Customer Reviews

Optoma HD66 2500ANSI Lumens 4000:1 3D-Ready DLP Home Theater Projector - White

5 star:		(84)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I bought this projector 3 weeks ago from Amazon. Delivery was prompt and on time. The projector came in the usual Optoma box but without a carry case. Of course I knew that, but one would have been nice anyway. I had already printed out the manual (at work of course) from the Optoma website.
Set up was easy enough but a little time consuming as the settings where totally off. I believe everyone using this projector primarily for home theater will and should set the bulb to standard. The extra lumen will come in handy however when using the 3D glasses to view 3D content.
Once calibrated, picture quality was very impressive for a 720p projector. Blacks were black enough, color and shadow, rich and detailed. The projector does a good job (imo) of scaling 1080p content. I have two Blu-ray players and the projector showed Blu-ray content a lot better with my Philips player so like everything else the source is important.
Overall I'm very happy with my purchase. Couldn't convince the wife at this stage to let me spend the extra money on a 1080p projector, so I was already looking at the HD65. I was encouraged by what was being said by the very early adapters that had pulled the trigger on the dedicated AV forums (God bless them). Early veiwings included Iron Man and Transformers, and Walle and UP for animation, all in Blu-ray on a 72" 16:9 screen and I'm truly impressed. The harshest critic is too, the wife. Picture is as good, if not better, than my Sanyo 42" 1080p plasma. I'm English; my wife is American so were now looking forward to the World Cup being shown in 3D. By the time the tournament begins hopefully the price of active shutter glasses will have fallen enough so were not passing one pair around the room to everybody.
If you have bought this projector from Amazon just post a review good, bad or indifferent. I was compelled to do so because for a long time the only one posted nearly caused me to pass on the HD66. $700 is a lot of money (to me at least), so I utilize reviews all the time without giving back. This was my first one ever, hope it helps.

Very nice projector, good colors, brightness and black levels. This is not going to compete with a $2k projector, but for its class, it does a really impressive job.

I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because out of the box, the settings make the image look quite poor, complete loss of detail in faces, skin tones are definitely off. After some quick calibraiton, Specifically:
- I turned down the bulb to standard
- turned "Brilliant Color" way down
- reduced the contrast to about 42-45.
- I also turned down the brightness to 43, but after doing a THX optimizer, brought the brightness back up to the standard 50.

AFTER CALIBRATION, I am VERY pleased with the colors, the black levels are good (not great, but pretty darn good) and the shadow detail is much better than what I have seen in the past.

I would recommend this projector to anyone looking for a ht projector in this price range.

(Also, as others have reported, the remote is not laid out well at all (although this would not sway my purchase decision, it is worth noting))

....but ended up going with the HD20.

This is my first projector and I use it solely for watching movies; blu-ray, DVD, and streaming HD from VUDU\Netflix. I had nothing to compare it to except for my brothers which was a Optoma 1080p projector with a throw of 15-18 feet.

I was very impressed out of the box. Blu-ray looks great @ 11' throw\85" diag. picture. Works quite well in ambient light, but really comes alive in lights off. HD stuff looks really good from viewing distance of 12'.

There is some rainbow effect, but not often at all and usually during credits. Certainly not a deal breaker for me. We watch it directly off our light gray painted wall and it looks very good. Older DVD's are blurry, but that is just the nature of the lower res DVDs. The texture of the wall and no gain gray paint will require a screen eventually.

The controls are pretty basic and simple to use. There are some advanced calibration settings that I didn't mess with.

Overall this was a very satisfying experience for the money.

However....

I felt that the 11' throw\12' viewing distance put me right on the cusp of being able to benefit from 1080p. I got the bug and started obsessing about it and decided to order and HD20 to compare it to, realizing I may take a restocking hit on the returned projector. I really wanted to see the difference because I felt that at 85" to 95" inch diagonal I could really make the hd stuff crisp.

