Optoma HD66 DLP 3D Projector Review

HD66 Build Quality and Setup Menu

3D - it's becoming all the rage these days. If you want to get your product some immediate attention, all you have to do is slap a 3D sticker on the box. While it might not be fair, it is a fact of marketing life - buzzwords work. While some might look at the Optoma HD66 solely because of its 3D claims, we like to look at the overall performance. Oh, and there is that little thing we like to call cost. At $699 MSRP (and you know you'll find a sale somewhere), this is a 720p projector that shouldn't need the marketing hype of 3D to get attention.

Build Quality

The Optoma HD66 arrived as all Optoma projectors have - well boxed and undamaged. Included in the packaging was a CD user manual, composite video cable, and VGA to component cable. This is a small white remote as well. The Optoma HD66 is white and boxy with a left mounted lens. There are three rubber, adjustable feet on the bottom with three mounting holes. To the side of the lens are fins to divert excess light off to the side. With the Optoma HD20, I found that the excess light was... well... excessive. With the HD66, I found it to be less so. This might just be me getting used to living with projectors, but it seems like Optoma has done a better job of controlling the direction of the light.

Looking at the back, there are a number of inputs. Near the bottom is the power cord connection and a security bar for tying off your projector. The actual inputs include (left to right) VGA in, VGA out, HDMI, S-video, composite video, RS-232, and stereo audio in and out. Here is where I ran into the first challenge with the HD66. Included in the box is a six foot VGA to component cable but what I needed was a VGA to component breakout box. Scratch that, what I really needed was a component video input but I would have made due with a component video breakout box. Without one, I had no way of connecting my existing component cable to the unit. For the new user, this is an issue that can be fixed with a little forethought and planning. Those looking to upgrade current installations will need to either buy three component video female to female couplers or maybe look into some sort of wall plate.

While I question the need for both a composite AND S-video input, my supposition is that this projector is expected to bridge the gap between business and home theater projectors. If I were an IT director somewhere, I'd see the $700 price tag, the HDMI and VGA inputs, RS-232 support, the fast startup/cool-down time, and audio inputs and think, "Hmm... I bet I could get the company to spring for this and they wouldn't even miss it on the weekends." But that's just me.

Setup

I installed the Optoma HD66 on the Da-Lite UPM-1 universal projector mount in my dedicated home theater room. This room in completely light controlled. Since I didn't have access to a component input, I connected the unit solely through HDMI. Similarly the HD20 before it, I found that the auto-discover function of the HD66 was sometimes a bit too quick for HDCP to lock on to and HDMI source. I ended up having to switch the unit into source lock mode so that it wouldn't keep cycling through the different inputs indefinitely.

Out of the box, the performance of the HD66 was somewhat off. The picture was noticeably washed out and full of artifacts. What you'll want to do is to cut the Sharpness all the way down to "0" under the Image menu. Next, hit the Advanced submenu (under Image) and select Film under Degamma and cut BrilliantColor to "0" and Color Temp to "Warm". From there, you can head over to Display and make sure that Overscan is at "0" (should be by default) and all the 3D options are set to "Off" (more on those later). That should get you pretty close to a decent picture. You'll want to play with Saturation, Brightness, and Contrast from the Image menu to dial it in. If you like, you can switch to Movie mode and make your corrections from there. Just understand that as soon as you make a change, it overwrites User 1 mode. If you want to have a user setting that is more permanent, you'll want to copy (manually, unfortunately) your User 1 settings into User 2. That way, if you (or someone else) decides to play around with one of the other modes, they won't inadvertently overwrite your settings when they make changes.

While spending $300 on a calibration for a $700 projector doesn't make sense to some, hear me out. The Optoma has all the necessary calibration options for a full scale calibration (under Image -> Advanced -> Color) and you'd still come out ahead of many similarly capable projectors. Of course, if you are more of a DIY type, an AVIA or DVE disc and a few hours of fiddling will get you most of the way there. Either way, to get a decent picture out of the HD66, you're going to have to spend some time.

The menu system is fairly intuitive and generic so I won't spend much more time on it. I will say that you'll appreciate a couple of the features on this $700 that I didn't find on the $1000 HD20. While you might be settling for 720p, what you get is Image shift. Image shift is when the projector moves the pixels across the panel rather than Lens shift which is optical. Either way, the effect is that the image can be repositioned without fear of image degradation. This is a huge boon for those that can't position their projectors perfectly dead center to their screen. There is a manual zoom on the projector and a digital one in the menu. I suggest you use the manual one as much as possible. Regardless, you've got more than enough settings here to dial in just most any installation.

