The First 3D 1080p Home Theater Projector Under $1,500 by Optoma

Are 3D hardware prices plummeting due to disinterest from a lack of compelling 3D content or is technology simply getting cheaper? Optoma is rolling out support for an extremely competitive 3D, 1080p projector.

Optoma continually attempts to break price barriers when it comes to home theater projectors. The Optoma HD20 was one the first projectors to break the $1,000 barrier for 1080p support. The company is continuing that trend with the HD33, a 1080p home theater projector that offers support for 3D visuals. The $1,499 projector has a contract ratio of 4000:1 and a brightness of 1,800 ANSI lumens. It has a throw distance between 5 and 32 feet as well as an image size up to about 300 inches. The unit looks very similar to the HD20, but has a wider body style.

The projector comes a radio frequency emitter that communicates with active-shutter 3D-RF glasses. Compared to IR technology, the glasses don’t require line-of-sight operation with the transmitter to work correctly. The glasses are rechargeable, but are sold separately for an unspecified price. Other RF models on the market sell between $80 to $100. The HD33 includes a couple new technologies from Optoma including judder reduction by using frame interpolation processing as well as improved color-processing to create deeper blacks and more vibrant colors. The 3D home theater projector comes with two HDMI 1.4a inputs, one component video input, one composite video input, one VGA input, a VESA 3D port, a RS-232 connection and a 12-volt trigger for automatic actions like lowering a movie screen before a screening.

Beyond the announcement of the HD33, Optoma also announces two more 3D 1080p projectors for custom installations; the $4,499 HD8300 and the $1,999 HD3300. THe HD8300 has a contrast ratio of 30,000:1 and offers a brightness of 1,500 ANSI lumens as well as a 1.5x zoom lens. The HD3300 offers a contrast ratio of 5000:1 and a brightness of 2,000 ANSI lumens. Both models have more advanced controls for custom calibration compared to consumer models. They also fully support 1080p, 3D images when paired with a 3D-capable video source like a Blu-ray player.