Verdict

Pros

• Bright scenes look outstanding
• Excellent setup flexibility
• Runs quietly in standard lamp mode

Cons

• Black level response not the best
• No 3D
• Slightly expensive for a non-3D model

Introduction

It’s been a long time since we last saw a new projector from Vivitek. Which is a pity, as for the most part the brand’s previous output has impressed us across a range of different price points.

With this in mind, our expectations for the brand’s new H5085 are high. Especially as the H5085’s £2464 price makes it a relatively expensive model for its feature set in the context of today’s increasingly aggressive projection market. 

Vivitek H5085 – Design

The DLP-based H5085 is a fairly substantial bit of kit. It doesn’t sport the biggest footprint we’ve seen at its price point, but it stands unusually high, and it’s weighty too, raising hopes of high quality internal componentry. The large size of the centrally mounted lens is also promising, while the gloss black finish and combination of subtle curves and angular ‘ribs’ in its sculpting contribute to its bold appearance.

Connectivity is excellent – chiefly because you get three HDMIs rather than the measly two most projectors still stick with, but also because there are two 12V trigger ports, an RS-232 port for control system integration, and a D-Sub PC port. Also present and correct are the usual component, S-Video and composite video ports.

Vivitek H5085 – Set Up

Setting the H5085 up is extremely straightforward. Getting your image onscreen at the right size is achieved by a combination of (1.25:1) zoom and focus rings round the lens and horizontal and vertical image shifting wheels hidden under a pop-off cover on the projector’s top edge. There are screw down legs in the H5085’s front corners too, to help you angle the projector, but we wouldn’t recommend using these, as if you do you’ll probably have to distort the image with keystone correction to get the picture’s edges looking parallel.

Another great setup discovery – and a clear sign of the extent of the projector’s ambitions – is that you can buy the H5085 with either fixed short-throw (0.77:1) or long throw lens (1.93-2.89:1) options in place of the standard 1.54 to 1.93:1 lens.

The H5085 ships with an unglamorous but actually quite practical backlit remote control, which gives access to a similarly unglamorous but also practical set of onscreen menus.

Vivitek H5085 – Features

Among the most interesting features within these menus are (deep breath): a series of reasonably well-considered picture presets; a wide range of gamma settings; a colour temperature adjustment; a colour gamut adjustment; two settings for a dynamic iris-based DynamicBlack feature; 10 different manual iris settings; a motion processing system; a flesh tone adjustor; and a full colour management system providing hue, saturation and gain tweaks for the RGBCMY colour components.