Optoma HD131Xe 1080p 2500 Lumen Full 3D DLP Home Theater Projector with HDMI (Black)..
GET Optoma HD131Xe 1080p 2500 Lumen Full 3D DLP Home Theater Projector with HDMI (Black) By Optoma
Most helpful customer reviews
77 of 80 people found the following review helpful.
By P. Vo
Purchased this at $769. For the price I paid and the performance of this projector, I am getting more than the requisite 80% performance while having paid less than the 20% fare. But this projector is not without its faults. Thankfully, aside from a loss of brightness in 3D, a problem inherent in all of today's 3D display devices, none of these faults are related to image quality. So here they are first, the Cons..........
Cons:
1. Aside from a zoom lens, no placement flexibility. Additionally, vertical offset adds a dimension of difficulty with setup.
2. No 12 volt trigger.
3. Hourglass meter shown when streams are being switched during blu ray playback. Input identification also is shown.
4. Remote presses are unresponsive and/or IR receiver has a very narrow reception angle requiring user to be precise when using remote.
5. Light spillage from front grill. Thankfully, this does not manifest on the screen.
6. Menu screens not completely elegant in navigation setup. Some selections exist on a second page when they could have been included on a single page. This makes going back to change a setting like retreading back through a maze.
7. Only one user setting. Although, it does appear that 2D and 3D settings are stored separately.
8. Contrast boosted during 3D playback causing washed out image.
9. Lens cap not included.
Pros:
1. Awesome image processing post calibration.
A. Silky smooth. No image tearing during camera pans.
B. Very good blacks.
C. Very good shadow detail.
D. Very good colors.
E. Reduced mosquito noise effect for a DLP.
2. Should street for less than $800 soon.
3. Less than $200 bulb replacement.
4. Very organic 3D performance. No artificial pop-out book effect. Even with films transformed into 3D like Beauty and the Beast.
5. No cross-talk in 3D.
5. DLP Link and RF glasses sync at 144hz.
6. About as loud as a long exhale of breath.
7. Onboard audio is better than most LED TV's (not that any projector user will ever use this long term).
8. Comes in black!
9. Every inch of performance, operation costs, enjoyment are absolutely maxed out at this price (under $800).
There may be some projectors that are going to be a hair less in price than the HD131Xe, but other drawbacks with those projectors will put them below the HD131Xe in value. When splitting hairs with cost, a bulb replacement of under $200 should not be discounted when price is a consideration. The cost of bulb replacement of other projectors is going to run $350-$500. Some projectors may be brighter, but at the cost of being louder. And there is no projector at under $800 that can match its black level performance. The only way to gain on the performance of this projector is to pay more. And the only reason I am hesitant to give it a perfect 5-star rating has more to do with Optoma's laziness than the limitations of the actual projector. Optoma has its roots in the business class projector arena. That these business class vestiges are still around really is why this projector isn't perfect in its class. Take for instance offset. With 4 people huddled around a projector with an image being projected high up on a wall, offset proves valuable in say circa 2004. But in today's world where virtual meeting software allows everyone to view the presentation on their own private laptop screen or without even being in the same room, offset is not needed. The idea that a projector serves the dual purpose of being a business projector that can be used for entertainment doesn't exist anymore. Projectors are either Home Theater projectors or large venue projectors for business use. Optoma needs to get rid of this silly offset. They are really shutting out the basement theater room and low ceiling folks from buying their products. Give some lens offset to widen the potential market and flexibility for users. Most viewing devices today get thrown all sort of media at them: video games, blu rays, TV, sports, internet rips, etc. None of these media sources are equal. So it really is cripling to users for Optoma to have only included one single user setting. And that this is the case is an indictment towards Optoma's laziness. Optoma, realize that the landscape for business projectors has long since eroded. Projectors are no longer going to be fed just Microsoft Windows from a laptop. Using the same resources already at Optoma, programmers could very easily give users at least just one more user setting for different media types we are throwing at it. Prolonged refusal to do this is just plain laziness. In a home theater environment, where the user is attempting to duplicate the moving going experience at home, we don't need to be reminded that our efforts are artificial by having a ticking hourglass displayed with streams are being swtiched during blu ray playback. Improve those HDMI handshakes and get rid of these nag screens. These things that I mention as cons are really the polish that is needed to lift Optoma projectors from the respected and reputable, and into the reverent elite and beloved.
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful.
By Miwo
Extremely happy with my purchase. I highly recommend buying this projector if Bang/Buck, Quietness, and 1080p/3D are your most important factors in selecting a projector. Completely blows away by 720P LED 500 Lumen Projector I was using previously. I'm not qualified to do professional Lumen measurements, or direct comparisons between similarly priced 1080p projectors, but take a look at some of the points I've highlighted. If you have anything you want to ask me or have me check that doesnt require professional equipment, leave me a comment. Thanks for reading!
Pros:
+ Noise: Nearly Silent in ECO Mode. My seating position is directly under the projector and I do not hear it over my HTPC/PS3 located in the corner of the same room. Bright Mode is slightly audible, but does not emit a high pitched fan noise. I cannot stress this point enough. My central air is much louder than this...If the projector wasn't throwing a giant image on my screen, I wouldn't know that its on. Its that quiet to me!
