Optoma HD20

Bottom Line

The Optoma HD20's is a top performer among video projectors in its price range, with great picture quality, good colors right out of the box, and black levels deep enough to please most viewers. Brightness is high, making the HD20 is a good choice for use in the living room. Placement options are somewhat limited, however, and some users may perceive the rainbow effect caused by this DLP projector's spinning color wheel.

Image Quality

Terrific picture quality in a sub-$1000 video projector. Most reviewers are impressed by the quality of the image projected by the Optoma HD20. It produces a "clear, bright, noise-free image with vibrant color and good dynamic range," says Bill Livolsi at ProjectorCentral.com. Like all home theater projectors in this price range, blacks won't be very deep at all. The HD20 lacks an automatic iris feature, which works in step with image content to improve apparent black levels. That is replaced here with an ImageAI feature that is intended to serve the same function, but performance is spotty at best. Livolsi complains that it is very slow and can be distracting."

The HD20 is bright enough to work in most viewing settings, including a family room with some ambient light -- a situation in which Art Feierman at ProjectorReviews.com notes that deep black levels would be wasted anyway. A few signal-processing bobbles are noted with certain content, but none rises to the level of deal killer -- again considering this home theater projector's price class. Of course, since this is a DLP projector, some sensitive viewers may notice the typical DLP rainbow effect.

Features

Bare bones. Continuing a theme, the best feature the Optoma HD20 has is its small price tag. The company does not even throw an HDMI cable into the box. It does throw in a backlit remote control, but that is the source of a somewhat unusual complaint: "It is bright," Tom Andry at Audioholics.com writes. "And by bright, we mean so bright that you have to give your eyes a chance to readjust to a dark environment after looking at it. It actually hindered the calibration processes with the amount of light it gave off."

Setup and Use

Not the most flexibility. Due to limited zoom range (1.2x) and lack of lens shift, finding the perfect spot for the Optoma HD20 can be a challenge. Most say the HD20 is on the noisy side, too. "While it wasn't a problem during most viewing, quiet passages were definitely interrupted by the noise," writes Andry.

An auto-source function that cycles through inputs to find the active one is fast -- to fast according to at least one report. Andry says that it gave insufficient time to allow HDCP handshaking to take place without moving on -- a problem, of course, if you plan to feed the projector a signal via HDMI. Fortunately, there's an override that lets you switch sources manually instead. On the upside, Livolsi reports a straightforward, common-sense user menu that easy to navigate.

The only really solid gripe we found in terms of user experience is the lack of live tech support. You have to submit a web form and wait for a timely response. Reports of exactly how well this works are mixed -- some users report prompt, helpful service while others are still waiting to hear back. The one-year limited parts and labor warranty and 90-day lamp warranty are fairly standard in this price range.

Value

Great bang for the buck. Even at its original near-$1000 price point, the Optoma HD20 drew raves for value. Ongoing costs are also on the low side thanks to the DLP projector's estimated 3,000- to 4,000-hour lamp life. Livolsi writes "if you were to put a quarter in a jar every time you watched a movie, you would have more than enough money for a new lamp when the time came to purchase a replacement."

If you have a bigger budget, the Epson Home Cinema 8350 (*Est. $1,300) delivers great colors and deeper blacks, and it's easier to place in a room. No other projector at or near the same price point as the HD20 can deliver a 1080p image that looks as good.