HD81 Overview Basic Setup

The HD81 is not just a projector. It combines an excellent optical display system with an advanced external video processor that handles, among other things a host of inputs from composite all the way up to HDMI and RGBHV/component. What’s more, each input can be independently calibrated and the system has the capabilities to truly optimize each input source for best performance. When you buy this projector, you essentially get a ~$3000 video processor/scaler for free that includes a 3-input HDMI switcher and enough analogue inputs to satisfy any videoholic I’ve ever met.

I don’t want to turn this into a Gennum VXP review, but when I met with the Gennum reps at CEDIA this year in Denver I was blown away by the quality of both their new and legacy processors. Developed entirely for the HD-realm (and of course more than able to handle the tasks of standard definition work) these chipsets are incredibly advanced. Walking away, I knew I had to line up some products that utilized this technology to see if it stood up under rigorous independent testing. This is the first Gennum-based product we’ve received so far.

Overview of the Technology

In discussing the HD81, you are really talking about a lot of high-end tech put together into a cutting-edge package. For the most part the exciting features reside in the processor, though the projector display itself contains the latest 1080p technology from DLP and a robust optical system (though it lacks a lens shift function):

• Gennum VXP-based Video Processing (FineEdge, Fidelity Engine and TruMotionHD)
  VXP is Gennum’s acronym for “Video eXcellence Processing” This system utilizes the GF9351 chipset and provides an incredible amount of features that includes: full 10-bit video processing, directional interpolation algorithms (jaggie reduction), pixel-based motion adaptive deinterlacing (2:2 and 2:3 pull-down) with bad edit detection, and noise reduction on both SD and HD content.
• 1080p and Almost Limitless Format Support
  The panel has a native resolution of 1920x1080 and does NOT utilize wobulation or any pixel doubling tricks. The DMD chip is the new .95” model with DarkChip3 technology. It has the most dense fill factor of anything DLP currently offers for home theater. The optical system includes a 6x (180Hz) 7-segment (RGB, RGB, White) color wheel that will alleviate a lot of the potential for incidental rainbow effects.
• Inputs Galore
  There are so many inputs on the HD81’s external video processor that it’s likely you’ll not require anything more to connect all of your current and legacy devices to this unit. I was personally able to dedicate inputs for an Xbox, Scientific Atlanta 8300HD DVR, VidaBox Lux HTPC, Denon DVD-3930CI DVD player, Velodyne SMS-1, and a couple other test DVD players. There is even an HDMI loop-through for connecting an AV receiver (giving you a ton more inputs if yours provides HDMI upconversion).

Basic Setup and Installation

The HD81 is a bit difficult in that it has a large (~27%) vertical screen offset (it needs to be mounted relatively high above the screen for ceiling installations) and requires a longish throw distance. One of the great aspects of 1080p is that – with all those densely-packed pixels – you should be able to sit very close to a large screen. While the Optoma HD81 could easily support a 1.0 viewing ratio (sitting as far away from the screen as it is wide), the limited zoom on the lens insists that this projector be mounted very far behind the seated position. Take a look at the throw chart:

Throw Chart for Distancing the Projector from a 16:9 Projection Screen*

You can perhaps see that to hit your target screen size (and this projector is certainly bright enough to go to a larger sized screen) you’re going to have to have a fairly long room. I would have liked to have seen a bit more zoom on this lens, or at least the option to order a shorter throw lens for rooms that capitalizes on width and not depth. With the $9,999 retail price tag of this projector, Optoma is betting that this device will make its way primarily into dedicated theater rooms with a long throw or double row of seats. In my reference room I wasn’t able to hit my 100-inch Stewart StudioTek 130 at full size from the fixed mounting position and had to back the unit up against the back wall on my portable projector stand.

We utilized HDMI cables (from DVIGear) for the majority of our testing and also utilized component video cables (courtesy of Blue Jeans Cable). Our reference source player was the Denon DVD-3930CI which was able to output 1080p as well as 480i via HDMI – and the Optoma correctly handled and identified both formats with no problems.

All of our primary evaluations were done using the Film mode excepting times when we played with settings and gamma to tweak the projector and find out its capabilities and flexibility.