+ Price : I got this on Preorder for $ 7 6 9 . It seems to be in price flux with supply/demand. If you see this for above $9, just buy the HD25e (similar specs, brighter, more contrast, white color). Excellent value and Bang/Buck. It will be great if the price settles down to under $800 again.
+ Black Levels and Colors were very good right outside of the Box. Several Color Presets available as well as Fine Tuning of Color Temperature (Warm/Cool), Color Space (RGB Full 0-255 or RGB Limited 16-235 or YUV), and Hue/Saturation/Gain Levels for Red/Green/Cyan/Magenta/Blue/Yellow. RGB Adjustment on White. If you want to fine tune and professionally calibrate, you should be able to. This is a budget projector, but Shadow Details were pretty good. On projectors with horrible black levels, even the empty black side borders (like a 2.35:1 aspect ratio movie on a 16:9 screen) will be a washed out black or light grey.
+ Input Lag : This projector is very responsive. I play 3D Fighting Games which require 1-Frame Links (Button Presses with 1/60th of a second timing) to execute combos. I did not have any problems playing demanding video games on this projector. It should not hinder your gameplay. I have most post processing features turned off (BrilliantColor, Dymaic Black, Noise Reduction, Edge Masking, Zoom).
+ RF 3D: I paired this up with the Optoma RF 3D Glasses and 3D Emitter. Watched Avengers in 3D without any problems. Very impressive, did not notice any dropouts or abnormalities even when viewing from the opposite side of the room.
+ Lamp Replacement is affordable: A quick google of the 190W BL-FU190E shows $179 replacement cost. The Lamp is rated at 6000 Hours in Eco Mode, or 3500 in Bright Mode. 6000 Hours is about 4 years using the projector for 4 hours a day
Cons:
- Remote Control Backlighting: Extremely bright blue blacklighting. Borderline offensive
- Flimsy Plastic Zoom and Focus: Does not feel sturdy at all. Very loose. I havn't noticed focus or zoom drifting though
- Did not come with Lens Dust Cap (although manual refers to it)
- Placement requires more pre-planning due to no Horizontal/Vertical Lens Shift
Other Comments (neither pro or con)
1. 2D/3D Color Settings are maintained separately. Meaning you have to be in a 3D Mode (SBS, T&B, Seq) to alter your 3D color settings. It definitely saves different settings in 2D/3D modes
2. If 3D is a top priority, you may still want to get a brighter projector like the HD25e or HD25-LV. Brightness takes a big hit when you put on 3D Glasses (I used Optoma RF ones). I'd recommend putting the projector in Bright Mode or having a very well light controlled room for Eco Mode 3D.
3. Power Consumption Read from a Kill-a-Watt Meter:
STANDBY: 0W
ECO-Mode: 200W
BRIGHT-Mode: 234W
4. Did not and will not test the speaker. I think its a useless feature for a home theater projector
22 of 28 people found the following review helpful.
By Ryan S. Waters
First off, I'll say that this is about the 4th review I've ever written, but I felt as if I NEEDED to write one as a thank you to optoma for the deal that this thing is. I have been looking to buy a new projector for over a year. I have had 4 projectors over the course of the last 10 years, so I'm not an expert, but I have a few projectors to compare to. My old projector was great, but I had a buyer lined up for it, and I just needed to find the right projector to replace it.
I debated on the HD33 when it came out, on the benq 1070 and then the optoma hd25 and 25lv. As you can see from the projectors I have been looking at, they all have about 3 things in common. They all have 3d, they all have around 2000 lumens, and they are all under 1500.00. When I saw the optoma hd131xe come out at under 800.00 that met all my criteria, I waited to see a few reviews before I pulled the trigger. I almost waited for CNET because I love and respect their reviews, but my anticipation got the better of me. Boy am I glad it did!!!!! For the money, you WILL NOT find a better projector. Right out of the box this thing looks amazing. It's more than bright enough on eco mode (6000 hour rated), that I don't even see myself using bright unless it's in 3d. The blacks are good, NOT OUTSTANDING, but for the price really unbelievable. The picture is greeeeaaaat, even my wife complimented on it, and she could care less about my man cave.
Will this projector contend with higher end projectors ???? probably not. It doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles and it doesn't seem like their is a lot of adjustment options (I've only played with it for about a week and haven't felt like I needed to adjust it much). Make sure you do a little research on that, if that's important for you! Lens shift would have been nice, and limits where you can mount it. That is my only REAL complaint, but again you aren't touching that feature at this price, so I live with a little bit of an offset throw. One of the reviewers was right about the mount holes being small and awkward. The universal mount that I also bought here on amazon didn't fit it, and I really had to make shift a solution. The holes are really close together and I was only able to get 2 legs to mount. "The bottom line" is that the minor bads on this projector aren't BAD. Price taken into consideration this projector is A NO BRAINER! I don't foresee anyone being able to beat this feature set, for this kind of price for awhile. 3D, Native 1080p, 2500 lumens, AND 18000:1 contrast. Do yourself a favor and if you reading this review and debating BUY IT as it is the BEST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK!
