Using the Denon DVD-2910 DVD player, set for HDMI and 720p output, we began our viewing evaluation in a totally dark room. Powering up the projector, the HD72 automatically searched for the active input and locked onto the signal. As the projector began to warm up in the dark room, we did note a small amount of light leakage emanating from the side fan discharge vent. This would not be a problem if the projector is ceiling mounted but may be a distraction for individuals that install the projector on a table top in front of the viewing position.

DVD: Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
We selected the older but near-flawless DVD Final Fantasy . The opening passage with Dr. Aki Ross standing and looking toward the horizon is an excellent passage for evaluation. The Optoma HD72 did a wonderful job of showing the near perfect detail in her face. The background full of pastel color was near perfect with smooth, vibrant, deep color. As the passage progresses, Aki covers her eyes as an atomic blast occurs in the distance.

With this particular scene, as the sky becomes increasingly brighter the HD72 exhibited some minor solarization and posterization. At first, we thought this may have been a result of calibration error on the Denon DVD-2910. But, checking the exact same scene on one of our reference projectors, the Sharp DT-400, the scene was artifact-free. The artifact was very brief and only the pickiest videoholic would even detect the brief occurrence. The level of detail achieved by the Optoma HD72 was incredible and far exceeded our expectations given the price point of the projector.

As the movie progressed, there was a passage where Aki and Captain Gray were leaning down over the corpse of a soldier to retrieve a spirit (Hey, it's an Asian-sourced film, so roll with it!) The HD72 did a wonderful job of showing all the detail in the clip. And when we say detail, simply take a quick look at this scene - you can see that they took great pains to make the environments seem highly detailed and three-dimensional.

The blacks and dark grays of the rocky background looked absolutely wonderful. The detail and contrasting color in Captain Gray's environment suit were outstanding and the image was very smooth and artifact free.

DVD: Hollow Man
With the excellent results achieved with the HD72 viewing Final Fantasy, we decided to try the near-reference quality DVD, Hollow Man . This DVD is loaded with videophile quality material to evaluate video components. In this passage, the HD72 displayed the inky black table perfectly. The color of the fruit in the bowl looked natural, dynamic, vibrant, and yummy. The flesh tones and hair color of the actors looked accurate, as well.

Looking at the darker portions of the scene, we did detect a very small amount of noise. Once again, we checked and compared this scene with our Sharp DT-400 reference projector, and it displayed no noise with the same set up. Regardless of the minor issue with noise, the HD72 excels in color rendition and black level.

We decided we would like to get a better look at how the HD72 would perform on a close up with flesh tones. The HD72 did not disappoint. Flesh tones, once again looked accurate and natural. The actors' contrasting hair and lip color was on the money. The objects in the background had definition, and there was no noise detected in the scene. Throughout the DVD evaluation process, we tried to detect rainbows (RBE).

There were only a few brief times that we detected the effect; this is when we forced our eyes to dart around looking for them. Under normal viewing conditions we were unable to detect the phenomenon.

From our seated viewing position of 12.5 feet back, observing the 92-inch diagonal screen we were unable to see any significant screen door effect. The only brief instance that we viewed SDE was on a total white background. SDE should not be considered a problem with the HD72 at normal viewing distances because the projector has excellent fill factor and pixel structure is not noticeable from a normal viewing distance of about 1.5x the screen width.

With the very impressive performance the Optoma HD72 exhibited with DVD material, we wanted to see how it would handle standard definition and HDTV broadcasts. Many individuals watch TV with the lights on. We decided that's the way we wanted to evaluate the HD72. We were astonished that the HD72 did such good job of lighting up our Carada Brilliant White screen with all the light in the room in the low lamp Cinema mode. We set the HD72 up just in time for the tip off of the Lakers vs. Kings basketball game in standard definition.

The projected image was slightly washed out with the lights on and did suffer from some artifacting but we could have happily watched the entire game with the lights on with this projector and screen combination. Switching over to High Definition was like looking through an open window. The HD72 produced extremely high levels of detail and definition when displaying High Definition content. Every whisker, strand of fir, and blade of grass was there to view in all its high definition glory.

Operation report
Throughout the entire evaluation period, the Optoma HD72 never failed to recognize an active signal. There were many times we simply pulled the signal cable and connected another source. The Optoma always detected the new signal and locked on regardless of the input or resolution. The projector operated flawlessly the entire time we had it for the review and in no instance did the Optoma fail to operate or shut down.

Shutting down the HD72 places the projector in a cool down cycle that spins the fans at a faster rate. When the projector is shut down in standby mode the power indicator light remains flashing green. The user must physically toggle the hard power On/Off button to stop this action. This may be distracting to some people.

Conclusion

The Optoma HD72 projector produced incredibly sharp, well-defined images. It also has some of the best colors and black levels we have seen in a projector under $3500. The projector's input flexibility, impressive feature set, and styling are things normally found on projectors at much higher price points. Optoma's impressive two-year warranty and no dead pixel policy make this an easy recommendation. The lack of lens shift may be a consideration for those who cannot mount the projector precisely within a home theater environment.

For those of you with budgets fixed below $2500 looking for a DLP or LCD projector, the Optoma HD72 should be placed at the top of your shopping list. The HD72 is not without faults as outlined in the review but if you can accommodate the projector in your room you should seriously consider this new low priced DLP. It simply blows our mind that the consumer can now purchase this level of performance for $2000. If this isn't the videoholic's hay day, then we don't know what it is. But we do know it is highly recommended.

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