Optoma HD25-LV – Review Summary 2

The Very Bottom Line on the HD25-LV projector

I like the HD25-LV.  I think it’s a very good value. I certainly enjoyed watching it.  Most of the details that I complain about are rarely going to bother most people, but they must be noted, and I have.  I of course tend to favor projectors with particularly good black levels for the price.

3D was good enough, no crosstalk (caused by the projector), but I only viewed with the DLP-link glasses. I did not receive the RF receiver and the VESA glasses which should up the performance as I’ve seen happen with other projectors.

I found the color more than acceptable, the dark scenes had a lot of pop to them, especially compared to similarly priced projectors.  That’s thanks to superior black level performance the HD25-LV delivers for this price.  The feature set is classic lower cost DLP, but the built in 16 watt speaker rocks loudly enough, should you need it.

WATCH THE VIDEOS HERE: Optoma HD25-LV “Projector Reviews TV” Video Summary

On the DLP front, consider the more expensive Acer H9500BD to be similar (including the savable User memory issue), with some advantages and disadvantages. Also the less expensive BenQ W1070 or W1080ST, although neither can match the Optoma HD25-LV’s black levels or brightness, though they can offer more precise color.

The HD25-LV has to be considered a top competitor in this space, one of the more dominant DLP projectors, in a price range, consisting of mostly DLP projectors.

Optoma HD25-LV Projector: Pros and Cons

Optoma HD25-LV Projector: Pros

• Serious calibrated brightness of 1500 lumens!  A light canon, designed for less than ideal environments, or very large screens
• Decent color, out of the box, very good color post calibration
• Skin tones (post calibration) are very good (slight shift to red)
• Good shadow detail
• A top performer in terms of black levels, for the price point
• Nicely sharp 1080p image
• Offers Edge Masking and Vertical digital image shift
• Low lag times – great for gamers
• Lamp Life is better than average, long term cost of ownership is very good
• No filters to change
• Reasonably attractive, sculpted lines (cute)
• Nice menu layout, backlit remote control
• Good low cost choice for family room type use
• Very good Price / Performance proposition

The particularly good black level performance really makes this generally dark image above (from Skyfall) look great.

Optoma HD25-LV Projector: Cons

• Limited placement flexibility (typical of low cost DLP projectors)
• Noisy in full power mode (typical for the price)
• Remote control’s blue LED blacklight is almost blinding in a darkened room
• Lack of User Savable memories, forces most users to stick with only one mode of operation, with minimal adjustment ability (3D and 2D settings are completely separate, no problem there)
• One year warranty – that’s about the minimum at this price point.  there are 1, 2 and 3 year warranties out there.  Consider the Optoma warranty shorter than most, longer than none, only 3 months on the lamp, short for a lamp claiming 3500 hours at full power.
• Some menus have extra listings, that you have to scroll down to find
• Lacks CFI for smooth motion (generally not found in under $1500 projectors)
• Front grill of projector leaks a fair amount of light (nice shade of purple, hits to the left of the projected image – not consequential in a living room type setup.

Above, Captain Pike from the Star Trek movie.  A great image for observing good skin tones.  In this shot, though blue-greens come through a little strong in the background while the skin tones still remain most presentable.

Thanks for reading!