Optoma W316: Projector for small businesses and school

The Optoma W316 is a remarkably well-priced, easy to use projector aimed at small businesses and schools. Here's our Optoma W316 reviews.

Many of today's business/education projectors try to be slim and svelte, blending beautifully into the background, even if their hardware capabilities fall considerably short of impressing. The W316, though, is not cut from the same cloth. Its bulky and somewhat inelegant exterior is dominated by the large lens, creating an effect that appears to have fallen out of a 1990s timewarp. However, while its form is less than sensational, its function excels given the modest price tag.

First up is that brightness rating, and 3400 ansi lumens means your presentations and lessons will look splendid, even in rooms where there's plenty of light leaking in. If you can dim the lights, it obviously adds to the image quality, but this is certainly a model that can work very competently in daylight. See also Group test: what's the best projector?

OPTOMA W316 PROJECTOR REVIEWS: CONTRAST RATIO

Optoma W316

DLP models tend to have generous contrast ratios, although we suspect the Optoma's 15000:1 contrast ratio is rather on the generous side. But while the figure may be exaggerated, this model still offers good colour depth. Detailed video would probably benefit from better skin tones, but the shades are incredibly bright, and the clarity of image means that presentations will look glorious, as well as being easy to take in. You don't get spectacular resolution support, with the W316 topping out at a native 1280x800.

This, though, isn't intended for use with high-res video, and the levels of detail will be more than enough for most computer projects. The Dynamic mode makes a good job of adjusting each frame to suit the content, offering consistently good quality under almost any conditions, while also conserving energy. The onboard speakers are adequate, offering sound that's relatively punchy. As with many of these projectors, the audio is more than adequate for business/school use, if hardly up to reproducing sonic excellence.

The lovely little white remote control is a cinch to use, and it allows you to access exactly the same menu options as from the main control panel. That gives you access to a slew of useful options, including edge masks and in-depth individual colour settings (stretching to less common shades, like cyan and magenta, for ultimate control). The ports and connectors include three D-Subs (one VGA-Out, plus two VGA-In/YPbPr connectors), an HDMI connector, and mini-USB.

OPTOMA W316 PROJECTOR REVIEW: 3D PROJECTION

The projector can also turn its hand to 3D. You will need to take on extra equipment, such as glasses (available for £65 each), but it's nice to see most projectors now offering the option of 3D. No wireless facilities are built in, although you can add Optoma's wireless dongle for an extra £130. This will allow you project wirelessly from laptops, PCs, and mobile devices. The cost may seem high compared to the price of the product itself, but such an addition will increase the convenience of this model.

The projector also comes with a very nice carry bag. One issue we do have this, though, is the shortness of the zip, and getting the projector in and out isn't quite as easy as it may be. That may seem a trivial point, but it's hard to show your most sophisticated side to clients or pupils when you're simultaneously wrestling with an ostreperous carry case. This, though, is a very minor point.

The projector can be turned off very quickly (we recorded eight seconds), and can even be switched back on again almost instantly, should you somehow turn it off by accident. Lamp life is very good, and with care, the Optoma can stretch out over 10000 hours. At 29db, it's the right side of the 30db mark, making it relatively discreet despite its size. See all business tech buying advice.

SPECS

Optoma W316: Specs

DLP technology

Native resolution 1280x800

Brightness 3400 ansi lumens

Contrast ratio 15000:1

Noise 29db

3 x D-Sub (1 x VGA out, 2x VGA-IN/YPbPr)

HDMI

S-Video

Video

Audio In/Out

Mini-USB

Dimensions 315x223x102mm

Weight 2.5kg

Max power consumption 225W

Lamp life 190W (up to 10,000 hours)

OUR VERDICT

It's fairly large and ungainly, and the resolution support isn't particularly high. In most other respects, though, the W316 is remarkable for its price. Images are bold and colourful, while the menu design and functionality is also good. It's an easy projector to use and, at this price, an even easier one to love. Small/medium businesses and schools will relish the capabilities for such a shoe-string budget.

Optoma GT1080 : A Gaming Projector With A Good Short Game

OUR VERDICT

Optoma GT1080 works best as a short-throw, 1080p gaming projector. Move it away from the wall or use it for the center of your home theater system, however, and you'll be disappointed.