This biggest problem I had with the setup was with the PS3. As my sole method of getting Blu-ray content to my display, it is a very integral part of my home theater setup. Unfortunately, as I've found with other displays, the Optoma HD66 didn't really like to play nice with the PS3. I found that I could not successfully send a 1080p signal to the projector. While Optoma says it can accept an 1080p/60Hz signal, I found this wasn't the case for the PS3 (and it won't accept 24Hz at all). I even tried sending a 1080i signal to the receiver and had it upconvert it to 1080p but to no avail. Either I ended up with a blank screen (with a "searching" for source alert) or a heavily distorted picture that would cut out occasionally. That being said, it accepted 1080p signals from my cable box (upconverted at the receiver) without a problem, so I have to believe it is something with the PS3.

HD66 Remote Control, Bench Tests and Viewing Evaluation

The remote is small, white and hit or miss. I like the fact that the power button is at the top and alone and green so that it is easy to find. I don't like the fact that the remote isn't backlit (though in some ways it is better than the eye-searing HD20 remote). There is a top grouping of buttons that were apparently designed for a different projector because I can find no use for them with the HD66. Under that, you'll find a grouping of buttons that are small and hard to navigate. They are, at least, different shapes and oriented slightly differently which makes navigating them in the dark a bit easier. I like the fact that there is a Brightness button though I don't see why you need a Zoom or Keystoning controls. It seems like these are setting that you set once and forget. There is a button for every input though you'll probably have to turn on the light to find the right one. There is an option on the menu to de-select the different inputs (under Image -> Advanced -> Input Source) which I used to make sure it didn't cycle through unused inputs. With HDCP, the handshake sometimes didn't happen quickly enough for it to lock on before it switched to a different source. De-selecting all the other inputs helped this plus it tended to work better with some inputs (DVD) than others (PS3 or cable box).

Tests

I installed the Optoma HD66 on a Da-Lite UPM-1 universal projector mount throwing to an 80' diagonal Da-Lite Tensioned Cosmopolitan Electrol screen. For protection, the projector was plugged into a Panamax MX5102 Uninterruptible Power Supply via the MIW-XT in-wall power extender. Signal was provided from a number of sources including a Motorola Comcast cable HD box, Denon DVD-3910, a PS3, and an Oppo DV-970HD DVD player via HDMI from a Denon AVR-4310CI (which handled upconversion/scaling duties). After calibrating using Avia, I found that the black levels were decent if not stellar. The default values of 50 on Brightness were universally reduced (regardless of source) but varied in their intensity (some as low as 33, others as high as 47). Contrast was usually reduced similarly. Lastly, I wanted to get an idea of how well the HD66 upconverted a 480i signal over HDMI. Understand that when the Denon AVR-4310CI performed the upconverting duties, we had no problems and highly recommend you research all of your gear to ensure that the best processing available is being utilized.

Audioholics/HQV Bench Testing Summary of Test Results

Perfect Score is 130
Optoma HD66 Benchmark total score: 71/130. All tests were run through the HDMI input.

Comments on Audioholics DVD Torture Tests

The HD66 did markedly better on the HQV tests when compared to the HD20. The Jaggie tests were all a bit shaky but borderline. I didn't really notice any real world jaggies in my later viewing evaluations. The Detail test was soft and a bit out of focus even on a relatively small 80” screen. Noise reduction again was impressive and the Film Detail showed a moire lock on that was nearly instantaneous. It was quite impressive in a projector in this price category. While it failed all the Cadence tests, what was important was that it passed 3:2 pulldown without a hitch. Overall, I'm very impressed with the performance of this projector.

Viewing Evaluation

Before we get into the full evaluation of the performance of the HD66, let's talk about 3D. Obviously Optoma is banking on the fact that the HD66 is one of the first 3D projectors to get it a lot of press (and consumer dollars). But is it worth it? I say No. The fact is, by Optoma's own admission, that the HD66 won't be useful for Blu-ray or broadcast 3D. From the website:

Optoma projectors cannot be used to display 3D TV broadcasts or 3D Blu-ray discs. Optoma projectors may support these applications in the future but will require additional hardware at extra cost.

