Customer Reviews

Optoma HD65 720p DLP Home Theater Projector

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I just bought this projector for watching movie and playing games.
I wanted a HD projector under 1000$

here's my review:

Pros:
-Colors are great and accurate. Skin tones looks natural.
-Contrast is very good.
-I'm seeing details in the dark areas.
-Almost silent projector. (fan is very quiet even in Bright mode).
-The image is really bright (1600 lumens)
-Image looks uniform (a bit of noise in the black levels but you can barely see it).
-All the inputs that you need (1 HDMI, 1 Component, 1VGA, 1Svideo, 1,Composite).

Cons:
-The back light in the remote control is way to bright. It burn my eyes every time I'm using it. (not really helpful when you are trying to adjust the colors and contrast.
-No saturation control when using HDMI input.
-Zoom is really small ( you really need to know exactly how far from the screen to put it because you don't have that much room).

Other thoughts:
I would recommend using a gray matte surface screen if you're watching movies. I'm currently having a gray matte screen (elite silver max 16:9). However if you want to play games get matte white surface screen, its brighter.

Also I heard some peoples complaining about rainbow effect, but I haven't seen any.

Conclusion: If you are looking for a good 720P projector for watching movie and playing games its definitely a good projector to consider. The picture is great.
For under 1000$ you can't really go wrong.

I'm giving 5 stars because it does what I wanted with a good quality.

Sim

The picture is excellent... WHEN IT'S WORKING. I have had the projector for 2 months. It has be out of service for half that time. Customer service (which doesn't even give the option to talk to someone on a phone, everything is e-mail) ignores requests. Fair to say that the actual repair time was quicker than e-mail communication leading up to the repair.. They make you pay for shipping... which if you want to insure is costly. Repair worked for about 2 hours then the same error message "fan locked, shutting down" appeared again. I demanded they replace the projector and have heard nothing back as of yet.

I would've returned the product had it not barely exceeded the Amazon return period before breaking.

Project is unreliable and a total headache.

I am not an expert but I was set on buying the HD70 based on all the rave reviews and then read that Optoma had superseded it with the HD65 (1600 lumens) and the HD71 (2400 lumens) and the HD70 was nolonger in production. I went for the HD65 as I was after a great home theatre projector at an affordable price (and the HD71 wasn't as easily availble yet). I have not been disappointed and can't tell the difference with the high priced Sony and Infocus units I use for work. All the features of the HD70 (including the near silent fan) and almost twice the lumens for a couple of hundred bucks extra and the unit is surprisingly small and light. Setting it up was a doddle and soon realised that any image quality problems were associated with the DVD quality rather than the projector capabilty. With this neat unit I am now tempted to move to HDMI cabling (if I can find a half decent HDMI multizone DVD player) and a proper screen. Currently I run the video leads through the projector and the sound leads through my surround sound system. Getting the extra lumens helps for day use at kids parties, but the HD71 maybe even more worthwhile if you can afford it. Why wouldn't you get the latest model with the speed this technology sector is changing?

I just recently purchased this projector around 2 1/2 weeks ago, and I wanted to test it out quite a bit before posting a review, and I think I am ready to share my thoughts about this projector with future potential buyers.

First of all, it is important to point out that I have very limited space to work with, in a small room. I decided once I was living on my own I would get a projector, as it is something I wanted since I was just a kid. Unfortunately, I am not able to fully enjoy this projector because the only room in my house where a theatre would really work out is rather small. I was a bit worried about this before buying this projector because I have read how the zoom lens is very limited. The lens IS rather limited, but with about 9-9 1/2' of throw distance, I am getting a 79-80" diagonal, very high quality image.

I decided to move it to my living room, just to see what it can really do, and despite the fact that I have shelves and a window in the way, I was delighted to see a huge, approximately 140" diagonal image on my wall from about 15' of throw distance. The point I am trying to make is, if you have a small room, this projector will work out for you, and with very little screen door effect. If you have a large room to set it up in, you are going to get a very big image that is also very high quality.

