|  Optoma has been in the projector market for quite some time now. In fact, our first DLP projector was the Optoma H77 DLP and we were very pleased with the picture quality and features it offered at that time. Times change and so has the performance of the latest generation of projectors. Full 1080p is now the standard for those looking to experience the best that home theater has to offer. Optoma continues to answer to the needs of consumers with the release of their HD806 1080p DLP projector. The HD806 produces a whopping 2000 lumens with an advertised contrast ratio of 8,000:1 when using their ImageAI-II™ system. This model uses a single 0.95” 1080p DMD DLP with a 2x color wheel. The sleek design of the HD806 makes it more attractive than many of the other utilitarian looking models we have seen. Our projector included the IR remote with batteries, power cord, component video cable, and an RS232 cable.
 The projector comes with an F=2.6-2.82, f=39.12-46.94mm lens with a
1.2x Manual Zoom and Focus. Fan noise on the HD806 is definitely audible and is rated at 32dB, which is high for most home theater applications. For rooms with higher ambient noise this may not be an issue, but for many home theater installations this can be a problem. We have the projector mounted over our heads and when this unit runs we know where it is. In addition, the color wheel can be heard, which can be distracting at times, but seems to be considerably quieter when operating with 24p source material. We observed a definite change in sound when switching from 1080p/60 to 1080p/24 content. Keeping the powerful 300-watt UHP lamp cool is one of the challenges when designing a 2000 lumens projector. The factory lamp is rated
for 3000 hours of operation. The filter wheel becomes slower and less audible when switching to the lower frame rate.
Installation
 We
mounted the HD806 from an elevated platform in line with the top of the screen that
inverts the projector. Three mounting holes at the base of the unit allowed us to attach our Peerless Industries' PRG Precision
Gear Projector Mount for a quick installation. The HD806 has a longer throw than most other projectors requiring a distance 13.4-feet to 16.1-feet for a 100-inch 16:9 diagonal. There are no lens shift capabilities on the projector, so it must be optimally mounted for proper picture geometry. Built-in keystone correction helps adjust the image when it is not perfect, but is not the most desirable way to correct the image.
With the projector inverted, the user has access to buttons located towards the rear of the unit. Only seven buttons are provided for Power, Menu, Navigation (Up, Down, Left, & Right) and Enter. There are also indicators for Power, Lamp and Temperature. In the event the lamp fails, the lamp indicator will turn red. If it flashes, this indicates a fan failure. If the Temp indicator flashes, this indicates the projector is overheating and the unit will shutdown.
 Interfaces
The rear panel of the HD806 has a nice selection of both analog and digital video interfaces and includes both DVI with HDCP and a pair of HDMI v1.3 connections. There is also a component video (via three RCA connectors), s-video and composite input. We did not test any of the analog inputs since our A/V receiver handles this conversion for us for HDMI. In addition, running long analog cables never helps performance. An RS232 port and a 12-volt trigger is available for custom installations. The manual has an RS232 Protocol Function List with a full list of supported commands.
These video interfaces give the HD806 true
HDTV (720p, 1080i/p), SDTV(480i/p,
576i/p), NTSC, PAL, and SECAM compatibility. Computers are also supported with
UXGA, SXGA+, WXGA, SXGA,
XGA, SVGA, VGA, VESA, for
PC and Macintosh systems. This can come in handy when using a HTPC (Home Theater PC) connected to the system. Remote
 The
HD806 includes a nicely arranged 28 button IR remote with full backlighting. This design is a big improvement from our Optoma H77 remote from years ago. Pressing any button will activate the backlighting and it will slowly decay over several seconds. The top buttons provide commonly used controls such as Brightness,
Contrast, Image AI, Gamma, IRIS, Brite Mode, and Image Shift. A set of standard navigation keys are located in the middle of the remote. The Menu
and Mode buttons are located just below these along with the Over Scan and Edge Mask buttons. There are four aspect ratio buttons (4:3, 16:9, Letter Box, and Native). The remaining six input buttons on the bottom of the remote select from the six available inputs (HDMI1, HDMI2, DVI, YPbPr, S-video, and Video).
