Optoma has given us a radical change in look with the HD82. The casing shared by the HD80, HD800X and HD800XLV has been replaced by a shiny black number that is reminiscent of the Sony VPL-HW10 in terms of shape. Beyond the casing there are a few other surprises.

Handling, ergonomics

Eureka! Ever since we started testing Optoma projectors we’ve had a bone to pick with the manufacturer in terms of the more advanced ergonomic functions of their LCD projectors, in particular the lens-shift function. This is a function that allows you to move the image sideways or up and down by moving the product's optical section (therefore without moving the projector itself). This allows you to align the projector off the projection axis, giving you improved flexibility in terms of positioning. Even if this function is not yet as developped as with some of the competition, the fact that Optoma has included it for the first time does merit some applause!

The energy consumption on stand-by is another point on which we have noticed real improvement. The HD800X uses 10 watts on stand-by and this has dropped to 0.2 watts on this model. Much better! The remote hasn’t changed, except in terms of the colour of the backlit buttons in comparison to the previous Full HD Home Cinema models. Unfortunately noise levels haven’t changed either. Although much lower than the DLPs of the past, it is noticeably above the average at 27.5 db (24 dB for the best).

Projected image

The test of the HD82 was carried out alongside the Sanyo PLV-Z3000. These are the first projectors to be subject to our new test procedure. This is detailed in the news: Video projectors: streamlining our Face-offs. This test is more demanding, especially when it comes to depths of blacks.

The depth of blacks is not as of good quality as on the PLV-Z3000 for films. If you look at the extract from the Face-offs below, you’ll see straight away why.


The level of blacks on the Optoma is much higher. The brightness is also two notches up, which gives a very similar contrast in the end. In practice, the Sanyo image is not as bright and has deeper blacks. The sensation of depth of blacks can be increased on the Optomo if you activate the dynamic iris (Dynamic Black: Cinema 1). The image then has higher contrast and deeper blacks. Watch out as there is a problem when you activate this setting. The iris is noisy and this can be quite disagreeable.

In terms of more technical considerations, the clarity of image is better on the Sanyo. You notice this as of 576p if you activate the PureDetail option (see the inset). The upscaling is also a notch up, which isn’t a bad thing considering the poor performance of the Z3000 in this domain. The prize for video noise levels stays with the Sanyo. Nevertheless, Optoma does do well once you put the noise management setting on 1. The results for shades of colour and the detail in areas with very bright colour is very good. The last detail we noted was the appearance of aliasing on some diagonal lines in movement.

The last point in this section conerns the rainbow effects that are typical on DLP projectors. On this model, if you look, you’ll see them. However, even in the presentation scene in Casino Royal (which is in black and white and very susceptible to visual artifacts), their visibility is very limited. Only the most pernickety need worry.

Pure Motion On or Off?

To reply to this question, we need to define what Pure Motion is. It is an option that is available in the avanced settings mode Pure Engine. It tries to fluidify the display of images on the screen in the same wasy as the 100 Hz mode does on an LCD TV. In practice, the projector calculates the intermediary images (that don’t exist on the DVD) and intersperses them between those you get from the player so as to fluidify camera movement (at the cost of the appearance of very slight graphic bugs). To the eye, on DVD, this is equivalent to the impression you get when you go from viewing the film to the making of. The image is much more video than film. In Blu-Ray, this effect is attenuated as the image is sharper and more defined.

The problems with this function are the same as on TV. The higher the level, the more the people on screen give the impression of moving in accelerated mode. Staying in low mode however gives you a good correction and limits these effects. Warning, this function can cause high levels of dependency. Although at first, it might seem weird, after using it for a few minutes you’ll want it on all the time.