Lens Throw
We're just repeating here, what we covered in the Physical Overview on the first page of this projector review: The TX-700 has a 1.1:1 zoom - a very minimal range, more designed for placing the projector in the ideal place and just using the zoom to fine tune and fill the screen exactly, than to allow a lot of placement flexibility. Of course, you have to consider this is a very small, under 4.5 pound projector, and zoom lenses found on projectors in this class almost never exceed 1.2:1, and some projectors lack zooms at all. Placement is as follows - to fill a 100" diagonal screen the projector can be placed anywhere from 12.9 to 14.2 feet back. If you have a smaller, or larger screen, you can do the math, proportionately, to figure out your distances.
Light Leakage
The Optoma leaks a very small amount of light out of its front grill. The amount, however is below any significant level, that would be visible under normal use.
Audible Noise Levels
Optoma claims 28 dbl noise level which should make it very quiet. I'm not clear on whether that is in full, or low power mode, but I suspect low power - since I don't measure noise levels. However, in full power mode, the projector still is reasonably quiet, you won't find your self having to raise your voice to talk over it, even in a small room. Very acceptable, which is good, because smaller projectors have more trouble baffling the noise to keep them quiet.
Lamp Life
Optoma rates the lamp at 2000 hours in full power mode, and 3000 hours in "eco" mode. This is typical for small projectors. There are a few projectors with much longer claimed lives, such as some of the Mitsubishi's which claim up to 5000 hours in low power mode, but, I should point out that, price wise, those are rather premium priced projectors compared to the Optoma TX-700.
Assorted comments
The carry case provided with the TX700 has room for the projector and cables, and not much else, but that works great, giving you an extremely small case to carry or hang from your shoulder.
The projector powers up very quickly, but lacks the "unplugged cool-down" found in some other projectors, such as the Panasonic LB60 we are reviewing at the same time. Let me explain - a number of projectors today, can be unplugged as soon as you are done presenting, handy for you "on the run" types. However, they can do this because they have a large capacitor acting as a battery to continue to run the fan when unplugged. (Typically for a minute or two). People interested in that feature be aware: You can't unplug a hot projector and stuff it back into it's carry case. It must be able to ventilate until the fan shuts down. This detracts somewhat from the overall benefit of immediately unplugging it, but such is life.
The speaker is powered by a 2 watt amplifier. You get about what you would expect: Bigger sound than from your laptop, but this is for basic sound capability, and not faithful reproduction of classical music. As expected, it's a bit tinny, but I would venture to say that it's probably a bit better than the average under 5 pound projector, and much bigger/better sound than that found on those few under 3 pound models.
Warranty
Optoma provides an impressive 3 year parts and labor warranty on their TX700 projector. As far as duration goes, that's about as good as you can hope for, considering the average is about 2 years, and there are plenty of projectors with only one year warranties. (Several other big name brands offer 3 on some or most models, but one or two year warranties are more common.
Optoma's warranty is a standard "send it in for repair" warranty. They do not provide a loaner or replacement projector
