An excellent price for a 1080p projector ... but watch out for 1700 lumins. You will not be able to enjoy anything in ambient light - not unless you only use it at night, or block all external light from coming in. If you're planning a superbowl party, think twice!

infiniteammo wrote:I'm putting a down payment on my first house this week. I can't.. be.. buying.. this...

Must... RESIST..

resist...you will live without it. I hope your mortgage doesn't crush you and your dreams.

This refurbished Optoma appears on here so often you'd think there were some serious problems with them. I wonder how long it'll be until Woot offers an HD LED projector.

I have the HD20 (this units twin) for just a year now and it is the best projector I have owned to date. What do you miss with a projector at this price the most is H&V shift of the lense that projectors 3x the price have (this lets move the image alot with out moving the projector, this one you will have to put exactly where you need it for the placement on the screen), and a wider angle lense (while this one does have a wider angle lense then others at even higher prices, at 3x the price you can put the projector almost half the distance to the screen for the same image size)

For twice the money you can beat this one, at 3x you can but you could buy 3 of these and have them all over the house.

Oh please... another toy by Chinese, so why priced so high?
You can get these all day, just check-out eBay, for about half the price.

Listen to me, Get a 1080p, two bulbs, warranty and free delivery!
There are no brand names, these stickers are games, all made the same.

Now just go away, search these out on eBay, come back another day!

wootalyzer wrote:Wootalyzer's Pricing Post! - The price of today's woot item is saved here for future reference
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Optoma HD 1080p Home Theater Projector
$649.99 + $5 Shipping
Condition: Refurbished

*DISCLAIMER* Wootalyzer! is in no way affiliated with Woot!, and this post may not always be here!

sempercliff wrote:........ Optoma only warranties the bulb for 30 days. Do the math (30 days * 24 hours/day = 720 hours), so it seems they don't have much faith in them either. Of course, this projector also has one of the cheapest replacement bulbs (which was a factor in my purchase decision). Maybe I just got a bad bulb, but either way I wouldn't let it scare you off from this. It still is a great projector.

They would never calculate it that way, I think they usually state 6 hours on at a time max, but I'd have to look it up to know the exact amount. Either way, it sounds like you got a bad bulb which sucks. I'm pretty sure the new ones come with at least 90 day warranty on bulb, at least mine last Optoma did. You can get reasonably priced bulb insurance from the major online projector sellers a well.

Does the lamp in this come "Brand New" or is it also "ReFurbed" (with hours already on it)?

My husband bought an Optima HD70 4 years ago directly from the manufacturer. It still works great. At the time he bought it, the company offered a free bulb replacement plan (up to 2 years/up to 3 bulbs, a $750 value.) I recommend seeing what the company offers for a new projecter with a possible bulb replacement. In the long run, you will save money. The company always was speedy in delivery. No problemes with the unit or the company.

How do you hook up and watch cable TV through one of these contraptions?

pblgov wrote:I wonder if squaretrade offers a warranty on the bulb, 30 days is not a long time at all. Anyone have an idea on replacement bulb costs?

Last time around, I phoned SquareTrade about this. They told me they specifically did not warranty projector bulbs/lamps at that time.

Lamps for my last projector a ($4000 orig price inFocus) cost almost $400. Projector technology got so much better in the past few years, I decided to go with a new LED projector, now 4 months old and used frequently. Incredible improvement. Will never look back until I get rich and can afford a $10 grand projector - not likely!.

Remember, non-LED bulb average hour ratings are often based on gradual deterioration to half the original light output specs. If you're like us, your eyes get used to the diminishing output and don't realize how bad it's getting if you have no real reference point for comparison. A new bulb or projector can be an amazing mind-blower. Life is short. If video is important to you and you can afford it, just do it!

ajcarson wrote:...Quality is superb, even when projecting on a blank (or in my case, a slightly brown) wall. A projector screen isn't necessary for an excellent picture IMO...

Sorry, you just lost ALL credibility with that statement. Why not just build a DiY screen for under $40 and improve your image tenfold? It makes zero sense to pay $500+ for a projector and then destroy the image by not having at least a cheap screen.

Can someone explain the advantage of a projector over a decent TV? It seems to me the disadvantages of using a projector screen, a fan over your head, mounting the projector and running cables across the room would outweigh a bigger picture.

I've never seen TV or a watched a DVD or Blu-Ray on a home theater using a projector, so this is a legitimate question.

proliance wrote:Can someone explain the advantage of a projector over a decent TV? It seems to me the disadvantages of using a projector screen, a fan over your head, mounting the projector and running cables across the room would outweigh a bigger picture.

I've never seen TV or a watched a DVD or Blu-Ray on a home theater using a projector, so this is a legitimate question.

If you want a big, film-like image that puts you right in the middle of the action, then you want a projector in a dedicated home theater. If you want to just watch a small (anything under 90" in tiny) TV while being fully aware that you're doing just that, then a TV is for you.

