HD7100 Installation & Menu System

Throw distance is the amount of distance you will need between the screen and the projector's front lens to fill the screen with the projected image. The HD7100 has a throw ratio of about 1.30-1.62, meaning that on a 92-inch diagonal screen (45" x 80"), the projector would need to be installed at a minimum of about 8.60 feet and a maximum of about 10.80 feet. If you don't feel like doing the math, Optoma provides a distance calculator on their website.

The HD7100 is installation-friendly and the user should have no trouble installing it in just about any room. This is mainly due to the incorporation of both vertical and horizontal lens shift. This welcomed feature enables the user to install the projector in many locations including one which is off center from the screen.

We were able to shift the projected image vertically approximately one full screen height when projecting on a tabletop surface. The HD7100 also has the ability to horizontally shift the image 1/4 the screen width. This is a handy feature for installs that require an off center location. We noticed minimal uniformity degradation when performing vertical and horizontal lens shift to the maximum positions.

User Menus

Picture Menu
The HD7100 menu system is easy to navigate. The user controls are expansive and should enable the user to get excellent ISF-level calibration results without entering service menus. The user menu contains seven headings labeled: Picture, Fine Sync, Layout, Options, Input Source, Language, and Factory Reset.

Under the Picture Menu you will find Picture settings, Brightness, Contrast, Color, Tint, Sharpness, Gamma, Color Temp, White Balance and Reset . Selecting 'Picture Settings' brings up a submenu that has three different configurable memory settings of: Normal, Custom 1, and Custom 2 .

Selecting 'Sharpness' enables a submenu with various sharpness settings of:

Normal, Soft, Softest, Sharp , and Sharpest.

The ' Gamma' control allows the user to select preset Gamma levels of 2.2, 2.35, 2.5, 2.8, 1.0, 1.8, and 2.0.

'Color Temp' brings up a submenu with preset color temp settings of: 8000k, 8500k, 9000k, 9500k, 10,000k, Native, 5000k, 5500k, 6000k, 6500k, 7000k, and 7500k

' White Balance' enables a submenu that allows the user to adjust the Red, Green and Blue gain and offset. These settings can be individually adjusted.

Selecting 'Reset' restores all the picture settings to factory default.

As you can see the HD7100 is loaded with calibration features, but the depth of the calibration adjustment does not stop there. The remote control has several buttons with shortcuts to alternative calibration menus. Pressing the Picture Settings button on the remote enables a submenu that contains Normal, ISF Day, ISF Night, Custom 1, Custom 2, and Save.

Pressing the ' Color Temp' button on the remote activates a submenu that contains preset color temp settings and user adjustable color temp settings. The adjustments are from 5000k to 10,000k and adjustments are made in 500k increments. The user adjustment can then be stored in the Custom 1 or 2 menus.

We found that the extensive calibration options incorporated in the HD7100 made this projector a tweaking videoholics' dream. The user or installer should have no trouble calibrating the HD7100 to any desired calibration level.

Continuing through the extensive user menu system the next submenu is labeled: ' Fine Sync'. This setting allows the user to adjust clock and phase to decrease irregularities such as scrolling vertical noise bars or flickering when using the PC input.

' Layout' enables a submenu with aspect ratio selection of 16:9, Native, 4:3 and Letterbox.There is also a short cut button on the remote control for aspect ratio control. The submenu also contains adjustments for vertical and horizontal image shift (not to be confused with lens shift) and vertical and horizontal keystone correction.

' Option' allows adjustment of White Peaking On/Off, Bright Mode On/Off, Auto Power On/Off, Source Select (manual or auto), OSD Time Out, OSD Blending, PRJ Mode, Deinterlace mode, Reset, Lamp Timer Reset, and Status. Enabling White Peaking emphasizes the bright portions of the image, off is the correct setting for home theater applications. Selecting Bright Mode increases the brightness of the projector, it also increases the fan speed and makes it much more audible (and constant). Newer units may be shipped with this labeled Econo mode. Turning on Econo mode will decrease brightness and reduce fan speed.

The rest of the settings in this submenu are self explanatory, except for the entry labeled Deinterlace.  The Deinterlace function is only active when a non-progressive analog signal is being sent to the projector. There are three user adjustable settings in this submenu. The first one labeled ' DCTI' enhances 4:1:1 video sources, and the user can adjust the setting from 0-7. The second labeled ' Video on Film' identifies artifacts while in film mode. When this function is enabled the processing attempts to compensate and smooth out the artifact. The final setting in the submenu labeled 'Film Mode' allows the user to select either 3:2 pull down or 2:2 pull down for PAL 50Hz and SEACAM.

The final three-user menu entries are labeled: 'Input', 'Language', and 'Factory Reset.'

Selecting 'Input' allows the user to manually select the input; there are also shortcut keys placed on the remote control for quick access.

Selecting 'Language' allows the user to select the language in which they wish to read the user menu.

The last entry labeled 'Reset' restores the entire projector settings to factory default.