Awesome!
Written: Sep 21 '06
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Pros: Amazing resolution, very quiet, quick warm-up and cool-down, multiple connectors, easy-to-understand menus
Cons: It would be nice if it had component inputs on the back.
The Bottom Line: Buy this projector. It is an amazing value. Give it the right input (VGA or DVI) and you will be absolutely amazed at the quality you get for so little.
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| Ponverash's Full Review: Optoma EP719 DLP Projector |
Okay, a few guidelines here. You will not get your best picture with a regular yellow RCA cable. You won't even get it with S-Video or component video. To really make this baby shine like it can, you need to get a DVI-to-HDMI adaptor and an HDMI cable to your DVD player OR get a VGA cable output from your media player (XBOX 360 offers one for about $40, and that's what I'm using on my system now). Also, you want to get a screen. Projecting on the wall is okay, but you won't get nearly the picture quality you would on a smooth, white surface. You can spend $1,500 on a home theatre screen or you can go to Home Depot and pick up a 4x8 sheet of white vinyl covered paperboard for $15 (I'm not sure what it's really used for so asking might not help, but it should be near the plywood). They'll even cut it to size for you for a few more dollars. it's a great screen because it's almost completely smooth (it has a very fine texture which keeps it non-reflective-that's good) and you can wipe it down with a damp cloth if it gets dirty.
That's it for the guidelines about setup. So you know, I'm using mine strictly for home theatre use. We run video games, movies, TV, etc. on it. This is really easy if you're using component video or s-video, but you'll sacrifice quality compared to the VGA. With those, you need to have hardware that will output a VGA signal, and that's not always easy. If you have a dedicated HTPC (Home Theatre Personal Computer), you're golden. You can get a card that lets you run TV into the computer and send out a VGA signal to the projector, all in real time. As a bonus, it can serve as a DVR and DVD-Recorder. If you aren't quite that tech-savvy, you'll be better off finding a VGA output box that takes other inputs (COAX especially if you're looking to watch regular TV on your projector). I asked about these at RadioShack and the guy there said they run about $100. I'd imagine you could find one for less online.
As far as the picture goes, it's absolutely amazing. Like any projector, you're going to get less quality in a well-lit room than a completely dark one, but if you can draw your shades, it'll probably be plenty dark to get a good-quality picture. We have a bunch of windows in the living room with the projector (3 up high, 2 very large windows right next to the TV and a few smaller windows, all covered with standard mini-blinds) and it works perfectly fine during the day. Compared to our old TV (Panasonic 32" flatscreen CRT), the picture is many times better. On certain video games with text, you couldn't read it at all on the TV screen because it was too small and blurry. It is large and crystal clear on the projector (we have a projected screen of about 78" with a 10-11 foot distance from the projector to the wall). The quality and detail is amazing. I didn't know it could be that good, to be honest. I can't stress enough how big of a difference the proper cables make. We ran it with S-video and the image was good, but it was fairly dark, with weird contrast issues (black seemed almost bright, and it really made darker scenes in movies difficult to watch). After switching to the VGA cable, the image is as good as any TV I have seen, including the $5,000 LCD flat screens they sell these days.
The projector is also very quiet. We have it set to the highest fan setting and it's still barely audible, even though it's just on a shelf a few feet above our heads. You can hear it if there's nothing on the TV, but once you're actually watching something, you won't notice it at all. I was worried about this because my friend has an LCD projector and it is very loud, to the point where you can even hear it over movies sometimes. This one is very quiet at worst and I'm sure you could turn the fan down low enough to make it nearly silent.
Another great thing about this projector is the speedy warm-up and cool-down. My parents have a regular home theatre projector and it takes 20 minutes to warm up properly. The EP 719 takes maybe 2-3. It's very fast, and that's a great thing especially if you're going to be using it as your main TV like I do. The cool-down is also very quick, but you need to be sure to give it plenty of time to cool (waiting until the fan stops should be a good indication) before turning it back on. If you don't, you'll put unnecessary stress on the bulb and you'll impact the life of the bulb.
To conclude, if you're looking for a projector for home theatre use and don't want to spend $10,000 or more, get this one. It's very inexpensive for the quality you get (compare the resolution, lumens, contrast, etc. to the $3,000 home theatre projectors and you'll see what I mean), and the picture is better than you could imagine. Just be sure to take cabling into account. If you have no way of getting at least component video (red, green and blue video plugs) into it, I'd suggest waiting until you can. You'll be disappointed with it if you don't give it the right input. Also, the projector has maybe one tiny speaker, so you'll need an external speaker system. In a home theatre setup, this is a given, so it shouldn't be an issue.
Recommended:
Yes
Purchase Price (if leased, monthly payment): 800
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Epinions.com ID:
Ponverash
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Location: Lone Tree, CO
Reviews written: 18
Trusted by: 5 members
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