Running cables is easy and absurdly inexpensive. (50' HDMI cables run less than $25 now.) You can build your own screen for next to nothing. Most pj fans are incredibly quiet these days. Projectors are both portable and have a very small footprint, compared to having some heavy box hanging from the wall.

Let's put it this way: I've read posts and talked to many people that have went from a TV to a projector and not a single one has ever went back. I've never heard of anyone doing the opposite...at least not without severe regret.

i just got to watch the PPV MMA fight last night on one of these. it was fugging awesome. screw buying a 3000 dollar TV for a theater room.

I know nothing about projection TVs. I just put in a pool, and I'm considering one of these to put outside and project onto some sort of large screen to watch the occasional football game, movie, or whatever, poolside (no, I won't leave it sitting out in the elements - it would come inside when not in use). Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

Is this a single-DLP with color wheel, or a three-DLP jobber? I can't stand color wheel DLPs as I am one of those folks who is overly-sensitive to the rainbow shimmer effect.

proliance wrote:Can someone explain the advantage of a projector over a decent TV? It seems to me the disadvantages of using a projector screen, a fan over your head, mounting the projector and running cables across the room would outweigh a bigger picture.

I've never seen TV or a watched a DVD or Blu-Ray on a home theater using a projector, so this is a legitimate question.

It allows for you to show the picture where you don't have a TV, or at a picture size larger than whatever TV you have. This is a perfect item for using at your Superbowl party to have a 100" TV in the basement for the men while the women hang in the kitchen and the kids watch in the family room.

Other than that...

krystalbella wrote:How do you hook up and watch cable TV through one of these contraptions?

Connect it to the output of your cable box, or anything with a TV tuner... including the PC that you put that USB TV tuner in that you got from woot:

http://www.woot.com/Blog/ViewEntry.aspx?Id=9854

if your room has a lot of light make this screen:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=994372

if not go with the wilsonart designer white laminate:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=708240

scottbrla wrote:I know nothing about projection TVs. I just put in a pool, and I'm considering one of these to put outside and project onto some sort of large screen to watch the occasional football game, movie, or whatever, poolside (no, I won't leave it sitting out in the elements - it would come inside when not in use). Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

Check backyardtheater dot com for a ton of ideas...You might get addicted with it...

This is such a great deal I got mine this February and it's going strong, ImageAI is pretty much my only complaint, but i just turn it off. at 150" this baby is a GREAT HD screen and I use it every day!

Hope you can find enough unicorns to go with those rainbows.

The problem here is DLP,
On TV's DLP is "passable" because your eyes don't track back and forth over a large area. In a home theater environment DLP rainbows like a mofo. I bought a refurbed Epson Powerlite from their website for $750 (they get them in now and again). Right about the same time my friend bought this projector new for about the same price. I have 1200 lum to his 1700, and we both agree after the fact that my projector is easily 100% better for viewing movies. It's a big enough difference that watching movies at his house is actually so distracting as to make it pointless. Do yourself a major favor, shop around and wait to get a good LCD projector as the only good DLP projectors use 3 seperate DLP units to keep "rainbowing" from happening and they're WAY outside the consumer price range.

Will this support 1280x600 and 1920x900 resolutions? I started playing all my pc games in this extra widescreen mode and my monitor doesn't support it so I have to play in a Window.


This video is a clip I recorded of a game thats 1280x600 and I would like to know if it would play with out the black boxes on this projector.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thDdJa5u4n8&feature=channel_video_title

proliance wrote:Can someone explain the advantage of a projector over a decent TV? It seems to me the disadvantages of using a projector screen, a fan over your head, mounting the projector and running cables across the room would outweigh a bigger picture.

I've never seen TV or a watched a DVD or Blue-Ray on a home theater using a projector, so this is a legitimate question.

I guess that depends an where you live and how much you like working.

If you have attic access and the knowledge and ambition how to do a few wall fiches, you are golden.

For what its worth here's the setup I currently have in my home theater room along with the price:

1) Optoma HD31 480p projector purchased ~5 years ago for ~ $1000.

2) Insignia (Best Buy house brand) home-theater-in-a-box DVD player / 5.1 speaker surround sound system. Purchased on black Friday for $50 a few years ago.

3) 4" x 8" poly-wall from Lowe's screwed to my wall as the screen.

4) < $20 of speaker wire

So doing the math I have a pretty good (480p 4"x8" Dolby 5.1) home theater for less than $1100.

Keep in mind that most of this equipment was purchased a few years ago and if you used this projector for the heart of your set up you would have a 1080p theater instead of 480p. That and you can purchase blue-ray HTIB setups for cheap if you shop around (my next upgrade after this projector).

- bspeersc

pblgov wrote:Congrats

Thanks! I resisted. Until the HD20 is available again anyway.

I bought an Optoma HD 720p projector for my house 3+ years old (You know, back when the 720p projectors cost $2k and a 1080p cost $6k+).