Menus
There are four main menus on the HD806 (Image, Display, System and Setup). The Image menu has controls for Mode (Cinema, Bright, TV, sRGB, and User), Contrast, Brightness, Color, Tint, and Sharpness. There is also a an Advanced Image menu mode that allows the advanced user to adjust Noise Reduction, Gamma, De-gamma, True Vivid, Edge Enhance, B/W Extension, and Color Temp. The Color Temp can also be user defined with individual settings for red, green, and blue bias and gain. This is what we used to adjust the color temperature tracking during calibration. The Display menu has controls for Format, Overscan, Edge Mask, H Image Shift, V Image Shift, V Keystone, and Superwide. The System menu has controls for Menu Location, Lamp Setting, Projection, Image AI, IRIS, Test Pattern, Background, and 12V Trigger. Finally, the Setup menu controls settings for Language, Input Source, Source Lock, High Altitude, Auto Power Off, Signal, Color Space, and Reset.
 Color
Tracking
We calibrated the HDMI 1 input using a full Sencore calibration system consisting of the OTC1000 ColorPro Optical Color Analyzer and the VP403C HDTV video signal generator. The software controls both instruments making it easy to run through a set of measurements. We set the black level using the PLUGE pattern
and checked the stair step levels to ensure that we had properly adjusted the display.
The HiLoTrk pattern on the VP403 is a great way to verify that white levels
are not crushed. Our review unit was new with zero hours on the bulb, so we let the projector run for a few hours before we did any calibration. Normally we would wait longer, but we needed to get this review going. The
pre-calibrated color temperature was actually pretty good and tracked just above the ideal 6500°K.
Using
the Advanced Adjustment menu controls mentioned above, we adjusted the RGB Bias
and Gain levels for each primary color (RGB) to fine tune the color tracking. The result was
a color temperature that deviated about 500°K from the ideal 6500°K and a bit more at the 100 IRE level.
Display
Primaries
 The
primary colors produced by the Optoma HD806 were measured using the same Sencore OTC1000 ColorPro Optical Color Analyzer and the VP403C HDTV video signal generator with the reading measured from our 100" Stewart
FireHawk filmscreen. The CIE chart shows where the ideal primaries
are located with the smaller three points joined by the darker lines. The measured
primary colors are indicated by the red, green and blue markers connected together
with the white triangle. Only colors inside the triangle can be produced by the
projector. We didn't see any capability on the HD806 to adjust the CIE color space. Even with the slight shift in the primary colors, the picture looked great with vivid colors and good saturation. Flesh tones looked natural on this projector once the picture was calibrated.
Performance
The HD806 has a great motion adaptive image processor that performs de-interlacing, advanced 3D comb filtering, noise reduction and sharpening on 480i, 576i and
1080i material. We ran our favorite torture test disc (HQV) and the HD806 handled difficult scenes well.
 Much of our viewing comes from our Dish Network HD ViP722 DVR. High definition content is our obvious favorite and this DVR has proven to deliver excellent picture quality. This DVR also allows us to watch over the air material from our local broadcasters and it looked lifelike on this projector. Again, skin tones and scenery took on realism I rarely see. The picture was sharp, punchy and vivid looking whether it came from satellite or over the air. Blu-ray discs played on our Sony PS3 proved to be the best source material as always and subtle differences in transfers could be seen from disc to disc with this projector.
If there is one thing the Optoma HD806 is capable of it is a bright picture. Out of the box we were getting close to the advertised 2000 lumens and even after calibration were able to put out almost 1500 lumens. This makes this projector ideal for rooms with some ambient light that is not necessarily well controlled. Most of the lower output projectors have a tough time keeping the image looking good when low level light enters the room. On the flip side, if ambient light can be well controlled, this might not be the best projector unless the iris is used to choke off much of the light output. The reason for this is black levels usually suffer when the light output is high due to a projector's finite contrast ratio. Even in the low power lamp mode the projector produced significantly high light output. Users also need to be aware that the iris on the HD806 makes a fair amount of noise when operating in the auto mode. This can be bothersome when watching movies in a quiet environment. My recommendation is not to use it in auto mode unless this is not a problem for you. This projector does exhibit the common rainbow effect for those who are sensitive to the color wheel on single DLP designs. Interestingly enough, some people see it more than others.
Conclusion
The Optoma HD806 has the ability to produce an amazingly good picture in rooms with some ambient light. This is largely due to the high light output of this model. The adjustable IRIS offers users with more flexibility that some other projectors and allows the picture to obtain reasonably good black levels under various conditions. Picture quality was impressive for a sub-$3000 DLP with good video processing and excellent connectivity. Fan, iris and color wheel noise may be a concern for some where the projector is mounted near the viewers. This should be factored into the installation when setting up the home theater system. However, if light output is particularly needed for a full 1080p application, this projector delivers an amazingly bright picture with solid video performance.
-
Kevin Nakano |
|
