Customer Reviews

Optoma EP719 DLP Portable Projector 2000

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I found this projector to be the Best Bang for the Buck after comparison shopping with all the different brands available. Comparing 2500:1 contrast ratio, 2000 ANSI lumens, 16x9 aspect ratio, up to 300 inches screen size projection (huge), 720p or 1080i (high def. DLP), easy set-up, multi connectivity and compatibility for under 1 grand is remarkable while other brand doesn't even come close. Ofcourse there are better specs. projectors out there but be ready to pay more. The higher the contrast ratio and ANSI lumens the better.

To enjoy the full potential of a 1080i picture (movie theater experience minus the annoying person behind you) you need to connect an HD source or an upconverting DVD like Samsung ($130) and a surround sound system. Soon you'll look forward to every Friday & Saturday movie nights at home with the kids and a big smile on your face.

I bought this strictly for PowerPoint presentations. But to show it off to my wife, I connected it to our DVD player. My Lord! The image is flawless. You can get totally lost in the detail of a movie in an only partially dimmed room (Venetian blinds, sunny day). In the dark, it is exactly like being in a theater. Because of our small place, we have only been able to show about a 60" diameter image, but I have projected it across the room and been able to see clear detail on the wall.

I can see the rainbow effect on other DLP projectors, although it doesn't bother me. I can't see it on this one. My only complaint is the faint dot crawl at the edge of high contrast areas, which I understand might go away if I used an S-Video connection. (Note--as far as I can tell, the S-video connection won't work with progressive scan DVD players.) But the dot crawl is faint, and only shows up when I look for it. Overall, the image is infinitely better than on our 21" TV.

I still haven't hooked it up to my laptop, and we have 12 hours logged on the lamp. If you want a business projector that can project a good image in fairly bright environments and double to show movies on Saturday night, this is the one.

Okay, a few guidelines here. You will not get your best picture with a regular yellow RCA cable. You won't even get it with S-Video or component video. To really make this baby shine like it can, you need to get a DVI-to-HDMI adaptor and an HDMI cable to your DVD player or get a VGA cable output from your media player (XBOX 360 offers one for about $40, and that's what I'm using on my system now). Also, you want to get a screen. Projecting on the wall is okay, but you won't get nearly the picture quality you would on a smooth, white surface. You can spend $1,500 on a home theatre screen or you can go to Home Depot and pick up a 4x8 sheet of white vinyl covered paperboard for $15. They'll even cut it to size for you for a few more dollars. it's a great screen because it's almost completely smooth (it has a very fine texture which keeps it non-reflective-that's good) and you can wipe it down with a damp cloth if it gets dirty.

That's it for the guidelines about setup. So you know, I'm using mine strictly for home theatre use. We run video games, movies, TV, etc. on it. This is really easy if you're using component video or s-video, but you'll sacrifice quality compared to the VGA. With those, you need to have hardware that will output a VGA signal, and that's not always easy. if you have a dedicated HTPC (Home Theatre Personal Computer), you're golden. You can get a card that lets you run TV into the computer and send out a VGA signal to the projector, all in real time. As a bonus, it can serve as a DVR and DVD-Recorder. If you aren't quite that tech-savvy, you'll be better off finding a VGA output box that takes other inputs (COAX especially if you're looking to watch regular TV on your projector).

As far as the picture goes, it's absolutely amazing. Like any projector, you're going to get less quality in a well-lit room than a completely dark one, but if you can draw your shades, it'll probably be plenty dark to get a good-quality picture. We have a bunch of windows in the living room with the projector (3 up high, 2 very large windows right next to the TV and a few smaller windows, all covered with standard mini-blinds) and it works perfectly fine during the day. Compared to our old TV, the picture is many times better. On certain video games with text, you couldn't read it at all on the TV screen because it was too small and blurry. it is large and crystal clear on the projector (we have a projected screen of about 78" with a 10-11 foot distance from the projector to the wall). The quality and detail is amazing. I didn't know it could be that good, to be honest. I can't stress enough how big of a difference the proper cables make. We ran it with S-video and the image was good, but it was fairly dark, with weird contrast issues (black seemed almost bright, and it really made darker scenes in movies difficult to watch). After switching to the VGA cable, the image is as good as any TV I have seen, including the $5,000 LCD flat screens they sell these days.