Set up the HD20 yesterday. First run was in soft ambient daylit room with shades drawn. I immediately noticed the difference in brightness. The HD20 at 1700L vs. HD66 2500L was definitely not a good viewing experience in ambient light. Even on bright mode, the picture seemed washed out. I became somewhat discouraged, but since my gf and I pretty much only watch with lights off at night, no cable, I waited to make my decision. Fan noise a little louder on HD20 especially on bright mode.

Once it became dark outside, the experience totally changed, even with low light in the room, the image began to get brighter and clearer. I watch several HD previews off of VUDU and Up in standard DVD and Avatar on DVD.

Verdict, The HD20 really made a difference in 1080P. It just seemed more comfortable displaying it's native res than the HD66. From my viewing distance it was really really awesome. My girlfriend came home, I didn't tell her I swapped them out, and she immediately said, "Is there a screen there, the image seems really sharp." I chuckled and said no.

Final Thoughts:

If you are throwing from 12" or less and viewing from around 10' to 12' AND you want viewing in ambient light AND your budget is limited, The HD66 is a great buy. You won't be disappointed. If however, you can spend the money and you are throwing from farther than 11' AND you will be watching primarily in dark or near dark room, I would say go for the HD20. I was a bit nervous until I put UP in standard DVD in and it looked better than in the theater. It was really crisp and that was without a screen(which does help a lot, I tried the HD66 out with one.)

I've never written an Amazon review before, but I've learned a lot about projectors over the past couple weeks, and thought I should share.

As prices have been coming down, I finally decide to get a projector. 720p was plenty good for me. After reading plenty of reviews here and the various projector websites out there I narrowed my search down to the Optoma HD66 and the Epson 705HD, both going for +/- $650 at the time of this writing, and both highly rated.

A bit about me - I'm not a projector or electronics nut, but I do appreciate knowing that I have the best (or better) of what's out there when I do buy things of significant $$$. Male, early 30's. Don't watch any TV, just the occasional movie at home.

After much fuss, I decided to order the Epson. It seemed to have more features, had longer bulb life, and in the end I figured since I'm no projector connoisseur I would be more than impressed with its performance. However, I was not blown away enough, so I ordered the Optoma. I am keeping the Optoma, and returning the Epson. I tested both using a connection to my old Mac Powerbook G4 laptop, projecting onto a white wall painted matte white.

Here is what I learned:

Epson 705HD:

-LCD technology really does display "little pixels" that are visible if you are up close. Not really a big deal with a movie where things are moving all the time.
-Significantly brighter than the Optoma.
-Better designed box, integrated lense "cap" that slides, easier to use adjustable legs, more friendly packaging/manuel, carrying case. Basically you get the feeling that Epson put some thought into its product. Feels more name brand and consumer friendly.
-Supposedly has ~1000 bulb hours more than the Optoma when in Eco mode (a touch less bright than normal mode).
-Has a speaker (I didn't use it).
-Definitely better for office or daytime use.
-Blacks appear grey when compared to adjacent wall.
-Compared to the Epson, has a larger "screen size" to "distance from wall" ratio (I think this is called "throw"). Plenty big. In fact I had to "zoom out" as the screen actually felt too large for the distance I was from the screen. The projector was propped up on a table immediately behind my couch. Once adjusted it was fine. The large size could be great for the gamers out there though.

Optoma HD66:

-Feels more "made in China" with less fancy stickers and design.
-Not quite as bright as the Epson.
-I have yet to try this one during full daylight, but guessing the Epson would be better here. But this is fine with me b/c I figure if it's bright outside, I should probably be there instead of inside.
-Much better colors.
-Throw ratio not as good as Epson, but more than adequate for my needs.
-DLP really does have much better blacks. The "black frame" around the movies is a far cry from grey, and I have a feeling if I fool around with it, I can probably get it to almost disappear.
-Better picture quality - this was apparent to me and all 4 of my non-professional projector testing friends, and more apparent the darker the room is. The Epson is great, but the Optoma is like "Whoa - I wouldn't think I would be able to tell, but I can."
-Harder (though still possible) to discern the "pixels" - feels more like film.
-I was worried about the "rainbow effect". My friends and I were all able to see RGB shadows if we shook our heads back and forth wildly, and maybe a flash of it once or twice during the movie when our eyes would flick across the screen. Not really a big deal, though I guess some people are more "susceptible" to seeing it than others.