I use it everyday and I am yet to have to replace the bulb, it has over 3,500 hours on it and still works great. I highly recommend the Optoma HD projector series.

If you're asking yourself "what is this rainbow effect?" right now, you probably have nothing to worry about. If you've ever been to a Best Buy or the like, and walked through the whole TV section without noticing it, you're probably not going to have a problem.

I picked one of these up when Woot first put them up, and I'm super happy with it. I use it as my primary monitor because I edit HD video, and its important to be able to see that video in full HD, large enough to notice little artifacts and such.

Its no BS, its full 1080 native. Some projectors BS you by telling you what resolutions they are 'compatible with' meaning they scale the image down. This is not the case. This projector is true HD, for under $1,000. That is what has made it such a big hit, as it was one of the first HD projectors under a grand.

Why so cheap? Well, a big part of the price reduction is a loss of features. Many 'high end' projectors have very powerful keystone features that allow you to place your projector off axis, or less than parallel with the projection surface and correct the distortion. While this projector can do that as well, it doesn't have as much flexibility.
This isn't as big of a deal as you might think though, as you can stack boxes, or move furniture to put this baby near the center of the room and get a good picture.

$600 and you get a 100+ inch screen in HD. It is wonderful for split screen gaming on Xbox 360, or a wide field of view in a flight simulator. I also watch a lot of netflix on it as well.

Just drive over to your local fabric store and pick up a few feet of 'blackout cloth.' Its cheap, reflective and easy to tape up with painters tape, or staple into a simple wooden frame. I used my phone's light to find the fabric that let the least amount of light through and had lower specularity.

Lastly, I'll say if your biggest concern is the dreaded rainbow effect, drive on over to Best Buy or Walmart and take a look at their DLP TVs. If you don't see any problems with them, you won't have issues with this projector. Contrary to popular belief, the bigger screen size has little impact, as you tend to sit further away from a bigger screen, and your eyes don't have any concept of how far away the image is. Looking from 15 degrees left to 15 degrees right is all the same no mater how far away the object of focus.

proliance wrote:Can someone explain the advantage of a projector over a decent TV? It seems to me the disadvantages of using a projector screen, a fan over your head, mounting the projector and running cables across the room would outweigh a bigger picture.

I've never seen TV or a watched a DVD or Blu-Ray on a home theater using a projector, so this is a legitimate question.

Two other advantages of a projector are portability and ease of security. I have one and an old style portable screen for when I give classes and seminars. I do not like to rely on others to be able to make my presentations. And, I can easily lock it up when not in use, unlike a 60" plasma.

spyder69696969 wrote:Sorry, you just lost ALL credibility with that statement. Why not just build a DiY screen for under $40 and improve your image tenfold? It makes zero sense to pay $500+ for a projector and then destroy the image by not having at least a cheap screen.

It is VERY hard to tell the difference between an image projected on a blank wall and one projected on a screen. Even if the wall is painted some mild color like yellow or beige, you simply can't tell the difference. Furthermore, screens can be hard to keep still and flat, screwing up the focus.

Try it and you'll understand.

So expensive! But 1080p projector... how can I resist... must think about college fund for kids... I do not need 1080p projector, I do not need 1080p projector...... as many times as I say that, I can't get it to stick....

ajcarson wrote:I hardly ever have anything to say about products these days, but I can vouch for this projector. I have this unit mounted on the ceiling in my basement and it is fantastic. 1700 lumens provides just the right brightness when the room is filled with sunlight, while not being overly bright during the night hours. I have the unit mounted 14 feet back from the wall and the image is over 130" diagonally. On low brightness the bulb has lasted 3500 hours and is still going strong. Quality is superb, even when projecting on a blank (or in my case, a slightly brown) wall. A projector screen isn't necessary for an excellent picture IMO. I replaced the bulb a few years ago for the fairly cheap price of $180. Changing the bulb was quick and easy. Can't say enough about this projector -- Especially at this price. I payed almost 3 times the price for this unit years ago.

Just received the projector, it is DOA with all led lights flashing. Talked to Optoma, they say it needs fixed/replaced but they can't swap it out because its a refurb. Sent email in to service@woot.com, anxiously awaiting a response. This really sucks, my first projector and I'd bought an outdoor screen, firepit, and had plans to have people over on 6/10. Hopefully woot can do something.

Got mine today, 19 hours on the bulb, or so it says. Setup was incredibly easy, and got a beautiful 6' display in my living room with only about 8-9' of throw distance by simply placing it on the coffee table and projecting on a white, textured blank wall. Picture was still clear enough to easily see even with all the room lights on. Knock on wood, hopefully it survives past the 30 days, but this looks like a fantastic Woot for me!

Got mine and the bulb said 8 hours. It looks amazing on the light tan wall in the basement. Putting up a screen soon. So far it's a big win.