Optoma GT1080HDR

amazon Optoma GT1080HDR reviews

The Optoma GT1080HDR is a short-throw gaming projector that beats its affordable price to deliver fast latency and 120Hz response times, plus a wealth of features not available in competing projectors at this price point. Being a short monitor means you can place it close to your monitor if you have a small room, and the affordable price tag will make it a great choice for many buyers.

It delivers excellent color accuracy from the start, it has excellent contrast and has enough brightness – rated at 3,800 ANSI lumens – and it supports the 4K UHD (3,840 x 2,160 pixels), it does down-convert to native 1080p (1,920 x 1,080) resolution. However, it’s the low input lag – it only manages 8.7ms – that’s the show here, for responsive gameplay, even if it’s largely all-around otherwise.

Overall, the GT1080HDR is a great projector; it’s our new Editors’ Choice for games under $1000.

Optoma GT1080HDR Specifications

Machine Type: DLP

Brightness: 3800 ANSI lumens

Original Resolution: 1920 x 1080

Maximum resolution: 3840 by 2160

Inputs and interfaces: HDMI, VGA / Component

Dimensions (HWD): 4.5 x 12.4 x 9.5 inches

Weight: 7.7 lbs

Design

The Optoma GT1080HDR short throw projector boasts a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution DLP chip and has a fairly standard design. It’s rectangular and off-white, and at the top is where you’ll find the menu panel and focus ring (but it comes with a fixed zoom feature). Both are located on the left side of the projector and the menu panel has been moved to the rear. The control panel includes three LEDs for power, light, and temperature alerts, as well as eight buttons in three rows and an IR receiver.

The built-in menu allows you to control the source, adjust the keystone, view information, re-sync, and change the signal source. Optoma places the focus ring forward and is just a simple dial that scrolls left and right to focus the projector. There is an Optoma logo in the back right corner.

The front panel holds the lens and it bulges forward and is significantly rounded due to this being a short throw projector. To the right of the lens, there’s another IR receiver, and the front and sides of the projector have a fin finish with ventilation on each side.

All connections are located on the rear panel and they include: two HDMI ports, but only one is HDMI 2.0b and supports 4K UHD and HDR. During setup, just make sure to connect your 4K video to the correct port. Other ports include USB Type-A, VGA-in, VGA-out, and RS232 ports as well as 3.5mm audio in and out jacks. You can also connect to external speakers via Bluetooth.

At the bottom of the GT1080HDR are three legs, one non-adjustable and two adjusting screws for leveling when it is placed on a table. You also get three screw holes for ceiling mounting and a place to loop the locking cable aside.

Like most short-throw projectors, the GT1080HDR lacks the lens shift feature – available on the BenQ HT2050A – which is used to adjust the image position, meaning the only way to adjust the image size is through digital zoom. However, you should not rely on digital zoom to adjust your images as it can introduce artifacts on the screen and also affect brightness. The only other option available is to adjust the position of the superintendent, which is also not straightforward.

The GT1080HDR is quite portable, measuring 12.4 x 9.5 x 4.5 inches and weighing 7.7 pounds, it will fit on a table and you can also hang it from the ceiling with ease.

where can you get a Optoma GT1080HDR online

Optoma GT1080HDR Short Throw Gaming Projector | Enhanced Gaming Mode for 1080P 120Hz Gaming at 8.4ms | 4K UHD Support | Play HDR for 4K and 1080P | High 3800 lumens for Day & Night Gaming, White: Buy it now

Optoma GT1080HDR Short Throw Gaming Projector | Enhanced Gaming Mode for 1080P 120Hz Gaming at 8.4ms | 4K UHD Support | Play HDR for 4K and 1080P | High 3800 lumens for Day & Night Gaming, White: Buy it now

Remote control

The included Optoma GT1080HDR remote is a small strip with a total of 27 buttons that you can use to interact with the projector. The remote is backlit, meaning you can use it in a dark room to modify on-screen options without turning on the lights.

It has all the options you need to get the best viewing experience, from user preferences to brightness controls, menu buttons, and power options. It’s pretty simple and uses AAA batteries.

This Optoma comes with a pair of 10W speakers, which we feel are unnecessary on the projector, the same way they are on the screen. At best, the speakers produce mediocre sound – at 10W you can expect them to sound even better, but they struggle to fill a small room even at maximum volume.

