Optoma HD81

Separate connectivity box ; Good basic spec ; Superb picture performance

Difficult and limited setup ; £5,000 is a lot of money

A magnificent projector that delivers excellent results, but you may need a professional to set it up for you

Dramatic specification, great performance, competitive price

A little cantankerous in operation ; no vertical lens shift

Good picture in most regards, with smooth motion and image scaling

You can now find projectors with similar specs and more contrast for less money

True native 1080p DLP ; Deep blacks, rich colors ; Outboard video processor with numerous inputs and Gennum VXP processing ; Consumer adjustment of RGB gain, cut and gamma ; Backlit remote

Weak 1.2x Zoom Lens ; No lens shift ; Slow switching between formats/inputs ; Manual zoom/focus ; Loud fan ; Loud auto-iris with delayed response ; Requires long RS-232 serial cable for proper installation (not included) ; Frequent HDCP errors ; Locked...

Accurate color decoding for both SD and HD sources, very good video processing with included external processor; more connectivity than nearly all competing projectors.

Poor gamma and grayscale tracking at high light output settings; very little flexibility for setup and installation; no vertical lens shift.

Although a good performer if you use it with a relatively small screen, the Optoma HD81-LV 1080p DLP projector is overly complex and difficult to set up and install.

In terms of picture quality, the Optoma HD81 is difficult to fault. Color, detail, black level, shadow detail, and video processing are all exceptional. The only drawback—and it’s a big one—is the lack of lens shift, which makes placement problematic....

Full HD resolution; 3 HDMi inputs; separate XVP scaler

Demanding installation; Auto Iris is disconcerting; unintuitive menu