I have the optima HD20 which I bought from Amazon for $1000 last year. I project it on a white wall with the image about 12 feet across.
Image quality is really good, I use it to watch blu rays and play video games. I cannot use it during some of the brighter parts of the day with the super crappy blinds I have. I’m not sure any projector could overcome those conditions though.
Overall, this is a super great deal on a cheap HD projector. But if you need to be able to watch things exactly when you want, you will need blackout curtains or a room without windows.
Squaretrade wants 89.95. Is the other one refurbished too?
Use the promo code santa, you’ll either get 40 or 20% off, depending on whether you’re within the first 10,000 warranties since yesterday.
Which I just checked. The 10,000 warranties are not used up yet. You save $35 off a years warranty
I have a several-year old 900 lumen 480p projector with the original bulb, and it is still my favorite way to watch a movie. Sure it would be “nice” if the bulb was a bit brighter or if it was true HD, but it’s still a great way to watch a movie.
So, while this projector may be “only” 1700 lumens, you’ll be amazed at how great it looks in a dark or shaded room, and at BIG you can make the image if you have enough throw space. Mine can fill a 96" screen (yes, that’s 8 feet).
This is a good deal and Optoma is a solid brand. If you’re in the market for a home theater system and you don’t want to spend thousands, this is a good start, especially if you already have a decent sound system.
I was in a Best Buy looking at projectors, and a sales rep showed me one of those newfangled high gain screens. First he showed me how the picture was all washed out even in minimal light, using a conventional screen. Then he switched to the high gain screen, and it was amazing.
The results seemed like magic, but I saw them with my own eyes. The salesman explained that the gain made it higher than 1.0. I asked him if he meant that the screen was displaying more light than was being projected, and if so, how was that possible? He said yes, and it did so by “gathering reflected light from the cone.”
Everything I know about optics made this sound like snake oil, except (repeating myself) - I saw it with my own eyes.
Also, it doesn’t actually display more light than is projected - just more light than should be directly projected. So it’s not snake oil - just magic.
And as you would imagine, they’re not cheap. Portable ones are more affordable though…
My 900 lumen 480p projector still looks great after years of use. It doesn’t do well in a bright room but as soon as the sun gets low or the room is shady, it’s a lot of fun.
I do use a grey screen which helps, but 1700 lumens is really not bad.
tempting. i was just looking at this projector at best buy. it’s got mostly all good reviews on best buy’s website. but it looks like i would need to move my projector mount according to this projection calculator:
40% off SQUARETRADE WARRANTIES EXTENDED THROUGH 12 AM CYBER MONDAY! USE PROMO CODE “SANTA” YOU CAN WARRANTY ANYTHING BOUGHT IN A STORE OR EBAY.
I think you can warranty anything up to 90 days old.
Grab this deal, if they can’t fix it they’ll refund 100% of the purchase price. If they can’t get anyone out there in 5 days or less, they’ll refund the price of the warranty, yet still cover your full warranty.
I’ve had a 3 year old Toshiba LCD screen go out, they refunded the full $999.99. I had a quad core computer die, they refunded the full $799.99 and a 24" Monitor die they refunded $210.
I have no complaints with them. They saved me. about $2000.
I always get a warranty with them.
Grab one of these warranties while they’re %40 off. You won’t regret it.
Oh, you need to photocopy, capture or fax a receipt in.
For woot I just capture the receipt and send it in email.
Don’t forget the tradeoffs. The Optoma HD series is for home theater so they tradeoff brightness in return for better contrast (details in the blacks). Better contrast ratio also results in the appearance of a brighter image.
I have been using an Optoma HD70 since it debuted and while it is 720p and rated at only 1000 lumens it is plenty bright in my room with a two 60 watt light sources on. It is even more spectacular in a dark room. I’ll probably be upgrading to the Epson 8350 for Christmas however.