Both:
-Easily found my computer and displayed the correct resolution automatically.
-Amazing resolution.
-Plenty of adjustments to mess with color and whatnot. I only fooled around with these for 5 minutes or so. You can easily make the colors warmer or cooler.
-Have a small remote with plenty of functions. Batteries included.
-Do NOT come with HDMI, DVI, VGA cables. However, each does come with cable that allows you plug the traditional DVD player (the yellow, red, white "RCA?") cables into the VGA port.


Like I said in the end I am sticking with the Optoma HD66.

Since the reason to get a projector, for me, is to have a really great screen to watch movies on, I figured I should lean toward picture quality over features. If I watched TV for a lot of the day, the brightness and bulb life of the Epson may have swayed me in that direction. I hope this is helpful and saves you all some time.

Excellent!!!! Recomend highly. (please read update at the bottom!!) Chose the HD66 over the HD65 for the extra hrs of lamp life, and lumen output, 3D is a little out of reach for me but the price diff. was null, now maybe i'll have a chance a 3D when it is readily avail. and not soooo crazy exspenive.(for the glasses $150.00 a pair?)
After I cracked the Screen on my LCD, I began anew. The original idea was to replace the LCD, but was not happy with my last one and price and quality were not matching up to my expectations. I had many reservations about a projector I have seen them in home theatres, but not that impressed. Big screen, yes image quality was iffy( maybe it was the setup, or the screen,(there are a lot of variables)technology has vastly improved since.

So I began researching, and almost stumbled across the optoma line. I was impressed, but not convinced. I read and read and talked to friends. Read some more, and decided that it was the best bang for my buck(wich was supposed to my myself a new 7.1 head unit).

Then there was the screen issue, exspenive, gain, etc. Should I buy over priced specialized paint? Well after even more research i found screen material on ebay, the sellers name is Chris Young and he sells different sizes and gain screens to fit you're needs cheap. [...]. That is the link for the screen I purchased. I chose a high contrast screen because of the size image I would be projecting. From what I learned the closer and smaller the image the harder it is to control black levels and contrast. Also in ambient light or day time viewing situations the grey makes the picture appear more like the way it should. By the way the screen is awesome, it glows. I did a comparison with some white duck canvas I had considered using, I made the right decision.

Out of the box this projector looked phenominal,(sd dvd upscaled, mind you) was a little bright reduced the bulb to standard, the contrast and color to my liking and that was it. A little bit of screen door effect durring high contrast scenes, I fixed that by moving my couch back about 1 foot. I have not noticed much rainbow effect more than once or twice in a film, it happens so fast I don't know if it is really there or if i'm phsyching my self out, or having flashbacks. Either way it is barely noticable, and does not effect me or the others who have whatched this negatively, in the least.

The remote setup is poor, I use a universal so no big deal.

More than enough menu options for the average user.

Mounting screws I felt should be a little larger(damn engineers!)

I think it looks better(more natural than my fathers new 55" samsung LED) I wont tell him that since he paid 4 times the price for half the size picture!

And so after all my ramblings(hope it helped!)If this is in youre price range you are making a great decision this thing is amazing.

I am projecting an 80" Diagonal screen on a grey high contrast .08 gain screen. Projecting from 10' away my couch is about 11.6'away and this is awesome!

November 10th, 2011, UPDATE

So I used this projector faithfully and loved it very much, everything I stated in my original review stands, but.....A couple of months ago I started noticing a strange white dot. Turns out the DMD chip, which consists of a crapload of micro mirrors which make up the pixels(for the lamen) was starting to fail(the micro mirrors were/are sticking in a single position, reflecting either solid white or solid black onto to the screen). weeks later I see hundreds of such "dead pixels" all over the screen (yes very annoying) Anyway to shorten the story, it happened after Optomas 1 year warrant ended, and it would cost almost as much to fix as it would be to buy a new one. I am probably part of a small percentage of consumers lucky enough to purchase a unit with a faulty chip. None the less I am also the lucky consumer shopping for a new unit wayyyyyy to soon....Good Luck Folks!!!!

