Optoma HD33 1080p Full HD 3D DLP Projector Review & Comments

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Reviewed by Stephen Withers, 8th November 2011.Overall the Optoma HD33 is a fantastic projector for the money and the performance was so good, especially in 3D, that we had to remind ourselves of how cheap it was. If you're looking for a projector that combines a great 2D image with excellent 3D performance at a price point lower than most TVs, then we suggest you take a look at the the HD33 because it is a deserved winner of an AVForums Best Buy badge.

Read the full review...
 
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I'd be very interested to see one of these in action. I'm tempted to look at 3D again after having the 3DXL package earlier this year, the only thing that I wasn't happy with was the rainbow effect. If this really has eliminated that (virtually) then I could be up for one of these :)
I've just put a new lamp in my HD1 and the 2D pic is so yummy I really dont see me selling it for another year or so, so I may check throw distances and see if I can use both (as I did with my HD1 and HD67)
 
the only thing that I wasn't happy with was the rainbow effect. If this really has eliminated that (virtually) then I could be up for one of these

I don't suffer from rainbows myself but a friend of mine who is very susceptible said that he couldn't see them very often in 2D and not at all in 3D. Of course this might be specific to the material that we happen to be watching but he reported a similar impression when looking at 3D content on Sim2's Nero One single chip DLP.

The quality of the 3D was genuinely excellent and considering the price I was floored by it.
 
I would only want it for 3D. The HD67/3DXL blew me away for a nice budget entrance into 3D on a big screen (never used my 50" 3D TV for 3D since) and I dont think the RBE really bothered me that much as the 3D was immersive enough to keep my mind off it, but it was/is one of those things that once you know it's there you know it's there and of course other people could see it.
Anyway, thanks for the review Steve..I may have found my xmas pressie to myself ;) (if I can get it to fit where the HD67 was without encroaching on the HD1 position)
 
museumsteve said:
I'd be very interested to see one of these in action.

Where are you based? We have a demo HD33, and are based in Caterham, Surrey.
 
I'm in Farnborough, Hants. I think based on the reviews I'll be inclined just to buy blind at this price (especially as I work days a week). I was thinking of selling my HD1 and getting an X30 perhaps but as I've just put a new lamp in my HD1 it would make more sense to keep it for 2D and have an HD33 for 3D.
I just have to work out throw distances to see if it will work out for me :)
 
Hey, thank for the review! But you didn't mention the FI at all. No other projector in this pricerange offers FI, did you test it? Does it improve 3D?
 
Steve Withers said:
I don't suffer from rainbows myself but a friend of mine who is very susceptible said that he couldn't see them very often in 2D and not at all in 3D. Of course this might be specific to the material that we happen to be watching but he reported a similar impression when looking at 3D content on Sim2's Nero One single chip DLP.

The quality of the 3D was genuinely excellent and considering the price I was floored by it.

Thanks for the review, Steve. Paired with a video processor like the lumagen or the video eq pro this could be a winner.
 
Hey, thank for the review! But you didn't mention the FI at all. No other projector in this pricerange offers FI, did you test it? Does it improve 3D?

I mention the PureMotion feature in the Menus section but you're right I didn't discuss it in detail. To be honest I never use frame interpolation in either 2D or 3D because they make film look like video which I find unbearable. The concept of frame interpolation was really developed to address the perceived weakness of motion handling on LCD TVs. However the motion handling on the HD33 was excellent in both 2D and 3D so there really was no need to ever use PureMotion. I did of course try it out and it was quite good for what it is but the projector just doesn't need it and I suspect it has mainly been included for marketing purposes.
 
Thanks for the review, Steve. Paired with a video processor like the lumagen or the video eq pro this could be a winner.

If you paired the HD33 with either of those processors you could certainly produce a reference image in terms of greyscale, gamma and colour gamut. The blacks would be a little weak but on the flip side you would have a bright punchy picture.
 
I'm in the market looking for a projector and this could be the one I'm looking for. How far should the projector be from the screen, if the screen was around 100" - 120"

Not too familiar with projectors, does the the lack of lense shift cause issues or in any situation (hanging from ceiling or wall) the projector will work fine, but just takes a little longer to setup?

