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    Optoma HD146X review: Solid projector value that cuts a few corners

    Projectors exist to create mild. Super-bright mild bulbs, known as lamps, convert electrical energy into photons, which get targeted on some kind of chip; colour filters are combined in there someplace, the end result will get thrown out by means of a lens and bam! You’ve received an enormous picture to shine on a display screen. The downside with some projectors, just like the Optoma HD146X, is that the noise made by the fan that is mandatory to chill all these light-creating innards can distract from that vast picture.

    Don’t LikeFan noise is kind of noticeable.Only one enter.Minimal zoom vary.

    The image on the HD146X is spectacular certainly for $550, but it surely’s straightforward to see the place the prices had been reduce. All small projectors are pretty loud, however the noise created by the HD146X is extra noticeable than most. It’s a muscle automotive with a 500-horsepower engine and plastic seats. There’s additionally just one enter and barely any zoom vary. Judged purely on image high quality for the cash, this Optoma is kind of good: Fairly vivid with fairly correct colours and a good distinction ratio. But for $150 or so extra you may get one thing just like the BenQ HT2050A or Epson HC2150, each of which performs higher and have fan noise that is not fairly as noticeable.

    Geoffrey Morrison/CNET
    Basic specsNative decision: 1,920×1,080HDR-compatible: No4K-compatible: No3D-compatible: YesLumens spec: 3,600Zoom: Manual (1.1)Lens shift: NoneLamp life (Bright mode): 4,000 hoursLike different projectors on this worth vary, the HD146X is HD, not 4K, and it would not have HDR. It is 3D succesful, although there are not any 3D glasses out there on Optoma’s web site. There are loads of third-party choices on-line nonetheless.Optoma claims 3,600 lumens of sunshine output. I measured a peak of slightly below 2,000, however that is a bit deceptive. To get that quantity of sunshine requires utilizing an image mode that hurts colour accuracy. In certainly one of its extra correct modes, the HD146X is able to round 1,100 lumens, which continues to be loads for many screens in darkish rooms. Like most DLP projectors on this worth vary, there isn’t any lens shift. Zoom vary can also be fairly slender at 1.1. This limits the place you possibly can place the projector, and the way giant or small the picture is at any single mounting level. Like a number of different points you may examine in a second, that is nearly actually a results of the hassle to maintain the HD146X’s worth down.

    Lamp life, in sure modes, is kind of good. In Bright mode it is a claimed 4,000 hours, which is pretty common. That jumps as much as a powerful 10,000 for Eco mode, which is about 35% dimmer than Bright mode. If you allow the Dynamic Black function, the lamp varies in depth primarily based on the common brightness stage of the picture it is projecting. Dark scenes are darker, vivid scenes keep vivid. Doing so bumps the claimed lamp life to an much more spectacular 15,000 hours but additionally causes the fan to ramp up and down, which makes it much more annoying. This is true of most “Dynamic Black” sort options, however is very noticeable on the HD146X.One function I believed was a pleasant contact was Wall Color. It adjusts the colours of the picture to counteract the shift attributable to projecting on a nonwhite floor. This consists of mild inexperienced, yellow and blue, blackboard, and even pink.
    Geoffrey Morrison/CNET
    Connectivity and convenienceHDMI inputs: 1PC enter: NoneUSB port: 1 (1.5A energy)Audio enter and output: 3.5mm outputDigital audio output: NoneLAN port: None12v set off: NoneRS-232 distant port: NoneMHL: NoRemote: BacklitOne of the obvious concessions to cost is the dearth of video inputs. There is one HDMI and, nicely, that is it. It’s not an enormous deal, since I assume most individuals solely ever use certainly one of their projector’s inputs anyway. One widespread use case is a single HDMI cable working from an AV receiver that handles enter switching from a number of units. If your setup requires extra inputs on the projector itself, HDMI switches are fairly cheap.
    Geoffrey Morrison/CNET
    There’s a USB connection that outputs sufficient energy to drive a streaming stick, like a Roku or Amazon Fire Stick. This means you needn’t run any lengthy cables in any respect (aside from energy). To hear what you are watching with this setup, there is a 3.5mm analog audio out if you wish to join an exterior speaker.The distant is backlit and so vivid it may have impressed a Springsteen tune. This distant is widespread with different Optoma projectors, and as such, has direct buttons for inputs that do not exist on the HD146X. 
    Geoffrey Morrison/CNET
    Picture high quality comparisons

