Home Theater HDTV Dream System: Optoma H78DC3 Dark Chip DLP Projector Review

  Bulletin: RollerTrol™ Automation Systems is Launched!  

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  End Bulletin: RollerTrol™ Automation Systems  

Home Theater Dream System? Optoma H78DC3 vs Canon SX50 projectors:

I've been eagerly watching the industry develop since then, wondering when I'll see things reach the next price/performance ratio that will inspire me to upgrade. Certainly, the Canon SX50 Realis 3 chip LCoS projector is a contender, and I'll be evaluating that unit more closely. The LCoS technology has been a long time comin', and Canon's lens technology is largely responsible for making it feasible for consumer use.

Texas Instruments (TI) announced earlier this year the availability of their next generation DarkChip3 DLP chipset, and Optoma is the first company to produce a relatively affordable (under $4,000) home theater projector with this chipset, with the arrival of their H78DC3 DLP projector (see basic specs below). There are other DarkChip3 DLP projectors from companies like BenQ and Marantz, but they are considerably more money at this time.

Display Technology: DarkChip3 0.79-inch 12-degree DLP™ Technology from Texas Instruments
Brightness: 800 lumens (typical)
Weight: 16.5 pounds (7.4 kg)
Resolution: 720p native (1,280 x 720) UXGA (1,600 x 1,200) compression
Contrast Ratio: 4,000:1 (Full On/ Full Off)
Noise Level: 25 dB in standard mode, 26 dB in BrightMode™
Lamp Type and Life: 250 watt Philips UHP lamp; 2,000 hours BrightMode™, ≈2750 hours Standard Mode
Image Size (Diagonal): 20.9 to 338.8 inches (.53 to 8.6 meters)
Projection Distance: 3.28 to 39.37 feet (1.0 to 12 meters)
Computer Compatibility: IBM PC and compatibles, Macintosh, iMac, VESA standards
Video Modes: 480p, 480i, HDTV (720p, 1080i)
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 native, 5:4 & 4:3 compatible

So I think it makes an interesting comparison between these two technologies: the Optoma H78DC3 single chip DLP projector vs the Canon SX50 3 chip LCoS projector. Here's a table that shows a direct comparison of what I think are the most important specs:

I'll give you my opinion, such as it is, but please keep in mind that these performance issues are highly subjective, and you should always see the display, or something similar, before you buy it. Your sense of what constitutes a good picture could be entirely different from mine, and neither of us would be wrong.

First and foremost, to me this is a shootout between brightness and contrast; I'm talking about DVD video here, not presentation graphics. From my experience of choosing the BenQ PB6200, I definitely found that the contrast ratio is much more important than brightness (assuming you can control your room lighting). I saw no point in watching a bright, relatively washed out picture. 

I'm not saying the Canon IS washed out, however (I've never seen one), but the Optoma DarkChip3 is the clear winner, going by the specifications. After all, TI didn't emphasize the contrast ratio with the 'DarkChip' moniker for no reason. Nevertheless, the Canon lumen rating is so high, there's plenty of room to reduce the brightness in favor of contrast. I have also heard that the color saturation is excellent, so that will also be a factor to consider.

Resolution is another tricky subject. Going by the specs, the Canon appears to be the clear winner, but I have read that it has a 'bleed over' effect from one pixel to the other that makes the picture softer than one might expect. My BenQ DLP projector produces a very sharp picture, and I presume that the new DarkChip is even more so. It will be interesting to see if there is really much difference between these two units from the picture clarity point of view. 

Also, since the Canon is native 4:3, if your primary viewing is wide screen DVD, then some of those pixels at the top and bottom will not be used, further equalizing the resolution difference. However, if you need to do a lot of presentation work with your computer, I would say the Canon would definitely be the better choice, especially in brightly lit rooms. It was clearly developed with this kind of use in mind, whereas I think it is safe to say the Optoma design is geared more to home theater use.

So the jury is out on this competition, and I'm sure we'll hear more about this topic in the months to come. I'm certainly going to do my best to see a comparison first hand, and if any of you out there do, please feel free to contact me. 

Neither of these units is capable of producing a 1080p native image, like the new Toshiba/Canon SED flat panel displays can, and this is another area I'll be following closely. Then again, I've heard others say that on some units 1080i interlaced displays actually look better than 1080p. Again, seeing is believing!

Let's also keep in mind that until the new HDTV DVD format emerges, the best we can do for home movie viewing is to use an upscaled 480p source, like my Zenith DVB 318.

So is one of these going to be my new 'dream home theater system'? Let's wait until I actually see one and start drooling uncontrollably ...