Thanks
-S
 
The throw ratio is 1.5 to 1.8 times the image width, so for example a 100 inch wide screen would require the HD33 to be placed between 150 and 180 inches from the screen.

If you plan to hang the projector from the ceiling you will need to ensure that the HD33 is positioned correctly with respect to the top of the screen but it shouldn't be too difficult.
 
I bought an HD33 couple of weeks ago and have been facing difficulties to get 3d movies displayed. My problem is that no 3D pictures I can get. (Bluray movies are played with no problem). The DBplayer is Samsung BD D8900 and I use HDMI 1.4a cable. (This set works fine with my 3D TV). Accordingto the HD 33 manual in the DISPLAY/3D Menu „3D format is only supported on non-HDMI 1.4a timing”. This way I cannot use the SBS and the Top and Bottom options which I would need very much. The other thing is that the beamer does not detect any 3Dsignal at all through the HDMI 1.4 cable – RF emitter shows no signal but when I switch to plain video cable, the green leds come to life immediately. (Not only in case of playing movie from external hard drive but in case of genuine 3D bluray movies as well) There is one more major problem as the HDMI 1. socket does not pick up signal properly (HDMI 2.works fine). I tried everything I could last night from trying every resolution of the BDD89003D player to swtiching to an other 3D player, changing to HDMI 1.3. cable - which surprisingly provided no picture at all - but nothing worked. I hope that being me just clumsy is the biggest concern and you can provide easy solution to my problems.

Can anyone help me, please?
 
I found the review very informative and comprehensive, my observations are that Optoma have dropped the on-board controls and circuitry - rather leaves one in difficulties if the remote goes missing. Would have been a real bonus if a lens shift function could have been incorporated (with obvious price increase) also options of different focal length lenses for those wishing to site the projector behind the viewer although this would be more of a challenge in design.
I have a Themescene HD20 and have been very pleased with it; for its price and performance it is very good value.
 
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Our review of the HD83 will be coming soon and whilst this projector is a bit more expensive it does include features such as lens shift.
 
I bought an HD33 couple of weeks ago and have been facing difficulties to get 3d movies displayed. My problem is that no 3D pictures I can get. (Bluray movies are played with no problem). The DBplayer is Samsung BD D8900 and I use HDMI 1.4a cable. (This set works fine with my 3D TV). Accordingto the HD 33 manual in the DISPLAY/3D Menu „3D format is only supported on non-HDMI 1.4a timing”. This way I cannot use the SBS and the Top and Bottom options which I would need very much. The other thing is that the beamer does not detect any 3Dsignal at all through the HDMI 1.4 cable – RF emitter shows no signal but when I switch to plain video cable, the green leds come to life immediately. (Not only in case of playing movie from external hard drive but in case of genuine 3D bluray movies as well) There is one more major problem as the HDMI 1. socket does not pick up signal properly (HDMI 2.works fine). I tried everything I could last night from trying every resolution of the BDD89003D player to swtiching to an other 3D player, changing to HDMI 1.3. cable - which surprisingly provided no picture at all - but nothing worked. I hope that being me just clumsy is the biggest concern and you can provide easy solution to my problems.

Well it sounds as though there may be a fault with your unit because in my experience I had no problems at all with 3D content. I just connected the 3D Blu-ray player to the HD33 via a normal HDMI cable and plugged the emitter into the back of the unit. As soon as I started playing a 3D Blu-ray the player detected it and the glasses automatically synced up with the projector. What settings are you using on the HD33 and the BDD89003D?
 
Well it sounds as though there may be a fault with your unit because in my experience I had no problems at all with 3D content. I just connected the 3D Blu-ray player to the HD33 via a normal HDMI cable and plugged the emitter into the back of the unit. As soon as I started playing a 3D Blu-ray the player detected it and the glasses automatically synced up with the projector. What settings are you using on the HD33 and the BDD89003D?

