Best Optoma HD39 Darbee Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals & Sales 2020

The Optoma HD39 Darbee video projector stands out from the competition by its Darbee processor which provides excellent image processing and a long focal lens allowing placement far from the projection wall. Is that enough to make it a good projector?

Presentation

Like many home cinema video projectors on the market, the Optoma HD39 Darbee has a DLP Dark Chip 3 chip that allows it to display a Full HD image (1,920 x 1,080 px). The manufacturer announces a high brightness of 3,500 lumens, a native contrast of 32,000: 1, an operating noise of 29 dB (A) and support for 3D DLP Link and 3D RF. The manufacturer promises that the lamp can work for 4,000 hours in standard mode and 10,000 hours in economic mode. It stands out from the competition by its rather long optics which allows to project an image with a recoil from 1.3 to 9.4 meters and to its Darbee Visual Presence video processing processor, a real reference in the field.

The Optoma HD39 Darbee retails for around € 1,000, making it a fairly expensive projector. It competes with the excellent BenQ W1090 , whose image is flawless, but which lacks a video processor, and the very good Vivitek HD1188HD , which also has a fairly long focal length.

Best Optoma HD39 Darbee Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals & Sales 2020

1. Optoma HD39DARBEE 1080p High Performance Home Theater Projector. Darbee Image Processor for Super Sharp Movies and Games. Bright 3500 Lumens | Large 1.6 Zoom and Vertical Keystone

2. Optoma HD27HDR 1080p 4K HDR Ready Home Theater Projector for Gaming and Movies, 120Hz Support and HDMI 2.0, White

3. Optoma GT1080Darbee Short Throw Projector for Gaming, Movies and Sports. 3000 Lumens, Low Input Lag of 16ms, 3D, Darbee Technology for Sharper Image

4. Optoma EH416 1080p Full HD 3D DLP Business Projector

5. Optoma EH200ST Full 3D 1080p 3000 Lumen DLP Short Throw Projector with 20,000:1 Contrast Ratio and MHL Enabled HDMI Port

2D image quality

This Optoma HD39 Darbee projector is equipped with a 1.6x optical zoom which allows you to project an image between 1.35 and 2.14 meters basic with a distance of 3 meters. Our measurements are taken at 3 meters in order to obtain an image of 2 meters base. This video projector has a vertical lens-shift which allows the image to be moved 17% higher without distortion.

After a few manual adjustments, the colors can almost be considered as faithful. For this, we chose the Reference mode and then adjusted the temperature to Hot. The average Delta E (difference between the expected colors and the displayed colors) is then measured at 3. Recall that the human eye perceives no difference below 3. The color drift is therefore practically invisible, except at the level of red , cyan and green, but overall the rendering is satisfactory.

Set to 2.2 by default, the gamma is almost perfect. The mean is ideal (2.2) and the curve is sufficiently stable over the entire spectrum. There is just a slight drop in very dark gray, but without consequence on the final result.

The temperature is simply perfect. The curve is stable over the entire spectrum with an average of 6,580 K practically equivalent to the reference value (6,500 K).

The contrast is good enough for a DLP model. The brightness is measured at 153 cd / m² in standard mode and drops to 55 cd / m² in Eco mode. The contrast is thus established around 960: 1 with a test pattern containing 1% white and drops to 318: 1 with a test pattern containing 35% white. 

3D image quality

The Texas Instruments Dark Chip 3 chip allows the Optoma HD39 Darbee to be compatible with the DLP-Link 144 Hz. Synchronization is done optically by inserting red flashes into the film, invisible to the viewer. This projector is also compatible with the 3D RF Optoma ZF2300 kit. Synchronization is no longer done by inserting red flashes, but via a radio signal. The overall rendering is still as good and the brightness is slightly better. Thanks to the very rapid oscillation of micro-mirrors (144 times per second),  crosstalk (doubling of images) is generally absent. In addition, the depth effect is very well restored, but the gushing is a little less present. The 3D experience is a real success.

Functions and ergonomics

This projector measures 31.4 x 22.4 x 11.4 cm and weighs 2.81 kg. These are fairly compact dimensions for a home cinema model , similar to those of a BenQ W1090. The white plastic is of good quality and remains very sober. Around the optics, the ring allows the focusing while we find the infrared receiver right next to it.

On the top, we find the zoom setting (1.6x) near the optics, the vertical lens-shift setting (+ 17%) and the focus. At the rear, the buttons allow you to access the various settings, correct the keystone, change the source and, of course, turn on the projector. Note that there is a second infrared receiver on the top. The remote control responds very well.

Once is not custom, the connector is on the left side. It offers two HDMI inputs, including an MHL compatible, a USB 1 A port, a connector for the 3D RF kit, an audio output and a 12 V output (to manage a motorized screen, for example). The HD39 Darbee also has a 10 W speaker offering a rather mediocre sound that cannot replace a pair of speakers or a good home cinema kit .

The Optoma HD39 Darbee is supplied with a complete remote control which gives direct access to almost all functions: adjustment of brightness, contrast, mode, ratio, keystone, lamp power, volume and even from different sources directly. The interface is classic, but sometimes lacks clarity in the settings. You often have to look in a submenu to find the desired function. Finally, this remote control is backlit; a real plus for home cinema use .

Consumption and noise level

The Optoma HD39 Darbee consumes 280 W in normal mode; it’s a little more than the BenQ W1090 (256 W), but less than the Vivitek HD1188HD (313 W). In Eco mode, consumption drops to 200 W. The difference is minimal compared to the W1090 (203 W), but it is even less than the Vivitek with its 250 W in Eco mode. In terms of noise, this Optoma is discreet in Eco mode (36.8 dB (A)). But a little less in light mode (40.5 dB (A)). This model is quieter than the BenQ W1090 and VIvitek HD1188HD.

CONCLUSION

The Optoma HD39 Darbee is a very good projector. The Darbee video processor does wonders and truly bridges the weaknesses of optics. The latter offers a long focal length which allows the projector to be placed far enough from the wall. If it can not dethrone the BenQ W1090 – the real benchmark for DLP video projectors – the Optoma HD39 Darbee offers an interesting alternative

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