PLAYBACK 22: Optoma HD8200 1080p DLP projector

High-End Looks, Midrange Price Tag

The elegant cabinet features an inset rear input panel that will allow for out-of-sight cable management when ceiling-mounted.

User Interface

On Screen Display

Nothing fancy here, just a text-based OSD that does the job just fine, with logically grouped sub-menus, along with an option to position the OSD at various locations in the image area. The adjustments including sliding bars with numeric indicators, but they only remain onscreen for a few seconds, which is bothersome when making adjustments or measurements. A high resolution grid pattern and a full-field white pattern are included to aid in fine-tuning the optics during setup.

Remote Control

The compact remote is backlit, which is a plus, but the blue backlighting fades away after just a few seconds. Touching any button activates the backlighting, but there’s no dedicated light button. There are direct input selector buttons (yay!), along with dedicated buttons for brightness and contrast as well as picture size buttons. The Letterbox button is the one that puts the projector into vertical stretch mode, which is the setting that’s used for watching 2.35:1 widescreen movies with an outboard anamorphic lens (such as the popular Panamorph) on a suitably wide screen. A second credit card-sized convenience remote is also included, which can be magnetically attached to the projector above the connections bay at the back–a handy feature if the main remote somehow goes AWOL.

RECOMMENDED SETTINGS

• Color: 45
  
• Tint: 50
  
• Sharpness: 1
  
• Picture Mode: Reference
  
• HD size (pixel-to-pixel): No overscan
  
• Color Temperature: Warm
  
• NR: Off
  
• Gamma: Film; Curve: 0; Offset: 0 (2.3 result)Dynamic Black: Off
  
• Pure Detail: Off
  
• Pure Color: Off
  
• Pure Motion: Off
  
• Image AI: Off

PERFORMANCE

Blu-ray Evaluation:  Synecdoche New York

Detail

This unusual film features a gigantic recreation of New York City’s cityscape in a huge warehouse, with elaborate set pieces along with a heavy dose of CGI. The Optoma delivers all of the sumptuous detail with very good uniformity across the entire screen.

Color

Given the somber subject matter (a community theater director’s mortality), the color palette is suitably restrained, especially with respect to flesh tones. Outdoor daylight scenes pop with lush color, though, and I saw no need to activate the Optoma’s various color enhancement features.

Blacks

A mock funeral scene has the priest in black garb along with many attendees wearing similarly dark black clothing, which the Optoma renders very well. The lower lamp mode still provides a sufficiently bright picture, along with improved blacks.