Home Theater - Capsule (short) Review: Optoma H57 Projector

Posted on April 25, 2005 by Art Feierman

Specs Preview

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Optoma H57 Specs
Price	3999
Technology	DLP
Native Resolution	1024x576
Brightness (Manufacturer Claim)	1100
Contrast	3,000:1
Zoom Lens Ratio	1.20:1
Lens Shift	No
Lamp Life
Weight	7.5
Warranty	2 Years

Quiet - in full power this Optoma projector claims an exceptionally quiet 28db noise level (in lowest power mode - 23 db - for all practical purposes silent operation)
No issue with any light leakage
Lots of options to save your preferred settings (5 separate user settings for each input!) note: that's probably overkill.
Picture in Picture, with Swap (switches larger image with smaller one)
Inputs, Inputs, Inputs - Not only does the H57 projector have component video inputs, but DVI, and computer inputs both support component video sources. This makes this perhaps the most flexible projector out there, and if you don't have an AV receiver that can switch component video this can be a huge plus, since you can have up to 3 component video sources hooked up at once!
An optional short throw lens attachment (0.8) lets you place the projector 20% closer than the standard zoom lens allows.
The zoom lens is fairly long throw, ideal for many who would like to shelf mount the projector in the back of their room (if it's not too deep), instead of ceiling or table mounting. Take your screen width x 1.87 for the furthest back you can place the front of the projector. (ex. 110" diagonal screen is 96" wide x 1.87 = 15 feet)