Vivitek created a high definition projector that supports 1080p resolution at a price of less than USD1000, using DLP Technology from Texas Instruments.

Design
The projector is a portable DLP projector with 1.2:1 zoom lens with fixed throw angles. It has a white chassis and the control panel is on the top. The projector has a native 1080p resolution support with a contrast ratio of 4,000:1. It has a brightness of 1800 ANSI lumens.

While this projector is not as light as LG’s slim projector weighing only 1.8lbs, the Vivitek H1080FD is not bulky either. It weighs only 7.8lbs, and is 10” x 13.2” x 4”. There is a variety of connections, including two HDMI ports, one Composite Video, one S-Video, one Component Video, RS-232c and a 12V trigger. The projector has a built-in 5W mono speaker.

Purchase comes with an AC power cord, a component cable, a remote control, batteries for the remote, lens cap, a user’s manual on CD and a warranty card for its 1 year limited warranty and 90-day lamp warranty.

Setting up the Vivitek H1080FD
This portable projector can be placed on a table top, or ceiling mounted for both front or rear projection. The projector has a 1.2:1 zoom lens and a fixed throw angle. This means that there can be some flexibility in the placement. However, the throw angle needs careful calibration. There is a fixed offset of 15 percent, which means that a 100” diagonal image will appear almost eight inches above the centerline of the lens. The ideal positioning is either to mount it on the ceiling above the audience, or on a low table between the seats.

There is a limitation to the adjustments. There is no vertical or horizontal optical image shifting. As a result, users need to rely on the projector’s built-in digital keystone adjustment facilities to get the sides straight. There is a risk of damaging the picture with this.

The menu is, surprisingly, well presented. There is a respectable number of features to help with the calibration. However, the menu is rather annoying in the sense that it is opaque, and occupies most of the screen. the menu does not minimize when making adjustments, and this is not a friendly option when users are calibrating. Each time adjustments are made, the user has to close the menu to observe the changes, and open the menu again for further adjustments. There is no way to minimize the menu to a common one-line format that most projectors have.

There is a certain glitch to the use of the remote control. Although the keys are nicely laid out, there is a strong, bright blue backlight that makes it difficult to read the labels once illuminated. The backlight does not stay illuminated while user is pressing the buttons. It turns itself on again when user releases the buttons, and this cause some slowed response if user wants to click again.

Feature
The Vivitek H1080FD has a native 1080p support with resolution of 1920 x 1080. It is bright with 1800 ANSI lumens, and an impressive 5000:1 contrast ratio. The projector employs DLP ® DarkChip2 and BrilliantColor technologies from Texas Instruments. There is also a built in 5W mono speaker. The projector boasts 3000 hours of lamp life and a very quiet projector that emits only 26dB sound.

Performance
The Vivitek H1080FD is a very bright projector with good colors, but lacks a very dark black effect with the absence of a dynamic iris. It is a bit noisier compared to an LCD projector supporting 1080p, but this is nothing to complain about for the price that it asks for.

While it may not be the best 1080p home theater projector, it is one of the most complete projector for business use. One interesting feature is a 12 volt screen trigger, which allows an automatic trigger for motorized screen to roll down when the projector is powered up.

The Movie mode may be the most reliable playback mode, with good colors and strong blacks for movies. Also, it is able to take advantage of HD quality movies with strong details and sharp precision. The projector does well for Blu-ray movies as well.

The one big complain about Vivitek H1080FD is the DLP’s rainbow effects. This is a common problem with single-chip DLP systems, as the color wheel may create stripes of red, green and blue flitting momentarily when user’s vision sweeps across the screen. This problem is prominent enough to be seen without the need to move the eyes, and especially visible during camera pans on bright areas.

Skin tones are good, though as the color is quite natural although there may be some slight, almost paleness to faces because of there may be lesser red. Overall it is quite impressive.

Pros and Cons
The Movie Mode probably saves this projector from a lot of bad reviews as the mode gives good blacks and shadow details with vivid colors to support the sharp images of full HD pictures. Although it supports anamorphic lens, this is probably not the best projector there is to go anamorphic. Skin tones are quite natural, and the projector is probably the brightest low cost projector in the market today.

Some users may like the illumination on the remote control, while others may resent it especially if the remote control is used in a dark room as users can expect to see some “stars” residue to the eyes because of the bright, blue lights.

Conclusion
The Vivitek H1080FD is not ideal for movies but it is great for presentations and office use, never mind if it is a full HD projector that is supposed to appeal for home theater setups. However, the 5W mono speakers is commendable, giving enough sound to accompany the pictures without the need to intentionally get a separate audio system.