    I in contrast the Optoma HD146X to the Epson Home Cinema 2150 and the BenQ HD2050A, two of the higher projectors underneath $1,000 I’ve examined lately. I stored in thoughts, nonetheless, that the 146X is about 25% cheaper than both. I related all of them to the identical supply through a Monoprice 1×4 distribution amplifier, and considered all of them on a 102-inch 1.0-gain display screen.My first choice was Episode 8 of the fourth season of The Expanse, IMHO the very best sci-fi present on TV. There are numerous darkish scenes right here, particularly contained in the alien artifact, and loads of vivid colours all through Medina Station. The Epson and Optoma really regarded comparatively shut, though the Epson was noticeably brighter, a minimum of when the Optoma is in certainly one of its extra correct modes; colours regarded a bit richer on the Epson as nicely. The BenQ regarded higher than each, with its a lot increased distinction ratio and darker blacks. Its shadows appeared extra life like, and are not as grey and washed-out as on the Epson or Optoma.Switching to Vivid mode on the Optoma the additional brightness was pleasing, however not well worth the hit in accuracy. Turning Brilliant Color down helps make the general colour extra pure, although you lose a good quantity of brightness, bringing it nearer to the User or Cinema image modes. Alternately, you possibly can flip up Brilliant Color in these modes to extend brightness, however once more, the colours look much less pure. I discovered 6 to be an excellent compromise within the User mode between image high quality and lightweight output.
    Geoffrey Morrison/CNET
    I converted to the Downton Abbey film subsequent for its extra real-world colour palette. The BenQ nonetheless regarded finest however I went forwards and backwards between the Epson and Optoma for second place. With the Optoma in User mode they’re pretty evenly matched. With the Optoma in Vivid mode, the attention will get drawn its brighter highlights, despite the fact that the distinction ratio is not a lot totally different. The colours and colour temperature are much less correct than the Epson, particularly on this mode, however I may think about many individuals being much more within the larger brightness over correct colour.All small projectors have loud followers, that is simply the tradeoff for a vivid picture from a small product. That mentioned, those within the HD146X are a bit extra noticeable. For occasion, it is not appreciably louder than the Epson, however the tone of Epson’s projector noise is extra simply ignored than the Optoma’s. It’s a number of steps louder than the BenQ, which extra simply disappears in all however quiet dialogue scenes. 
    Geoffrey Morrison/CNET
    Things are worse if you happen to allow the Dynamic Black function, which decreases lamp energy throughout darker scenes. The fan velocity ramps with the lamp, so it is arduous to disregard the spin-up (after which spin-down) of the fan, from scene to scene. This is the case with each projector with this function, it is only a bit extra noticeable on the 146X. Eco mode is quieter, however considerably dimmer.Conclusion: For the worth…While I like the thought of an affordable, vivid projector, this Optoma is clearly a compromise to hit a sure worth. If your finances for a projector is not any increased than $550, then the HD146X is a strong selection, however higher performing projectors price solely a little bit bit extra money. BenQ’s HT2050A is extra correct, brighter and higher searching for about $150 extra. How large a deal that’s relies upon totally in your finances. Personally, I’d save up a bit and get one thing apart from the HD146X, not least as a result of it is loud sufficient to be fairly annoying if it is anyplace close to your head. 

    Geek Box

    Test

    Result

    Score

    Black luminance (0%)

    0.25

    Poor

    Peak white luminance (100%)

    127.3

    Average

    Derived lumens

    1146

    Average

    Avg. grayscale error (10-100%)

    1.759

    Good

    Dark grey error (20%)

    2.051

    Good

    Bright grey error (70%)

    1.674

    Good

    Avg. colour error

    7.444

    Poor

    Red error

    4.291

    Average

    Green error

    11.458

    Poor

    Blue error

    12.823

    Poor

    Cyan error

    4.504

    Average

    Magenta error

    7.803

    Poor

    Yellow error

    3.786

    Average

    Avg. saturations error

    4.94

    Average

    Avg. colour checker error

    4.6

    Average

    Input lag (Game mode)

    16.4

    Good

    Measurement notesFor probably the most correct image I selected the User mode. This resulted in a reasonably constant and pretty correct colour temperature throughout the brightness vary. There’s roughly 60% extra mild output out there within the Vivid image high quality mode (greater than the Bright mode, oddly), although you are taking a slight hit in colour temperature accuracy, and the picture high quality total takes a slight hit. The User image mode and Bright lamp mode, with the Standard colour temp and Brilliant Color set at 6, I felt was the very best compromise between image high quality and brightness. This nonetheless will get you round 1,100 lumens, which continues to be sufficient to be thought-about “bright” on a 100-inch display screen. In case you had been curious, if you happen to make Vivid mode as correct because the User or Cinema mode, the sunshine output is similar as these modes. Color is not significantly correct, with inexperienced being pretty undersaturated, and magenta and yellow being barely off their anticipated values. Some adjustment is feasible within the consumer menu, however this would possibly not be an correct projector on the subject of colour. It’s not egregious, however others are higher.Contrast ratio is pretty poor, measuring a median of 568:1. For comparability, the BenQ 2050A, which can also be a DLP projector, averages over 2,000:1. This improves a bit within the Vivid mode, due to the far larger mild output. Dynamic Black roughly doubles it, although that may be a dynamic measurement. At any given second on display screen, the distinction ratio continues to be solely round 500:1. The picture would not look washed out, however lacks the punch of upper distinction ratio projectors.Picture Mode: UserKnowledgeable settings:Lamp: BrightBrightness: 3Contrast: -5Sharpness: 10Color: 12Tint (G/R): 0Brilliant Color: 6Dynamic black: OffColor temp: StandardGamma: Standard (2.2)

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