Optoma GT1080 (1)

With Optoma GT1080, gaming projector, you can see playing game klondike solitaire online very well

FOR

1080p

3D ready

15ms response rate

Decent port selection

AGAINST

Super short range

Excessive heat and noise

Imperfect audio

Poor daytime performance

If potential TV buyers ever found out how great projectors are, panel manufacturers would be in a heap of trouble. Nine times out of 10, projectors are easy to setup, come with a built-in, decent-sounding speaker and produce a picture that’s just as sharp as their LED counterparts at twice the size.

There’s a tenth time, though, where the shoddy speaker, the temperamental picture and the inconvenient setup – not to mention the hefty price tag – make those $250 720p, LED HDTVs pretty appealing.

Which group does Optoma’s latest 1080p, $1,399 (about £870, AU$1,600) gaming projector fall into? I’ll give you a hint: It’s not the first one.

Design

Optoma GT1080 (2)

The GT1080 is a sleek, all-white behemoth, measuring in at 12.4 x 4.0 x 8.8-inches (or 315 x 102 x 224 mm, W x H x D). It’s designed for close quarters gaming and should be placed, at least what I gleaned from my testing, about four to five feet from the wall.

In the front, a bulbous lens dominates the panel. Horizontal vents located the left of the lens keep the unit itself cool, but generate an awful lot of heat. Spin it all the way around to the right and you’ll find a plethora of ports – everything from an MHL-enabled HDMI port to mini-USB.

It’s not a comprehensive package of every port you’ll ever need (there are no DVI or VGA ports, for example). But, for an entry-level projector, this is a decent setup.

On the bottom panel you’ll find three rotating pegs that raise or lower the angle of the projection, while the top of the unit sports an IR sensor, focus slider and basic controls. 

Performance

The GT1080 has a very specific audience that, in all honesty, it doesn’t cater to all that well.

Gamers, for the most part, like cool, quiet machines. One of the first things you’ll notice about theGT1080 is that its fans are louder than you’d expect – even if you’re used to projection equipment. Leave it running for a few hours and you’ll run into a new issue: heat.

Heat is not something easily quantified without the use of a IR thermometer gun, but if I had to give an educated guess, I’d say it easily raised the temperature in the 12-foot by 12-foot room I kept it in by 10 or even 15 degrees Fahrenheit.

The GT1080 isn’t very versatile, either. Placing the projector five feet away (as directed) produced a 100-inch image. But without moving it, there’s no way to increase or decrease image size. The image itself, while fairly sharp, wasn’t the best I’ve seen from a projector – that honor belongs to the Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 3020. That said, the GT1080 makes up for any shortcoming with a quick-pace 15ms response rate.

It’s pretty common knowledge, but it’s worth mentioning that projectors work best isolated in a dark room. Any light decreases screen visibility immensely; doing a day-time test with a PS4 didn’t produce favorable results. Even at its highest contrast ratio (25,000:1), the colors in Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker were so dull, Snake nearly camouflaged himself right into the wall.

But this isn’t exactly indicative of its average nighttime performance – with shades drawn and the sun down, testing the GT1080 went off without a hitch.

Bleak speakers

Getting great video from the GT1080 is only half the battle. Thankfully, the rest of the fight isn’t so bad thanks to its 10-watt built-in speaker. While not my first choice when listening to music, the low-fi speaker on offer here fills the need for a simple audio solution when watching TV shows or movies.

That’s not to say it isn’t loud enough – trust me, it is. It’s just that the quality of sound isn’t up to par with almost any external speaker. This means you’ll almost certainly want to use the 3.5mm jack on the side of the projector to plug in a sound bar or, if it fits in the budget, a pair of speakers.

Verdict

Optoma GT1080 (3)

The GT1080 works best as a short-throw 1080p projector that, taking into account its 15ms response rate, strikes a note with gamers.

That said, it’s not as versatile as other projectors (remember to keep it within five feet of the wall). Plus, the speaker system, while convenient, isn’t the most high-fidelity option around.

If you have the wall space – and the scratch – for a 100-inch 1080p image, then you have have with it takes for a 50-inch, 1080p HDTV for half this price. Unless you’re in desperate need of a short-throw projector for that pitch-black gaming den, then you’re best served spending your money elsewhere.

Projector Reviews: Optoma ML750ST- office, home entertainment devices

ML750ST OPTOMA is ultra-portable projector, just over 0.5kg weighs and you can absolutely hold them with one hand. This product is suitable for the office, home and classroom.