The projector is also very quiet. We have it set to the highest fan setting and it's still barely audible, aven though it's just on a shelf a few feet above our heads. You can hear it if there's nothing on the TV, but once you're actually watching something, you won't notice it at all. I was worried about this because my friend has an LCD projector and it is very loud, to the point where you can even hear it over movies sometimes. This one is very quiet at worst and I'm sure you could turn the fan down low enough to make it nearly silent.

To conclude, if you're looking for a projector, get this one. It's very inexpensive for the quality you get (compare the resolution, lumens, contrast, etc. to the $3,000 home theatre projectors and you'll see what I mean), and the picture is better than you could imagine. Just be sure to take cabling into account. if you have no way of getting at least Component video (red, green and Blue plugs) into it, I'd suggest waiting until you can. You'll be disappointed with it if you don't give it the right input. Just like you wouldn't put regular unleaded into a Lamborghini, don't put a regular RCA signal into this projector.

I purchased this projector last year and have been nothing but happy with it. I have not used it's HDTV capabilities (since I have no sources), but I use it to display movies from a computer regularly.

With more input modes than you probably need, this projector will handle almost any display needs. I have used it for VGA and DVI input, as well as S-Video for my PS2.

As a computer monitor it performs spectacular up to resolutions of 1024x768. It is capable of down sampling 1280x1024 input, but it leaves 12 point text nearly unreadable during the down sample. I have been using it successfully at 1024x768 to play games and movies and it performs spectacularly.

When displaying analog tv input from my ps2 it does very well. Final Fantasy 10 showed only minor blurring from being displayed in a large monitor, and overall I am very happy with it's analog tv capabilities.

As a monitor for a media center PC is amazing. After adjusting the settings the display is better than my parents rear projection screen.

After all that is said, there are a few problems:

1. The down sampling from 1280x1024 leaves a lot lacking. I tried to use this resolution to play World of Warcraft and the text distortions eventually caused a headache. Trying to program with 12 or 14 point text in this resolution caused similar problems. However, if I were simply viewing a movie I doubt I would have noticed the down sampling artifacts. If you plan on playing computer games or do things like program on this projector, be aware you will need to be in 1024x768 (not nearly as much of a problem as you would think, as you are on a 5 foot display... but still a slight letdown).

2. There is only one "user mode" for display settings, but it has very different needs for different inputs. For instance, PS2 has a radically darker output than a VGA computer connection, and leaving the brightness up when switching to a computer causes a washed out effect. The built in options "movie" "game" (and one other I can't recall) are acceptable, but hand tweaking the display settings for a particular input invariably leads to a cleaner brighter picture with more distinguishable colors. I would have liked to have at least 5 user settings for display.

3. If you are not using the right display settings for your input the output may be horrible. Effects range from dark colors in a ps2 blending into black, to washing out on a computer connection. Further, changing the contrast and brightness sometimes has radical effects on how many colors are visible.

4. The projector does not have auto light sensing as has been found on TV's since I was born. When you turn on the overhead light, you usually need to adjust the display to be brighter. This is something that a trivial bit of circuitry can, and should, handle.

With those problems stated, I would like to repeat, of the projectors on the market I believe this is the best home theater / personal use choice. Most people won't change inputs constantly, and setting your user settings to handle your movie input should be enough for most. As a computer display at 1024x768 it allows for team editing of documents, and would easily handle powerpoint if I used it. In the average situation, the room lighting is dark while using a projector, and auto light sensing won't be an issue.

If you are going to buy one projector this year, barring any amazing new competition it should be this projector. It is low cost, very bright, handles almost any input you could want, and very good at displaying movies and computer screens.

