Optoma HD66 720p 3D projector $699

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ssiu
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Optoma HD66 720p 3D projector $699

Post by ssiu »

New HD66 unit offers gamers and movie-watchers an affordable 3D projection experience.

Delivering HD and 3D together in a single home entertainment projector, Optoma Technology, Inc., the #1 selling brand of DLP projectors worldwide, introduces the HD66, Optoma’s first 3D Ready HD home theater projector, that delivers subtle details with striking clarity in 720p and targets consumers looking for the latest in gaming and entertainment technologies. The HD66 will have a retail price of $699.
from http://www.dv.com/article/89864
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cybereality
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Re: Optoma HD66 720p 3D projector $699

Post by cybereality »

HD and under $700, thats what I'm talking about.
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Re: Optoma HD66 720p 3D projector $699

Post by Jadentheman »

Really reasonable, although I prefer not to have 720p 3D checkboard
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cybereality
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Re: Optoma HD66 720p 3D projector $699

Post by cybereality »

Are we sure it uses checkerboard?
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Re: Optoma HD66 720p 3D projector $699

Post by zazoo »

I’m glad to see this product finally making its appearance—I know a lot of people have been waiting for a native HD S3D projector (other than the very expensive DepthQ HD) that is ready for both widescreen HD movies and games.

However, part of me thinks that this first round of widescreen 3D projectors would have been more versatile if they had used the 1280x768 DMD chip instead of the 1280x720 DMD chip. There are a lot of older S3D-compatible games out there that are in 4:3 aspect ratio [though some have a widescreen hack—but those can be non-ideal solutions in that they are vert(-) instead of hor(+)].

If a 1280x768 DMD was used, you could project your 4:3 aspect ratio XGA (1024x768) resolution games without scaling to a non-native resolution, as well as display your native widescreen games at 720p or 1280x768. Some pixels would go unused when displaying 4:3 XGA material (i.e. you would get pillarboxing) or 720p material (slight letterboxing), but you would have a sharper image overall and could adjust your zoom and/or mask out the blank areas. Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I also thought I read somewhere that some projectors introduce lag when forced to scale images to fit the native resolution of the DMD chip.

Anyway, good to see low-price HD 3D projection is on its way. Hopefully when I can afford one there will be 20,000+ hour LED-illuminated versions that output enough lumens for 3D use. ;)

EDIT: This thread spurred me to to a quick search, and I saw that on December 1st Optoma announced a 1280x800 3D projector (Optoma read my mind ;) ):

http://www.projectorcentral.com/news_story_1404.htm
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Re: Optoma HD66 720p 3D projector $699

Post by Kamus »

zazoo wrote:There are a lot of older S3D-compatible games out there that are in 4:3 aspect ratio

You're kidding right? we're allmost at 2010 here, there are like 0 games with out widescreen support since like 4 years ago.
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Re: Optoma HD66 720p 3D projector $699

Post by zazoo »

Kamus wrote:
zazoo wrote:There are a lot of older S3D-compatible games out there that are in 4:3 aspect ratio

You're kidding right? we're allmost at 2010 here, there are like 0 games with out widescreen support since like 4 years ago.
Hence the the use of the term "older". Then there is the FOV issue which I mentioned later in that same sentence:
zazoo wrote:...though some have a widescreen hack—but those can be non-ideal solutions in that they are vert(-) instead of hor(+)...
There are a lot of half-baked vert(-) widescreen implementations out there that give you "widescreen" by culling the vertical FOV (Examples: Gears of War and Mass Effect--not very old games though, are they?). There are also other implementations that simply stretch the 4:3 screen out to widescreen, which is not acceptable (Examples: Warcraft 3, Lego Star Wars).

Having the option to run your stereo3D games at 1024x768 will also give you a frame rate boost to make otherwise unplayable games playable in stereo3D.

I have a reasonably large game library (170+ games, I recently did a survey). Projectors that support XGA resolution natively are a nice option, even if you do not game in stereo3D. When the time comes, I will definitely go for a projector that can handle XGA resolution without downscaling the image (which rules out any projector with a 720p-native DMD).

zazoo


My game list, just for the heck of it (and I have only finished about 30 titles...too many games, not enough time):