PROS

Excellent picture quality

Strong feature count

Superbly portable form factor

CONS

A touch expensive

Fiddly remote control

Some minor scaling issues

KEY FEATURES

Ultraportable DLP projector

20,000-hour lamp life

WXGA native resolution

800 lumens of brightness

Short-throw lens design

Manufacturer: Optoma

Review Price: £480.00

OPTOMA ML750ST – DESIGN AND FEATURES

There was a time a year or two back when ultraportable "pico" projectors that took up scarcely any room in a briefcase, or even slotted into a decent-sized jacket pocket, were ten a penny. Although the fad has died down considerably now, Optoma’s ML750ST may just have what it takes to resurrect it.

Optoma ML750ST Design

The ML750ST is a cutie. Small enough at 112.5 x 123 x 57mm and light enough at 420g to slot almost unnoticed into a briefcase or shoulder bag, it immediately ticks all the boxes for those looking for a projector that can be used in multiple locations. It even ships with an attached rubberised lens cover and little canvas carry bag to enhance its portability.

I immediately took to its combination of a white top plate and black grilled sides, and lapped up the way its oversized lens explodes out of the front edge, creating a slight bulge in the top edge.

Proof that the ML750ST’s portability doesn’t stop at its size comes from the striking array of connections on its rear. As you’d expect these days there’s an HDMI, which is joined by an SD card slot, a USB port, a headphone jack, and a universal in/out socket (for which a cable is helpfully provided for free).

The HDMI supports the MHL protocol for sharing content from compatible mobile devices, while spending an extra £27 on Optoma’s optional wireless USB adapter (and downloading the free HDCast Pro app) will see the projector support even wireless streaming from mobile devices.

Optoma ML750ST Features

The HDMI port can be used for connecting Blu-ray players and games consoles for home entertainment uses, as well as PCs and laptops. Meanwhile, the SD card slot and USB port can be used for playing Microsoft Office, PDF, photo, video and audio files directly into the projector. This – along with some built-in memory – frees you from the need to attach a PC when putting on a business presentation. However, PowerPoint geeks should note that the ML750ST’s built-in file parsing doesn't support PowerPoint animations.

I mentioned at the start of this review that the ML750ST uses DLP technology. But I should clarify this by adding that it uses a DLP system of individual red, green and blue LED modules, rather than the colour-wheel system sported by most full-sized DLP projectors. Such an approach is handy for two reasons.

First, it means that the projector’s lamp life is rated at a huge 20,000 hours instead of the usual 2,000-6,000 hours. Second, using individual LED modules means that when you turn off the projector you can instantly unplug it and pack it away. There’s no need to wait for the lamp to cool before unplugging the device, as is common with normal types of DLP projector.

The ML750ST claims some striking picture specifications. Its brightness of 800 lumens and claimed contrast ratio of 20,000:1 both look hugely promising by "pocket" projector standards, and while its 1,280 x 800 WXGA resolution doesn’t hit the Full HD 1,920 x 1,080 heights you’d be looking for from a £500-£600 full-sized DLP projector these days, it’s actually pretty high by pocket projector standards.

The 1,280 x 800 resolution delivers a native image aspect ratio of 16:10 rather than the 16:9 ratio of TVs and most video content. While this means 16:9 content can’t make use of every pixel available in theML750ST, the projector does preserve the correct aspect ratio when showing 16:9 content.

It’s worth adding here that although the ML750ST clearly has one eye on the business presentations market, its separate RGB LED approach is actually pretty effective at delivering colours accurate to the Rec 709 video standard (the new HDR picture technology hasn't yet trickled down to the budget projection world). There are also video-friendly presets, and that 20,000:1 contrast ratio claim is particularly promising for video playback.

OPTOMA ML750ST – SETUP

Optoma ML750ST Setup

The ST bit of the ML750ST’s name stands for "short throw", and instantly reveals one of its most useful set-up features: its ability to deliver big images from a reduced throw distance. You can achieve a 100-inch image, for instance, even if the projector is only around 1m away from your screen.

More aids to set up – which needs to be easy when you’re talking about a projector as focused on portability as the ML750ST – include a reasonably effective automated keystone correction system and a built-in sensor that auto calibrates the LEDs each time the projector is switched on.

Not surprisingly, given the ML750ST’s nature and focus on convenience, it sports precious few image adjustments in its basic on-screen menus. The provided video and PC picture presets do a pretty good job with their respective source types, however.

