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Optoma HD67N review

Our Rating :
Price when reviewed : £530
inc VAT

It's 3D ready, but you can't watch movies on it without an additional box, while the annoying rainbow effect and low resolution detract from it.

Specifications

1,280×720 resolution, 2,000 ANSI lumens, 97x286x192mm, 2.3kg

http://www.askdirect.co.uk

Most home cinema projectors have a Full HD resolution of 1080p to match the resolution of Blu-ray movies, but the Optoma HD67N has a resolution of 1,280×720 (720p). This helps keep the price of the projector down, making it look like an appealing choice for an entry-level occasional-use model.

Optoma HD67N

It’s marked as being 3D-ready, which means that you can use it out of the box with an Nvidia 3D Vision system on a PC for 3D games. If you want to watch 3D Blu-ray or Sky 3D, or play 3D games on the PlayStation 3 you’ll need to buy an Optoma 3D-XL converter.

The projector looks fairly plain but it’s well made and small enough to move around easily. There’s some whirring fan noise when it runs, but this isn’t too penetrating and the projector doesn’t run too hot. The accompanying remote control is compact, nicely shaped and well laid out. Buttons to switch between different input sources are at the bottom, while other controls including brightness, colour mode, lamp mode and aspect ratio are nearer the top.

Unsurprisingly at this price, there are no lens shift controls, so you’ll have to position your image by moving the projector itself, making it harder to align the image without resorting to digital adjustment. There’s a vertical image shift option, which moves the picture up and down. This shouldn’t be confused with a physical lens shift; this option shifts the image using the existing resolution, discarding the top or bottom few lines of the image. It could be useful if you only watch widescreen footage and have the black bars to spare, but we doubt anyone only watches one type of footage.

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Details

Price £530
Details www.optoma.co.uk
Rating ***

Specifications

Projector technology DLP
Lamp brightness 2,000 ANSI lumens
Lamp life 4,000
Contrast ratio 400:1

Picture

Native resolution 1,280×720
Max compressed resolution 1,280×720
Aspect ratio 16:9
Other aspect ratios 4:3
Max diagonal at 7ft 59in
Throw ratio 1.55:1 to 1.7:1
Optical zoom 1.1x
Projection distance 0.83m to 9.13m
Mirror image yes
Invert image yes
Lens shift horizontal 0%
Lens shift vertical 0%
HD Ready yes
Special view modes cinema, bright, photo, reference

Inputs/Outputs

VGA input yes
DVI input Yes
Sound inputs 3.5mm
Composite input yes
S-video input yes
HDMI input yes
Component input no
PAL support yes
SECAM support yes
NTSC support yes
Audio output 3.5mm
Video output none
Others inputs/outputs RS232

Other

Noise (in normal use) 29dB(A)
Size 97x286x192mm
Weight 2.3kg
Internal speakers yes (2W)
Extras remote control, lens cover, batteries, cables (power, VGA to YPbPr)
Remote special features backlight
Power consumption standby 0W
Power consumption on 188W

Lamp

Lamp cost (inc VAT) £132
Lamp supplier www.projectorpoint.co.uk
Lamp cost per hour of use £0.03

Buying Information

Price £530
Supplier http://www.askdirect.co.uk
Details www.optoma.co.uk

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