Just got this unit had been using an infocus X1 followed that up with a X2 but still missing the clarity and color I wanted in satellite tv viewing as well as DVD and VCR viewing. The Optoma 719 upgraded my X2 from 800 x 600 up to an eye popping 780P/1024 x 768 resolution that is nothing less than spectacular video viewing. I use a flat wall surface prepared and painted with "Screen Goo" (tm) and that's it. The room is lit by one 25 watt (fridge) light bulb, providing plenty of light to still move around in a room area roughly 14' x 25' located in a basement area with windows blocked. This is better than the movie theater. The color and clarity, resoultion of this projector with the new Texas Instruments DLP Dark Chip 2 is incredible for the same price as a much lesser resolution X1 or X2 from InFocus. Don't get me wrong I really enjoy my X2 projector and it's great for gaming but for the serious DVD/TV in HD viewer you can't do much better than this. Contrast ration is fantastic as well as amount of lumens for the buck. The thing is so light weight that I was timid taking it out of the box. This is a great bargin in a time when auto fuel is a kings' ransom.

I researched many dlp projectors, before buying this one. I believe I got the best bang for the buck. It is a very versatile product. I am using it for both home theater and as a portable projector for videos and slideshows. The Positives are: 1) price, good price for a 1024 x 768 native resolution. 2 ) 2500:1 contrast ratio, one of the highest in this price range. 3) 2000:1 lumens, I play it on a bare, flat white wall, it looks as clear and crisp as any movie theater, can't wait to get my "screen goo" paint, for my wall. 4) operation noise, fairly quiet in the normal mode, on economy mode it is ultra quiet, can't hear projector at all. 5) keystone works great. I have my projector behind me on a shelf, near the ceiling, it creates an angle of projection. The keystone flattens out the picture, so it looks as like it should.
Negatives: not many but, a few minor annoyances. 1) The adjustment arm It is not centered. Why, I don't know. With a ceiling mount, it would be of no consequence. 2) Lens cap, everytime I remove it, I have to refocus, a minor detail. 3) It has composite video, and S-video, but you have to buy an adapter for component video. Right now my component video adapter is on back order. However, I am using S-video, and am very happy with the clearity of the my movies. I doubt if I could tell much of a difference with the component cables but, would like to see.
Summary;
I paid less than $800 for it, delivered to my door. I play it at 96" diagonal. You cannot buy a new plasma, dlp, or lcd tv, with this size screen, for that price. I don't believe in giving 5-stars for a product, unless it was the ultimate, in every way. So, with the few minor annoyances, I give this projector a strong 4-star rating.

I have had an Optoma 719 for about five months. Picture quality was good. It is easy to use. I haven't hauled it around enough to know how sturdy it is.
My only gripe is that the documentation is poor. This device comes with a USB port on the back. It doesn't seem to do anything. There is no informaton on it in the accompanyng documentation or on the website. An e mail to tech support was not answered. I hope that I don't have any big problems with it.
For those who might be interested it does work with S Video.

!*!*!*! First off I have used other projectors in the past and was well on my way to buying either dlp or plasma 52" Tv with hdtv tuner built in...
In buisness most projectors are a hassle and the quality is only good if all the lights are off and even then they seemed far behind the Tv compatition. Then in the midst of purchasing a Tv a guru salesman came over to me and said "Doc, if you really want something awesome try the optoma Ep739, or its cheaper brother the optoma 719.
!*!*!*!.. I found a dealer with the optoma 719 and was very impressed with its ability to be bright even with two target touch lamps on in the room. The kids were impressed with the xbox 360 working with the system on display in 480 as well as 720, I didnt see it in 1080i but heard it was a stunner. We opted to go ahead and purchase the higher end brother the Optoma EP739 through circuit city online, since most retail stores bestbuy and circuit city dont cary the hi end stuff they usually just sell it through the web cause they sell tons of the cheap stuff at their store and very little use for big boy toys.
!*!*!*!*!In perpetual conclusion, after three days of anticipation we had it mounted and had the av switcher hooked up running 5 other devices to the projector.
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...for the xbox 360 and the hi definition dvd player we had purchased, you can connect those directly to the unit as well <xbox360 hdmi, hd dvd dv-dmi the smaller to larger one.>and the unit will know which one is turned on immedietly, if it doesnt pick it up at first in every 10 seconds it will resync and try again, if you are impatient as me and my wife have become due to T1 internet connections, you can just use the remote and tell it which input area you want to use. AND the best feature is that it will auto recognize the setting. So xbox360 auto to 720p and is unbelievable! as for bulb life buy the longest best warranty, every 45 days ask for a new bulb if ya need it or not. they will gladly give you one and it makes for good savings down the road when you are off the warranty. some other hot tips....

