Impressive lightweight from Optoma
Presentations Magazines, October 2000

The Optoma (formerly CTX Opto) expire 710 and the Compaq MP1600 are two projectors that are almost identical - but not quite. Optoma (the manufacturer of both units) chooses not to separate the video module from the projector, as in the Compaq unit, but instead provides only a standard analog RGB connector.

Optoma is the largest and most experienced manufacturer of projects in Taiwan - well ahead (in terms of units produced) of its nearest competitor, Acer, which makes projectors for Proxima and 3M. And Optoma's experience shows in its quality products. I measured 637 ANSI lumens on the screen with the EzPro 710, which is just a few more than the 594 I found coming from the Compaq MP 1600 (reviewed last November) - and since neither projector has a zoom lens, I didn't have to calculate an average for wide- and narrow-zoom settings.

Like last year's MP1600, the EzPro 710 has very good corner brightness, 93 percent, as well as low unevenness across the screen - only six percent. This illustrates one of the design trade-off differences between In Focus and Optoma: In Focus optimized the LP335 for maximum brightness, whereas Optoma integrated the EzPro 710's light for evenness, sacrificing some brightness. Optoma advertises 800 lumens for the EzPro 710, but the projector falls more than 100 lumens short of that mark. However, I don't think the company is exaggerating its brightness claims. Optoma tests every projector it makes to ensure each unit meets its spec, but does so before "burning-in" each unit. This means that even if the unit you get doesn't quit meet spec, it might have when it was first assembled. The first few hours of burn-in operation can really take the shine off a lamp.

With the same settings used to measure brightness, I measured the EzPro 710's ANSI contrast ratio at 212-to-1, which is about the same as last year's MP1600. I also measured the contrast ration with the white-black sequential contrast test and found that the EzPro 710 measured 541-to 1 spec.

I measured the EzPro 710's color saturation at 14.3, still below the 16.2 color saturation average for a three-panel, x-cube based system, but significantly higher than the 12.3 color saturation I measured on the Compaq MP1600 last year. The EzPro 710's white point at 4.55 units away from standard D65 was higher than the In Focus LP355's but still okay. And that, together with more color saturation, allowed the EzPro 710 to make better overall video images than the LP335 did from the same DVD source. Compared with other 5-pound units I've tested in my screening room, I like the EzPro 710's video images the best because it has more natural colors and noise-free image. The EzPro 710 did an excellent job on video, as well as a good job resizing SXGA (1,280 by 1,024) computer images.

While all the connectors are conveniently placed in the back, this model offers no USB connectivity. The EzPro 710 does provide a 2,000-hour lamp and a 3-watt speaker. Plus it costs $1,000 less than the LP335. 
By William Bohanon, Chief Scientist at Escondido, California Based Manx Research

Contact: Optoma Technology, Inc., 888.942.2929, www.optoma.com.