HD65 Projector - Remote Control

HD65 Projector - Remote Control

This is the same remote as the HD71 uses, and as a result, I pasted in the Remote section from the HD71 review (replacing the model number). Here it is:

Unlike some other of their remotes, the HD65 remote seems to have plenty of range. One interesting thing - and I never thought I would ever say this, is that the HD65 remote control's backlighting, may actually be a little too bright. I love the blue LED lighting, but when I'm just playing with the settings of the projector through the menus, the remote is so bright, that if I'm holding it in front of me, it's much brighter than the image on the screen, and I can have trouble seeing the subtle changes I'm making with individual color, brightness, and contrast controls.

It's not that big a deal. I have gotten used to hitting a button on the remote (any button lights it up), and then turning the remote over to use, unless I need to read the buttons. Also the remotes buttons stay lit up, for only about five seconds. Still, considering I'm usually complaining that backlit remotes aren't bright enough...

Ok, to the functionality of the remote:

At the top left is the power button - once for on, twice for off. Opposite it, is the Mode button to toggle between modes like Cinema, Bright and so on.

The next two rows have four buttons for the different aspect ratios. the next six buttons in two curved rows, give you control of brightness, vertical keystone correction, contrast, edge masking, overscan, and finally (lower right) the Menu button.

Below those, are the four arrow keys in the typical diamond formation, with the Enter button in the center.

That only leaves the six direct source buttons on the bottom, one each for HDMI, DVI, VGA, Component, S-Video and Video.

All considered a very good remote.

Click Image to Enlarge

Optoma HD65 Lens Throw and Lens Shift

Wow, no Lens shift - that was easy. Lens throw? This projector has a 1.1:1 zoom, which means only a 10% adjustment range - it's for fine tuning, since you get only about 1 foot of choice, from front to back.

For the standard 100" diagonal screen, the front of the projector can be as close as 11.25 feet, or as far back as 12.34 feet - a difference of roughly 13 inches.

Most Optomas in the past, have had a really large amount of lens offset, meaning the projector needed to be mounted significantly above the top of your screen, or on a table/shelf, significantly below the bottom of your screen. For a 100" screen, most Optomas needed to be about 17 inches offset. This drives people with low ceilings (basement home theaters), crazy, and has often eliminated Optomas from user's choices.

Not so the HD65, which is more moderate, and only requires an offset of 9 and a fraction inches. I consider this a major improvement for most users. Of course, those with high ceilings will have to hang the Optoma down an extra bit.

HD65 SDE and Rainbow Effect, Pixel Visibility

Like the HD71, pixel visibility is typical for a 720p DLP projector. That is, sit too close and you will start seeing some pixel structure. Too close, however, is just about 10 feet from a 100" diagonal screen about 1.4 times screen width. I watched the HD65 extensively, filling about 125" diagonal of my 128" Firehawk, and sitting about 12.5 feet back. For the most part, pixel structure was invisible to me - until the usual white text credits on black background, and some digital "signage".

The Rainbow Effect, specific to DLP projectors, are quick flashes of red and green, mostly, are seen by a very small segment of the population, mostly when bright objects are moving on a dark background, or the other way around. The Optoma HD65 uses a 4x (4 speed), color wheel, which is slower than the more commonly used 5x wheels on most DLP home theater projectors. It's even slower still, than the HD65's big brother, the HD71 which uses a 6x wheel (that's the fastest I'm aware of), and Optoma uses them in several models.