Optoma HD91+ – 3D Performance

Here again the HD91+ improves
hugely on the efforts of the HD91. The extra brightness allows its 3D
images to combat the dimming effect of Optoma’s active shutter 3D
glasses much more effectively. This result is 3D pictures that look both
more dynamic and more three dimensional, as having more light to play
with helps the HD91+ to better render the sort of background details and
subtle contrast delineations that help deliver a sense of 3D space,
especially during dark scenes.

It’s also excellent to find the
HD91+’s 3D images suffering with pretty much zero crosstalk ghosting
noise, which helps them look crisp and clean.

Motion can look a little billowy at times, and as with a number of other
Optoma projectors I’ve tested, I found I had to activate the 3D Sync
Inverter feature before the 3D effect started to look natural, even
though I never have to do this with any other brand’s 3D pictures. It’s
no great hardship to do this, but it does make me wonder how many people
with Optoma projectors have tried and given up watching 3D because of
this out-of-the-box setting quirk.

Other Things to Consider

Despite its considerable extra brightness, the HD91+ is a remarkably
quiet projector to run. With its lamp running at its low power level,
the projector is genuinely whisper quiet. But even if you ramp it up to
its highest output levels – and even though noise from the projector’s
cooling fans certainly increases – it never sounds intrusive.

The
HD91+ is less successful when it comes to input lag. My tests showed
that it takes around 63ms to produce images on the screen after
receiving them at its inputs. This figure was only achievable with all
the projector’s processing turned off, however. Call the PureEngine
system into play and input lag balloons to 100ms. This matters to
gamers where any input lag measurement higher than 25-30ms
can have an impact on your performance with reaction-based games.

Should You Buy an Optoma HD91+

The
HD91+’s physical size and image characteristics don’t lend themselves
to business or education presentations, so you should see it as a
dedicated movie projector. If that fits the bill for you, though, and
you’re also able to darken your room for serious movie-viewing sessions,
then the HD91+ really is an excellent performer.

In an ideal world it would have been a few hundred pounds cheaper –
although, to be fair, the fact that you’ll never have to change its
lamps will add up to some considerable savings over the projector’s
lifetime.

Gamers, meanwhile, will like the quality of its images, but may be troubled by the HD91+’s slightly high input lag.

Verdict

The
HD91+ is a significant upgrade from the original HD91. So much so
that, despite a few residual issues with its dynamic contrast engine,
it now combines the cost savings and convenience of its unusual LED
light engine with some of the most gorgeously involving movie-friendly
pictures in town.

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