Optoma ML500, WXGA, 500 LED Lumens, Mobile Projector (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

UPDATE: January 29, 2012; I have posted a youtube video showing the focus at startup. As you'll see, it isn't that bad. It is slightly fuzzy but still readable and the videos don't seem to be affected (although I'm sure they are, if you look hard enough). With the price of this projector, the longevity of the lamp, and the quality of the picture, a 10 minute period at the start shouldn't be a huge problem for anyone. But to each his own. I still stand by my five star rating. I will update again if I come across something else. Good Luck!!!!UPDATE: March 26, 2012; I continue to add videos to youtube. (optoma ml500 user review) I am 100% sure the focus at startup is because of the room temperature. Now that I am in warmer weather, the focus is clearing up in about 2 minutes. Once in the winter, I had the wood stove pretty hot, which made the livingroom warmer than normal and the projector started up completely in focus. So once spring and summer temps are up, there won't be a focusing period. One other small issue I have noticed is that the projector seems to need a system reset every 120 hours or so. I have over 800 hours now and it still works and looks great. However, every 120 hours or so it will shut down. I have to unplug it for about a minute. Then I plug it back in and it goes back to normal. Everything is still great quality. For picture quality and performance I still stand behind my 5 star rating. But because of needing a type of reset I would bring it down to 4 1/2 stars. This could just be my projector. I will update again. If you have questions, be sure to ask. It is amazing as I am writing this review on my 100" screen, sitting comfortably on my couch. :)Update: May 6, 2012 Everything is still great. I have over 1200 hours now. Still shuts off every 120 hours (approximate). Quality is still great. Crisp picture from corner to corner. I have noticed that with Blu-ray the image is the best this projector will put out. So, if you have a Blu-ray setup, your movie nights will be outstanding with this projector. HDMI is the best input to use, VGA is very good as well. You will notice with the RCA video cable that the image looks very much like standard definition (which it is). But it still looks great. Let me know if you have questions or would like to see a certain video.Update: November 17, 2012 I am at around 3000 hours now. I am still very happy with this projector. I can confirm, without a doubt, that the focus issue is related to the environmental temperature. Now that its winter again, if I don't keep the room temp up, there is a warm up, focusing period. The projector still requires a restart about every 120 hours. Very odd, but it works. Playing Black Ops is just amazing, movies are crazy good, and regular tv viewing is extremely inviting. I have had a couple of my family and friends buy a similar setup to mine cuz they are as impressedd as I am. It is very cheap when you compare to other projectors with the same specs. I now have about 9 videos on YouTube in response to requests. So, if you have a question or something you want to see, just let me know. --------------------------------------------------I can't say enough about this projector. The picture quality is awesome! The colors are outstanding, the clarity is stunning and it is very bright. Whoever is saying it isn't bright enough during the day is either watching it outside in direct sunlight, or with no roof on their house. I keep mine on eco mode because this projector is bright enough to do it. We watch at all hours of the day, keep our two windows open AND have lights on and can still see the picture very clearly. One downfall of having more light in the room is the black levels are sacrificed. If you can't watch a tv with bad black levels during lighted conditions then this should only be for your theater room. But this is more than adequate at allowing you to watch tv in the daytime. You'll be able to read everything on the screen and see all the detail.I've seen some complaints about fan noise, and this is NOT a problem. Who watches tv with the volume all the way down anyway. Even with the projector volume on low I can't tell its running.I spent way too many hours researching this. But I am not one to waste my money so I wanted to make sure I would be pleased. And I couldn't be happier. If you are close to deciding on this, just do it. You will be impressed. The speaker does a good job, the fan noise is not an issue, the picture quality is amazing, it is very portable (although i'll probably leave mine mounted), and the rated hours of the led's are impressive.For the money, this is the best projector you will buy. I am coming from a 57" sony HD tv and I won't ever get another tv after this purchase. I will however buy a 1080p LED projector when it gets into my price range.Let me sum it up for you; PS3 games are out of this world, movies are like being at a theater, surfing the internet is crazy awesome on a 100" screen.Pros: -picture quality -good speaker -very nice at 100" -very bright -awesome colors -fan noise is not an issue -way too many positives to mentionCons: -there is an initial focusing period of about 5 to 10 minutes, not so bad you can't watch tv. Not bad at all. But if you want to surf the net, you'll want to wait for it to completely focus first. This isn't an issue for me because I have mine on most of the time. Who flips the tv on 30 seconds before they want to watch the most important thing they will ever see? AND you'll still be able to see it AND read it.I have posted four youtube videos and will post more if you have a question or want to see something. Just ask!You won't be disappointed!