What this means is that you are limited to a PC input which traditionally means PC gaming. While that is fine for the hardcore gamer, consumers who bought the projector thinking they'd be able to view Avatar in 3D (when it comes out) are going to be disappointed. While I don't blame Optoma for highlighting the 3D even if consumers are likely to assume that it will be more useful than it is, it does seem a bit disingenuous. While there is no true 3D sources or content widely available (aside from a few recent sporting events), consumers are excited about 3D. They want to be prepared. At $700, they are getting a very nice projector, it just isn't really the 3D they are looking for.

Overall, I was quite impressed with the picture from the Optoma HD66. The dark detail wasn't superb but the colors were well saturated without a hint of rainbow effect. The picture, overall, is crisp and clean especially with HD content. Even the PS3, which I had to limit to 1080i output max, looked great. Now, on with the pics.

DVD: War of the Worlds
If you're like me, you were chomping at the bit for the Blu-ray version of War of the Worlds to hit the shelves. Well, it's here and I still don't have it. In honor, though, here are a few pics from the movie that made more than one subwoofer cry for its mommy and more than one daddy say, "But I DID turn it down!?!"

You'll notice the detail on the Dakota's hood, the well saturated colors, and the ho-hum dark level detail. Part of this is the movie, part is trying to take a picture in a dark room and upload it to the Internet, and part is the projector itself.

HD Cable: Various
We've got a shot from Hidalgo, one Deadliest Warrior, and two from Justified. Again, colors look great (a bit oversaturated because of the camera), plenty of detail - especially in the backgrounds, and no hint of noise or artifacting. This was all converted and scaled by the projector and not the receiver. If you'd have told me I could get image shifting and a picture this good for $700, I'd have thought you a liar.

Blu-ray: Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
Well, even though the PS3 and the HD66 didn't like to play nice, I still wanted to show you a few shots from a Blu-ray. The HB2:TGA is a great reference disc for so many reasons. First, they use puppets as much as possible which give so much more detail (and in my opinion are better for the performances of the actors) than CGI (at least cheap CGI). The soundtrack is outstanding with enough bass for your sub and enough surround material for rears to really let you evaluate your system. Plus, it's just a fun movie. Humans, demons, elves, goblins and Barry Manilow? What's not to like?

Check out the detail in the hair, on the floor, on the blade. Simply stunning. No evidence of banding or artifacts in the black background either.

Some of the red emphasis is from the camera. The goblin looks amazing though.

This is really where you can see some dark detail issues. This scene is particularly hard for some displays and the HD66 did well, if not stellar. Still, once you get this projector into your home theater, you're probably going to be a little too busy watching the movie to notice such subtleties.

Conclusion

While I feel the 3D branding is a bit misleading to the uninformed consumer, the fact is that the HD66 is a fantastic projector for the price. At $700 (less on the street) you are getting a very capable projector with tons of setup options for a very fair price. If you are in to 3D PC gaming... so much the better. A very versitle projector that will have no problems going from the office to the home theater and performing well in both. If you are on a budget and don't want to buy used, you're going to have a hard time doing better than the HD66.

About Optoma Technology, Inc.
Optoma Technology, Inc. is an award-winning developer of projection and digital display products for business and home. The company manufactures multimedia projectors for mobile users, fixed installations and home theaters, as well as HD displays. Optoma products combine superior image processing technologies with exceptional engineering and innovation to deliver images that are bright, crystal clear, and finely tuned for tone and color. Optoma products are sold through the company's global network of ProAV dealers, major consumer electronics retailers and Internet resellers. For more information, visit www.optomausa.com.

The Score Card

The scoring below is based on each piece of equipment doing the duty it is designed for. The numbers are weighed heavily with respect to the individual cost of each unit, thus giving a rating roughly equal to:

Performance × Price Factor/Value = Rating

Audioholics.com note: The ratings indicated below are based on subjective listening and objective testing of the product in question. The rating scale is based on performance/value ratio. If you notice better performing products in future reviews that have lower numbers in certain areas, be aware that the value factor is most likely the culprit. Other Audioholics reviewers may rate products solely based on performance, and each reviewer has his/her own system for ratings.

Audioholics Rating Scale

• — Excellent
• — Very Good
• — Good
• — Fair
• — Poor

Metric	Rating
Detail and Resolution
Contrast and Black Levels
Color Reproduction
Build Quality
Ergonomics & Usability
Ease of Setup
Features
Remote Control
Fit and Finish
Performance
Value