Features of Optoma RD65
Crystal-clear images without fading and distortion and fuzziness and or risk of burn-in 65-inch flat-screen DLP television with 1 and280 x 720 native pixel resolution; 59.5 x 51.7 x 22 inches (W x H x D) Direct-digital DVI input and HD component-video input and and multiple PC inputs High contrast (1 and500:1) and high brightness (400 cd/m2 typical) Nonreflective and fine-grade and 0.15 mm screen-pitch display with 16:9 widescreen dimension to match your favorite movies
Optoma's RD65 big-screen, high-definition DLP projection TV, a winner of the CES 2003 Innovations Award, was developed with the latest Texas Instruments HD2 Digital Light Processing technology, which provides unparalleled clarity, color and brightness. The RD65 is the first-ever 65-inch HD2 DLP television, offering a 70 percent larger viewing area than a 50-inch screen. In addition, the set features the most advanced non-reflective screen made with DenseDetail material to increase brightness and clarity while widening viewing angles. Unlike ordinary projection, plasma, or CRT televisions, the state-of-the-art Texas Instruments HD2 Digital Light Processing (DLP) technology delivers crystal-clear images without fading, distortion, fuzziness, or risk of image burn-in. A DLP chip contains over 900,000 micromirrors, each generating an individual onscreen pixel with fidelity that's as yet unmatched by other display technologies. The system offers a total of 9 picture formats, including native 16:9 format at 1,280 x 720 resolution and special conversions from traditional 4:3 formatted media. The set offers high contrast (1,500:1) and brightness (400 cd/m2 typical) and a fine-pitch screen (0.15 mm versus the industry average 0.5 mm) to provide ultra-fine detail. A special screen coating virtually eliminates glare. An onboard Silicon Image DVDO progressive-scan image processor combines the 2 interlaced fields of ordinary NTSC (VCR, DVD, and video camera) signals into a single progressively scanned signal. The result is sharp, steady, higher-resolution images with flicker-free motion. The RD65 also features picture-in-picture (PIP) and picture-outside-picture (POP, which delivers 2 high-resolution images side-by-side, from any of the set's 13 digital or analog input sources), and front and rear connections (with a complete set of computer, video, and stereo audio inputs). Overscan is the amount of screen image that runs underneath the outside edges of all televisions. Typically, about 3 or 7 percent of a screen images is lost to overscan. The RD65 features an amazingly low 1 percent overscan, giving you 8 to 23 percent more picture relative to most televisions. The TV's discrete IR permits high-end home automation systems to control external devices with greater reliability and ease.
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Optoma RD65 Customer Review(s):
Summary: Incredible HD Picture but...
Rating: 4 (out of 5)
Comment: I actually have 2 of these TVs. I purchased one for myself and one for my parents in April, from a large warehouse store (I don't want to mention the name here but it's the biggest warehouse store in the country). MSRP was around $3,000 but the TV was on sale for $2,000 plus an additional $300 off (my parents got an additional $200 off because the product sold out quickly and they had to wait an extra month for delivery).
So the Good News: The HD picture quality is excellent (this could also be viewed as bad news because I have Comcast and I'm pretty much limited to about 10 HD channels. As expected, the non HD channels on a 65 inch TV are very grainy, and once you watch HD, you don't want to go back). The RD65 comes with a lot of inputs. 2 Antenna, 2 AVI, 1 SD, 2 HD, 1 PC, and 1 DVI (I'm probably missing a couple but there are a lot). Mine shipped with the DVI input but the new ones come with HDMI. Not much of a difference because 1) the media companies can't agree on an HD DVD standard, and 2) you can buy a DVI to HDMI cable.
Now for the bad news. The remote control IR is slow. This is especially true for Picture in/on Picture (PIP/POP) and screen source changes (ie. switching the screen from Antenna to HD). And when I say slow I mean real slow. There's also a programming issue with PIP/POP. For example, if you're watching an HD show and you want to do POP (btw, POP means two pictures side by side) with an antenna show the channel surfing button on the remote doesn't work correctly. You have to change the focus to the antenna show and then you can use the remote to change channels. Not a big deal, but kinda annoying. In addition, a lot of the PIP/POP features have to be changed with the on screen menu instead of the remote control. That's sort of a pain because the menu overlays what's on the screen for a couple of seconds.
Finally, just yesterday I was at my parents house and I noticed a hi-pitch whine coming from the TV, I don't have this on mine. It's almost inaudible and the only reason I heard it was because I had to mute the TV to answer the phone. With the volume turned up just slightly, the whine is drowned out. I read somewhere that it could be the fly wheel and if so, Optoma will automatically replace the unit. One last thing, the TV does take approximately 30 seconds to power up, and I don't mean you see a dark picture which slowly comes into focus, I mean when you turn the TV on the power light flashes for 30 seconds while the TV heats up and then you get a picture. I don't know if this is true for all HD TVs but this one does that.
Conclusion:
The picture quality, inputs and features on this TV are excellent and for the price I paid, I think I got the best deal possible. There are a couple of minor inconveniences with the remote. If I had to do it all over again, I would definitely purchase this TV.
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