OPTOMA HD81LV Vs the HD20

zairs

Established Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2011
Messages
277
Reaction score
7
Points
115
Age
41
Location
Hailsham
I'm getting the money for my projector in a couple of weeks and had been set on getting the optoma HD20 as I can get it for about £650 new, but i have also been brosing to see if i could get something better for about the same money and ive seen a refurbed HD81LV for about the same money and was just wondering if that would be a better buy?? The room i have isnt that big, probably about 5m long, light probably wont be an issue as i plan on boarding up the windows:). which would be a better buy for me??
 
It's a decent projector but has a very bright output (2500 lumen) so if your room is very dark it may burn your retinas out.

Also it is a longer throw pj so you will not get as big an image as the HD20 from the same throw distance.You will struggle to get 100" diagonal unless the pj has 4.5mtrs lens to screen distance.

Projection Calculator Classic - Throw Distance and Screen Size
 
As kb said, pay careful attention to the throw distance versus the screen size you want.
One thing the 81lv has is it's a dark chip 3 inside whereas the 20 has dc2. Having owned the hD81 the image sharpness is truly remarkable, best I've ever seen. I think it has 16 iris settings so you should be able to control the light as it's very bright as already mentioned.
In summary, if you can accommodate it, I would recommend it- just remember it has an large offset too, so if your ceiling mounting it, it will need to be a short mount if your using it in a typical house with 8th ceilings.
 
How long is a piece of string! How far is your seating from the screen position?
 
I'd better have a measure up, its a bit of a strange shaped room.
If you had a choice of these two projectors which would you go for?
 
If it's a strange shaped room maybe neither.

If you can't place the pj at the right height or not able to have the pj at the horizontal centre of the screen a projector with lens shift (LCD) would be a better option.

The Epson TW3200 is available for £904 from projector point at the moment and would certainly be a better choice if you have placement problems.

It also has a better zoom range so you will have more control of the size of the image on the screen.
 
i will post measurements up at some point, the ceiling is quite low though. The door scraps it
 
Thats the 81 out then,the HD20 is also going to be tight.

I would go the TW3200 to be sure but post dimensions to be sure the HD20 will be OK.

Where you going to mount the pj and screen.
 
Put it like this if you are going to ceiling mount the pj the top of the screen will need to be approx 8" lower than the centre line of the pj's lens when the pj is mounted on it's mount.

Depending on the size of screen that you go for (100" diag 16:9 as an example) probably means the bottom of the screen could be as low as 3"-6" from the floor if it was mounted on the wall with the 1.8m ceiling.

I think the TW3200 is looking like the better option try and put some pics of your room up so that we can advise further.
 
Dont think there is anyway i can stretch to the epson, as nice as it would be.
I might have to set it up in the living room till i can sort out the other room that is a nice sized room
 
heres the pics
20110519_001.jpg

20110519_002.jpg

20110519_003.jpg

I think im gonna have to use the living room, didnt really want to as i wont be able to decorate it as we have just done it and it on a neighbours wall so i cant put the surrond sound up as much. I was thinking about getting wireless head, how good would they be for ffp shooters would i be able to heafr the direction of footsteps?
 
I don't know which wall you intend to put the screen on but that ceiling looks well dodgy to be putting a pj on a mount.

I would forget dlp as it will be challenging to place a screen in the right spot in relation to the pj.

I assume you will be clearing the room (or should I say lean too) as I can't see the wood for the tree's at the min.:)

You need to put the pj on a shelf on one of the walls and for that an LCD is a must or I can't see it working for you.

If a new £900 LCD is outside your budget look for a recent second hand model or a factory refurb.

You should be able to find an Epson TW3000/2800/3500 or Sanyo Z700 Panny AE2000/3000 for between £600-£700 on the classifieds here or ebay.

There has been a couple of the newer TW3200 on here a few weeks back for under £750 and a open box 3600 on ebay for £800.

Try to get one with less than 500hrs if possible.
 
I think i will have to use the living room, least till i put a new roof on it,
here is the living room, i'm alowed to put the projector and screen up, but decoration will havee to stay the same. i'll black out the curtains though.
the room is 5m long to the fireplace, 3m wide and the sofa is 2.5m away from the fireplace where the screen would be mounted, would that work?
20110519_004.jpg

20110519_005.jpg
 
Are you going to move the tv as that will be in the way of the screen unless you are mounting the screen well in front of the fireplace.

I take it you are mounting the pj on the ceiling,if you are going with the HD20 you need the projectors lens to be approx 12ft from the screen face to get a 100" diagonal screen.

Optoma HD20 Projection Calculator - Throw Distance and Screen Size
 
Actually if the sofa is 2.5m from the fireplace and you are mounting the screen in front of that you could be less than 2mtrs from the screen.

If that is correct you need a smaller screen as you will be far to close.I would look at an 84" diagonal max in which case the pj can be 10ft from the screen.
 
to the fireplace is 4.80m not including the base of the fireplace which is another 25cm and then the matel is another 15cm, so i should be able to mount the screen at the 5m mark from the wall. i just measurd out the screen and is massive, i was thinking of going for a 125" diagonal but it would take up the whole wall, I think i will go for 110" and then if thats still too big then i can make it smaller? I will be able to move the sofa a bit if need be, the computer will go in the other room if i cant use it for a cinema roomalso think i will get the optoma HD200x as i can get that new for about £650.
whee do you measure the sofa from, front or back? the front of the sofa is 2.5m away from where i beilive the screen will be, and i can easily move it anouther 50cm or 70 at a push
 
Last edited:
If your head is 2.5mtr from the screen a 100" plus diagonal screen will be much too big if you want a quality image.This is with a 1080p source material if it drops to dvd quality it will be very poor.

Don't concentrate on how humongous a screen you can get concentrate on the largest quality image you can get bearing in mind the image source (bluray/skyhd/dvd or what).

I think 84" should be max at 2.5mtrs viewing distance.At 3mtr you could jump up to 92" screen and at 3.5mts 100" is Ok.This is all based on 1080p if lower res the image will not look as good.

Also the 200x will be too far away at 5m from the screen it will need to be approx 11-12ft.Also you will need to mount this pj on the ceiling not on a shelf half-2/3rd way up a wall.
 
what do you think of this screen, is it any good? theres one in the classified
Optoma Panoview DS-9092PMG+ - projection screen - 92 in ( 233.7 cm )would this be a good screen choice, also how dark should i be making the room? (realisticaly, there is no changing the paint)
Or should i be going gray, or making my own to keep costs down
 
Last edited:
would a HD800x be any good for my setup?, cant seem to find it on the throw calculator.
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom