Introduction

My favorite reviews are those of flagship products so I was understandably excited when the opportunity came to test Optoma’s new HD8600 DLP projector. The HD8600 includes all of Optoma’s latest features and advances. Topping the list is a special set of controls called PureEngine which include enhancements for detail, color and motion. This projector has joined its competitors in offering smoothing technology to eliminate the judder and motion blur inherent in 24 frames-per-second film content. Coupled with Pure Detail and Pure Color, you have at the call of the remote the means to add extra vividness and sharpness to picture if you wish. If accuracy is your goal, as it is mine, the HD8600 offers extensive adjustments for gamma, grayscale and a color management system.

At $7999, the HD8600 invites comparison to similarly-priced models from Sony and JVC. Feature-wise, it’s a tossup. All offer full calibration options, frame interpolation, excellent contrast performance and sharp lenses. The differences crop up in light output and screen uniformity with DLP having an advantage in both areas. The Optoma with its 280-watt lamp will fill a larger screen from a greater distance. With its single imaging chip, as opposed to LCoS’s three chips, convergence errors are not possible. Great white field uniformity is a given with one-chip DLP. With LCoS it can vary from unit to unit. Let’s dive in, shall we?