Obviously, the price is a big selling point, and I found that at around $850, you can't find a better projector on the market. I use my Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 with my projector, for gaming and Blu-Ray movies. I also have a surround sound system, and even with just an 80" screen, video games and high-definition movies have never looked better.

I am certain you could get a much better projector, but expect to pay about 3-5 times as much money, so if you are on a budget, or just looking for an entry level projector, this is the one for you. This is the very first projector I have ever owned, and so unlike a projector expert, I haven't seen 1080p projectors at 200" or more. I just wanted a high-def projector that could put out a large image on my wall, and it had to be high quality as well. Even though my personal projector screen is rather small, I am very satisfied with this projector, and I find it hard to see how anyone could not be.

If you are still on the fence about if you want to BUY A projector, you might want to take some more time to think about it to make up your mind about whether or not you actually want to buy a projector or not.

If you are on the fence about if you should buy THIS projector or not, and are comparing models at a similar price, I just can't see how you can go wrong. Of course if you spend 5 grand on a super high quality projector you will be more satisfied, but very few of us have that much money to spend.

All in all, this projector is a very good value. It has fantastic picture quality, and if you have never owned a projector before, expect to be stunned when you first see it. Obviously, if you don't have a high def source, such as HDTV channels, Xbox 360, PS3, Blu-Ray, or HD-DVD, then you don't really need a high definition projector, but if you don't have one of those things, I can't imagine why you are even lookin at this projector in the first place. I highly recommend this projector, and I am certain you will be happy with it if you buy one for yourself.

I have uploaded a few images I took of my projector, so make sure to check those out, but of course, the pictures don't do this projector justice, it just gives you an idea of what you are going to get.

Before purchasing this projector I compared it to other models including other Optoma models. It met my needs - component video for now and hdmi for the future. I previously had a MovieTime 10 so I've gotten used to the big screen especially for watching movies as I enjoy watching my large collection on the big screen with digital sound.

Now a little over one month later I turn on the projector, Super Bowl Sunday of all nights, and the projector dies with the red lamp light on. I had checked it the previous Monday and it was at approximately 80 hours after 1 months use and was below the estimate life of the bulb.

This is my second Optoma brand projector and the second one to die on me. The first projector (MovieTime 10) was replaced and then exactly when the warranty expired, the color wheel shattered destroying the replacement projector.

I have submitted on the Optoma support site a request for trouble-shooting to solve the problem. I will update this review when I have more information. But, if this one dies like my last one I will never, ever buy an Optoma brand projector again.

