Optoma HD131Xe User Reviews

This review might feel irrelevant as this projector has been discontinued but.... i've owned one for over 7 years and it's still going strong. Over 4500 hours on the original lamp. This was an insanely good buy. Whenever it decides to die, I'm definitely buying another Optoma projector.

First couple months were great! Then after 10 months I started having some picture issues.

Any Problems: Every now and then the screen would flicker once to a very faint green tint, barely noticeable but definitely there. Called Optoma and the only way to fix it was to toggle the 3D format, which worked, but a real hassle. Should've had it serviced immediately but decided it wasn't a big deal. However at 14 months now it happens more often and now the right half of my screen has a slight dim tint rendering the unit useless. Needless to say I'll never buy another Optoma product again.

Experiencing white pixels on start up and sometimes refuses to start up at all. This is after owning it for four months and watching no more than twenty films on it. Picture is good, but the projector is unreliable.

Any Problems: Yup.

I use this as a movie going / gaming Projector and put a good few hours into it now and sofar I am still very happy with the projector. The colours of the device are dam good and the blacks are pretty good also, mind I use a creamy white coloured wall and did need to mess with the settings to get them to look right. The 1080p on this thing is Dam fine, it's crystal clear. Very bright, I have watched films on this during the day. 3d is another thing completely on this projector though, I used to very rarely pay extra for or think 3d was worth it but this projector has me thinking again. (I haven't tried 3d gaming!) Anyhow I used the zd301 glasses for it and just a side note they are pretty decent glasses. This thing runs quiet enough to not distract you mid film aswell. I don't have a db meter but I'm pretty sure unless you sit right next to it you won't be bothered by it.

Any Problems: I do but rarely see a bit of the RBE effect however it's not common enough / problematic enough for me to complain. It didn't come with a lense cap, while that may not be a problem for say it is annoying when you live in a dusty location. A gravy cap works a treat though. Focus is a bit poor, it is a pain to get a good focus all around but I suppose that's impossible without a curved screen. I may be nit picking there but at approx 80 inches I would expect it to be slightly better, it's not enough to distract you mid film but..... you know it's there.

This is an excellent under 1k projector. Black levels and contrast is surprisingly very good. Scenes in space finally work on a budget PJ. Setup is easy as long as your room can work with the Offset requirements. See the projection calculator on this site for needed information. Out of the box colors and all are ok. By going to AVSForum one can get better numbers and this projector can really deliver a high quality picture. The 3D performance is excellent. Even simply using the built-in DLP-LINK emitter and quality DLP-LINK glasses gives great 3D. The Dynamic Black feature that Optoma offers on its PJs works very well in this unit. I found it too noisy in the HD70 but here it is not a problem. And it works to improve an already good image. The menu and remote are well done. The only problem is there is only one user setting. I am glad I bought the HD131XE and recommend it highly.

Any Problems: There are a few caveats: 1: If you are subject to RBE disturbance you might notice them with this PJ. I have no problem but I will see the effect occasionally. It doesn't bother me. 2: Thete is currently an issue with the optics and some focus problems occur when the setup requires the zoom to be wide open. Optoma is aware of the issue and has a fix.

Have put ~150hrs on our 131Xe as of Nov 2013, and couldn't be happier. This is my 3rd projector over the last 12 years: 1) $1500 Sanyo XW15 in 2001 (LCD, 4:3, 800lumens, 300:1 contrast ratio and WOW XGA/1024x768 resolution!), happily watched it for 6 years, 2 bulbs and over 7k hours. First apt was shooting it on a white wall, then a 6' wide Ikea window shade in my German apt, then another white wall when I moved back to the US. 2) $1800 Sanyo Z2000 in 2007 (LCD, 16:9, 1200 lumens, 15,000:1 contrast ratio, 1080p) watched for 6 years, 3 bulbs and ~7k hours on the same Ikea shade, then the Favi 100" screen. These were our only "TVs" during this time, and both projectors still work great. Then the $750 Optoma 131Xe in Sept 2013. Much brighter, much cheaper, smaller, at least as quiet, and almost as "film like" picture as the last Sanyo. We're shooting from 13' onto a $280 110" Elite fixed screen, with a $24 28" drop ceiling mount from Amazon. Couldn't be happier with the set-up and performance. 3D blu-rays look amazing (have watched Avatar, Dredd, IMAX Under the Sea and an "adult" 3D movie (nerdy pervs!). A bit of image shift would make set-up less laborious but as long as it fits your room, measure 5 times and mount the PJ and screen once. Since our room isn't blacked out, and even at night I don't like to sit in total darkness the healthy lumen output is great, and relatively modest contrast ratio basically doesn't matter. Looking forward to enjoying this cheap and cheerful projector for many years to come! Pics of my set-up and screenshots are on page 25 of avsforum's 131Xe thread