@*@*@*@*@*@*@ Dont buy one with a bunch of fancy [...] like a dvdplayer built in, cause if it goes your screwed. dont buy one under 2000: 1 contrast, thats as low as you ever want. and never below 2000 lumins.

.... Dont buy any with autofocus, the one we had in the office had auto focus, and sure enough it went out. manual focus is fine and very easy to use.

@*@*@*@*@ Buy a swiffer dust magnet pad, they are blue soft feathery fluffy thing and slip on the end of a stick most wives will know what this is, it is a dream tool to clean the outside lens, usually i dont even touch the lens, the dust particles just fly off toward the blue pad.

!*!*!*!*! As for screens yu dont have to buy one if you have 2000 lumins and a clean white wall. but if your paying 1,400 to 2,200 for a projector you might as well spend 100.00 on a descent screen. Optoma once again is king in my eyes and Ive seen alot. another good idea is the new paint you can purchase to use instead of a screen, if you are planning to go huge movie size like 20 feet or so, this is the way to do it. I would frame the painted area with crown molding and then paint the molding jet dull nonreflective black. This really helps to set it apart.

@*@*@*@*@*@*@ Other wonderfull secrets, if your projector operates on a 802. frequency you can purchase a television tuner box that will send it a wireless connection through your house. addlogix MA-WL-DVI EchoView Wireless Video Adapter retail 300.00 is one for example, I have not seen this in action so no clue YET.
here are the stats on that...
Send comptuer video (up to 1024 x 768) wirelessly to video displays
Works with VGA or DVI projectors, CRT monitors, flat panels, or TVs
Compatible with wireless (802.11 b/g) enabled PC (no additional hardware required)
Plug-and-play installation with driver installed from the product (no CD)
Presenter no longer needs to be close to the projector (not limited by cable)
Access Internet or local area network (LAN) through on-board 10/100 Ethernet interface....


Lastly ,,,for now... HD dvd players are the hot new thing, unfortunatly its harder than heck to find a dvd thats hdtv quality, but trust me they look 2x as good. We get ours from NetFlix, and the upconvert on our Hd dvd player does a Ok job. Another unfortunate thing, those Hd dvd players usually dont come with the HDMI cable so you will have to purchase one, the cheap aluminum ones are around 50.00 the 24k gold ones are 150.00 dollars. But very much worth it when you get the chance to show it off. The last benefit to projector is, we take it with us on vacation as well as everytime we are in a hotel since it only weighs 5lbs and comes with a great carry case.

I've been using my Optima EP719 DLP projector fro about a month now and I am well satisfied with the performance and low noise level. I use it teaching a college class and it is bright enough for good visibility in a classroom even when the shades are not fully closed. Set up and connecting to the computer is easy. The keystone adjustment is easy to use - better than on some other units I've used. I had hoped the "remote" would allow changing slides on PowerPoint presentations but this remote only talks to the projector, a feature of limited use. I think this is a good value unit for the price.

I don't usually rate items i buy but this projector is just too good not to rate. Just got it today. so i plugged it in to my dvd and hooked up my yamaha 5.1 surround system and put in saving private ryan for its maiden voyage. Absolutely amazing. only had to make a small adjument to the brightness and then i sat back in awe. The other reviews talk about how you can see details never seen before. I was skeptical about that but now that i see it it is 100% true. For the money this cannot be beat. hell even if you have all the money in the world i would still suggest this projector. so far i have it the screen at about 7 and half feet diagonal and according the instructions you can get it up to 39 but who in the hell wants that. where i have it is perfect for me and my space i have provided. If your not sure which projector you want for your home theater take a chance on this one and i know for certian you will not be disapointed.