Home theaters are becoming more popular than ever before. One way to improve your home theater is with the Optoma GT1080HDRx. With amazing picture quality and a response time you won’t see anywhere else, it’s a great projector for the job. Plus, it’s a starting projector that’ll last a little bit. In this review, we’ll tackle why the Optoma GT1080HDRx is one of the best budget projectors (>>> Check how much it costs on Amazon) and some of the benefits and drawbacks.
Optoma GT1080HDRx Review of Main Specs:
| Optoma GT1080HDRx | |
|---|---|
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| Resolution | 1920x1080 |
| Brightness (Lumens) | 3,800 ANSI |
| Contrast | 50,000:1 |
| Input Lag | 8.4ms |
| Throw Distance | 1.3' - 10.9' |
| Screen size | 36" - 307" |
| Speakers | 10.0 Watts Mono |
| Today's Best Price | BHPhotoVideo.com |
Ease of Installation
The projector has two HDMI ports. One of them is 2.0, meaning that if you want 4K UHD and HDR support, you must connect it there. It also includes a USB port. Everything is in the back in a neat little row, though some may wish there were ports in the front and sides.
This is a short-throw projector. You can set it up from 4 feet 4 inches and experience a 120″ image. Those living in small apartments can rejoice, knowing that you don’t need anything complicated to have a sharp picture during installation.
You can also install Chromecast, Fire Stick, and similar devices to it. Again, installation is seamless, meaning you don’t need to do anything complicated to set it up. We tried several devices, and we don’t have much negative to say about them.
Pros
- Crystal clear picture and contrasting colors
- Easy to set up
- It creates amazing picture even if you live in a small home, with a 50,000:1 contrast ratio
Cons
- Built-in speakers are poor
- 4K picture will not look good if you don’t put it in the HDMI 2.1 port
Picture Quality
This is not a 4K projector, but it does downsize 4K sources. Through its HDR port and its RYGCWB color wheel, it creates some colors that pop out and creates a stunning contrast. It uses a 50,000:1 contrast ratio, meaning you can make out all the little details. With 3,800 lumens, it’s also one of the brighter projectors.
More lumens means you can have fantastic picture quality even in a bright room. So if the room isn’t that dark, you’ll still get an impressive picture quality.
We were impressed by how it looked. We found through our viewings that despite the lack of 4K capabilities, it still delivers amazing 1080p quality, which is great for movies. Check our list of the best current 1080p projectors
Sound Quality
The GT1080HDRx includes a built-in 10-watt speaker. However, it’s not the best. When we tried to play a movie with just using the projector speakers, we found it was barely audible unless we were sitting right next to this.. Because of this, we recommend you purchase external speakers. Usually, speakers integrated into projectors aren’t very good, but these are incredibly poor.
However, when we tried external speakers that were around $100, the sound was much better. So, save yourself the headache and just purchase some external speakers to do the job.
Gaming
What if you’re a gamer? Can this projector keep up with competitive play? It has a gaming mode, which gives you 8.4 ms ping. In other words, it’s lightning-fast with its response times, meaning you can play some of the most competitive games without worrying about input lag. It also has a 120hz refresh rate. With it, you can host gaming tournaments where money is on the line or enjoy a casual gaming night with friends.
Once again, the projector also does an excellent job at downsizing 4K video games. As a result, you can play the latest PS5 and Xbox Series X titles without worrying about a loss in quality. >>> Check our top gaming projector picks
Optoma GT1080HDRx Review: The Verdict
We recommend the Optoma GT1080HDRx for people just starting out with building the home theater. While you won’t get the 4K experience other projectors offer, the picture quality is still great from what we’ve seen during our tests.
For smaller homes or even apartments, it delivers great picture quality. Whether you want to use this for a night of gaming, or to watch a movie, it works. If you do purchase the Optoma GT1080HDRx, we suggest you also get some external speakers to improve the sound quality. (>>> Check the current price on Bhphotovideo).