HD70 Features & Comparisons

When I found out that Optoma was taking over the entry level projector market - excuse me, I mean introducing a 720p DLP projector for under $1000舑 I quickly lined up a unit for review. You heard correctly, this is a 720p-native DLP projector that is debuting for $999 (street price). To suggest that this projector might be a popular item going into the holiday season and throughout 2007 would be like saying that Reality television might be getting a bit stale. I'll just say it now: this should be the top-selling projector of the coming year, and for good reasons that I will outline in this review.

Features and Favorites

There's not much to pick on with a $999 720p DLP projector, but I can always find at least a few things to praise in particular when looking at a new model:

• Quiet Fan System
  At full blast (Bright Mode 'on'), the fan measures 52dB from 6-inches away. With Bright Mode 'off' the noise dropped down another few dB - just below the threshold of being measurable on the Radio Shack SPL meter. I'm not sure what the standards are for measuring the 28dB of noise claimed in the literature but you'd need to be several feet away to hit that number. Overall the noise is rather low compared to other models I've heard.
  
• Image AI
  This feature improves contrast by varying the lamp output according to the amount of luminance being measured at the input source at any given time. Functioning as a sort of "dynamic iris" the effect is similar in that the lamp will output less when the scene is darker and more when the scene calls for it.
  
• BrilliantColor Color Processing
  The description for this feature makes it appear to be "magic", but as near as we can figure it adjusts the gamma settings of the unit to pop out colors in various lighting and brightness situations. For a truly accurate Cinema setting you'll want to keep it at 0 or 1 and configure the projector for your particular needs. If you're looking at using the unit during the day (Sunday football, for example) then by all means configure the Brightness setting to its maximum setting of 9. Images and color will pop - even with considerable amounts of ambient light.

With the included feature set, the low cost of entry and the resolution capability of this projector, the HD780 is sure to be a winner in the race for front projector market share.

Comparing the Optoma H31 and the HD70

Since the H31 debuted as a great budget projector for those looking to get into the game, it seemed only natural to take a look at what the same price of entry gets you today. The differences are staggering with a lot of "give" and almost no "take". Optoma's HD70 truly offers a whole host of new and updated features without removing too much in the process to cut costs: