Optomazed - the H27

[Leef DaLucky]

Here's a quick article for those on a budget.

Well, since nobody's posted on it, I thought i'd better chime in with my intial impressions on my first pj. As some of you may remember, my beloved Toshiba 50 incher took a turn for the worst and bit the dust this summer after 8 years of service.
Since the repair costs were going to put me back about $600 canuck bucks, i took the opportunity to convince my better half that we were in desperate need of a projector. (realistically, she's seen one before and knew what we were in for...)

After countless hours researching and musing, i was able to come up with 3 or 4 candidates.
Amoung them were: Z3, Ae700, 4805, H31, and H27.
(This review may seem a little outdated as the Ae900 is already on the market and the Infocus Next gens are about to hit the shelves soon).

I chose, out of all these magnicent pj's, the H27 by optoma as my champion.
Cheaper, to be sure, but packs a whallop like you wouldn't believe!

There's not a lot to dislike about the H27. The Colours are a bit off (without tweaking). The Offset (a huge 57%) seems like a lot but when you build yer own screen like i am, it's pretty neglible.

I was particularly amazed over a couple things:
a) the fill rate seems nice (I don't see any SDE at all)
b) the blacks REALLY work for me. (I'm a sci-fi nut, so star fields and shadows are pretty much my domain)
c) the mechanics seemed well polished (auto shut-offs and lamp cooling cycles)
d) Ease of use, ie menu systems etc.

The picture on this is better than anything I have had yet.
I, at this point, don't even want to see what 720p pjs have to offer because DVD's and HDTV are simply incredible. I've had more than my share of vistors over to check this out. And all agree, you can't get better than this for $1200 canadian.

I've managed to pick up some Black out cloth which, for now, seems like a good screen.
I blame Canadian retailers for not having enough sense to start importing some Parkland Plastic merchandise. I'd LOVE to see what this baby can do on some PP 5x10.

Best investment i've made in a while.
what more can i say? I'll also add quickly: I bought BEV HDTV just 2 months ago. I'm LOVING the picture off this, More than that, though. Both TSN AND CBC started broadcasting Leafs in HDTV.
Now THAT is sweet.
I'll try to get some pics up fromn Leafs/Habs tommorrow night (26Nov2005)
Cheers,
Mikey

P.S. my sys so far:

H27 on BOC.
Panasonic sa-Xr50
Paradigm Ref 40,470,20 v3
LG7832
BEV 6100
AR Masters I/C's

For my own Ref:
Here's AVS's Thread on the H27
and the Manufacturer's Link

[DelRay]

Good to see another happy FP owner. :T When I was shoppping for mine, the Optoma H31 was one that was on my list. DLP projectors were a no go.(My wife can see the rainbow effect, didn't bother me though).Also had to have one that has a lens shift, due to the ceiling height in my basement. I opted for the Z3. BTW, what size screen are you using?

[Paul H]

... Both TSN AND CBC started broadcasting Leafs in HDTV.
Now THAT is sweet. ...

That is really excellent news - it can't be long now before they start showing some of the other more talented NHL teams :twisted:


Paul

[Leef DaLucky]

Heh heh , paul

I think its around 96 inches, Del. I've been kinda lazy regarding the screen. Once i got the pj mounted i've spent all my time watching movies on it. lol.
I'll get it done in the next 2 weeks though, as Xmas approaches and we start getting yearly visitors.
On a plus, although we initially saw RBE when we had it on the coffee table (screen size of about 50 inches). It's no longer there at 96". Well, i mean you notice it maybe once a week but it's so rare that it doesn't bug us at all.

Mikey