Optoma GT1080HDR Short Throw Gaming Projector | Enhanced Gaming Mode

Firstly, I wanted to say that I was not compensated to write this review. It is simply the result of my good experience with this projector over the last month. Also, I’ve had experience with 2 pevious projectors, the most recent being the Optoma EH415ST (which is also a decent 1080p projector) and 2 projectors I tried and returned. I really just wanted better, more accurate color and a way to show my 3D collection. I was sold on the Optoma short throw set up. It works perfect for me as I move my projector around. It isn’t as finnicky as the Ultra Short Throw projectors. For those you need an absolutely flat, fixed screen because they show every little imperfection. Believe me I tried. This Optoma short throw of 100 inches at about 4 feet is thankfully, more forgiving. And lastly, I’m not a gamer so I can’t speak to the input lag and all that. But I imagine it would be a very good experience.Setting up: It’s pretty intuitive. I have yet to look at the manual or even the quick setup card. You turn it on, plug in your roku, firestick, bluray player or whatever in HDMI 1 and get familiar with settings you prefer. Pretty simple. Even a Caveman could do it. There was no substantial lens cap on mine. It came with a clam shell cover that was taped on.Remote: I got a small remote….like roku small with a lot of little buttons. Luckily, my old, larger remote works with this projector and is easier to work. You can buy these on amazon for a reasonable price.Brightness and Daylight viewing: Hey, it’s a laser light! It has a very long lifespan and It’s super bright. For me, it stays in ECO mode and I find myself turning down the brightness. I’m including a photo of the screen with a couple of window shades up. It will still produce a decent image. And you can adjust for this by choosing a different mode and tweaking settings. I think it would do a very good job in a conference room in presentation mode. At night, I can have a lamp or 2 on with very little degradation of the image.. Also, I turn my projector on and off a lot. I think the laser is a better choice for this.Color and image quality: This projector has rich, accurate color and produces, what are sometimes, eyepopping whites and colors. I found that the best setting for this is the Cinema mode. It seems to do a great job with whatever it does with 4k and HDR input and produces beautiful images. Black levels are very good. Maybe not as good as a OLED tv, but it’s better than my LG 4k flat screen. Here are some of my settings for the Cinema mode: I leave dynamic range, or HDR on auto.Brightness, contrast and color can be zero…. Or -4 brightness and +4 color. In the color group, Brilliant color goes on the blue side at the low end and green at the top. I leave it in the middle at 5. For Gamma I leave it at standard. I do find the Cinema mode is on the blue side with temperature set at Cold…. I adjust this with +5 for Tint. Or you can adjust the color temperature. Pretty simple. You’re mostly adjusting the brightness and color as you go from media to media.I also spent time with the RGB mode. It’s preset very warm and on the green side. You can adjust with tint and color temp. Whites aren’t as brilliant, but this can be easier on the eyes.I tend to have sharpness turned up all the way but it depends on the media. Older films that are lower resolution copies can benefit from turning down it down.Random: I watched the movie Speed Racer last night. My gosh, what an eyecandy extravaganza! Looked fantastic!3D viewing: It’s good, nice color but you still see roughness in action. Optoma touts the 120 hz support as being helpful with 3D, but I believe this only applies to a game console or computer. Correct me if I’m wrong. I was pleasantly surprised that once you switch to 3D mode, you can still adjust image settings. I’ll keep playing with that.Photos: I’ve included some photos….not really for close inspection. Just snaps I took from my couch with my phone mainly to show color. And my first screen was screwed up at the top. The real thing is better with proper keystone, color and sharpness.All in all, I think Optoma hit a sweet spot here. A laser projector that produces a beautiful, cinematic image as good or better than a movie theater and support for 4k and HDR input. If you have the bucks and the short throw works for you, give it a try!

I'm particularly sensitive to any sort of input delay, and even used a high refresh rate camera to try to detect any noticeable delay between my laptop running at 144hz with 1ms delay and this projector. It truly works as advertised, and if used with a PC you'll experience lower input latency than you would with a standard TV (or even a decent gaming monitor) with a console. Picture looks great indoors and outdoors, it really only meets acceptable levels for use outdoors around sunset give or take about 15 minutes depending on where it's being used.Things to know:This is truly an extremely short throw, if you're not using a ceiling mount, you either need a relatively tall and high projector screen or you need to keep it a few inches from the ground. Do not tip the projector itself.This projector puts out a LOT of heat in a relatively short amount of time but does not noticeably increase in heat after the first few minutes.You're going to want an external speaker. I did not buy this intending to use the built-in speaker, and it was not loud enough to easily hear quieter dialogue in movies even while indoors while watching with just one other person.This isn't the most adjustable projector in the world, but again, the bang for your buck is fantastic if you're looking to put in just a little effort making sure you've set it up correctly and keep in mind some of its inherent quirks.You're going to want a ceiling mount for the sake of the device and to use it to its full ability. I don't have one currently because I intend to use it in multiple places and I'm renting my home and can't put one in.For your money, this is probably one of the best all-around projectors, especially if you intend to play games competitively either online or with friends. I've had no problems playing Marvel Vs Capcom, Overwatch, Tekken 7, or Super Smash Bros Ultimate.

One of the most important things to know imo is that you cannot use keystone, zoom, image shift or edge masking while you have "enhanced gaming" mode turned on. This means you must physically place this projector in the perfect position in pretty much every way including height, in order to get a perfect rectangle picture (with enhanced gaming on). All that being said, this is an incredible projector if none of the above is an issue for you. Before this, I had a "Dr J" projector that I picked up for like $80 and as you can imagine, it didn't look great but I've used it for months and it was a good bit of fun, but this easily looks 10x better than that, no exaggeration. This projector looks every bit as good as my 4 year old flat screen tv, even when it's blown up over 200 inches ( I ran out of wall to go bigger). Right now I'm just projecting on a normal painted textured wall in a living room with a very large window so just some cheap blinds controlling the ambient light and even with that it has outstanding quality. I would submit pictures or video but my phone is far lower quality than this projector and would only make this look worse than it does in reality. Sound works well enough but isn't loud. The remote works great and doesn't need to be aimed at anything to work. I'll never buy a tv again. Never.