Optoma HD80 Fitting Restrictions

Hi Guys,
Im thinking of buying the HD80, this will be my first projector and it all seems immedietly confusing! I want to put it on a small (18" high) table rather than ceiling mount - is this possible?

How high will it project the image on the screen? Specs say it has an offset of 136%.... (what does that mean?!) Im looking at a 96" diagonal screen, i worked out the throw distance at 14-15ft which is ok.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, presumably its worth the extra £££ to go for the 1080p screen over 720p?

Cheers,
S>

 

I have an Optoma 80. It is a great projector but does not have the flexibility of many LCD projectors in positioning.

Essentially the light beam is angled upwards so the the base of the picture will above the projector by 37% of the projected image hight. So for 120 inch diagonal screen with a picture hight of 59 inches, the base of the projected image will be 22 inches higher then hight of he projecter (59x37%). The top of the image will be 81 inches above the hight of hte projector

For a 96 inch screen I think the base of the image will be 17.6 inches above the projector. This means that on a 18 inch podium the base of the image will be 3 feet above the floor.

As there is no lens shift you cannot do any about this other then put projector on the floor or use a lower or higher base depending on your needs.

The Optoma is better then most of the LCD competition due to the deeper blacks that only a DLP projector can give. 1080p is ideal for Blu ray and HDDVD. I notice a great improvement in quality in 1080p over 720p for these formats. But there is no improvement in my view on Sky HD which is at 1080i (other then in black detail). My previous projector was a Sanyo PLV Z5.

 

The thing is i want my projector on a small coffee table in front of the viewing position. Therefore the projector cant be too high off the ground or it will obscure the audience (me lol). Cant the projector be angled up so the image is a little higher up the wall?

I guess ill have to look at screens to see how far down they go so they match the position of the projected image too? All very complex!

Thanks for the reply!

 

I think you are going to have to look at ceiling mounting/ on a shelf at the back of the room.

Paul

 

Yeah a shelf behind the audience is the best solution - the only thing is its just out of the throw distance of the projector.... 18ft (96inch screen). I just dont want to end up with the projector and then be forced to ceiling mount. Id prefer it behind the audience.

Are the LCD projectors easier to position?

Cheers.

 

You cannot an Optoma it on shelf behind the viewer - the projector would have to upside down (unless you plan to put in the bottom shelf and literally on the floor). Since much of the heat is dispersed through the top the projector - if you put on a shelf upside down the heat will not be able to disperse - overheating and projector shut down is inevitable.

LCD projectors have lens shifts that will literally shift the image up,down or side ways so the image image can be entirely above the projector or entirely below it.

 

So basically im forced to get an LCD projector then? THe panasonic is available for just a little more than the optoma one nad its still 1080p.

Looks to have a better throw and zoom etc too. But is it as good a performer?

S>

 

I use the Optoma HD80 on a low table which is positioned beside me, but could just as easily be placed in front of me. The throw distance is 13feet onto a 92" diagonal screen and my seating distance is about 12 feet.
On a unity gain matte white screen the images are bright, sharp, high in contrast with good black levels. I can't imagine any LCD projector matching the HD80, so if you can make it work for you I should go for it.

 

Hi Jacko - so you've managed to get the projector to show an image at a "normal" height from a low table? Excellent - a 92 inch screen may be what i go for in the end actually. 13 ft throw also sounds doable.

Cheers,
S>

 

You can use keystone correction if you wish to angle your projector upwards. But this will be detrimental to image quality.

Can you put it under the coffee table, or on the floor just in front? I had an install like this a few years ago where the projector fit snugly into the lower shelf of the coffee table, works fine.

Anything gotta be better than going LCD lol

 

The coffee table is only 18 inches high - cant go any lower cos ive got a chair in the way (

S>

 

That puts a six to seven foot wide screen at 40" from the ground (1m). From 15-16ft viewing this isn't that bad at all (I've seen people put them up an awful lot higher). In fact mine at my new place drops down to 80cm (8ft wide viewed from about 18ft)

 

OK then, so can we say ill be ok with the projector set up 13ft from the screen 18" above the floor? Im going for a 92" screen... is a panaview one ok or is beamax better? I wont be using it without the curtains pulled though its not absolute blackness.

