Optoma ML500 Projector - Performance
April 2012 - Anthony Arrigo
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Optoma ML500 Projector - Brightness
The Optoma ML500 performed better than expected in light meter tests. Optoma has the ML500 rated at 500 lumens. The brightness of most projectors usually falls short of the manufacturers rating and even though the Optoma was no exception, it did get very close. In the projector's default settings, and set to Bright Mode, the ML500 put out 450 lumens. When switched to PC Mode, the brightness dropped a bit to 375 lumens. Cinema mode dropped the brightness to 300, but cinema mode always drops the brightness down to help increase the blacklevels in the image. This decrease in brightness is something that all projectors, regardless of make or model, do. Photo mode saw an increase in brightness to 350 lumens.
Overall, the projector performed very well in terms of brightness. It would be possible to have a few lights on while presenting since 450 lumens is pretty respectable if you were running in Bright Mode. One must keep in mind that many years ago a 500 lumen projector costing many thousands of dollars would be used in a large ballroom in front of a 100 people. Now we have projector producing two and three thousand lumens for under $1000.
Optoma ML500 Projector - Audible Noise
The specs show that in the projectors default mode, it produces 36dB. They don't provide details on how many dB are produced by using the other brightness settings. However, the brighter you run the projector, the hotter it gets. This then increases the fan speed. When doing the review of the projector, I didn't find it to be excessively noisy.
NEXT: Optoma ML500 warranty