Digital Trends

Optoma Bigvizion HDBV3100 October 19th, 2006 | by Dennis Barker

The Proof is in the Picture

Going into this evaluation, I had a certain amount of trepidation about a rear projection set of this size. The more you blow images up, the more the imperfections of the picture become apparent. So, you might say that I am very pleased to report that both standard- definition and high-definition images looked exceptional! While some of the credit goes to the TI's 1080p DLP chip, the Gennum VXP video processor helped tremendously. Was the image perfect? No, but it was very compelling. I used three primary video sources: the Toshiba HD-XA1 HD DVD player, the Samsung BD-P1000 Blu-ray Disc player, and the DirecTV HD DVR set-top box. This gave me a broad palette of images from over-the-air, cable-type channels, HD channels (including HBO, Showtime, ESPN, and UniversalHD), and high-definition optical discs.

Besides watching content from various sources, test patterns were placed on the screen (from Joe Kane's Digital Video Essentials to Silicon Optix's test disc) to ascertain image quality in a more scientific manner. The various test patterns showed some slight imperfections in the picture, which could be corrected. Also, BigVizion does offer ISF calibration modes, including preset Day and Night modes, which are very handy. Of course, the set can be calibrated by the installer or even the end user.

The two best images sources were HD DVD and DirecTV. Sadly, Samsung's Blu-ray images from House of Flying Daggers and other BD titles were soft and did not pop. This problem is not with BigVizion, but the Samsung BD player itself and Samsung's choice of softening the image from its Gennum chipset. Poor choice! Images from Toshiba's HD DVD, on the other hand, looked terrific. Content viewed included: The Phantom of the Opera, Serenity, and Unforgiven. Images were crystal-clear. While there was some noise in the image, it was the content itself and not BigVizion generating them.

Turning to DirecTV, while the over-the-air standard-definition The Price is Right image appeared soft, it was virtually free of any video noise. This says a lot for BigVizion's processing power. Cable channel type fare at 480p looked quite good and free from visible artifacts. While movies on HBO and Showtime looked perfectly fine, I was very impressed with watching Live HD coverage of the U.S. Open on DirecTV's UniversalHD channel (No.74). It was really like I was sitting in the stands and watching the players up close and personal. Truly amazing! What was even more amazing was watching it in a brightly lit room. Yes, I could turn off all of the lights and get that true Home Theater experience, but it was nice to be able to watch content with the lights on. And, let's face it: no one wants to watch sporting events in a darkened room.