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Whistle Stopper - Optoma HD72 720p DLP Home Theater Projector
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List Price: $999.99
Our Price: Too low to display
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Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Optoma Technology
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Batteries Included: 0
Binding: Electronics
Brand: Optoma
EAN: 0796435115890
Feature: Device Type - DLP projector - High Definition
Is Autographed: 0
Is Memorabilia: 0
Label: Optoma Technology
Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product.
Manufacturer: Optoma Technology
Model: HD72
Publisher: Optoma Technology
Special Features: nv:Resolution^WXGA (1280 x 768)|Brightness^1300 ANSI Lumens|Contrast Ratio^5000 : 1|Uniformity^90%|No. of Colors^16.7 million|Aspect Ratio^16:9 Native/5:4 - 4:3 Compatible|Display Technology^DLP|Data Signals^PC and Macintosh computers|Data Signals^VGA (15-Pin D-Sub)|Data Signals^XGA|Data Signals^SVGA|Data Signals^UXGA|Data Signals^SXGA+|Data Signals^VESA|Data Signals^WXGA|Video Signals^NTSC4.43|Video Signals^HDTV (720p and 1080i)|Video Signals^NTSCM|Video Signals^NTSC3.58
Studio: Optoma Technology
Warranty: 2 years warranty
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Features
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Device Type - DLP projector - High Definition
Image Brightness - 1300 ANSI lumens
Max Resolution - 1280 x 768
Image Contrast Ratio - 5000:1
7.00 Lbs (WxLxH) 3.72" x 13.56" x 9.67"
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Unreliable
Comment: First of all, it would be wise to avoid Optoma products all together. This is the second one I've owned (due to the inexplicably good reviews on Amazon). I've had plenty of problems with them, and Optoma USA is spectacularly unresponsive and unhelpful. I sent this particular projector back to them twice, and they have still failed to fix it.
One problem that I've seen in both Optoma projectors I've owned is that despite the bright pictures and purportedly huge contrast ratios, most of the actual effective contrast is skewed towards the bright end of the range. This means that no matter how much calibration, tweaking, and adjustment you do (or how dark your viewing environment) dark scenes tend to range from muddy to unviewable. So these projectors are really not good for viewing movies and some TV shows. They're mostly good for business presentations in brightly lit office environments.
The main problem I've had with this particular projector is spontaneous lamp shutoff after about a minute of use. Having to constantly restart the projector is maddening (as is sending it in for repairs only to have it returned with the same problem).
Other problems are, of course, minor by comparison. This model vents hot air out the side, as if it was intended for the viewers to be seated behind it. In a home environment, where both the projector and the viewers are likely to be against the wall opposite the screen, this means that viewers to one side of the projector are having hot air blown at them. And despite the side venting design, the form factor seems explicitly designed (with corner feet and sloping top) to *not* stack nicely with other A/V components (specifically any component that is smaller in some dimension than this large projector).
The bottom line is this projector is a head-ache from start to finish. Avoid it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Was the best projector of 2006!
Comment: I am the lead installer for a company that installs RealHomeTheaters, so hopefully my experience can be of some help.
This projector has been on the market since 2006. There is newer better technology out there at better prices. Shop around. Consider the Mitsubishi HC1500 or the Panasonic PT-AX200 and be sure to read my reviews on them too.
Hope this helps get your RealHomeTheaters off the ground!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Exceptional
Comment: I have owned this projector for over a year and a half now and it still blows me away every time I use it. Connected to a Toshiba HD-A2 or HD-A3, the picture quality on either HD-DVD or standard DVD is exceptional. I paid half again what it is currently selling for on Amazon and that was considered a bargain at the time. The current price is a very good deal. I have also used this projector connected to a laptop for digital slide shows with excellent results. I can recommend it without reservation.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Put through it's paces
Comment: The HD72 is a decent priced midrange DLP projector (even for Texas Instruments nestled between their HD70 and HD80)that does what it claims to do, but is not without it's limits. I tested it ceiling mounted on a 110" screen (96"x54" viewing) at approx 13'-15' distance. Various tests were done, first using the component(Red,Blue,Green) inputs, S-Video, and Composite (RCA), and finally HDMI for high def. Component input basically gives you the 720i, or 1080i if the source is there, without using the HDMI input. The projector will do its best to digitalize the signal on all inputs, but it does not do well with the lower end inputs. Even in componet mode darker colors are not perfectly read across the grey scale and results in the familiar "metalic sheen" look in certain areas (when certain colors can not be determined by the processor and as a result produces the next closest color which gives off distinct lines rather than a smooth transition between colors). Even with Optomas TrueVivid and TrueVision technology turned "on" it did not correct the problem. This would probably not be as noticeable if the screen size were smaller, or the viewing distance was further away. Which is fine if you were, say, in a "theater" but assuming that most people will be using this in a designated rec room, or even their living room, larger pictures will propose this problem. I would advise that if you plan on being within 12-13' of your screen at any angle, produce a picture around 72"-80" maximum. I was impressed however that I had to get very close to the screen to see the actual squares of the projected image. They are very small and virtually unnoticed as compared to older models that produced what many have referred to as the "screen door" affect.
