Most home theater projectors that have a 4K resolution will probably retail at more than $1000, making the Optoma UHD50 a steal for the kind of picture quality that it delivers. The UHD home theater projector also enjoys a wide color gamut, meaning its pictures are color-rich and well saturated. Its lamp life of up to 15000 hours means you’ll have plenty of time before you have to change the lamp, and its brightness of 2400 lumens means everything appears as crystal clear as you’d want things to. These and a lot more features allow the Optoma UHD50 to be on our list of the best projectors, but is it really the perfect upgrade for your home entertainment setup? Read on to find out more. If you’re using this projector to work, take a look at our Logitech Professional Presenter R800 review.
Why We Like It – Optoma UHD50
The Optoma UHD50 is a home theater projector that brings the cinematic experience right into your living room thanks to its 4K Ultra HD resolution, its 140-inch optimal image size, and its support for HDR content. Compare this with Screen Innovations 5 series motorized projector review to determine which projector is best for your home. Or, you might also be interested in Leica’s first DLP projector, the Pradovit D-1200, which launches at the Photokina review.
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- High color accuracy
- 4K UHD resolution
- HDR10 compatible
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- Weak on-board radio
- No Full HD 3D
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Performance
Just like the Optoma UHD50X, the image quality delivered by the Optoma UHD50 is brilliant due to a contrast ratio of 500,000:1, which is delivered by its Dynamic Black technology that adjusts the lamp output to produce near-cinema black levels. This is far more than what you’ll get with the Optoma HD29 Darbee at 30,000:1.
However, unlike the Optoma HZ39HDR which uses a laser, the UHD50 projector comes with a DLP chip, which uses microscopic mirrors and a spinning color wheel to create an image. The ratio of this Optoma short-throw projector allows you to fill a 120-inch diagonal screen size at a distance of about 10.5 feet. The Ultra HD home theater projector also has a decent lens shift range, and four-phase pixel shifting to quadruple the number of pixels on the screen.
Design
Compared to the BenQ HT2550 or the BenQ TK800, the design of the Optoma UHD50 really doesn’t have much to write home about. The DLP projector also doesn’t have very good audio and dynamic range due to the two 5-Watt speakers on board, so the best option is to hook it up to your set of external speakers. Out of the box, the projector comes with a lens cap, an AC power cord, an HDMI cable, a remote control, and the projector’s carrying case.
Value
For those a bit concerned about power consumption, the Optoma UHD50 comes with an eco-mode that you can use to reduce the lumen output by about a third (33%), and also get it to be completely silent as you watch your movie. The projector also allows for a vertical lens shift of about 10% (which you don’t get with the Optoma HD143), which is good enough for considerable image adjustment along the Y-axis. Gaming on the Optoma UHD50 is also a joy thanks to a 57ms input lag, which is too little to notice once you’ve got some action going on your Xbox One X.
Optoma UHD50 Wrap Up
As a UHD DLP projector that’s now under $1,000, the Optoma UHD50 is reasonably priced. For the price you pay, you’ll get a lot more value for this projector. Most of the projector’s features are reserved for models that go for more than $1500. Numbers aside, the Optoma UHD50 is a projector that is sure to keep you away from the cinemas for a very long time.