Have loved my Optima HD72 for 4 years now. First bulb went bad early (~14 months, <800 hours) and Optima replaced it without hesitation. i.e. great customer service. If I was in the market for a projector I’d be looking for another Optima.
Add to the price of any projector a replacement bulb - I was glad I had a spare. You’ll want one handy if it goes out during the Super Bowl or your LotR marathon. At 5.5 hours a day this bulb should last you over two years and the projector should warn you when it’s time to pick up a spare, but don’t get caught out if something goes bad - it is just a light bulb after all. (Bulbs actually suffer more from being turned on and off - run it longer rather than more often if that’s a choice - ie. don’t switch it off between movies.)
My projector is ceiling mounted and projects a 110" diagonal picture on a slightly textured white wall. Looks great and there’s no entertainment center taking up space in the living room. BTW, (responding to another post) Wii sells a remote sensor you can place under the screen, so no wires need to be draped across the room. Also, for golf and bowling games where you’d stand to play, blocking the ceiling mounted projector hasn’t been a problem since we normally want to stand far enough back just to see the whole screen. I’m not sure how Mario Cart works on a regular television, but when 4 kids can race against each other, each with their own 55" section of the screen, it works pretty well.
My Optoma is 1300 lumens and we have 2 stories of unshaded windows in the room - we don’t use the projector in the daytime. But then the room doesn’t have to be pitch black ether - having a couple lights on in the room doesn’t hurt. 1700 lumens would give you a better chance of seeing a picture in a bright room, but the darkest darks are still only going to be as dark as the room. You’ll want a screen if you intend to watch in a fully lit room. A screen helps focus and reflect rather than scatter the light, and can really make a big difference as noted by NightGhost. We haven’t found it necessary.
The only reason I couldn’t use this projector is that it lacks horizontal keystone controls. Means it would have to be mounted directly center (left to right) of the projection area, which just isn’t an option for my setup.
If you have a free wall, or can ditch the entertainment center and make one, you need a decent HD projector. I’d recommend Optima for quality and customer service.
I have the Optoma HD700X, this projector’s little brother (has the same casing but in black, same year of release) that has only 1300 lumens at 720P, but it is still amazing. The mounting system for ceiling installations is a bit wacky, so you’d need to get an optoma-specific mount, or make it yourself with some MDF and a drilling template. It uses M3 screws to mount, which you can’t really find at your local Home Depot. Otherwise, it is a great projector, and if I knew Woot was going to be doing this one for only $200 more I would have jumped on it in a heartbeat.
That is the nature of projectors if you look at warranties on new projectors, the bulb is still only warrantied for 90 days, separate from the actual projector warranty so this this is no less of a warranty on the bulb than a new one.
UPDATE: In trying to figure out the difference between the HD 180 and HD20
States the HD20 has 90 days on bulb, but the 180 has a full year! I stand corrected
I’m on my third bulb with my Dell 4100MP and yes it sucks, yes they seems too expensive, but you have factor in at least one replacement bulb as the cost of the projector. I also have 120" home theater in a windowless basement and I’m the only place anyone wants to be on football Sundays.
The ViewSonic Pro8100 is absolutely sick if you get one without horizontal or vertical banding. Vertical banding will go away if you unplug the unit. Check AVS Forum… There is a cult following for the Pro8100. My father-in-law has one is his basement HT and I will be putting one in mine shortly.
I have a refurb DVD recorder purchased from another source that came in the original box with all the original accessories and showed absolutely no signs of use. I also have a refurb lap-top (Gateway M275 Tablet Convertible PC) that I purchased from Woot!. It looked like it had been dropped down a flight of stairs repeatedly for a couple of years.
Would the refurb Optoma be more like the former or the latter? Any chance that a new bulb would be part of the refurb process?
Just like a “high gain” antenna, high gain screens just have a different reflection pattern. They are able to reflect more light back to the viewer and block more reflected light from other angles at the expense of viewing the image off center.
