Optoma HD806 Projector - Image Quality-8

Posted on December 15, 2008 by Art Feierman

Our last comparison uses the night train scene from Casino Royale. Look to the trees and shrubs on the right, especially just above the tracks. The first image is the Optoma HD806, second is the Sanyo PLV-Z3000, the third is the Mitsubishi HC6500, and the last one is from the Panasonic PT-AE3000.

Click to enlarge. SO close

Another very good image for observing shadow detail is this very dark scene from the first National Treasure film. The HD806 does do a good job of revealing details, especially if you look to the top right, or the left center. The image is enough overexposed that you can see the "blacks" in the letterbox area, look gray.

Click Image to Enlarge

Overall Color & Picture Quality

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I better clarify this right now. Despite my comments throughout the review that the HD806 does not produce a truly refined image that would appeal to the hard core movie enthusiast, it is also true that the abilities of the HD806 in terms of overall picture quality really are reasonably good.

Combine this with more "best mode" lumens than any other projector anywhere near its price, and what we have here is a projector that really will satisfy those buying it for the right reasons. Those reasons are, for good image quality plus exceptional brightness for dealing with rooms with some ambient light, or very large screens.

Optoma HD806 Projector: Performance, HDTV and Sports

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The Optoma HD806 projector seems to be at its very best, when viewing sports and HDTV. To get the best out of it, for this type of content, I recommend changing the degamma from Film to Video. That lightens up the lower and mid range areas, and makes for a really excellent image for sports viewing, but worked great last night, as well, watching (again), the final episode of Boston Legal, or, for that matter, the Tonight Show. The first two images are from a music video of The Moody Blues in concert.