me. I think the problem is that the IR emitter is emitting at 120hz since most TVs and projectors run 3D at 120Hz. So for instance if I set the glasses and emitter to "Sony" it is running at the same Hz as a sony TV (IE 120hz). My glasses pick up the 120Hz signal and sort of do what they should be doing but they don't seem to match sync with the image. I'm not sure I'm correct but based on the image I am seeing with my eyes it looks like the shutter speed isn't matching the image speed...so I get ghosting, flickering, some 3D effect but it is unwatchable.


I would not assume that Sony glasses will work. My guess is that they will show the same problem I am seeing. If someone tries it I'd love to know what they find.


Does anyone know of any IR emitters out there that would do 144hz and communicate with the Xpand glasses? I found some Volfoni thing online but haven't done any research as it looks like it is Pro grade and probably expensive plus you need their glasses I'm guessing.


My next step will be to try some DLP glasses or get the Optoma RF emitter and glasses just to make sure that it isn't my projector.


So, I'm happy with the projector but maybe the VESA port option is less of a cool thing than I initially thought. Too bad you can't set the Projector to do 120hz 3D for folks like me.
 
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