Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I also purchased this projector during the Black Friday sale and found it to be a great bargain at $550. However, this wasn't the model I originally intended to buy that day and, despite being greatly pleased with the value, buyers in general should keep some things in mind.
I was originally going to buy an Epson projector which are known for strong reliability and bright images. I couldn't find one at a reasonable price so I ended up with the Optoma DV11 - but only because of the price drop.
There are three major technical specs when it comes to projectors: Brightness, contrast, and resolution. The DV11 has OK brightness (about 1300 lumens) and contrast (2000:1), but its resolution is basically SVGA (480). I've tried the projector in three completely different settings and with different DVDs and found that it does great in a dark room and performs best with already bright images. However, it does rather poorly with dark images.
For example, the middle of the day football shots in "Invincible" looked superb, but the dark images of "Battle Star Galactica" were rather poor. The blacks and greys were muddled and you could see pixels in many shots. "The West Wing," which is slightly brighter, had some of these problems as well but at a much lower level. On the opposite side, "The Incredibles" looked, well, incredible. That's to be expected, however, since just about any current projector should be able to handle animation.
There's also the issue of DLP (like the Optoma) versus LCD (like the Epson) technology which I didn't concern myself with at the time of purchase. If you think this is important (and there are differences) research the terms and see what experts have to say about what's best for what.
Despite these criticisms, the DV11 has some major selling points. The contrast on this model is higher than all the introductory Epson models which hover in the 1:400 to 1:500 range. Those are really bad numbers on the Epson side. However, those projectors have brightness levels in the 2000 lumens range which means you won't need as much darkness while playing games or movies. And as for resolution, all the projectors in the below $600 range are at SVGA.
The big selling point with the DV11 is the built in DVD player and adequate speakers. I didn't think this was a necessity until I used the projector in three locations over two days. Having an all-in-one is extremely important if you plan on using the projector in more than place.
As of this writing the DV11 is going for about $800 on most sites. That's just too high in my opinion. If you're going to spend that kind of money then you might as well throw in a few more hundred and get a projector with more brightness and XGA resolution. This is especially true if you don't need a built in DVD player and plan on just using the projector in one location. But at under $600, this projector is steal by 2007 standards. I'm definitely pleased with the purchase. Just do your research and know what you need and want before buying.
Edit: As of this writing the Optoma HD70, with 4000:1 contrast (twice that of the DV11, and HD XGA resolution, is going for $800 after rebate. It doesn't have a built in DVD player, but it's a far superior projector. Still no regrets on buying the DV11, but if I had had $800 to spend, I would have chosen the HD70.
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Optoma DV11 480p Home Theater Projector with Built-In Slot Load DVD PlayerOptoma Dv11 Dv11 Movietime Home Theater Projector With Dvd All-In-One Instant Theater Projector With Built-In Dvd Player & Speakers ; 1600 Lumens; 2200:1 Contrast Ratio; Aspect Ratio: 16:9; Plays Dvd, Mp3 & Jpeg Formats; Supports 4:3 & Lbx Formatted Dvd Videos; Features Optimized Settings For True Widescreen Cinema-Quality Performance ; Two 5w Speakers ; Ceiling Mountable
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