The projector's input source checkbox is set to HDMI1, HDMI2 and when I was trying with composite and component cables the source was set accordignly. I case of composite and component cables the Frame sequential option became available but the quality was very poor but SBS still remaind unavailable. The Samsung BD D8900 is set in auto 3D mode - there is not much to set in it's case as Auto, 3D->3D, 3d->2D. Resolution is from Auto (highest possible, 1080p, 1080i down to 480. I have tried all but with no success. The thing is that when the BD D8900 is plugged to my 3D TV the properties of the player are autamitically detected by the TV and everything works just fine from genuine 3D discs to HDD SBS recorded movies.
I asked for help from Optoma thecnical support by email and this was last Wednesday and unfortunately no response have been given by them at all so far.
I bought four 3RF galsses to enjoy 3D but instead of joy I have a problem which I am not able to cope with.
I ordered the product via e-bay and I live in Hungary. So I really do not know what to do.
 
I have been looking at 3D Projectors for a while and was actually considering spending a fortune on Sony but the size of the unit just to big and heavy - equivilant of a bag of spuds !!

Anyway I purchased my unit and 3 pairs of glasses and emitter set from

MULTI-ROOMAV as per link below

Multi Room AV : Home page

Mark who I dealt with over the phone followed up every aspect of the sale and I can only say V Good things about him and the service he gives - give him a ring and have chat ACE Guy

Will let you all know how I get on with setting recomendations.

At present I am using just my Bare Wall until I have extension built to faciltate family entertainments room.

Can any one recommned a quality powered or non powered screen please - for 3D , Gaming and Sport/TV

Thanks
 
The projector's input source checkbox is set to HDMI1, HDMI2 and when I was trying with composite and component cables the source was set accordignly. I case of composite and component cables the Frame sequential option became available but the quality was very poor but SBS still remaind unavailable. The Samsung BD D8900 is set in auto 3D mode - there is not much to set in it's case as Auto, 3D->3D, 3d->2D. Resolution is from Auto (highest possible, 1080p, 1080i down to 480. I have tried all but with no success. The thing is that when the BD D8900 is plugged to my 3D TV the properties of the player are autamitically detected by the TV and everything works just fine from genuine 3D discs to HDD SBS recorded movies.
I asked for help from Optoma thecnical support by email and this was last Wednesday and unfortunately no response have been given by them at all so far.
I bought four 3RF galsses to enjoy 3D but instead of joy I have a problem which I am not able to cope with.
I ordered the product via e-bay and I live in Hungary. So I really do not know what to do.



I would contact your seller straight away and Paypal if you bought through them and get it returned as something is amiss - mine did every thing it said on the box on 1st turn on.
 
I do backyard movies in the spring, summer, and fall. How well did this projector do with image at its maximum range on a larger screen.
 
I am thinking of buying the optoma hd33 or a Panasonic txp50gt30 TV.

Now the panasonic does 2D to 3D conversion, in all the reviews i have not read anything about whether the Optoma can do 2Dto 3D conversion. Could someone confirm that the Optoma does not do 2Dto 3D conversion?

And secondly, if i connect my newly ordered media player, Dune HD TV 301, which has only HDMI 1.3 output, to the optoma and play a rip of a 3D movie, will the optoma display the movie in 3D or only 2D?

Thanks
 
I do backyard movies in the spring, summer, and fall. How well did this projector do with image at its maximum range on a larger screen.

Having only just purchased the unit and as we are in our winter months in Britain i am unable to answer the question however if you read the manual and compare the data with your current set up this should give you an in sight - also read the review it discusses lighting levels and settings for the user
 
Now the panasonic does 2D to 3D conversion, in all the reviews i have not read anything about whether the Optoma can do 2Dto 3D conversion. Could someone confirm that the Optoma does not do 2Dto 3D conversion?

And secondly, if i connect my newly ordered media player, Dune HD TV 301, which has only HDMI 1.3 output, to the optoma and play a rip of a 3D movie, will the optoma display the movie in 3D or only 2D?

The Optoma doesn't do 2D to 3D conversion but you should be OK watching ripped 3D movies because you can just select the 3D mode you need.
 

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