Optoma HD71 720p DLP Home Theater Projector

I am just about done remodeling our whole upstairs which includes our 500sf gameroom. I am creating a portion of that to be the "media" area and decided to go with a projector. I got this projector b/c the reviews were very good. To say the least, I am very very happy with this projector. The picture quality is super. The ease of use is very simple. I was a typical male and did not even open the manual... I did not need to. It was very simple and there was nothing to really change. We first tested the Xbox and my son was on cloud nine playing on a screen that was 6 feet wide. I then hooked up the Cable to it using the standard video cable and the picture looked really good. Will be going to get an S-video cable tomorrow.

When the playroom is complete I will be doing a ceiling mount there. Due to the projection angle, you can get very close to the screen w/out obstructing it when you do a ceiling mount. Not that you should be that close.

I have an old Sherwood video/audio system that handles multiple input/outputs and I will be using that system to manage my audio for the various items (xbox, wii, regular cable TV, and DVD player.

I wish the HD71 had a "sleep" function on it so that it would turn off after a certain amount of time. If we have young folks over watching a movie or game late at night, we can set the cable to turn off on a sleep timer but the HD71 will just stay on until it is turned off :(

The speaker on the HD71 is just for emergency purposes only as it is not very loud at all. For a business presentation it would be of some value for that. It came with a set of video cables and a set of composite video cables.

This unit is 720p and I just can't imagine that 1080p could be that much better, maybe it could. But from my research, you can not find a better unit for the money on this unit. I paid $943 for it w/ free shipping.

You will positively be satisfied with the quality of the picture and ease of use. I can't vouch for long term durability and hopefully that will never be an issue. I did purchase an extended 1 yr warranty for aprox $35.

I purchased this projector through [...]. BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE! They call to confirm purchases, they follow up the purchase through email (AWESOME!) even 6 months after the purchase! Anyways, great connections: HDMI, VGA, DVI, RCA, Component. The ONLY problem I have with it: no audio out! HDMI carries Audio and Video, but there is no way to get Audio out. Why would I need Audio in? I don't know, but I found a work around and have enjoyed this projector ever since I purchased it. It's fairly bright in my Living Room if I close the blinds and pull the shades. Worked amazingly well when I had it in my "Man Cave" for gaming/movies. Definitely worth the money!

This is my first purchase of a projector after about a year of experience using others. I am a photographer who occasionally uses projectors to teach and was desiring a projector which was bright, and capable of maximizing details of images. I also wanted to occasionally use this for projecting movies. I decided to give a DLP projector a try. I am pleased thus far, but have yet to see any digital projector which will reproduce the level of clarity, tone, and color that a traditional slide projector does with photographs. This projector is bright but I still find myself wanting to get the room as dark as possible. It connects to my macbook reliably without any confusing sequence of tasks, and works just like an external monitor. Before my purchase I read another review that commented on the small zoom range that the projector has, and this is certainly true, and has limited the positioning of the projector to between 8 to 12 feet to fill the width of a 72 inch wide projector screen. The projector does not come with a cable, so I had to go get one an ended up with a $50 HDMI, another cost. It does not come with a carrying bag, but I found an old laptop bag which is working well so far. I am pleased with the purchase and would recommend this projector to others.

I have average knowledge when it comes to projectors; at 12.5' it projects a very nice image on an 106" screen. I have a grey, 1.8 gain Optoma Greywolf II screen and I am very pleased with the image. As for the noise created by the fan I have no complaints like other reviews I have read.

Less than 30 days after purchase, I'm waiting for an RMA to send it off for service or replacement. During the time it was working, it's display was excellent in a non-light controlled room (plenty of ambient lighting and lots of windows). I don't want my money back, I want this one to work! The picture is very bright, especially compared to my previous projector (an Optoma DV10 - which also was RMAed around the one year mark). I wish the display mode would stay in the last selected mode when turned on, instead of defaulting to the native mode. I think I will have to buy an extended warranty once the repair is done because it only has a one year warranty.