Optoma H183X Reviews - Great Projector For Your Livingroom

With the advantages of price and what it brings to us, Optoma H183X is surely a wonderful procduct that is suitable for your livingroom. Optoma H183X is a very affordable H183X HD Ready projector. If you are a sports fan, the Optoma H183X would be a great product for you to enjoy each action on a big screen clearly. If you are not a sports fan, do not worry, Optoma H183X will also bring a great experience for videogames and movies. 

Relating project, do you like reading funny short joke about project :D

WHAT IS THE OPTOMA H183X?

Optoma H183x Reviews

For £300, the H183X is an ultra-affordable HD Ready projector, with its eyes firmly set on taking up residence in the living rooms of sports fans across Britain with the upcoming Euro football tournament and Olympic games. Although it turns out that it could serve video game and moviefans very nicely too.

PROS

Incredible value

Genuinely decent video picture quality

Easy to carry around and set up

CONS

Only one HDMI

Glowing issue with bright peaks if you don't control Brilliant Colour

Slight noise

KEY FEATURES

Single-chip HD Ready DLP projector

Incredibly cheap at £300

Video-friendly colour wheel

Built-in 2W speaker

Dynamic lamp modes

Manufacturer: Optoma

OPTOMA H183X – DESIGN AND FEATURES

With its fairy standard rectangular footprint, matte-black finish, flat top and grilled sides, the H183X is unlikely to find its way onto the pages of Vogue’s projector edition. It does, however, feel surprisingly robust and heavy for such an extraordinarily cheap projector.

Connectivity is a little underwhelming, chiefly because you get only a single HDMI input. In truth, though, a projector such as the H183X is likely to be kept in a cupboard for much of the time and brought out only for special occasions. In that sort of relatively casual environment, a single HDMI for a single source will likely be sufficient.

Joining the HDMI is a D-SUB VGA port, a composite video port, 3.5mm audio input/output jacks, and an RS-232C port to aid system integration. It's also possible to stream video to the projector wirelessly, on spending an additional £190 or so for Optoma’s WHD200 wireless video kit.

The Optoma H183X’s picture specifications don’t get off to a great start, as a result of the native resolution of its single-chip DLP optical system not being full HD; instead it’s an "HD Ready" WXGA 1,280 x 800. In addition, this resolution equates to a 16:10 aspect ratio rather than the 16:9 ratio suited to widescreen video sources.

It turns out, however, that the projector can still presents 16:9 sources in their correct ratio, rather than stretching them slightly vertically as some 16:10 projectors have done in years gone by.

Also, while it isn't completely unheard of to find projectors at the Optoma H183X’s insanely low price level to feature Full HD resolutions, I can’t think of a single model that offers such video-friendly accompanying specifications. My eye was quickly caught by a claimed contrast ratio of 25,000:1, which is way higher than you’d usually find at this price.

Optoma H183X - Projector reviews - Features

The colour wheel, too, has apparently been optimised to deliver video accurately to the Rec 709 standard still used by most HD and standard definition sources; the HDR feeds now available on some Amazon and Netflix HD streams are understandably not supported.

The Optoma H183X’s claimed maximum brightness of 3,200 lumens is eye-catchingly high for such an affordable and portable projector. On paper, this is easily enough to support viewing in a decent amount of ambient light. Which will, of course, be ideal for those occasions you have your mates round on an afternoon to catch one of the upcoming Euro 2016 footie matches.

A trio of other features worth noting are the H183X’s built-in 2W speaker, its unusually high claimed maximum lamp life of 8,000 hours if using Eco+ mode, and its support for 3D playback. I couldn’t test the latter, however, since no 3D glasses are included with the projector.

OPTOMA H183X – SETUP

Relatively casual projectors, likely to live their lives in and out of cupboards, really need to be easy to set up. For the most part, the H183X doesn’t disappoint in this respect. Its simple zoom and focus rings, keystone correction and dropdown legs should make getting a picture up and running on your wall or screen just a minute or two’s work.

There are, however, a couple of limitations. First, not surprisingly, there’s no optical vertical image shifting available, meaning most people will have to rely on the keystone correction system to get the sides of their images parallel – even though keystone correction is essentially a distortion of the image’s native pixel setup.

Optoma H183X - Projector reviews - Set up 

Second, optical zoom is extremely limited at only 1.1x. This could create a few placement issues if you’re trying to use it to fill a specific screen area, rather than a less-defined wall space.