The speakers lack bass and are barely audible unless you’re in a small room and just looking for a quick fix to enjoy a movie, but either way, you’ll need a sound system outside.

Efficiency

The Optoma GT1080HDR is packed with features that will excite gamers, movie lovers, and all other users. All color modes are fine-tuned for an enjoyable viewing experience out of the box, delivering vivid colors, good saturation, and excellent accuracy with default settings. That includes 3D mode and HDR mode, with the latter being the only mode available when the projector detects HDR10 input.

As a short-throw projector, you’ll only have to position it back about 46 inches from your screen, for a 106-inch diagonal image. Typical throw projectors will need 8 to 12 feet to project a similarly sized image, which is not possible if you’re using them in small rooms. Just be aware that the Short Throw Projection is not the same as the standard Bead Angle, so you may have to experiment a bit to get the best image.

Having said that, the actual image quality of the projector is nice and bright, especially if you use the projector in a dimly lit room. Even with the lights on in the room, the projected image is easy and comfortable to view. The colors are decent too, with sRGB and Rec.709 color support. Blacks are also deep and tolerable – even on default settings out of the box.

While the GT1080HDR supports both 1080p and 4K inputs, the projector only outputs images at 1080p resolution. When you connect the 4K input, the projector will tell you the resolution is 4K (or 4K HDR depending on the content). Usually, a projector will tell you what resolution it is sending out, not what it is receiving from the source – which can be a bit confusing at first.

In that regard, Optoma offers some upscaling through the scaler to take the 4K input, convert it down, and then output it as 1080p. Optoma claims that the main reason for 4K input is to give users some assurance that the projector will be compatible with any input source they may have at home (HD, Full HD, 4K, 4K HDR, etc.)

Perhaps the other interesting feature of the Optoma GT1080HDR is its 120Hz refresh rate, which makes this projector a suitable projector for gamers. This projector accepts both 1080p and 4K inputs, but it can only use 120Hz when set to 1080p input. So on Xbox One X or PS5, you can load a game in 4K (1080p is upscaled a bit) and it will refresh up to 120Hz with ease.

In addition, the game mode allows you to achieve response times as low as 8.7ms. While that’s not the 1ms response rate you get from high-end gaming monitors, it’s pretty decent for a value projector. All of that is thanks to the projector’s low input lag, and everything is set to 1080p/120Hz and in gaming mode, the gameplay becomes smoother and more enjoyable.

The Optoma GT1080HDR is rated at 3,800 ANSI lumens, which is bright enough to fill a 280-inch diagonal screen in a dark room, or 160 inches in a room with moderate ambient light, assuming you have a 1.0-gain display in both two cases. While the rest of the modes (Presentation, Bright, HDR, HDR, Sim HDR, sRGB, etc) aren’t particularly bright, the Cinema mode is particularly bright in a dark room, but if you’re going to use it to watch movies in a family room with lots of windows, Dynamic Source Mode will let you fill a 90-inch 1.0-gain white screen for nighttime viewing with lights on or daytime viewing but in poor colors more saturated.

Finally, as with most projectors in this price range – including the BenQ TH685, and the ViewSonic PX701HD – the GT1080HDR offers only one preset 3D picture mode and only works as configured with the DLP-link glasses. While it produces a strong image, the 3D-related motion artifacts are a bit more obvious than with many current 3D projectors; but the 3D mode is still much brighter than the projector’s 2D mode, delivering a sharp 90-inch image in a dark room.

Should you buy the Optoma GT1080HDR?

If this is your first projector buying experience, the Optoma GT1080HDR is one of the best 1080p home projectors you can find out there, offering the perfect combination of price, performance, and feature. In fact, for the money, it offers a ton. The projector boasts clear, vibrant images that are perfect for home theater – with low input lag and 4K resolution, and HDR support, it’s a great gaming option for the price.

Of course, nothing is perfect (it lacks HLG support, the emerging HDR standard for broadcast TVs, and it doesn’t come with a carrying case), but for this price, the Optoma GT1080HDR comes pretty close.

While it would be nice if the projector could have slightly better speakers, that’s still a problem with all projectors and screens; and, it doesn’t seriously affect the overall picture quality, we think the Optoma GT1080HDR is still the best way to go if you’re looking for a great projector in the sub-$1000 price range.