I have been running an Infocus X3 for the past three years and recently it started to have problems. I decided to use this as an opportunity to upgrade to a new projector. I wanted a native 1080p projector so I started researching all the models that are available. The price is steep on these projectors, but I figured it was worth the cost for a great image. Here is my setup. I have a dedicated 20'x24' room that I use just as a Movie/Game room. Oh yeah, I have 10' ceilings. I have a built in shelf built into the wall that allows me to ceiling mount my projector exactly 24' from the screen. I keep this room dark like a cave when watching movies or playing video games. I don't like ambient light during movies and that is what a lot of movie theaters do now. Since my projected screen was so large with the Infocus I couldn't afford a real screen. I tested a lot of paint surfaces and found that a good flat bright white painted surface produced a stunning picture for my Infocus X3. When I had my Infocus mounted I had a projected image of just under 12' wide. I have an Xbox 360 with HD-DVD add on drive for games and HD-DVD movies and a Panasonic DMP-BD55 for my Blu Ray movies being fed to my projector. Ok, so I was looking at the 1080p projectors and my father-in-law just recently bought this little tiny projector called an Optoma HD65. I had never heard of this model and so when I saw it hanging from his ceiling I thought it was too small to be taken as a serious projector. So he showed me his new toy and put in "Journey to the Center of the Earth" (Blu Ray) in and I was instantly impressed with this little box. Since I was in the market for a new projector and thought that I had to spend between $2000 - $3000 for what wanted I had never considered a 720P projector. I started looking at the reviews for the Optoma HD65 and it started looking better. Amazon had it for less than $900. I didn't have a Blu Ray at the time, but by buying this instead of the expensive 1080p I was able to buy it as well. I figure three years would be average for a projector before needing to upgrade. I think the 1080p projectors will be more affordable by then. Anyway, I ordered the ceiling mount for the Optoma HD65 from someone on Ebay for like $27.00. I recommend this mount. It is perfect. When I mounted the projector in my room I started getting nervous because the projected image was HUGE!!! I didn't think it was going to fit. I was able to scale it down and it fits perfect in my room. It projects a bigger image than my Infocus X3 was capable of. My image from 24' back is a whopping 15' wide!!! It is very crisp and the colors just pop out. I have a DVE calibration HD-DVD that I was going to use to calibrate, but the colors out of the box were spot on for me. I may run the calibration one day, but right now I couldn't be more pleased. Keep in mind that the only reason I can get such a big image is because it is placed so far back and I have 10' ceilings. I favor DLP projectors over LCD, but since this is a DLP projector placement is an issue because of the lens throw. DLP projectors make good ceiling mounted projectors and the lens needs to be centered on the screen since there is no lens shift with the Optoma HD65. If placement is not an issue for you then I highly recommend this projector. It fit my needs perfectly.

The picture quality is great and it's lightweight, blah blah blah blah blah... It all means nothing if THE $400 BULB ONLY LASTS TWO WEEKS! Thank God it was within 30 days of purchase and Amazon replaced the unit without any problems but when it gets to day 31 on this replacement unit I'M GOING TO WORRY ABOUT IT WORKING EVERY TIME I TURN IT ON. I'm so disappointed after waiting so long to be able to afford this. I don't understand how they use these in boardrooms for meetings without having problems constantly. They must use the $5,000 models that have some special bulb. I'm so mad. The only concellation is that the picture is beautiful, clear, and fun to watch... WHEN IT'S WORKING!

I bought a refurb with only a 90 day warranty. Bulb that is supposed to last 3000hrs lasted for 5 months (720hrs) & cost me $344.00 to replace. For the price I paid for the projector & the replacement bulb, I could have bought a 1080p projector. From what I'm reading on the internet, It seems like I was lucky to get 720hrs out of the original bulb.

I bought this projector to replace an Infocus IN72. The 720p resolution makes a big difference in picture quality and the contrast ratio is very good. Black looks very black. The projector is much quicker to turn on and turn off than my previous one. When turning the projector off, a countdown is shown on the screen and the fan runs very fast, but once the timer reaches 0 the projector is off (completely off, not stuck in a cooling state for 5 minutes). You can start the projector again instantly if you need.

I only see 2 real drawbacks with this unit, it lacks a DVI or M-1 connector so all laptop connections are analog (VGA). Secondly the menus don't offer as much information as other models. The serial number, firmware and model numbers are unavailable in the menus. Some of the menus are difficult to navigate.

Overall I'm happy with the projector, the image is very crisp and clean.

I researched projectors for some time. If I had not seen this projector in use at someone else's home, I would have paid a considerable amount more for one of the more popular projectors. I am totally surprized that this projector is not more widely known. The picture quality is fantastic. It has both horizontal and vertical shift with v-keystone adjustments (features that are often omitted by reviewers). I almost purchased a LCD projector because of my less than 8 feet ceiling clearance. I had no problems with the ceiling mount using 106" screen.
I paid $880.00 at Amazon.com. I think a very good price for a projector of this quality at this time. I could of given this product 5 stars. I am sure there is room for improvement, I just have not found any yet.
(Update after almost 2 years) I have over 300 hours on my projector with no problems, therefore I upgrade my unit to 5 stars. I use it 95% on movies and 5% for special TV programs like the superbowl.