We've had ours for 19 months now. It was so much fun, not perfect, but we worked around the limitations like no audio output. I think the upgrades have that now. Last weekend it went dim. I mean really dim, almost can't see it in a dark room dim. Now this is a LED projector!!! I researched exhaustively before making my selection. LED projectors are supposed to give 20,000 hours of bright light minimum. And there's no way to replace the bulbs because of this. I figure we have no more than 1600 hours on this thing (being generous here). So I called Optoma. They told me that because we use it almost everyday, that this is not "casual use." They claim that somewhere in the warranty it states that this projector is only for "casual use." "The electronics are too delicate" they said, "to even be turned on for 10 minutes everyday. It just wasn't meant to be used like that." WOW! Can you believe this!!??!! Neither can I. Furthermore, I was told that it would cost $85 if I send it to them for them to diagnose it. which would be waived if I do the repair and that's not too bad. But was also told "it would probably be cheaper to just buy another one." I feel like I got ripped off. And I feel like they misrepresented their product. You don't shout from the rooftops that it lasts for 20-30,000 hours and then somewhere in the teeny tiny print say that you can only use it occasionally or "casually." I mean for crying out loud, it comes with a carrying case because it is built to travel on a regular basis for business presentations. So the baggage handlers at the airport can toss it around inside your suitcase. But heaven forbid that you turn it on everyday; that's just too much!!

I've wanted a projector for a while and finally decided to splurge on one. After finally narrowing it down to either the Epson EX 5210, Viewsonic PJD 5133, and this I decided to go with the ML500. Here's whyLamp life:The epson and viewsonic were rated 4000 - 6000 hours with each replacement bulb running approx $200(USD). If you were to use it for 7hrs per day everyday the lamps would need to be replaced every two years. While 7 hours a day everyday sounds like a lot, I plan on using my projector as my main source for video and gaming.What I liked about the ML500 is that it uses LED's which a) require less power to turn on and b) last alot longer. These lamps are rated for 20,000 hours, which given the previous formula I should get about 5 years out of a single bulb that costs $200. So I went from having to spend $100 a year to about $40.Picture quality:I'm not a videophile by any stretch of the imagination so I'm sure that there are finer points that I'm missing but from the picture quality I'm looking at right now I'd give it a 10. I grew up on CRT tv's so this is a huge leap forward to me. The screen right now is about 70 - 80 inches with an aspect ratio of 16:10. I have my xbox hooked up via hdmi and run my games and movies through that. I love it. The colors are really good and crisp. I should mention I don't have a projection screen I'm just projecting the video on my peach colored living room wall. It works well but I feel I should make note.With a native resolution of 1280x800 it can handle 720p no problem. Like I said above the picture quality is really well. I have the projector set up about 8 or 9 feet from the screen. Make sure to check how far away from the wall this projector will be. According to the distance calculator on Optoma's website, after about 10 feet the image quality suffers a bit.Brightness:500 lumens doesn't sound like a lot especially against the epson and viewsonic models I mentioned earlier. I've heard multiple reviewers both here and around the web saying that lumen count shouldn't really be taken at face value. I'd take that advice, for "only" 500 lumens this thing is pretty bright. I can have the lights on in the other rooms spill into the living room and not have the image washed out. That being said these projectors were made for dark environments so the image will look a lot better with less light.Currently I have the projector set to ECO mode which dims the lamp and extends the life the LEDs. Still pretty well lit.UI:Super simple to navigate. I didn't read the user manual and was able to figure out how to tweak the settings without much problem.So why not 5 stars?Well one thing that irked me was the focus dial. It's flush with the system to the point it where someone wouldn't even know it was there. Getting it to focus can be a little jarring. The epson and viewsonic have a much better and easier to use one. Hell, the ML300 has a better one, and the 500 is suppose to be a step up!The audio only comes out of a single 2watt speaker on the side. I know this is primarily a business device meant for small office meetings, and I'm not saying its terrible, its just ok. I do plan on getting a set of speakers and running them through my xbox. I currently have the volume anywhere from 9 to 12 which works great. Any higher and I risk running into that crackle sound when things get loud. The speaker just wasn't meant for watching action moviesNo cover for the lens. I mean come on, for the price you could at least throw in a round plastic cover.So yeah, if your looking for a really well done entry level projector I would highly recommend you consider this. Price is on the higher end of the scale but, as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. Its portable, comes with its own case, produces a very good high quality image.Its not without its short comings but overall I think its well worth the price. Just go on youtube and check out the video reviews of it in action, thankfully there are plenty to be found.**Update**I've had this unit for a few weeks now and just wanted to give another few points. I received the speakers I ordered and run the audio out through my xbox. Highly suggest if you can to get external speakers and running it through the source. I bought my speakers for about $40 and love it, the quality is well worth the extra $.Angling is very important. I have the projector about six inches away from the center. Mostly this gets the job done but if you can notice the left top edge is a bit out of focus, if I try to manually focus it then the bottom right edge becomes out of focus.DO NOT HOOK UP A HARD DRIVE TO THIS UNIT! That may have been a little too much let me explain. I really wanted to be able to hook up an external hard drive loaded with all my movies and shows so I didn't have to connect it to my laptop. I tried to connect my 1TB drive and it wasn't recognized. After searching the internet I learned that a lot of tv's and projectors don't recognize the format that the external hdd are under. After a bit of trial and error I was able to format the drive correctly. I loaded up all my movies and tv shows ( well most, for whatever reason mkv files aren't recognized now). Well I forgot one small thing. The audio still runs through the projector. I feel like a total idiot for overlooking this. So I now have to connect my hdd to the laptop which is connected to the projector and connect the speakers to the laptop to watch my movies. Slight pain but worth it for the surround sound.I will still keep the rating the same because I still enjoy the unit and its ability, just wanted all to get a well rounded idea.

