Courtesy of my Mint card, I now own the Optoma HD-700X DLP Projector.
The Optoma HD-700X
The HD-700X projector quie possibly has to be the best projector on the market at its price point. It is capable of producing Full HD images at 1080p up to 300 inches, it can be connected to almost any device through either HDMI, Component Video, Composite Video, S-Video and VGA/SCART. As a DLP (as opposed to LCD) projector, it features Darkchip 2 technology for colour processing and light/dark balance. But did it cost me £1000… No. It came in at £429.99. And when ordered from Play.com it came with a FREE 84′ projection screen with a retail value of just under £200. An absolute steal when considering the next cheapest 1080p projector was a Bravia projector by Sony at just under £800.
Anyway, to the projector. Now as the HD-700X is capable of 1080p images, I had to connect it to some devices that could push out 1080p resolutions. Thanks to the number of inputs, I had a choice, but the Microsoft Xbox 360 seemed like a good place to start. As I own the older premium console, I could only connect via Component cable, but the newer versions of the 360, and likewise the Playstation 3, feature HDMI outputs so could be connected that way. Set-up was unbelievably easy; I simply plugged the component cable in, switched it on, and it auto-detected the signal coming through from the Xbox. After a few failed attempts to up the Xbox’s resolution to 1080p, I remembered that there is a switch on the component cable itself. Flicking it from TV to HD, I was ready to roll in High Definition. A pop out leg at the front of the unit enabled quick and easy positioning of the screen, and a wheel on top of the unit enabled me to adjust the size quickly.
Once focused, using the ring around the lense (like a camera), instantly, the Xbox dashboard sprung to life, with crystal clear images you come to expect only from high end LCD televisions. Just scrolling through the menus it was clear that the HD-700X was a winner. Next stop load up a game. Castle Crashers is a cartoon side-scrolling medieval beat-em up, and because of this, is full of rich vibrant colours, and action.
Castle Crashers
The HD-700X performed extremely well. Full HD gaming on a massive screen; the lines were crisp, the colours were vibrant, and there was no sign of the dreaded rainbow effect (as the eye moves across the projected image, separate colors become visible creating a “rainbow”) that a lot of projectors are supposed to suffer from. I was projecting on a cream coloured wall, so I can only imagine that using the proper projection screen it would’ve looked even better. There was little need to adjust the colour properties or contrast ratio. Switching briefly between the main video modes (cinema, bright, photo, tv) I decided upon the cinema option, mainly because it offered darkest blacks. There is also a user customisable setting if you want to play the image brightness/contrast a little more, but basically the HD-700X is pretty much set up perfectly straight out of the box. Another thing, I could barely hear the HD-700X at only -29db, although over the thunderous roar of the Xbox 360, hearing the projector was never going to be a problem!
The next test was to watch Jurassic Park (Universal DVD).
Jurrasic Park (1993)
Easily connecting the HD-700X to my Laptop with an DVI to HDMI converter, the projector quickly found the signal coming from the PC. Again the colours were rich, cinema mode once again providing the best picture. However, the colours displayed in the projected image were considerably brighter and richer than those mirrored in the laptor screen. The film infact looked quite drab on the laptop, and this is no doubt thanks to the ‘VividColour processing’ built into the HD-700X. There was another option called “Image AI” which varies the lamp brightness depending on the light/dark balance of the picture. A nice idea, however I found that the image would noticably change brightness at random, regardless of the picture being displayed. Within minutes I decided to switch Image AI off in favour of constant brightness.
Unfortunately, as DVD is not HD quality the picture was not as fantastic as I would’ve liked, but running from a Laptop the picture was displaying at the PC resolution, so was still stunning, and the action was not hindered by anything less than a crisp, clearly defined image. With no Blu-ray discs handy, or a indeed a Playstation 3/Blu-ray player to play them on I might have had to wait for my truly HD movie experience, but fortunately, I know people with both. And at 26cm*19cm*8cm it’s ultra portable so I can easily move it anywhere.
Next test. Full HD movie. Cloverfield on Blu-ray.
The HD700-X handled it beautifully. The film looked absolutely fantastic displaying in glorious 1080p and I could barely contain my gasps at the clarity and perfection of each scene. Again the colours looked looked better on the projected image than they did on the Blu-ray enabled laptop. The only shame was the film itself. With shakey camera work throughout, this movie is not for all. I personally enjoyed it, but the true highlight for me was the ultra high definition Paramount Pictures logo at the beginning.
The mountains looked amazing.
Overall, the Optoma HD-700X is a great investment. To completely enhance your gaming and movie watching experience I would highly recommend it. Of course the projector has no speakers built in, so a separate sound system is neccessary in order to enjoy sound with pictures, but realistically you wouldn’t want to watch a film with the sound coming from a tinny little speaker, so this is not a problem. The first time in living memory, the remote control is intuitive to use. Also, the projector comes with all the cables you need to connect to it with the only exception being HDMI
If I had to score it out of ten I would have to give it a solid eight/nine, but only because it doesn’t have any kind of lense shift for better picture positioning, and a few more inputs would have been nice. The picture is superb, and for £430, you wont find anything better.
SPECS:
Supported resoutions: 480i/p, 576i/p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
Native resolution: 16:9
Screen size: up to 300 inches
Contrast Ratio: 3000:1
Lamp brightness: 1300 Ansi Lumens
Lamp life: 3000 hours
Keystone correction: Vertical
Noise: -29db
Inputs: HDMI, Component Video, Composite Video, S-video, VGA/SCART
Optoma HD-700X projector: £430
Edirol speaker system: £70
Xbox 360 Premium Console: around £200
Being able to afford a home cinema as a student… priceless.
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This Projector does support 1080p, but its native resolution is just 1280×720 Pixel instead of 1920×1080 pixel…not really full hd…
Comment by hmmm October 7, 2008 @ 5:41 pmHow do you get sound with a Xbox?
Comment by Román October 23, 2011 @ 5:52 amTake the red and white leads from the component cable and connect them to a set of speakers.
Comment by privatepetexxx October 29, 2011 @ 1:54 pm