Optoma H31 16x9 DLP Video Projector - Product Review

Video projectors are making their mark in home theater as prices go down and quality goes up. The Optoma H31 DLP video projector is an entry-level unit with great performance that can turn your living room into a true home theater. Targeted at mainstream consumers, the H31, priced at less than $1,500, offers lots of useful features and solid video performance.

The Optoma H31 is one of an increasing number of very affordable compact home theater video projectors based on Texas Instruments DLP technology. The H31 sports the following features:

1. 16x9 DLP 480p Dark Chip2 technology (single chip design) from Texas Instruments combined with a Four speed, six segment color wheel.

2. 852x480 native pixel resolution, with 16.7 million color and 256 grayscale level capability.

3. Native 16x9 aspect ratio, with additional aspect ratio settings for 1.85:1, 1.66:1, 2.35:1, and 4x3 aspect ratio material.

4. Average of 850 lumens light outputs with 3,000:1 contrast ratio. The Bulb is user replaceable.

5. The H31 has an average 2,000 hour lamp life in bright mode (which I recommend using) and 3,000 hours in normal mode.

6. Both NTSC and PAL compatibility with Composite, S-Video, Component, and DVI-HDCP/SCART/VGA inputs.

7. HD-compatible input capability with scaling to 852x480 pixel field for display.

8. Keystone Correction, Lens shift, and projecctor height adjustment allow for proper projector-to-screen positioning.

9. Manual zoom control and Focus ring on projector lens assembly.

10.All control functions can be accessed from both projector and the remote, including power on/off.

If you are a novice with video projectors, you might want to read the owner's manual, however, a quick glance at the on/off procedure and menu functions is all that is needed to get started.

After setting up a screen (size of your choosing), position the unit at the optimal distance from the screen (your choosing). I chose to place the unit on a mobile cart to make this easier, but the H31 can be ceiling mounted with an accessory mount.

Starting up the projector is very easy. After you plug in power, all you have to do is turn on the single power button on the projector or the remote control. When you see the Optoma logo projected on your screen, you are all set to start.

At this point, you can raise or lower the front of the projector, use the Keystone Correction function, and/or Zoom the lens to get the image to fill the screen properly. After this is done, use the manual focus to sharpen your image.

TIP: A way to make using the H31 easier, is to turn on the source (DVD Player), before turning on the projector. The projector automatically searches for active inputs. If it does not find incoming signals, you may get an Input Lock message. This is not a problem; just turn on your DVD player and the projector will find it.

Video components used in evaluating the H31 included:

1. 10-foot (120-inches) diagonal (16x9) custom-made theatrical screen that I used to project images sizes ranging from full screen down to 40-inches for the purpose of this review.

2. Samsung DVD-HD931 DVD Player with upscaling via DVI-HDCP connection.

3. Kiss Technology DP470 DVD Receiver with Progressive Scan Component outputs.

4. Technics DVD-A10 DVD-Video/DVD-Audio Player using S-Video output connectcions.

5. Pioneer DV-525 DVD player using S-Video and composite video outputs connections.

5. Panasonic PV-GS35 miniDV Camcorder using S-Video playback output.

6. Optoma H56 and Mitsubishi XD-350U 4x3 DLP projectors for comparison.

7. Video connections were made using Accell and Cobalt Interconnect cables..

DVD software used included scenes from the following:

Kill Bill - Vol1/Vol2, Master and Commander, Chicago, Valley Of Gwangi, lord Of the Rings Triology, Passionada, Alien Vs Predator, Spiderman 2, Moulin Rouge, and When Worlds Collide.

Visual Impressions

Although the H31 is, overall, not as bright as the comparison projectors, at 100-inches and below, the brightness level of the H31 was more than adequate for a good viewing experience.

Color consistency and contrast was excellent throughout, which was very evident on clips ranging from the color-filled Moulin Rouge the dark Lord Of the Rings: Two Towers and very gray foggy ship battle from Master And Commander. In addition, the H31 had no trouble with motion tracking the action-filled Kill Bill Vol.1.

I found the scaling and de-interlacing of the H31 was very good from S-video, component, and DVI sources. Despite the lower native pixel resolution than that of my comparison projectors, I was impressed with projected detail and image smoothness, even on large image sizes. I found that both 16x9 and 4x3 material held up well, in terms of consistent detail.

MiniDV camcorder images from the Panasonic PV-GS35 with S-video connections faired well in smaller image sizes, up to about 50-inches. However, as the size of the image increases towards the 90-inch mark, deficiencies in the camcorder source material, such as lighting, color consistency, contrast, white balance, and edge integrity became more definitely pronounced. The reason I bring this up: As more video projectors are purchased, users will be showing camcorder footage on them, in addition to DVD and other sources.

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