Optoma HD33 DLP Projector (TPV 107)

Optoma’s HD33 3D 1080p DLP front projector dramatically lowers the cost of big-screen 3D

Within the picture adjustment menu there’s a plethora of control choices, including adjustments for gamma curve and gamma offset. The HD33 comes with Optoma’s PureEngine color processing, which adds noticeable punch to the color palette. It can be disabled however, and the Cinema and Reference picture modes provide the best overall picture.

Remote Control
Almost identical to the remote that ships with the HD20, the HD33 remote adds a dedicated button to activate and adjust the 3D mode. While it’s certainly compact, the remote features vivid blue backlighting that comes on automatically when any button is pressed. There are dedicated buttons for various screen aspect ratios, as well as discrete input selector buttons. Discrete power-on and power-off buttons are handy for programming start-up and shutdown macro sequences into a system remote controller.

There’s also a dedicated lamp mode button, which is handy for upping the picture brightness for daytime viewing and dialing it down for evening viewing. While all front projectors have a high/low lamp mode adjustment, it’s almost always buried somewhere deep in a sub-menu.

RECOMMENDED SETTINGS

Unlike the 2D HD20 model, the HD33’s Color and Tint controls are disabled when the projector is fed a high def signal via HDMI. With HD video signals, there’s virtually no need for adjusting the tint, but not having color adjustment capability with HDMI sources is a minus. Fortunately, the default color saturation level is pretty much where it should be.

• Color: Not adjustable with HDMI inputs
• Tint: Not adjustable with HDMI inputs
• Sharpness: 12
• Picture Mode: Cinema
• HD size (pixel-to-pixel): Native
• Color Temperature: Warm
• Gamma: Standard (2.16 result)
• Gamma Curve: +3
• Gamma Offset: 0
• Color Space: Auto
• PureEngine: Off
• NR: Off

PERFORMANCE

3D Blu-ray Evaluation: Monster House

Detail
With a 1920x1080 HD resolution test pattern, there was some visible softening at the extreme top end (alternating single pixel lines), but not enough to be of concern. With actual program material, the picture looked more than sharp enough, and there was no visible flickering with Optoma’s 3D glasses.

Color
The color quality is very good, and although the color saturation can’t be adjusted with HDMI-sourced content, the default setting is pretty much where it should be. The Optoma automatically bumps up the color saturation with 3D content to compensate for the 3D glasses, and when viewed in 3D with the glasses, the color quality pretty much matches what is delivered when the HD33 is in 2D mode.

Blacks
With most popular screen sizes (100~120” diagonal), the lower lamp mode is still bright enough to compensate for the additional dimming caused by the 3D processing and the attenuation caused by the 3D glasses. The opening scene has a close-up of the creepy house, and the grimy black foundations are rendered very well. As the front door of the house opens, and before the grumpy old man appears, there’s a few seconds of total blackness.

Shadow Detail
The close-up of the house in that same early scene has the underside of the roof in the shadows, and the Optoma does a very good job of capturing the shadow details, with no evidence of black crush.

Artifacts/Noise
None noted.

Broadcast HDTV Evaluation: ATP Golf (NBC)

Detail
The color commentator wears a medium gray suit, and the HD33 delivers a nicely crisp image that clearly defines the suit’s fabric weave.

Color
The HD33 delivers believable flesh tones, with no over-exaggeration. The commentator’s skin tone is even and not splotchy, and is realistically rendered.

Blacks
Two other commentators are wearing jet-black polo shirts and are sitting on black leather armchairs, and the HD33 easily renders the different black tones of the different materials.

Shadow Detail
A close-up of a golfer scoping out a line close to the pin on the green has him sunlit from the front, but it’s easy to see the folds of his dark slacks in the shadows.

Artifacts/Noise
None noted.