Considering how cheap it is, the Optoma H183X’s menus are pretty well equipped with picture set-up options. These include a selection of gamma presets (some labelled according to content, some numbered) and a surprisingly full colour-management system that includes hue, saturation and gain tweaks for the red, green, blue, magenta, cyan, yellow and even white components.

There's also a suite of different lamp modes, including two dynamic options that adjust the light output according to the image content. There are 10 settings for Texas Instruments' BrilliantColor system for boosting colour saturations and a useful selection of themed picture presets that include Game and Cinema options.

The most important settings I’d recommend you play with are the lamp mode and the BrilliantColor feature. I found that the dynamic and Eco+ lamp modes – which adjust the light output to suit the images being shown – achieve the best all-round picture quality, since they boost the perception of black level response and the punch of bright scenes and image elements. It is also in Eco+ mode that theprojector’s lamp life will be maximised.

However, if you run the BrilliantColor setting on its default maximum 10 level with the dynamic or Eco+ lamp mode, it causes some distracting flaring out/glowing issues in bright image areas such as explosions and light reflections on faces.

Fortunately, this issue can be rectified by reducing the BrilliantColor setting to around its three or two level. Obviously, in an ideal world, those who have a preference for punchier colours would be able to keep BrilliantColor at a higher setting without having to suffer such glaring peak white problems.

Optoma HD50 Projector review

PROS

• Bright, colour-rich pictures
• Reasonable value
• Optical image shift

CONS

• High input lag for gaming
• Black levels only fair
• Noisy colour wheel

KEY FEATURES

• Full HD single-chip DLP projector
• Sub-£1000 price
• Motion processing
• UltraDetail sharpness enhancement
• Strong suite of calibration aids
• Manufacturer: Optoma
• Review Price: £999.00

WHAT IS THE OPTOMA HD50?

The HD50 is the latest in a remarkably long line of staggeringly affordable DLP projectors, delivering pictures specifically honed for home cinema up to 300in in size for just £999.

OPTOMA HD50: DESIGN AND FEATURES

The HD50 certainly has its own look going on. It’s both narrower and higher than typical home cinema projectors, giving it a rather chunky look that’s not especially elegant, truth be told. Still, there is a good reason for the unusual height, as it’s enabled Optoma to fit on the front a startlingly, promisingly large lens.

There’s a focus ring protruding slightly from the HD50’s front edge, while the zoom wheel is accessed through a window on the projector’s top edge.

Also jutting out of the rear side of this window is a small horizontal wheel which, we’re pleased to report, provides a degree of optical shift. The amount of optical shift available is limited, but finding any at all at the HD50’s price point is a bonus.

Connections on the HD50’s rear tick all the boxes we could expect for £999. Highlights are two HDMIs, an RS-232 port for system integration, and a 12V trigger output you could use to automatically fire up a motorized screen. There’s also a jack for a 3D transmitter, though neither this transmitter nor any of Optoma’s RF, active shutter 3D glasses are included in the £999 price.

The HD50 is impressively ambitious with its picture specification. At its heart is a full HD single-chip DLP optical system, with a fast-spinning colour wheel designed to keep a lid on the rainbow effect colour striping phenomenon that can affect single chip DLP projectors. The images this system produces have been specifically tuned for home cinema as opposed to business presentations use, with both Cinema and Reference picture presets on hand to remind you of this fact.

If you’re not happy with the presets, the HD50 is crammed full of tools for fine tuning things, including colour and white balance management systems. Particularly unusual is the extent of picture processing Optoma has squeezed into its sub-£1000 projector. For starters there’s a Dynamic Black system that continually – and we mean literally frame by frame – adjusts the lamp output to optimise the projector’s contrast potential.

As a result of this technology the HD50 claims a startlingly high contrast ratio of 50,000:1 (usually we’d see something nearer to 10,000:1 for this price point) that sits handily alongside a high brightness output of 2,200 ANSI Lumens.

Getting back to the image processing, Optoma has confidently built some frame interpolation motion processing into the HD50 despite the tendency for such processing to look messy in the budget arena, while perhaps the most intriguing image system is something called UltraDetail, which Optoma’s PR blurb claims ‘ensures all the information contained in an image is faithfully reproduced on the screen giving a stunning crystal clear, pin-sharp picture’. The cynic in us is tempted to see this as a fancy way of describing a simple sharpness booster, but Optoma seems really keen to suggest it’s more than that, so we’ll be reserve judgment for now.

