Optoma HD131Xe Projector – Performance

Overall, Brilliant Color is the dominating control in terms of brightness.  Of the default modes, those that are brighter, have Brilliant Color set to 10 (a little “over the top”), while some others like Cinema, are set lower (5).   But, none of the Optoma’s modes are set with really low numbers such as Brilliant Color off, or at 1 or 2.

I’ve started off with our usual table showing the measured brightness of each mode, and the color temp of white (100 IRE) in that mode.

Note that white (100 IRE) is mostly in the 6700K range, just a tad higher than the ideal 6500K target for movies and HDTV.  The one exception is Photo, which is much cooler – stronger blues.

It’s not, therefore the color temp itself, that relates to the less than stellar color, but the balance of the Red, Green, and Blue, and also to the inaccuracies of some of the individual colors.

As you can see from the numbers above, Brilliant Color has a huge affect on the brightness of this projector.  Most likely, if Brilliant Color is turned off, the brightness is even a bit lower than the 1 setting.

The thing is, Brilliant Color isn’t just about brightness, it affects picture quality.  In some ways it reminds me of those fancy “dynamic detail enhancement” solutions found on much more expensive projectors, but it’s apparently not as smart.  BC does take a serious toll on the naturalness of the image especially when at or near the maximum setting.  That said, I’m talking purist/enthusiast perspective.  To the less critical, a high Brilliant Color setting translates more to “more pop, more wow factor”, rather than noticing that a skin tone isn’t as natural.  If you decide, after your first projector to really get into the quest for a great picture, you’ll be looking for that much more accurate color, and more naturalness.  For most first projector owners, though, this is fine, and you’ll probably prefer Brilliant Color cranked up.

That said, back to Red – the movie.  I watched a chunk of it with Brilliant Color set to 10, and then another 20 minutes or so, set to the default Brilliant Color setting for Cinema (6).  Boy I preferred that lower setting.  I noticed the drop off of brightness, but I didn’t’ need it.

I can definitely recommend that if you want a more natural image, especially faces, dial down the Brilliant Color, assuming you can afford the drop in brightness.

Brilliant Color provides all that extra brightness and pop, to help you cut through ambient light.  In a more controlled situation, you don’t need that extra pop, nor, the brightness, so why not enjoy a better picture.  Check it out.

What I appreciated though was the faces were less contrasty, less likely to get blown out a bit on an very bright scene, such as a face in sunlight.

Remember, if you buy a HD131Xe, it’s your projector.  Watch it the way you enjoy it, rather than how you “are supposed to.”

Gamma, Calibrated, with Brilliant Color on 10 is a virtually dead on the money:  2.19  (2.20 is the target for movie viewing)

Now a quick look at this table shows that the color temperature, post calibration very nicely stays very close to the targeted 6500K.  That indicates that the color issues we discuss are coming from elsewhere, specifically, the accuracy of individual colors.  Mike however, reported that when in the color management system to adjust those color attributes, that there wasn’t enough range in the controls to be able to get the ideal settings.  More on this on the calibration page.