Do you remember the days when we used to hook our Games Consoles up a TV? I remember them well, in fact, most of my childhood was spent doing just that. If we’re honest though, there were limitations to what we could do with a TV. We couldn’t take it to a friend’s house unless we wanted to haul 50KG around. And, there weren’t exactly many options in terms of screen size, so basically, gamers had to make the best out of the TV they had. These days gamers get a much better experience because Projectors have become affordable, Portable, and they offer arcade-quality response times on giant screens. These are the reasons why many people are switching from the old TV, to the new Projection Technology and they aren’t regretting the decision. In light of the recent surge in popularity, Projectors are enjoying, I thought I’d write a bunch of reviews on the best, most affordable gaming projectors out there; because I’m a nice guy and because as an expert in Projectors, this is about as exciting as my Friday nights get. The following is a review of the Optoma GT1080 1080p 3D DLP Gaming Projector, and hopefully, when you’ve read this, you’ll have a better idea about what it does and how it does it.
PROS
- 1080p Native Resolution
- 25000-1 Contrast Ratio
- 2800 Lumens
- Easy Set-up
- Portable
- Fast Response time
- Great Short-Throw
CONS
- Full 3D, if you buy a Transmitter
Overall Impression
Size and Design
I like the design because it’s white and white is a very neutral color so the Optoma GT1080 will slot into any living room or games room without a lot of style clashes. It has soft rounded edges with Optoma’s classic system of multiple vents, but ultimately there’s not much going on. That’s a good thing because it means everything is done by remote control so you’ll be able to just set it down and start. The measurements are 8.8 inches by 12.4 inches by 4 inches, so you’re getting quite a small unit and the weight is only 6 pounds so it is portable. It could have been a little smaller, although I could have been an inch taller, at the end of the day, it doesn’t really make a difference. Overall I have no complaints about the design, and you’ll be putting it in a case and carrying it around the friends’ houses with no problems at all.
Performance
The major shock during set-up was that the Optoma GT1080 doesn’t include Optical Zoom, so you must literally move the projector backwards and forward in order to get the image size. If you think this is odd, you’re not alone because it’s one of the only Projectors available without Optical Zoom. However, the set-up is still very easy because they put an excellent short-throw lens in, meaning you can get it done in 10 minutes.
The short-throw lens is perhaps the best thing about the Optoma GT1080 because it solves a huge problem some potential Projector owners have. That problem is about what you do when you want a Projector would you only have small rooms in the home. Many Projectors will throw-up an image of around 100 inches from 8 meters back, which is great but if you don’t have 8 meters then you don’t have many options. Others will throw up 100 inches from 4 meters back and these are better options, but the Optoma GT1080 will give you a 100-inch image from only 1 meter back making it one of the best affordable short-throw projectors. This enhances the portability because you don’t have to worry about where you’re taking it, and generally makes life a little easier.
The quality of pictures in HD is actually incredible. You get a 25000-1 Contrast Ratio which means blacks and whites are full of depth. You also get a great response time and very low lag time, meaning even the most complex games can be played at a fast pace. This combined with the Texas Instruments Full HD DarkChip 3 chipset, producing over a billion colors on-screen makes the Optoma GT1080 an excellent option for supreme picture quality in gaming. You can also play games with some light in the room because although in practice the GT1080 doesn’t reach the 2800 Lumens promised on the box, it does have enough to ensure clarity in ambient light. For the price, there are few better projectors on the market for HD gaming with my one complaint being that the yellows on the GT1080 sometimes appear too pronounced; although this is a very small complaint.
For 3D Gaming, the news isn’t as good but it’s not all bad. The bad part is that if you were thinking of bringing it home and playing in 3D straight away, then that isn’t going to be possible. The GT1080 doesn’t have a 3D Transmitter so you’ll need to buy one first before playing in 3D, although they have included a visible port for hooking up a Transmitter. The good news is that once you buy the Transmitter, the 3D looks great because you have a beautiful 1080p Native Resolution and hardly any distortions no matter how large your chosen screen size is.
The picture calibration is excellent on the GT1080 so you won’t need to change it much, although they have a very easy menu system where you can do just that. The GT1080 also comes with Dynamic Black, which is the technical name for the smart system inside this Projector enabling it to self-adjust to get the maximum quality in any light. The speakers offer 10W of sound and are so powerful that you’ll actually have to turn the sound down. There’s no muffling and they do give arcade-quality sound, which will be a major selling point for gamers.
Final Verdict
It’ll hook up to any Games Console or PC, has a quick set-up, great HD viewing, and a fast response time. The GT1080 also has great speakers, very few distortions, and an epic 100-inch screen size at only 1 meter back, making it a great option for almost anybody. You’ll need to buy a 3D Transmitter to play in 3D, so if you want 3D straight away then this isn’t the Projector for you. But, you’d be missing out on an excellent piece of equipment though because the GT1080 produces over a billion colors, with a Contrast Ratio of 25000-1 and it has 2800 Lumens of brightness. The Verdict: For 600 Dollars this is one of the best on the market