OPTOMA HD50: SET UP

The HD50’s optical 1.5x zoom and vertical image shifting tools are very welcome findings on a budget projector, making it relatively easy to get your image positioned correctly on the screen.

BenQ W1070+ review

PROS

• Excellent value
• Very good picture quality for the money
• Impressive set up features

CONS

• Black levels only fair
• It runs quite loudly
• Very minor rainbow effect

KEY FEATURES

• Full HD single-chip DLP projector
• Optional wireless HD video connection system
• 3D Ready (no glasses included)
• ISF certified
• 2200 Lumens light output
• Manufacturer: BenQ
• Review Price: £639.00

WHAT IS THE BENQ W1070 ?

As its name cunningly suggests, the BenQ W1070 DLP projector is a revamped version of the original W1070 which made such a great first impression on us when it appeared at the end of 2012. But are the revisions BenQ has made enough to make the W1070 competitive in 2014? And are they also enough to justify the £90 extra the new Plus model costs over and above the original W1070’s £549?

BENQ W1070 - DESIGN AND FEATURES

The W1070 is an attractive projector, as usual for BenQ. Its top and bottom sides sport a fetching gloss white finish, while its front, sides and arced area above the lens barrel are clad in a shiny grey finish that contrasts cutely with the white. The lens sits deep within a large circular recess set slightly to the right side of the projector’s front edge, and there’s access to simple zoom and focus wheels through a hole in the top panel.

The W1070 is handily small too, making it easy to move in and out of a cupboard if you’re not looking for a permanently installed projector solution. There’s a slight concern that the hefty amounts of grilling around the W1070 ’s sides may lead to some light pollution and excessive cooling noise, but overall BenQ’s new projector update makes a good first impression.

It’s with its connections, though, where the W1070 makes its first move to improve on the original W1070. For starters, it can now handle the MHL mobile phone connection format via an optional dongle. Much more significant, though, is the W1070 ’s compatibility with a new optional extra Wireless Full HD Kit.

As you would expect these days, this kit comprises transmitter and receiver boxes that can stream uncompressed 1080p 2D or 3D content from your sources to the projector without the need for any cabling. It’s rated as being good for wireless coverage up to 30 metres, and uses four built-in antennas to support streaming through furniture doors and even through walls between rooms.

You can get this wireless system separately for £249, or else you can buy it as a package with the W1070 for a great all-in price of £799.

Turning to the W1070 ’s insides, its single-chip DLP system uses a Darkchip 3 chipset from Texas Instruments, with colour coming courtesy of a 6x speed, six-segment RGBRGB colour wheel. This colour wheel should be capable of keeping a rein on the ‘rainbow’ striping problem associated with single-chip DLP technology.

The W1070 ’s claimed contrast ratio is the same as that quoted for the original W1070 and is fairly typical of affordable DLP technology at 10,000:1. However, the new Plus model’s brightness is slightly higher than its predecessor at 2,200 ANSI Lumens. Hopefully BenQ has been able to control this extra brightness well though, for too much brightness on a budget projector can lead to some pretty demoralising black level deficiencies and, in DLP’s case, elevate awareness of the rainbow effect.

Other key features in the W1070 ’s armoury are active shutter 3D playback (though no glasses are included as standard) and its short-throw lens, which can give you a 100-inch picture from a throw distance of just 2.5m.

The W1070 also joins most other ‘casual’ projectors in boasting a built-in audio system. However, the W1070 takes its audio duties much more seriously than most by introducing a new 10W ‘resonant chamber’ speaker design. We’ll find out how effective this really is later.

BENQ W1070 - SET UP

The W1070 is both flexible and straightforward to set up. The focus and zoom settings are easily adjusted via the reasonably responsive wheels accessed through the projector’s top edge, and the set ships using an impressively straightforward ‘basic’ suite of menus.

The star of the initial set up show, though, is the projector’s optical vertical image shift. Slide back a panel behind the zoom and focus window in the top panel and you gain access to a little screw via which you can physically adjust the height of the W1070 ’s images without mucking up the image’s geometry.

The amount of vertical image shifting available is limited – 110%-130% - but any sort of image shifting on a projector at the W1070 ’s price is extremely rare and enormously welcome. Though it was also available on the original W1070 too.

