What the Optoma WU336 is designed for:

It is ideal for:

• Full HD presentations in conference rooms, classrooms, and training facilities.

It is also good for:

• Home entertainment, churches, art galleries, and photo clubs.

What the Optoma WU336 gives you:

Connection Panel:

• 1. HDMI-1 (MHL)
• 2. HDMI-2
• 3. USB
• 4. VGA In
• 5. Composite Video
• 6. Audio Out (3.5mm)
• 7. Audio In (3.5mm)
• 8. RS-232C
• 9. RJ-45
• 10. AC power
• 11. Kensington Lock slot

Physical attributes. The connector panel is on the rear of the WU336. Air intake is from the left side, and hot air is exhausted from the right front side of the chassis. The power connector is at the lower left of the connector panel, and a keypad is located at the back left of the cover panel.

Brightness. The WU336 is rated at 3,400 lumens. With the illumination set to Bright and Eco mode disabled, our test unit produced ANSI lumen readings in each of its factory defined operating modes as follows:

ECO mode.The WU336 has four Eco modes including one (Dynamic) that changes lamp power depending on scene content. The most significant ECO mode reduced brightness by 40%. It extends lamp life significantly, so using the Eco setting is advised if it produces sufficient light for the room and screen size.

Zoom Lens Light Loss. The projector loses 13% of its potential light output at the telephoto end of its 1.3x zoom range compared to the wide angle end.

Brightness Uniformity.The brightness uniformity of the WU336 measured 63%, which is typical of very low priced projectors. The lower half of the image is the brightest and it gradually reduces in brightness toward the upper corners. There were no visible hot spots or vignetting, and the brightness variation is only visible in data projections with a lot of white space.

Image Sharpness. The zoom lens focuses sharply from edge to edge throughout its range.

Input Lag. The WU336 has an input lag of 33ms in all modes.

Fan Noise. Fan noise is very low for a projector of this brightness. The noise is composed of low-to-medium frequencies that do not interfere with normal audio volume levels. Eco mode did reduce fan noise somewhat, but the decrease was hardly noticeable.

Throw distance. The WU336 specs list an image size range of 27" to 300". It will throw a 150" 16:10 image from a distance of 16.75' to almost 22'. To check throw distance for your preferred screen size and aspect ratio, see the Optoma WU366 Projection Calculator.

Vertical Offset. The WU336 throws the image upward such that the bottom edge of the projected image is 10% of the image height above the centerline of the lens. So for a 120" diagonal 16:10 picture that is 63" in height, the bottom edge is 6.3 inches above the lens centerline.

Optoma promotes the WU336 primarily as a conference/classroom projector for medium-sized rooms. That is certainly this projector's target market, but it does a very good job as a video projector as well. So the WU336 shows excellent versatility for many data/video applications. It can also accommodate both wired and wireless sources when equipped with its optional wireless dongle (HDCast Pro for $79).

In data presentations, the WU336 resolves small fonts quite well even at maximum keystone settings. Spreadsheets, drawings, and text documents are bold, clean, and distinct. The projector's Cinema mode produces beautiful video with excellent saturation and very realistic flesh tones. We did not need to do much extensive picture control adjustment. A slight decrease in brightness and a small boost in contrast yielded a very pleasing video image that comes close to home theater quality.

The WU336's lamp is rated for 3,500 hours of operation in Normal mode. Lamp life is extended to 15,000 in Eco mode. There are two intermediate Eco settings with proportional lamp lives. However, since replacement lamps from Optoma are only $89, there is no significant cost savings to be gained by running in Eco mode.

The WU336 has an on-board 10W speaker which delivers sound sufficient for a medium-sized room. Audio quality is very good with no buzzing or rattling even at maximum volume. Additionally, there is an audio output available on the rear panel if you choose to use an external speaker system.

The WU336 is Full HD 3D compatible and works with any DLP Link shutter glasses (e.g., Optoma ZD302 for $49). 3D formats supported include side-by-side, frame-pack, and over-under.

Last but not least, the WU336's full-size remote is well laid out, and the on-screen menu system is very intuitive. Of particular interest is its screen blanking feature . . . it not only freezes the image, but it also blanks it out so that presenters can comment without distraction.

The Optoma WU336 is one of only two 1920x1200 resolution projectors currently on the market for under $600 (the other is the Optoma WU334). Combine that aggressive price with its 3-year warranty and replacement lamps for only $89, and this amounts to outstanding value in today's market for multi-purpose data and video presentation.

For more detailed specifications and connections, check out our Optoma WU336 projector page.

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