I have a friend that bought this over a year ago and it is absolutely fabulous! He uses it for watching TV and gaming…the gaming clarity is unbelievable! THis is a great buy…
arg, I had been hoping this came back up on woot for a while now, pretty much all of August. Now that it’s september, they charge tax to PA now, so that’s instantly an extra $45 or so. 
Would this be bright enough to take outside for the occasional movie or sports watching?
How much ambient light are we talking?
At dusk or night? Yes, definitely. We show movies outside on the deck. Even with tiki torches, candles, ambient light from neighbors house, and a full moon, the picture is still great!
If you’re talking bright sunlight, no.
We also do ‘driveway tailgate’ parties. We project on the back wall of the garage with no probs during middle of the day.
I knew bright sunlight would be out of the question, but I definitely would use at dusk and night. I was unsure about the ambient light, but what you described is helpful.
What about screens either for indoor or outdoor?
Seeing as the HD20 is no longer an option to buy, is there much difference between the HD20 and the 180?
I just got a insurance check in and I’ve been wanting a projector for a while in my basement.
Also, what is the throw distance on this thing? I can only set it up about 8 to 10 feet away from the wall I wish to project it on.
I just got the projector and I am using the V7 PM1U40 Universal Projector Ceiling Mount ($36 on amazon). It is sturdy, fits the HD20, very low profile (4"), and is relatively inexpensive.
There are certain products I have come to know by their primary distributor. I know these things as Woot projectors.
Just so you all know, this projector can be 3D. There are two products that accomplish this task: VIP 3D Displayer and VIP 3D Theater. These converter boxes go for $250 or $350 for the better model. They have been tested and work on the Optoma HD20. SO, even though it isn’t 3D ready, it is an option with this projector:
Displayer ($250):
http://www.consignia.ca/products/VIP-3D%252dDisplayer-DLP-Projector-{47}-TV-Adapter-Converter-for-3D-Gaming-%26-Blu%252dRay-Movies.html
Theater ($350):
http://www.consignia.ca/products/VIP-3D%252dTheater-DLP-Projector-{47}-TV-Adapter-Converter-for-3D-Gaming-Blu%252dRay-%26-Broadcast-3D.html
The main difference in these adapters is that the expensive model supports SBS 3D and T/B 3D. The cheaper model only supports frame packed 3D (PS3 and Blu-ray).
Differences? See my long post above.
Yes, 8-10 feet will get you a usable display.
Try Optoma’s online Distance Calculator.
See my post here for a really decent screen on the cheap! (Walmart white felt fabric, 6’x12’ for $6!) Granted, you’ll need to find a way to stretch it or mount it. But if you can simply tack it up to a wall or something, you’re golden! (for doing it on the cheap)
I wanted a projector to throw to a screen on the opposite side of a 28’ pool that I’m putting in.
Unfortunately, 28’ + 4’ for the stairs + 4’ for concrete + 6-8’ for concrete on the other side = an image over 60’ wide. I just can’t put a 60’ screen there when the pool is only 14’ wide.
Alternately, putting it “dangerously” close to the pool would probably be too small of a screen to really make an impact.
I still might do it, but I’m going to wait until a later improvement phase before I go nuts.
I’m trying to figure out your numbers… Is it a 14ft or 28ft round pool? Or a 14x28 rectangle?
Using your math above… 28+4+4+7 = a distance from screen to projector of 43ft. According to Optoma’s calculator (linked in previous post), your screen width for a 16:9 screen would only be 26.25ft. What is this 60ft width you are talking about?
LOL! Good luck finding a HT LED projector for around same price range that has 1800 Lumens. You may be waiting longer than you’d like.
4K Hours is the MTBF for the lamp inside. Lets say you watch 6 hours of TV a day (more than twice as many hours than the avg US family watches). You would have a about 2 years life on the bulb.
Rectangle. I just multiplied the distance by the throw ratio, but now that I think about it, that doesn’t make sense. 1.5 = d/w, so
1.5 = (28 + 4 + 8) / w
1.5 = 40 / w
1.5 / 40 = 1/w
40 / 1.5 = w
So yeah, 26-ish feet. That’d work, but I’ll hold off until the first round of construction is set instead of buying and holding onto it while the price could/should drop.
Oops!
I already installed one of these screens and have just been waiting for the projector to pop back up:
http://www.htdepot.com/Focupix_Flexio_16_9_Electric_Motorized_Screen_110_p/fxo169a-106-bk.htm
Except that the maximum diagonal size is 301" which is a screen width of <22’. Oops again.
This was just for sale on buydig.com for this same price last week, just went OOS. Keep checking back, no PA tax, and it ships from NJ so it arrives in about a day.
I’m kinda curious… has anyone here had a projector put up a larger display than the mfg recommendations? I would think that it would only start to lose a bit of clarity/crispness, in that you’d see the individual pixels a bit more. But at that size, if you are far enough back, I’d think it would still be OK.
Anyone tried an experiment like this?
You will wind up looking at a dull, washed out picture because not enough light will be reflecting back at the viewers unless the screen is some bright-silver or insanely high-gain surface.