The W1070 also shows impressive ambition with its calibration tools (available once you’ve switched the projector out of its default ‘basic’ menu type). Tricks available include gamma control, colour temperature fine tuning, a very flexible (though generally best avoided) noise reduction system, and a reasonably effective colour management system.

The W1070 is so replete with picture adjustments that it’s earned the backing of the independent Imaging Science Foundation (ISF) as a projector capable of receiving a pro-level calibration by one of its engineers – so long as you’re willing to pay them for the privilege, of course.

Throw in some horizontal keystone correction (for levelling up the image’s sides) to support situations where you may have to set your projector to the side of your projector screen, plus simple screw down legs on both rear corners and a drop down leg under the centre of the front edge, and it’s hard to see how the W1070 could feasibly have provided more setup flexibility for its money.

For best quick results from the W1070 , we’d suggest using the User 1 picture setting, with key adjustments being to reduce the sharpness to around its 10 level, turning Noise Reduction off for HD sources, setting Gamma to 2.2, and setting the lamp power to either Economic or Smart Eco. We’ll discuss these lamp settings later, in the picture quality section.

If you get the Wireless HD system to go with your W1070 , we're pleased to say that it's extremely easy to set up. You just plug the transmitter and receiver into power sockets, and attach the necessary HDMIs, and that's it. The two boxes 'see each other' with no help needed from you.

JVC DLA-X700R review

PROS

• Incredible contrast performance
• e-shift 4K does deliver a more dense visual experience
• Huge amount of calibration options

CONS

• Very minor motion softness
• Input lag is rather high
• It's not really 4K

KEY FEATURES

• Full HD D-ILA projector
• Active 3D playback (2 prs of glasses included)
• E-Shift 4K technology
• 1,200,000:1 claimed contrast ratio
• Lens memory functionality
• Manufacturer: JVC
• Review Price: £7,300.00

WHAT IS THE JVC DLA-X700R?

The X700R is a home cinema projector using the contrast-rich DLA optical system and JVC’s potentially controversial e-Shift 4K technology. This delivers a sort-of-4K resolution effect without actually being a true 4K projector – a confusing state of affairs given an extra frisson by the fact that the X700R’s £7300 price sits potentially dangerously close to the £8,800 you’ll need for the native 4K Sony VW500 projector.

JVC DLA-X700R - DESIGN AND FEATURES

It’s very much a case of ‘been there, done that’ with the X700R’s design. It’s absolutely identical to JVC projectors of seasons past with its low-slung, wide, angular shape adorned in a glossy black livery with two venting ‘wings’ on each side and a large centrally placed lens on the front edge.

The most interesting things about its design are its reasonably small footprint for a high-end projector, and the THX and ISF logos adorning its top edge.

These logos indicate that the X700R has sought and gained the endorsement of two significant independent third party organisations. The THX group only allows products to use its badge if they’ve passed a stringent set of performance criteria, while the ISF name is only usable if a product is deemed sufficiently rich in picture tools to support an in-depth calibration by one of the ISF’s trained experts. It’s worth adding, moreover, that the THX certification is for 3D as well as 2D playback.

Connections on the X700R’s rear comprise two HDMIs, a LAN port, a socket for plugging in a provided 3D transmitter, a 12V trigger port, and an RS-232C jack for system integration.

The HDMIs are more interesting than most because unlike those found on last year’s JVC e-Shift 4K projectors, these ones can receive 4K video (even up to 60p, albeit only at 8-bit with 4:2:0 colour sampling). However, the projector can’t output 4K inputs in their native 4K resolution. Confused? Guess we’d best try to explain this e-shift 4K malarkey, then!

As simply as possible, e-shift 4K puts two full HD-resolution chips in sequence, with one offset from the other by half a picture up and sideways. This results in a picture with twice as many smaller pixels in than you’d get with a single full HD chipset, enhancing the sense of pixel density and (potentially) detail in the image – handy when you’re talking about pictures as big as those a projector is capable of producing.

However, the images going through the double imaging chips are NOT pixel-for-pixel 4K, even when the source you’ve fed in is native 4K. Feed a 4K signal into the X700R and it will downscale them before pushing them through the imaging system.