Really appreciate the help on here guys, its great!

 

I reckon that will be almost perfect. It puts the screen about 4-5 inches lower than my screen.
Almost any matte white screen will give you an excellent result. I have a Beamax screen and it is probably a better screen from a build quality point of view, but the Panoview offers excellent value for money and I am sure you won't be disappointed.
The HD 80 has plenty of brightness and contrast so you won't need complete blackness.

 

I'd have a chat with Direcc2tu on the Screen Forum. You may see his Grandview banner ad on here. The Grandview Cyber screens he sells are from the same factory as the Beamaxes - he can source them direct and theres a major saving on the Beamax pricing. I've checked them out and the Beamax R series is exactly the same as the Grandview Cyber

I've ordered one myself - never had a Beamax ripple on me yet and this will be my third

 

hi mate, have you seen latest home cinema choice mag october edition, double page review on projector and they talk about cieling or coffee table placement, they dont recommend table 1,however if others have done it here and say its cool then well....cool

 

Fitting restrictions, tell me about it !
Was about to upgrade my HD72 to a HD80. Easy I thought, take the old one down, put the new one up. I measured up just before I ordered to make sure and what do I discover ? Yep, I'm going to have to move the ceiling mount a couple of feet further away from the screen , big job, pain in the neck. Upgrade cancelled.

 

What size screen do you currently project on to?

 

I have been on the Optoma website and it claims that to fill a diaganol 96" screen the minimum distance is only 12.9 feet and a max of 15 foot (cieling mounted).

C

 

92"

HD72i - Min=10.56 ft Max=12.7 ft
HD80 - Min=12.36 ft Max=14.83 ft

 

How does this projector compare to the latest panasonic 1080p lcd offering then? Just as good? Better?!

 

If you mean the PT-AE 1000E, The HD80 will be far brighter, sharper and probably better black levels.

 

Have a read of this.

 

I've just bought a HD80 but it won't be delivered til the 18th, I've ordered a 92" screen with it but the throw distance is really tight.
If my screen is 30mm off the wall and the projector is tight against the back wall I'll get a throw of 3.770m, the minimum required for a 92" screen!
Only thing is I'll have to break out part of the wall to accommodate the cables coming out of the rear of the projector (it really is that tight!).
Can someone have a measure and let me know how much of the wall I need to remove? I'm guessing the plug for the power will stick out the furthest?
Is it 30/40/50mm? I live in a terrace type property so I obviously need to keep it breaking out to a minimum.
Thanks

 

Hi Dan,

I've just found out the tight fitting restrictions of the HD80, i installed mine, ceiling mounted lens to screen 3.9M away on a 92" Gray Wolf II Screen due to cabling restrictions, i downloaded the data for installing this from Optoma Website. This i found did not fill the screen on full Zoom but left an anoying 1 inch gap either side of the screen.
I then remounted my HD80 another 400mm back to 4.3M and it was perfect.
With this in mind i don't think you are going to have much luck in such a small room with a 92" screen unless you overscan the picture.
All problems aside, the picture quality from upscaled 1080i DVD Player was awesome... the brightness and clarity of the picture was far better than i was expecting and looking forward to watching 92" movies at home.
Wish you luck with your install.......

 

I ordered the hd80, i love the picture, but i'll probably have to return it as i cant position it to suit.
The optima website states 4.5m to fill a 96 inch width screen on 16x9, i can do that if i recess the pj a few inches into the wall, the problem is that my roof is only 7 1/2 feet high, and the image drop is 25 inches, not 18 as the optima calculator stated, even with full keystone,and vertical adjust, which badly affects the image quality, i cant keep the image onto the screen, it drops way to low,
I love the image but i cant figure who to sort it,
Shame as it now looks like i'll have to go back to lcd instead.
so looks like th mit hc5000 instead