Daily Techno-Babble

Recently I was in the market for a new home theater projector and decided to try the Optoma 719 since I wanted to see what all the fuss was about regarding DLP vs. LCD projectors. I was looking to replace my trusty Epson S1 (800×600, 1200 Lumens) with something with both higher resolution (XGA, 1024×768) and brighter output (at least 2000 Lumens). Initially my instincts told me to just purchase the Epson 76c, another LCD projector which was a virtual drop-in replacement for the S1, just with the upgraded features I was looking for. However, numerous reviews online spoke very highly of DLP projectors for home theater use so I decided to give the Optoma a try.

Let me state right up front, the Optoma was returned and I now have the Epson 76c just like I originally planned. Why? What happened to my adventures in the land of DLP? Unfortunately I fell victim to lack of my own experience with projectors and did not realize the Optoma (and most DLP projectors) have a longer than average throw distance when compared to my original Epson S1. Since my setup involves a ceiling mount which cannot be moved and a rather narrow living room, this completely negated the Optoma for my current setup. Since this issue was more my own lack of knowing what to look for I simply cannot blame the projector itself for this particular shortcoming. Since I did have the Optoma for a few hours I decided to take a closer look at it and see how DLP measured up in comparison to my LCD projector.

In the comparison between LCD and DLP I directly noticed three major differences that I think everyone should be aware of:

1. LCD projectors produce richer colors, with more saturation and life-like appearance. As I understand it, some high-end DLP projectors can produce awsome colors but the Optoma 719 did poorly in my opinion. I had to mess with the color settings right away just to get an acceptable image vs. not having to make any changes for both the Epson S1 and the Epson 76c. Overall I was not impressed with the color reproduction of the Optoma 719.
2. The Optoma 719, and most DLP projectors have a much greater throw distance than many LCD projectors. I was able to get a 100+ inch image on the Epson S1 in about 10 feet where the Optoma 719 required almost 15 feet to produce the same size image. This made the projector useless in my setup since my living room was only 14 feet wide! For some this may not be huge issue but if you intend to mount the projector close to your screen then you may want to avoid the Optoma.
3. DLP projectors produce smoother video than LCD projectors and the Optoma was no exception. Video was smooth, even through fast action scenes from DVD. Also, DLP projectors tend to produce a round pixel (dots that make up the image) vs. LCD’s very square pixel. This sometimes can make a significant improvement in image quality when viewed close up. In my particular setup this was not really an issue since the seating is at least 10 feet away with a screen size of 80-100 inches.

In conclusion I would have to say that the Optoma 719 was a decent DLP projector that is a good choice for those with the setup that can handle the longer throw distance (vs. LCD) and who are looking for general purpose projector. If you are a hard-core movie buff or simply have money to burn then by all means purchase a higher end DLP or LCD projector. At then end of the day for me the best choice was the Epson 76c since I got exactly what I was looking for with no changes to my existing mounting setup!