You are a movie buff but you also are a dedicated gamer and you are ready to shop for a great projector to add to your home electronics setup. The Optoma UHD30 may be just the projector that you are looking for. >>> Check how much it costs on Amazon.
Optoma UHD30 Review of Main Features
| Optoma UHD30 | |
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| Resolution | 4K |
| Contrast Ratio | 500,000:1 |
| Brightness (Lumens) | 3400 ANSI |
| Throw Distance | 6.2' - 29.4' |
| Lens | 1.1x manual zoom |
| Screen size | 34”-300” |
| Input lag | 16-25ms |
| Price | Find on Amazon |
What Makes a Great Gaming Projector?
The specifications for projectors vary greatly. To be a great gaming projector it needs to designed with the gamer in mind. The projector should be capable of displaying sharp detail along with outstanding color and contrast. At the same time, it needs to have a fast input lag so as to not interfere with play in today’s action packed video games.
Refresh rates should be at or above 120hz so that the projector can process video fast enough to deliver seamless images. Contrast ratio should be around 100,000:1 at a minimum. It should also be bright enough that it doesn’t require complete darkness when in use.
Size Matters in Gaming Projectors
50 or 60 inches of screen size is pretty good, but immersing yourself in a great game on a screen that is 150 to 300 inches is much more of a quality gaming experience. A gaming projector should also be bright, so don’t settle for anything under 1,000 lumens and preferably over 2,500. That way you’ll be able to see your game controller instead of sitting in complete darkness just so that you are able to see into darker images on the screen.
Pros
- Low input lag – 16ms
- 3,400 lumens – doesn’t require total darkness
- Keystone correction (+ or – 40°) and optical zoom lens (1.1x)
- Affordability
Cons
- Requires a long throw distance
- Only has HDMI inputs
- Noticeable fan noise unless in ECO mode
Optoma UHD30 Review
With 3,400 lumens of brightness and the capability of projecting a display of over 300 inches, the UHD30 projector from Optoma is worthy of your consideration when thinking about purchasing a gaming projector. It has a quick 1080p 240hz refresh rate that won’t cause your game to blur up or stutter. In the Enhanced Gaming Mode, the input lag is just 16ms. When operating in 4K UHD the lag is still only 25ms.
While almost any 4K projector will perform nicely, the UHD30 has Optoma’s UltraDetail technology packed inside it. This gives you an even sharper image than the competition’s 4K projectors can deliver. It’s great for the theater room, the family room, or even outdoors for your backyard movie nights. This projector has an outstanding contrast ratio of 500,000:1. Compatible with both HGL and HDR10 color, the UHD30 delivers truer colors, darker blacks, brighter whites, and won’t “wash out” due to any ambient light in the viewing area.
The UHD30 is not a short throw projector. It will require between 10-12 feet of space to project a 100 inch image, so you must have a room big enough to accommodate the required distance from projector to screen. But the capability of projecting an image size of more than 300 inches more than makes up for this fact. The projector also comes with dual HDMI 2.0 inputs and will connect with most media players including PCs, Macs, and other gaming consoles. It also supports input from HDCP2.2, USB, and VGA.
This Optoma projector can be ceiling mounted or placed on a table. It offers 1.1x zoom and plus or minus 40° keystone correction so set up is a breeze. The UHD30 also accepts full HD 3D content and without suffering any image sharpness or clarity issues. The lamp is expected to last up to 15,000 hours over its lifetime. That’s more than 4 hours of operation every day for more than 10 years.
One feature that is weak is the internal speaker, so connecting to an external sound speaker is recommended. The problem with that is if you turn the internal speaker completely off you get a message to that affect on the screen that won’t go away. The only way around this snag is to leave the internal speaker on but turn the volume all the way down.
Conclusion
The Optoma UHD30 True 4K projector is built with video gamers in mind. With an ultra-fast 1080p 240hz refresh rate and 3,400 lumens of brightness, gamers will appreciate the blur-free images, gaming smoothness, and the ability to operate the projector in less than total darkness. Although it requires a large room to project a larger image, at a price starting around $1,300 on Amazon, it is an extremely affordable gaming projector.