Age of Mythology + Titans Expansion
Alice
Alien vs. Predator Gold
Anachronox
Aquanox
Armed and Dangerous
Assassin's Creed
Baldur's Gate 2
Battlezone
Bioshock
Black and White 2
Black and White 2: Battle of the Gods
Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood
Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30
Call of Duty
Call of Duty 2
Call of Juarez
Clive Barker's Jericho
Clive Barker's Undying
Command and Conquer Generals
Command and Conquer Generals: Zero Hour
Deus Ex
Deus Ex: Invisible War
Dirt
Doom 3
Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil
Dune
Dune II
Emperor: Battle for Dune
Enemy Engaged: Apache-Havok
Enemy Engaged: Comanche-Hokum
European Air War
F1 2001
F1 2002
Falcon 4.0
Fallout Tactics
Far Cry
Far Cry 2
Fear Gold
Forsaken
Frank Herbert's Dune
Freedom Force
Freespace 2: Space Sim of the Year
Frogger
Ghost Recon GOTY Pack
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Grim Fandango
GT Legends
GTR 2
Gunman Chronicles
Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2 Episode 1
Half-Life Opposing Force/Blue Shift
Heavy Gear 2
Heavy Metal FAKK2
Heretic 2
Hexen 2
Homeworld
Homeworld 2
Homeworld Cataclysm
IL-2: 1946
Incoming
Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb
Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine
Interstate 76 Arsenal
Jane's F-15
Jane's F-18
Jane's WWII Fighters
Jedi Knight
Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith
Jedi Knight II: Jedi Academy
Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
King Kong
Kingpin
King's Quest: Mask of Eternity
Klingon Academy
Klingon Honor Guard
Lego Star Wars 2
Lock-On: Modern Air Combat Gold
LOTR: Battle for Middle Earth
LOTR: Battle for Middle Earth 2
Mass Effect
MDK
MDK 2
Mechcommander 2
Mechwarrior 3
Mechwarrior 4
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault Spearhead
Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault
Messiah
Midtown Madness
Mig Alley
Mirror's Edge
Mobil 1 Rally
Monster Truck Madness
Morrowind: GOTY
Motocross Madness 2
Myth: The Total Codex
Nascar 2000
Need for Speed 3
Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed
Nerf Arena Blast
Neverwinter Nights
No One Lives Forever
No One Lives Forever 2
Oblivion: GOTY
Oni
Outcast
Outlaws
Painkiller: Triple Dose
Pod
Prey
Prince of Persia
Prince of Persia 3D
Pro Pinball: Fantastic Journey
Quake
Quake 2
Quake 2: The Reckoning
Quake 3
Quake 3: Team Arena
Quake 4
Rainbow 6 Gold
Rainbow 6: Rogue Spear Platinum
Rainbow 6: Vegas
Recoil
Redguard
Re-Volt
Rune
Sacrifice
Sanitarium
Serious Sam
Shogo: Mobile Armor Division
Shogun: Total War Warlord Edition
Silent Hunter 4: Gold
Sin
Sin Episode 1: Emergence
Sin: Wages of Sin
Slave Zero
Soldier of Fortune Gold
Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl
Star Trek Deep Space 9: The Fallen
Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force
Star Wars: Empire at War Gold
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2
Star Wars: Racer
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
Starcraft: Battle Chest
Superbike 2001
System Shock 2
Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri
The Sims
The Sims: Livin Large
Thief: Deadly Shadows
Thief 2: The Metal Age
Thief Gold
Tron 2.0
Ultima: Ascension
Unreal
Unreal Tournament
Unreal Tournament 2004
Unreal Tournament 3
Unreal: Return to Na Pali
Warcraft 3
Wheel of Time
Worms: Armageddon
X-Com: Collector's Edition
X-Wing Alliance
X-Wing Collector's Series
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cybereality
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Re: Optoma HD66 720p 3D projector $699

Post by cybereality »

Yeah, but is anyone really spending $1000 of 2010 money to play Half Life 1 in 3D?
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Re: Optoma HD66 720p 3D projector $699

Post by zazoo »

cybereality wrote:Yeah, but is anyone really spending $1000 of 2010 money to play Half Life 1 in 3D?
Point taken. However, my assertion remains: having a projector that is flexible is a good thing. Everyone’s cutting-edge PC eventually falls behind the gaming software curve, and the ability to game at lower resolutions helps to utilize the investment you make in the projector when the games get too hardware-intensive for your once cutting-edge PC.

zazoo

P.S.—Hey--I have Half-Life 2—I’m not THAT far behind the curve—oh, wait…I still need to play Terra Nova…lol (actually I found a used copy of that about a month ago and bought it because I know one of the actors filmed in the FMV sequences) :D
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Re: Optoma HD66 720p 3D projector $699

Post by crim3 »

But you must admit that often, setting up a stereo-3D rig is a big motivation to experience old games in a new way. And half-life 1 is one of those you could think of trying again. A different thing is playing the whole game again.
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Re: Optoma HD66 720p 3D projector $699

Post by Likay »

crim3 wrote:But you must admit that often, setting up a stereo-3D rig is a big motivation to experience old games in a new way. And half-life 1 is one of those you could think of trying again. A different thing is playing the whole game again.
Even taking it one step further: Playing oldies in 3d (like tombraider 2) with it's countable polygons is simply amazing in 3d and for some reson have even more a "magic" though than newer games. The contrast between the old graphic and seeing it in 3d is confusing... :shutter
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Re: Optoma HD66 720p 3D projector $699