Optoma claims that there is a 7-segment color wheel to deliver great color saturation. Outside of the problem mentioned above, I will say that the colors in the basic spectrum are indeed bright and true. By putting up a test pattern and going through the contrast and brightness settings using a blue filter, I did fine that the spectrum of these two settings needed a little fine tuning. Turning off the TrueVivid and TrueVision settings, and sharpness set to zero, I was able to at least get the brightness and contrast little closer to where they should have been, but still was prevented from getting them perfect. [A note on sharpness: You should really always have this setting to zero or less, especially for Hi-Def, as it produces artifical elements that are not part of the original source material and can cause bad destortion].
After getting the 16:9 format centered on the screen (which, if necessary, can be done with various methods of Keystone correction, screen shift, zoom, etc) when I switched to the 4:3 format (for those older films or video tapes that certainly exist in most librarys)I was saddened to see a very small square in the center of the screen. Yes, the zoom function can make it a little larger, but the result was that the picture shifts dramatically to one end of the screen and under no circumstances can you get it to fill the whole screen. I should also mention that you would also need to refocus whenever you use the zoom funtion on the projector. The problem exists that both the focus and the zoom are manual on this projector, so if you have it in the ceiling mounted posistion you will need to go up there and do it yourself the hard way. If you set your projector in the maximum resolution (1920x1080) which can be done by the remote in setup mode, it does make the picture a little larger. [Helpful Hint: In the 1920x1080 resolution you can actually view anything recorded in the 4:3 format (even televison) in 16:9 and even get enough away from the "Short-fat" syndrome that results in trying to view 4:3 source in a 16:9 invironment].
The seperate modes available [Cinema, Bright, TV, RGB, Native] can all be adjusted to your liking individually (brightness, contrast, color, etc) and the projector's memory chip will remember these settings for you. You can also lock in your source if you don't wish for the projector to continually search for a source everytime you have multiple sources going into the projector that are turned on at the same time.
There are also computer inputs RS-232, and DVI inputs if you don't have a recent Hi-Def DVD player or Blue-Ray yet to connect to the DMI input.
Finally, there is also a life meter for the lamp (ave life 2000-3000hrs)that can remind you when it is time to think about replacing the bulb (average price around $350).
I used to own a 3-CDD LCD projector that probably out performed this one in overall performance, but did not have as high a contrast ratio and was not ready for the HDMI future. If you really want a dedicated smooth picture with all color and gray information interpreted correctly, I would probably stick with a LCD projector or televison. But again, with a little more work, the right adjustments, and viewing distance, and lets not forget the price range, this little quiet DLP projector can deliver as much as the it's bigger brothers.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Home Theater by Home Owner
Comment: I completely renovated a room in our basement to a home theater using the Optoma HD72 and DaLite 110 diagonal Cinema Vision screen. What I learned:
- you've gotta plan any projectors location, whether Optoma/JVC/Panasonic/etc, including distance from screen, offset from ceiling, height/size of room, etc. So...if the HD72 fits within your room requirements it should be strongly considered
- the screen is as important as the projector, so any review that doesn't tell you what type/size screen is teamed with the projector limits its usefulness.
The basement room I put this in is 7ft 9in with excellent light control. Being 110" diagonal, the screen sits a little low on the wall. However, it is just fine when either sitting or standing.
Picture is outstanding...rivals a 50" plasma
Bottom line, I can't imagine I could have the quality image I have for the price I paid with any other combination.
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Editorial Reviews:
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Offering true 720p high-definition resolution, the Optoma HD72 DLP (digital light projection) home theater projector features new technologies to deliver brighter images and truer colors to the projected picture. With a proprietary 7-segment color wheel with BrilliantColor and TrueVivid color enhancement technologies, the Optoma HD72 produces superior color and deeper dark settings at the same time. With native HDTV and HD PC resolution at 1280 x 768 (16:9), the HD72 delivers a 5000:1 contrast ratio at 1300 lumens to deliver subtle color details. And with 10-bit color per channel color processing, the HD72 delivers great color saturation and subtle color details for optimized image quality. Featuring a new, unique design, the HD72 also lowers the noise level usually associated with typical home theater projectors. The patent-pending wind tunnel cooling system is designed for near-silent operation with minimal light leakage. Features
- True High Definition 720p home theater projector
- Bright 1300 lumens with 5000:1 (ImageAI mode) contrast ratio
- BrilliantColor technology by Texas Instruments delivers higher brightness and more vibrant colors
- Native pixel-to-pixel matching for 720p HDTV and 4:3 XGA computer display
- ImageAI - Auto Adjusting light intensity output delivers amazing contrast
- 7 segment color wheel for detailed color reproduction
- Input connectors: DVI-I, HDMI, RCA component, Composite, S-Video
- Light shield design and ultra-quiet 27 dB operation
What's in the Box
Projector, composite video cable, S-video cable, remote control, batteries for remote control, lens cap, userŐs manual, Quick Start Guide, warranty card, power cord, printed operating instructions
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