Optoma HD80

By Fred Jonathan

February 2008

Optoma HD80 projector. $4999

Optoma HD80

Rear panel of the HD80

The Optoma HD80 is a native 1080p projector and is a very good example of the development of the single chip form.

The HD80 is based on the Texas Instruments DarkChip3 DLP chipset. The DMD is a 1920x1080 pixel device, with the projector being 16x9 native. The light output is 1300 ANSI at the highest level and reduces to around 500 ANSI in Eco mode.

I carried out this review in two modes. First with a DVD player directly feed directly into the HD80. I then feed the HD80 via a Lumagen scaler. The added advantage of an external scaler is the ability to output a 1080i (1920x1080) 60Hz and let the scaling to 1080p be done within the projector.

The screen size is 2600x1500mm, matt white micro-perforated screen with a gain of 1.0. This quite a large screen the HD80 did fill the screen, but the projection distance was quite long.

Viewing

The DVD’s viewed during the review included Monsters Inc, Star Wars episode 3, The Fifth Element, the Avia test disc and various demo discs. These are the standard DVD titles I use for set-ups.

High definition viewing of the BBC’s Planet Earth were excellent as were other Blu-ray discs I viewed: The Fifth Element, 300 and Ghost Rider to name a few. The viewing experience was encompassing.

The setting throughout the screen test for this review was in the Eco Mode, which also reduces the fan noise. With contrast at 10000:1 and light output around 500 ANSI, this mode is intended for movie viewing in a darken cinema-like environment. It did project a bright well balance images. The iris was set fully open but is not functional in the Eco setting.

At the higher setting the screen was too bright in a darkened room but if you view movie which some ambient lighting on then is would be fine. However, you would wash out the screen with lighting on, which would reduce the level of contrast of the images being projected. This projector performs the best in a darkened cinema-like environment.

The projected images are excellent in many respects when compared to my reference projector (Sony VPH1252 set to project 720p) that was very interesting indeed. The images were very much the same with the HD80 having a sharper image on screen. The depth of colour and contrast being when compared to the Sony projector was very good.

The HD80 handled all of the Test Patterns from the Avia test DVD with hands down, very clean indeed no real or visible video artefacts.

The processing of standard DVD movies is excellent, remembering of course that you cannot make high definition images from a SD source. But the HD80’s processing does make DVDs look better, as it does for off-air TV. With high definition images the HD80 did look really stunning.

The HD80 has a few minor faults in my mind. I did find the keystone correction wanting and best not to use this function. I would recommend the projector be installed on the ceiling with the projector being paralleled with ceiling. No lens shift facilities means a more precise set-up is required. With careful installation this projector will provide excellent images.

If you’re looking for a 1080p high definition projector at $4,995 then the HD80 is an excellent choice. The HD80 stands up very well against the higher priced projectors. It certainly sets a new benchmark for projectors in this price range.

For your nearest Optoma dealer

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