Post by cybereality »

Likay wrote:Even taking it one step further: Playing oldies in 3d (like tombraider 2) with it's countable polygons is simply amazing in 3d and for some reson have even more a "magic" though than newer games. The contrast between the old graphic and seeing it in 3d is confusing... :shutter
You may be on to something there. I thought it was just nostalgia but maybe those old games really did look that good in 3D. Something about the 3D was more crisp, I guess its all the shaders mucking things up.
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Re: Optoma HD66 720p 3D projector $699

Post by vrekks »

Likay wrote:
crim3 wrote:But you must admit that often, setting up a stereo-3D rig is a big motivation to experience old games in a new way. And half-life 1 is one of those you could think of trying again. A different thing is playing the whole game again.
Even taking it one step further: Playing oldies in 3d (like tombraider 2) with it's countable polygons is simply amazing in 3d and for some reson have even more a "magic" though than newer games. The contrast between the old graphic and seeing it in 3d is confusing... :shutter
Great point. Graphically simpler games can sometimes be more rewarding in 3d that ultra realistic games. I think the reason is because there is less depth data for the brain to decipher. Instead of a single in-game tree occupying many levels of depth (because some leaves are sticking forward and others backward and the trunk somewhere in the middle) it gives a easier to understand depth field. I think the effect is similar in animated 3d movies. Because they are all cgi the depth can be strictly controlled leading to a good 3d experience.
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Re: Optoma HD66 720p 3D projector $699

Post by rikun »

It doesn't need checkerboard. Both of the new 720p 3D projector can accept frame sequential 120HZ signal (Optoma HD66 and Acer H5360). How do I know?

I'm running the Acer from Nvidia 3D vision with 2 XpanD DLP-link glasses + the original Nvidia glasses (the Nvidia glasses ghost).
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Re: Optoma HD66 720p 3D projector $699

Post by winch8 »

zazoo wrote:However, part of me thinks that this first round of widescreen 3D projectors would have been more versatile if they had used the 1280x768 DMD chip instead of the 1280x720 DMD chip. There are a lot of older S3D-compatible games out there that are in 4:3 aspect ratio [though some have a widescreen hack—but those can be non-ideal solutions in that they are vert(-) instead of hor(+)].

If a 1280x768 DMD was used, you could project your 4:3 aspect ratio XGA (1024x768) resolution games without scaling to a non-native resolution, as well as display your native widescreen games at 720p or 1280x768. Some pixels would go unused when displaying 4:3 XGA material (i.e. you would get pillarboxing) or 720p material (slight letterboxing), but you would have a sharper image overall and could adjust your zoom and/or mask out the blank areas. Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I also thought I read somewhere that some projectors introduce lag when forced to scale images to fit the native resolution of the DMD chip.
Note that optoma hd66 is not a 1280x720 native resolution but actually it has a 1280x800 DMD as you can see in its user manual here http://marketing.optomausa.com/PDFs/use ... Manual.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
and also in this user opinion here http://www.projectorcentral.com/part_op ... n_id=12518" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.
Maybe Texas instruments that manufactures the DMD chips for DLPs doesnt make any 1280x720 or 1280x768 chip but only the 1280x800 one, would be an unuseful waste to produce so similar DMD chips..
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Re: Optoma HD66 720p 3D projector $699

Post by zebrastealer »

True, it is 1280x800, but only supports 1280x720 in 3d mode.
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Re: Optoma HD66 720p 3D projector $699

Post by winch8 »

No, it supports 1280x720 1024x768 and 800x600
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Re: Optoma HD66 720p 3D projector $699

Post by winch8 »

For what concerns the new 3d HD projectors we have Optoma HD66 and PRO350W and Acer H5360, as far as i read on opinions on the web the optoma HD66 has not a good image quality/colors while acer H5360 has good better image quality but shows some rainbow effect because of its 3X color wheel speed (optoma should be 5X). Acer one has also a better throw ratio (larger screen at a given distance of the projector from the wall). Optoma Pro350W has definitely a good image quality i think at least on par with acer and costs only some bucks more than optoma's other model; it still has a worse throw ratio than acer but has the same color wheel speed of optoma other model so should give near to none rainbow effect.
There is another HD 3d projector from Benq the 782ST which is also a very short throw projector (very large image even putting it near the wall) and surely has a quite good overall quality but its quite expensive. Bye
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Re: Optoma HD66 720p 3D projector $699

Post by winch8 »

I forgot to mention the Viewsonic PJD6531W which is HD 3d too and has a good throw ratio, better than Acer H5360 and Optoma HD66, but i dont know anything about image quality and 3d quality of this one.
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