Most amazing buy I've made in the last 5 years.Its super bright even when its not 100% black in the room, its crystal clear can read font in the corners even (little bit blured out as it goes as its always going to do that with any projector) I have it going as big as it can get at around 140" which is just amazing. Could probably be a bit more clear if kept around the 100" area but im very happy with the way it is.

Just order the Optoma ML500 and it showed up at my door less then 24 hours later. Wasn't expecting too much as this is the first projector I have purchased but to my surprise, this little machine was incredible. I was very impressed. Strong colours, sharp details, great blacks and whites. Picture is perfect. I have tested dvds, blu rays, video games, tv and my computer and was blown away with the quality. Fan is quite, unit is small and the only downside to this product that I can see is the speakers are weak and there is no audio out feature which isn't a big deal as i have my xbox, computer, dvd player and blu ray all running to a sound system so I have no need for the small 2 watt speakers. Overall, a 5 out of 5 from me and a 5 out of 5 to the shipper of the product. Estimated time of delivery was 2-4 business days and i got it 18 hours after purchase. Great work Amazon.ca.

I purchased this projector over others after much research and back and forth. I have had a couple of other projectors both lcd, and dlp, and hated the cost of replacing bulbs. Doesn't make much sense to spend as much money on a bulb as almost what the projector cost. That is why I decided to go with this led model as it last 20 000 hrs. It is great as I use it in a basement room in almost total darkness. The 500 lumens is plenty bright in this setting and I actually watch it on the cinema setting which is a little less bright and the fan runs quieter. Picture quality is quite good and you can get a very large screen at not to great a distance. The only negative that I have is that it seems to lose focus every time you use it. However I am watching many differen't video formats of differen't qualities which may be the reason. All in all I think this is a great machine for someone that wants to watch movies and play games and is able to have a fairly dark room.

It's a small and usefull projector. I recommand it also because of LED tech. that allows us to be durable.

This is a great portable projector with a clear, bright image. I use a Mac and found that now being able to connect through a USB cable took me a while to figure out. I still need to carry around the adaptor and use the video cable, which I was hoping to avoid.