Optoma HD23

Bottom Line

The Optoma HD23 is a low-priced projector that sports1080p resolution with good detail and clean, crisp whites. Black levels are good but not great. Setup is easy, though a modest throw range limits placement options somewhat.

Image Quality

Clean whites, good detail. Although its street price borders on the budget range, reviewers say the Optoma HD23's picture is anything but budget -- though it does take a little tweaking. "Properly set up and warmed up, and with a Blu-ray copy of ‘Machine Gun Preacher' piped in via HDMI, the HD23 serves up bright, vivid images," the editors of What Hi-Fi? say. They also write that the HD23's colors will "never dip below 'slightly warm," but they're vibrant nonetheless. Contrast is so-so and black tones aren't the deepest, but they have plenty of detail.

Those poor black levels hold back Art Feierman of ProjectorReviews.com from granting the HD23 his highest accolades despite his liking this video projector very much. Instead, he grants it a Special Interest award as an "entry level home entertainment" projector that's a good fit for family-room enjoyment where higher light levels make black performance less of an issue.

Features

Light on extras. The Optoma HD23 shows its budget side in terms of frills -- it just doesn't have many. "The optics are pretty basic," writes a reviewer with PC Plus (which can be seen at TechRadar.com). You do have access to a few basic tools for tweaking the images, though. Noise Reduction does just what it sounds like -- reduces visible noise -- while B/W Extension function is meant to "stretch the black and white levels to automatically increase the contrast of input image."

Setup and Use

Easy setup, limited options. User reviewers -- always the best gauge of how easy a projector really is to set up and use -- agree that the Optoma HD23 has simple, easy-to-follow setup instructions. That said, PC Plus is critical of the HD23's lack of lens shift -- not unexpected in this price range -- and its modest throw ratio and 1.2x manual zoom/focus, which means you're likely to have it placed between you and the viewing surface.

Although that placement means easy access to the projector itself, it also means easy access to the projector noise, which most reviewers say is pretty loud. "You could constantly hear the hum of the fan unless there were louder scenes on," writes one BestBuy.com user (in the U.S., Best Buy is this projector's primary retailer). You might also spot some light leaking from the HD23's vents. The noise and lights can get a little annoying, but they don't seem to be deal breakers for most reviewers.

Value

Reasonably priced. We didn't find the usual raves from users about this projector's sub-$1,000 price, but most are quietly happy about its value. The Optoma HD23 receives 5 stars for value from almost every user that rates it on BestBuy.com, plus a few positive remarks. "I was looking for a nice projector at a reasonable price for my home bar," writes one reviewer. "The picture is amazing and I'm very happy with this unit."