Digital Trends

Optoma HD80 February 11th, 2008 | by Marshal Rosenthal

Features and Design 

One of the things we have been taking for granted with the newer flat panel displays is startup time.Upon powering up the HD80, the unit takes time to reach full brightness. Plus the fan is fairly loud, but it’s understandable: it’s a more powerful 300 watt lamp working behind the scenes. Physically, the Optoma is about average in size and weight for its price range - although the sloping front does make it seem more compact - and the euro-rounded off-white design is a welcomed step up from the old days where a square box was normal. It has a bit of a heft but is easily moved about, which makes the addition of a security slot on the back all the more valid. We’re not all that enamored of the metal lens cap for protecting the lens when not in use though, as the gripping fingers surrounding the cap’s rim makes us worry about accidentally scraping it against the lens. But since the lens is recessed it can probably be left as is, unless you have smokers or pets in the house.

A control strip rides along the back at the top; a bit more linear than found on other projectors but certainly not complicated to use. Still, it’s simpler to work everything through the remote, as punching buttons on the projector can contribute to slight movements and changes in its position - not something you want to have happen, especially as none of the lens functions (zoom, focus) are motorized. That remote is also one of the best we’ve see; fitting nicely in the hand and illuminated with a subtle green glow. Dedicated buttons mesh with menu controls and Optoma would do well to adopt this for their entire line if they haven’t already.

The back panel surprises us with a DVI input, but as we learned, that’s for use with computers. Two vs. 1.3 HDMI inputs top the list, with additions including Component, S-Video and composite inputs, along with a RS232C for home automation use and a 12V trigger for doing things like automating a screen coming down for viewing, closing curtains, etc. 

Installation 

In our test environment, we already have an Epson’s Powerlite LCD projector in place on a 3 foot stand about 10 feet away from the 84” screen, so we didn’t anticipate any issues with swapping it out for the Optoma; especially as both projectors are about the same height. So we removed the power plug and HDMI cable, removed the Powerlite and replaced it with the HD80. We expected some position tweaking since there’s no lens shift on the projector (and we avoid digital keystoning at all costs since it degrades images), so we use a level to insure it’s dead-on to the screen. While we wait for the projector to warm up, we can feel a good deal of heat coming out of the fan outlet - nice and toasty for those cold wintry days but not something very good to have if you’re seated directly behind it (later we tried switching to the economy mode which decreased some brightness but also quieted the fan down). Running at full illumination, one should keep in mind that the 2000 hours can go by pretty quickly, and even more so if you don’t remember to let the lamp cool down/shut off as per the somewhat long cycle required. It’s also a good time to remind everyone that a power loss is really bad news for a front projector’s lamp, so using an uninterruptible power supply to protect not just from a total power failure but also those little AC glitches is a good idea. When you consider that the lamp costs nearly $500 USD, doing all you can to baby it seems sensible. By the way, the lamp is sealed so no filter needs to be cleaned, but it’s secreted in at the bottom of the unit which makes replacement a bit harder to do if ceiling mounted.

Image Courtesy of Optoma