I bought my first ever projector, the HD66 from Amazon and it got delivered across the Pacific in 9 days (I'm in Australia). Adequately packed and tracking was sufficient to keep my anxiousness at bay!

The projector itself is a little wonder! Very compact in size and easy to use, every feature/setting is available through a few menu clicks. I primarily gave it the HD Set-top box and DVD player input through HDMI and the picture turns out brilliant. Mind you, a few tweaks to the settings need to be done as the preset modes are horrible - and to be honest, you need to tune it according to your room/light/placement/wall/screen color etc! .. Video quality through the composite video is not good, but not many devices use them now .. there is a VGA to Component (or vice versa) converter cable provided .. which gives the same crisp output as the HDMI.

I'm projecting it on to a white-ish wall (no screens!) and yet the picture is amazing to the detail .. I view normal TV at a 100"inch screen (zoom -3) and for movies I increase it to 124"inch (zoom 0) - Awesome! .. I have it ceiling mounted and the throw distance/ratio is just perfect. I did notice that the DLP chip used in the HD66 has a native resolution of 1280x800 .. which is perfect for a laptop/VGA signal (squarish) but to display TV or Movies in 16:9, the resolution used is 1280x720 (which is the true 16:9). What this means is that there will be a light shadow around the 16:9 picture as its not using the full DLP chip for image. This is sometimes distracting specially for me as I project on a wall and don't have a set viewing area. But to be honest, the projector is so bright, i leave a light in the adjacent room on and the little ambient light takes care of the light border. I've had no problems with using the projector in the afternoon with the blinds closed (i do not have a dedicated theatre room).

The zoom in the projector is not enough .. i measured that the full diagonal image only increased or decreased by about 8-10"inches. So if your shortest throw is a 100"inch image, your maximum would be 110". Mine is places about 4.5m from the wall which gives me 114 and 124"inch images.

The remote control layout is unintuitive and useless - although you'd still be using it for all the tweaks and on/off. I haven't used the 3D capabilities as i'm not into gaming, and its not compatible with 3-D HD sources yet (like TV signal or DVD/Blue-ray) - Have to wait for Optoma to release a firmware update if that has to happen.

In summary, this is a bright 720p HD projector. Displays SD and HD (upto 1080p) with ease and is bright enough to be used with some lights on or in the day with blinds drawn down. The features and controls are easy to use and the unit itself is compact and can be placed un-noticed! .. Finally, the lamp setting on Bright is not needed, the Standard Eco setting will be bright enough and give you 4000 hours of life - which in my currency translated to about 7c an hour of viewing!

Hope this helped those of you who are still undecided on which entry level projector to go for :)

i have used many projectors before at friends homes and at work. i love this projector, 3d tv's are around 2000 to 4000 dollars but for $799 this projector is really good. i watch with all the lights off in my theater room and the brightness, color and quality are very good. i would really say that i have an imax experience at home. i would suggest this product to anyone.

if you're looking for HDMI, 720p native, this is the projector you want. it's relatively cheap, extremely bright, replacement lamps last 4000 hours and are cheaper than other lamps in the same class, and it's quieter than others with similar specs. the video and audio passthrough is nice. the composite video is very clear, but has a few interlacing issues with movement... not a problem with the machine, more with the standard, but when it's 100"+ it's pretty noticeable. i looked at about 50 projectors before buying this one and i'm extremely pleased.

