Optoma HD71 and HD65 High Definition 720p DLP Home Theater Projectors

The HD71 and HD65 share the same DLP projection microdisplay and most features. The HD65 has 1600 ANSI lumens brightness which is at the top of the range of what would be expected for a home theater projector while the HD71 has a lamp which produces 2400 lumens in line with Optoma’s promotion of the projector as a crossover between a home theater and business projector.

Optoma HD71 720p Home Theater Projector

Both projectors have a single 0.62 inch DarkChip2 DLP chipset and associated color processing technologies from Texas Instruments including BrilliantColor. The color wheel is 6x speed which is faster than usual and should provide even further protection from rainbow effects which DLP projectors can be prone to. The native high definition resolution is 720p (1280×720). The Full On/Full Off contrast ratio is 3000:1 while in ImageAI Mode it is 4000:1.

While the HD71 does have features which lend it to being a crossover projector, it should be noted that there is no keystone adjustment in the horizontal plane so you have to be able to position the projector directly on the center line of the screen. You can adjust for height variation as there is digital keystone correction of +/- 40 degrees. The manual zoom available is minimal at 1.1 so you don’t have a lot of flexibility with the distance from the screen to the projector without changing the image size.

Both projectors come with five factory preset Display modes Cinema (home theatre), Bright (maximum brightness for PC input), Photo (Best Color Reproduction), TV and User (save own settings). Using the Image menu one is able to adjust contrast, brightness, color, tint and sharpness. There is also an advanced menu to allow adjustment of BrilliantColor, TrueVivid, Color Temp and other settings. One can look at the manual (link below) if keen to know more about calibration options however, the professionally calibrated, preset modes should cover all viewing situations.

Business Features

The 2400 lumens brightness helps the Optoma IN71 cope with situations you many encounter with business presentations where ambient light conditions are bright. At 6.3 pounds the IN71 is portable enough for business use. The backlit IR remote for the IN71 has the additional capability to select the video source.

For security away from the home both projectors have a Kensington Lock Port. There is a keypad lock function (remote still works). The IN71 is compatible with the following common PC monitor resolutions; SXGA+, WXGA, XGA, SVGA, VGA (for some compression may be required reducing sharpness slightly). The 24 fps of movies is supported by both projectors providing a better picture.

Noise levels for both projectors are 29dB in standard mode and 27dB in economy mode. These noise levels are within what one would expect of a DLP projector so, if noise level is a real issue then you may need to consider an LCD projector which are generally quieter. The Optoma IN72 has a small 2W speaker onboard for business presentations.