Once calibrated, the Optoma HD80 DLP projector put on a wonderful show. Blacks were rich and colors vibrant. I did notice rainbows from time to time (and ALL the time on test patterns) but it was rare to see them in everyday (or night) viewing material. For the Blu-ray Discs, we had playback going at 1080p/24 – which was simply amazing though at times it seemed to be jumpier than 1080p/30 or 1080i/60.

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Blu-ray: The Fifth Element (Remastered)
This BD title was done so poorly on its initial release (grainy, film defects, etc) that Sony opted to take it back from users for free and replace it with a newly remastered copy. I got mine replaced and when I popped it into my Playstation 3 to view it, I was pleased beyond words. Finally, I had a high-definition version of this movie that exceeded, by far, the resolution and quality of the Superbit DVD. Colors popped. Hair and skin detail flourished, and the many lines, edges and motion elements in this disc never once created a problem for the HD80 in either 1080p/24 mode or 1080p/30. There are even some nice extras like a running text commentary which points out interesting facts – much like pop-up videos on the MTV of days gone past. Here are some of my favorite screen captures:

Just look at this gun and the facial detail on the Mangalores.

Milla Javovich has some excellent close-ups in this movie.

Detail, detail, detail.. and color, color, color... and motion... and sound...
The Fifth Element has it all.

Blu-ray: House of Flying Daggers
This disc was not remastered, but it isn't all that bad to begin with. With this disc, which I would not dub as 'Reference Quality' you have to more or less pick out the moments of greatness. Color is certainly vivid – and that is what I focused on for this part of the evaluation. I also caught some great moments of clarity when bamboo shoots would slice through trees and blades of grass would appear razor sharp. In one picture below the rope which binds our antagonist is just bursting with detail, every strand was visible and clearly delineated. The movie was absolutely filled with primary and tertiary colors. The opening scene was dominated by pinks and blues while greens dominated the forest surrounding the House of Flying Daggers. Blue held steady in our hero's outfit and each location was clearly set apart by washes and tints of chromatic elements.

Here you get a good look at grass and clothing detail along with some deep colors.

Check out the rope and ground detail.

Colors popped and detail was present when you got a shot that wasn't in high-speed motion.

HDTV: DiscoveryHD – The Best Beaches
I caught this show one day and snapped off some shots that really showed off how good 1080i/60 can look on this projector. I paid special attention to the flurry of textured white walls and subtle color variation in the clouds and trees. These shots were superb and the Optoma HD80 really made high-definition television addictive:

I'd eat anything that looks this good in high definition!

Rooftops and clear, clean white detail in the buildings told me that the dynamic range was just fine on the HD80 after a good calibration.

Splashes of color and a fuzzy rug made this scene look fabulous in HD.

HDTV: CSI: Miami
CSI: Miami is always a great show, but it's a bear on projectors that can't handle the dark. With the HD80 – after it was calibrated – I had little difficulty navigating the darker scenes of this crime thriller. In this episode I caught some good facial close-ups as well as a couple of outdoor shots:

“I've got... to go... to the bathroom...” Anything Caruso says sounds about the same... but at least he looks good in HD saying it.

I liked the colors in this scene and loved how well you could see the defendant's face as well as the differing tones of white in his shirt.

This was just a great chance to see that the 1080i/60 to 1080p/30 conversion is going swimmingly well.

Conclusion

The HD80 is a difficult product to judge. On the one hand it is a 1080p DLP projector that comes in at a street price of around $2600. That makes it one of the cheapest 1080p projectors on the market – and the first 1080p DLP to break this price barrier that we know of. On the other hand there are some issues with respect to the fan noise, initial color and grayscale settings and installation issues. If you have 8-foot ceilings it may be very difficult to mount this projector on the ceiling and still have a center channel below the screen. On the other hand, if you have the time to calibrate the unit and you can handle the installation – then this might be a great system that lets you get your hands on a 1080p DLP at a price point never before possible. I will recommend this unit for die-hard DLP fans and those who have been sitting on the fence waiting for prices to dip below that $3000 mark. Remember, just three years ago 1080p was only possible at prices well over $10,000. In fact, anyone who personally purchased the HD81 and is reading this might be getting a little hot under the collar right about now. Optoma is joining a much-appreciated group of companies that are truly bringing incredible value to consumers.