After having this thing fired up on a 120" screen (as opposed to my buddy's textured living room wall with his HD65) and having some time to spend doing a little calibrating I am blown away. I purchased this instead of the Epson 8100 (finance constraints), but I don't feel a bit letdown after using this baby. Games, movies and TV shows are incredible on the 66 and the darker the room gets, the better the picture gets. Definitely worth the purchase price and quite frankly, you'd have to be a certified lunatic to choose a television over this when you take the price and performance into consideration (even factoring in the negligible replacement cost of an Optoma light bulb). I really don't see myself ever going back to normal TV as anything but a secondary viewer. Using an HD projector is the only true way to do home theater right. Setup was a breeze and I bought everything on Amazon through various sellers and paid WAY less than I would have anywhere else. For the full price of the setup and ceiling mounting this thing I would be lucky to grab a TV over 50" (excluding DLP's). Every single one of my friends and family members (especially my wife...the ultimate skeptic) were extremely impressed. The only real problem I have now is keeping all of them at bay long enough to watch something of mine!

As for performance tidbits? Resolution is very clear for a 720p model and I've kept all my items scaled up to 1080p and let the HD66's onboard downscaler do the work as I feel that looks the sharpest. Even when I do this I'm still able to play my Xbox 360 with no noticeable lag and it looks beautiful. My Samsung Blu-Ray Player and my HDMI-capable HTPC also look phenomenal (I highly recommend using Windows Media Center and one of its custom frontends like Media Browser as they look marvelous on a screen this large). Screen door effect is at a minimum if the machine is calibrated halfway decent and if you're sitting at an adequate distance from the screen. I don't suffer from RBE so I have yet to see a rainbow (hopefully I never do) and I've already watched hours of various content from live-action movies to games to sports, etc. The menu system is easy to navigate and the focus and zoom offset is great (but offers the limited placement flexibility consistent with other DLP models of its ilk). The remote isn't backlit, but once the room is darkened, I still had no problem seeing the necessary keys to press (I'm also not one of those remote control sticklers, so go figure). Calibration proved easy enough and a quick Google search will yield several reviewer sites with easy settings to try out. The unit itself is very light and was a breeze to install. Overall, a solid purchase and I feel I got the better end of the deal for the type of home theater I now have. I haven't tested out the 3D capabilities yet as I didn't have enough for the active shutter glasses (but that's what I'm hoping to get for my birthday--hoping my wife reads this!). It is nice to know that Optoma is now offering firmware upgrades to deal with Nvidia drivers properly and that they may be ready for 3D Blu-Ray by year's end (according to some scuttlebutt I've read on a few tech message boards), this way, if I do eventually decide to make 3D a priority, I can go that route without too much fuss.

I guess all that is left for me now is to upgrade my A/V receiver (hopefully sooner than later) and buy a few pairs of those fancy 3-D glasses. Until then? I'm a VERY happy camper.

There is nothing I can say about this projector that hasnt been said about it before. The image is high definition, clear and crisp. A lot of picture settings make it easy to get a great image. Its fan hardly makes noise (actually my ps3 is noisier than this projector)and easy to hook up. The source finder is a little annoying at times but nothing to complain about. The bright setting is not needed and the brightness of standard is great for daytime viewing but this projector shines at night (follow calibration settings that can be found on internet).

Now for some great news...... optoma just announced a 3d converter that fits the blu ray specs and so in a couple of months I will be watching 3d movies and playing 3d games on a 110" screen. $399 for converter and $639 for projector makes this the cheapest, largest home 3d solution to date.

I love this projector and so glad that i chose this over the hd20 where i would have to be in complete darkness all the time to appreciate the image which was a turn off towards projectors in the first place.

If you are reading this buy it, if you dont like it (i think i found 4 people out of hundreds who didnt like it)then return it, amazon makes it real easy!!!!!!

Update.......Ive had this for a year now and still impressed by the image on this projector. I bought the vip3d-gamer to play 3d ps3 games and the effect is amazing. Cod black ops,motorstorm apoc,mortal combat have never looked so good in 3d and the depth adds to gameplay. Batman-arkham city will be in 3d so i cant wait!!!!!

still an awesome projector and still don't regret this purchase. I am now ready for the hd33!!!!