This raises a very real question over whether the ability to take in native 4K video is really worthwhile on the X700R or merely a rather disingenuous move by JVC likely to confuse the nascent 4K projection market. To be fair to JVC, though, we have found in other areas of the AV world that content delivered in HD but filmed/created in 4K can deliver slightly cleaner, crisper images. So it’s possible this ‘start with the best source you can’ logic will hold true as the native 4K feeds go through the downscaling and e-shift 4K processing steps in the X700R.

The X700R is on much more solid ground with the rest of its specification. Its claimed contrast ratio, for instance, is nothing short of mind boggling at 1,200,000:1. To be clear, this monstrously high figure (in a world where most projectors struggle to get above 100,000:1) is not a native contrast ratio figure of the sort JVC has traditionally quoted alongside its D-ILA projectors. Instead it’s a dynamic contrast ratio delivered via a new intelligent Lens Aperture (ILA) technology that automatically increases and reduces the amount of light the projector is outputting to suit the brightness or darkness of the content being shown.

This ILA system is only optional, though. If you’d rather stick with a more stable, consistent light output, the X700R’s native contrast ratio is still 120,000:1, which is still in a league of its own where native contrast ratios are concerned.

The intelligent lens aperture tech isn’t the only innovation focussed on making JVC’s already legendary projector contrast abilities even more stellar. For JVC additionally claims to have reduced the spacing between each pixel of its latest D-ILA chips by a startling 40%, to reduce light ‘waste’, while there are also new efficiencies in the path the X700R’s light takes through its optical system.

The X700R isn’t the brightest projector in the world with its claimed output of 1300 Lumens. But you should feel more impact from each of these available lumens than you would with a ‘normal’ projector if the X700R delivers on its contrast claims.

The X700R is also a 3D capable projector, shipping in the UK with the necessary 3D RF ‘dongle’ and two pairs of active shutter 3D glasses.

Looking for other unusual or promising features about the X700R, there’s an ‘Environmental’ setting that automatically adjusts images to best match the room environment (though we’d suggest that this is not going to deliver results comparable to having a professional ISF installation carried out).

There’s also a very useful lens memory feature, where you can set up to 10 lens and zoom preset options for different aspect ratio movies when using a 21:9 screen.

Next, JVC has introduced a new Frame Addressing Driver system specifically to ‘cancel’ the crosstalk ghosting 3D problems that were really quite problematic on last year’s JVC projector range. And finally there’s a souped up version of JVC’s Clear Motion Drive processing for improving motion clarity.

Having already been blown away by the X500R model in JVC’s new projection range, which comes in substantially cheaper than the X700R at £5000, we ought to pick out the highlight differences between the two models to pinpoint what your extra £2,300 is getting you with the X700R.

The main – and potentially decisive in itself – difference is that the X500R ‘only’ delivers a native contrast ratio of 60,000:1 and dynamic contrast ratio of 600,000:1. These figures are only half as impressive as those of the X700R – even though they still humble the figures of pretty much every other projector at anything like its £5k price point.

The X500R also only supports half as many lens memory settings as the X700R, and fails to provide the X700R’s calibration-friendly Real Colour Imaging Technology, which allows you to combine picture modes and dedicated colour profiles. One other difference that may interest some is the X700R’s ability to emulate the image characteristics of a Xenon lamp despite actually using a normal 230W UHP one.

JVC DLA-X700R – SET UP

The X700R is fantastically easy to set up in terms of getting your images in the right place on your screen. This is because there’s both vertical and horizontal optical image shifting as well as an exceptional amount of optical zoom. Even better, these tools – as well as the projector’s focus system – are all motorised, so you can manipulate them via remote control.

Optimising the X700R’s images can be as straightforward or as complicated as you like. There’s a healthy and reasonably useful array of themed picture presets for people who want to keep things simple, but if you want to eke out every last drop of picture quality you can draw on deeper set-up tools like extremely fulsome colour management systems, white balance fine tuning, gamma fine tuning, and some welcome fine controls over the effects the e-shift technology has on images.

In terms of set up advice, our main tips would be that you don’t bother with the Clear Motion Drive system, as it can cause distracting processing artefacts, and that you set the Enhance element of the e-Shift 4K system down to around 30-35% to reduce grain, and the NR element down to 1 to keep images looking authentic and natural.

You might also want to turn off the intelligent lens aperture system, as while this gives a marginal extra ‘kick’ to the image, it can cause some small brightness stability distractions which we’d argue you don’t really need to be bothered by when you’ve got a projector with a native contrast performance as extreme as that of the X700R.