Optoma MovieTime DVD/Projector

Instant Theater That Stores in a Closet

By Grant Clauser

The ultimate home theater experience can be had only with a home projector, yet for most people, projectors are simply out of the question because they can require a dedicated space, complicated installation and operation, not to mention that they’re pretty expensive. Optoma has come out with a projector that solves a lot of those problems and is very convenient for people who want to enjoy a big screen from time to time, but don’t want to permanently hang a projector from their ceiling.

The MovieTime combines a DVD player with a DLP-based projector and built-in speakers. It’s essentially an entire theater, minus the wall (or screen), in one package. It’s meant to be pulled out of a closet and onto a coffee table to watch a movie on the weekend, then tucked back in the closet when it’s finished.

It’s fairly compact, attractive and exceedingly simple to use. It’s also, as far as projectors go, fairly cheap. At $1,500, it costs about the same as projectors without the DVD and speakers. It’s not a high definition display, though it will accept an HDTV signal via component inputs (plugged into the VGA port with an adapter) and display it as a widescreen 854 x 480 (EDTV) picture.

As entry-level home theater projectors go, the MovieTime is well outfitted. With 1,000 lumens it’s quite bright, and boasts a contrast ratio of 4,000:1, which is enhanced with Optoma’s Image AI processing, a feature that senses the changes in light to dark in scenes and adjusts the lamp output to maximize the picture. It’s got a 7-segment, 4x color wheel, which does a very good job of eliminating rainbow artifacts. On the sides are mounted two 5-watt speakers. There’s also a subwoofer output for adding more bass effects. The projector has a relatively short throw distance because it’s designed to be placed in front of the viewer rather than above and behind like most installed projectors. It comes with a carrying case so you can take it to a friend’s house to show a movie, or take it outside for impromptu summer drive-ins displayed on the garage door. You can also hook up external sources such as a PC, video game console or cable/satellite tuner. In addition to standard DVDs, it plays CDs, MP3s, JPEG images and most of the home recorded DVD formats. A final odd feature is the O2 Air which is a built-in air cleaner. It won’t clean all the smoke from a bar, but it’s there nonetheless.

MovieTime is as plug and play as a projector gets. I plugged it into an outlet, aimed it at a wall and slapped in a DVD. The remote operates both the projector functions and the DVD. Because the DVD is built-in, you don’t even need to set the aspect ratio option; it’s already in 16:9 mode, the native shape of the DMD chip. There’s a manual zoom and focus adjustment on the lens and keystone adjustment in the menu so you can straighten out the picture. I was impressed with the projector’s color reproduction. Dark scenes lacked the depth and clarity of the mid-range and upper class DLP projectors, but at this price range the image was surprisingly good. One striking thing about the picture was the complete lack of edge artifacts. Usually DVDs connected via analog cables to an inexpensive projector will exhibit a lot of jagged edges. The direct digital connection of the DVD portion of the product to the projector eliminated those effects, creating a very smooth picture. However, in light scenes (white shirts, light blue skies) the pixel grid was obvious from my seating distance 12 feet from the wall. If you want to get the most out of this projector, you can purchase a screen (instead of shinning it on a white wall).

The speakers, while only 5 watts, sound surprisingly good, though the addition of the optional 50 watt subwoofer (from Dolcen Kreiling) added a lot of depth to the soundtrack. The included speakers played loud enough to please a sofa-full of people in a living room. Of course this speaker system won’t provide a true home theater experience, but the object of this product is simplicity. If you must, you can hook up a surround sound system via the digital audio output.

If a portable or occasional home theater is something you can use, the MovieTime is perfect. This would also be an ideal product for schools that need something they can easily set up in a classroom and stow away when not in use. If you think you’d rather step up to a more permanent projector system, Optoma, and many other companies offer projectors at a wide range of price and performance.

Optoma MovieTime Projector

$1,500

Built-in DVD player

Built-in stereo speaker

854 x 480 resolution (EDTV)

Texas Instruments DLP Dark Chip2

1,000 ANSI lumens brightness

4,000:1 contrast ratio

Optional subwoofer

www.optomausa.com