Any Problems: None.

Like other reviewers I have been on the lookout for a 1080HD / 3d projector around the $1k mark. I was about to buy a HD25 or Benq W1070 after considering reviews on various web sites. When I saw the HD131XE listed for $758 I did not hesitate as I assumed that the performance would be inline with previous projectors (but with additional brightness). On receiving the projector from the US via Amazon I must say out of the box performance is exceptional when you consider the price (note lamp price is around $150). The extra brightness is great for daytime viewing and game play. I am yet to try it on 3d content however based on the performance so far I am already sold and would recommend this projector provided you pay the current street price of around $750.

Any Problems: None so far. This projector has limited features compared to other similar priced projectors however I would never use these features and the features I use are easily accessible from the back-lite remote.

First off, I'll say that this is about the 4th review I've ever written, but I felt as if I NEEDED to write one as a thank you to optoma for the deal that this thing is. I have been looking to buy a new projector for over a year. I have had 4 projectors over the course of the last 10 years, so I'm not an expert, but I have a few projectors to compare to. My old projector was great, but I had a buyer lined up for it, and I just needed to find the right projector to replace it. I debated on the HD33 when it came out, on the benq 1070 and then the optoma hd25 and 25lv. As you can see from the projectors I have been looking at, they all have about 3 things in common. They all have 3d, they all have around 2000 lumens, and they are all under 1500.00. When I saw the optoma hd131xe come out at under 800.00 that met all my criteria, I waited to see a few reviews before I pulled the trigger. I almost waited for CNET because I love and respect their reviews, but my anticipation got the better of me. Boy am I glad it did!!!!! For the money, you WILL NOT find a better projector. Right out of the box this thing looks amazing. It's more than bright enough on eco mode (6000 hour rated), that I don't even see myself using bright unless it's in 3d. The blacks are good, NOT OUTSTANDING, but for the price really unbelievable. The picture is greeeeaaaat, even my wife complimented on it, and she could care less about my man cave. Will this projector contend with higher end projectors ???? probably not. It doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles and it doesn't seem like their is a lot of adjustment options (I've only played with it for about a week and haven't felt like I needed to adjust it much). Make sure you do a little research on that, if that's important for you! Lens shift would have been nice, and limits where you can mount it. That is my only REAL complaint, but again you aren't touching that feature at this price, so I live with a little bit of an offset throw. One of the reviewers was right about the mount holes being small and awkward. The universal mount that I also bought on amazon didn't fit it, and I really had to make shift a solution. The holes are really close together and I was only able to get 2 legs to mount. "The bottom line" is that the minor bads on this projector aren't BAD. Price taken into consideration this projector is A NO BRAINER! I don't foresee anyone being able to beat this feature set, for this kind of price for awhile. 3D, Native 1080p, 2500 lumens, AND 18000:1 contrast. Do yourself a favor and if you reading this review and debating BUY IT as it is the BEST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK!

Purchased this as a replacement to a 3 yr old optoma hd 20 in a dedicated home theatre. My initial impression is that it has the same basic features with improved brightness and color handling. The closest comparison i believe is the hd25e with same basic specifications and bulb. The slightly reduced lumen output on the hd131xe seemed worth the price savings and black casing. Adding the 3d rf adapter and glasses makes for an impressive viewing experience.

Any Problems: Like others i do notice slight differences in the corner focus but only when i`m tweaking things and really looking to pick.