A few weeks ago we looked at an intriguing new concept from projector manufacturer Optoma aimed at the gaming community. The GameTime GT-3000 bundle consists of a DLP projector, a separate colour-matched 2.1 speaker system and a specially designed carrying case to carry it all around – all for the incredible price of £349.
While the GT-3000 was reasonably ok, it ultimately failed to win TrustedReviews’ hearts due to the lack of HD support. While the Nintendo Wii might be ok for Christmas parties, we spend most of our gaming time in the HD company of a PS3 or Xbox 360. Sorry Wii fans, but that’s just the way it is!
We therefore receive the bigger brother of the GT-3000, the GT-7000, with significantly more excitement. Because despite being just £150 more than the GT-3000, the GT-7000 introduces native HD Ready resolution and HDMI input to the party, making it far more likely to ignite our gaming appetite.
In fact, its much-improved HD credentials aren’t the only improvement the GT-7000 brings. It also claims a contrast ratio of 4,000:1 – twice that of the GT-3000, which raises real hopes that the GT-7000 will be able to handle the GT-3000’s somewhat disappointing black levels.
My hopes that this will be the case grow with the discovery that the GT-7000’s brightness is rated at 1600 lumens versus the GT-3000’s 2300 lumens. In my experience, while manufacturers’ stated specs can never be fully trusted, the GT-7000’s contrast-boosting contrast/brightness balance is far more likely to produce truly likable results than the GT-3000’s brightness bias.
In my eyes, the GT-7000 also surpasses its cheaper brother aesthetically. It’s basically the same remarkably small, slightly matter-of-fact shape as the GT-3000, but it has a piano black finish that’s much classier and easier to keep clean than the GT-3000’s ‘ice white’.
The GT-7000’s speakers are, as far as we can tell, identical to the GT-3000’s, apart from being black rather than white. They are quite attractively designed and look like a classic iPod speaker accessory. And their design is pretty clever too, thanks to the way they’re ‘flat-packed’ for transport but feature a fold-down subwoofer that allows the stereo speakers to stand upright when placed on a table.
As we’ve already noted, the GT-7000’s connections include an HDMI input. But gamers might also appreciate a component video connection and a D-SUB PC input. There’s also an S-Video connection and, surprisingly, even a 12V trigger output that could be used to automatically turn on a motorized screen. We’ve seen that many projectors costing thousands of pounds don’t offer these handy little jacks, so kudos to Optoma for being so thoughtful.
As you’d expect from a device that’s designed more as a “casual device” for casual users, setting up the GT-7000 is a breeze. Simple zoom and focus rings sort out image size and sharpness, while there are menu options to shift the image sideways or vertically a respectable distance, and vertical keystone correction to straighten the edges of the image when you’re sitting the projector above or below center of the screen.
However, if you want to dig deeper into your setup, you can. Other options in the menus include Overscan adjustment, EdgeMask adjustment, a range of themed image presets, various degamma settings (which are really worth experimenting with), and even the ability to adjust red, green, and blue gain and bias of the image to optimize elements.
Remarkably for such a cheap projector, the GT-7000 features Texas Instruments’ BrilliantColor and Tru-Vivid processing systems, which make colors appear more intense.
To be honest, the first thing I did when I actually tested the GT-7000 was reduce BrilliantColor to its level two or three (out of 10). Because if you leave it higher, images tend to look distractingly grainy and “forced”. Also, I personally wouldn’t recommend using the TruVivid setting at all, as while it can improve the vibrancy of objects with lots of colors, it can make skin tones look distinctly odd. Not for the first time, I feel that features like TruVivid and BrilliantColor should be left to true high-end projectors that are better equipped to get the most out of them.
Another provocative setting is the gamma preset control. Because messing around with it can have a huge impact on the overall flavor of the final image, and as such it’s a feature that you should revisit regularly depending on whether you’re watching a movie or TV show, or of course playing a game.
Indeed, provided you take these fairly basic precautions, the GT-7000 can produce some amazingly good images for such an insanely cheap projector.
The black levels in particular are a revelation, making Dead Space’s endlessly dark corners eerily black and believable on Xbox 360, and helping to create a good sense of scale. In other words, the GT-7000’s black levels give a sense of ‘being there’, much more successfully than any other under £800 projector I’ve seen – including the GT-3000. This is clearly an extremely important strength for a projector that focuses on gamers.
I was also pleased with the sharpness of the GT-7000’s images. Extremely textured graphics like those of Gears of War 2 look truly HD, with decent sharpness, solid detail, and less evidence of scaling “softness” than we found on the non-HD-capable GT-3000. The additional resolution of the GT-7000 also helps produce color blends more subtly, reducing the streaking effect experienced by the GT-3000.
While not as bright on paper as the GT-3000, to me the GT-7000’s images are actually far more dynamic thanks to the vastly improved black level response. So much so that the GT-7000 proves crucially the perfect projector for Blu-ray movies and games, making the GameTime name actually feel unnecessarily restrictive.
Still more good news is that the GT-7000’s colors look both more richly saturated and much more naturally toned than those of the GT-3000. I have to be realistic and say that we’re clearly not talking about color nuance or accuracy to compete with a regular or high-end projector. But the tones are generally good enough to convince rather than distract, and in fact it’s that respectable color palette along with the really, really decent black level response that ultimately makes the GT-7000 so much better than any other projector we can think of can the same money.
As is always the case with a budget DLP projector, the GT-7000 suffers from the technology’s rainbow effect, where red, green and blue stripes dart around in your peripheral field of vision or appear over very bright picture elements. This can be a little annoying during gameplay, which tends to use higher contrast images than your average movie or TV show. But actually the problem is much less apparent than with the GT-3000 or indeed many of the more expensive DLP projectors we can think of. In addition, the GT-7000 also manages impressively those dual DLP problems of dot creep in dark areas and hissing noise over moving skin tones.
I wasn’t as concerned with the GT-7000’s standard definition performance as I expected, either. Sure, the lack of really high-quality video processing circuitry means standard-definition pictures look pretty soft, and there’s little if any effort to reduce the MPEG blocking noise found in many digital broadcasts. But actually the slightly soft flavor of the GT-7000’s standard Def picture seems to reduce grain and mosquito noise, and provided you adjust the video and gamma presets to suit the type of source you’re watching, there’s less of a problem, too through dodgy hues than I would have expected from such a dirt cheap projector.
One concern I have, however, is that the GT-7000’s surprisingly high output seems to almost push the physical limits of the projector body. In other words, although its cooling fans seem to be working extremely hard judging by the occasionally annoying amount of noise they emit, the GT-7000 projector runs very hot. While this can be handy for keeping the house warm if you run out of heating oil over the New Year, it’s a bit of a concern when it comes to the projector’s longevity. That said, the GT-7000 comes with Optoma’s five-year color guarantee, so maybe I’m worrying too much.
As for the sound produced by the GT-7000’s included speakers, I’m afraid the situation is just as uninspiring as it was with the GT-3000. Because while the small speakers can get louder than you’d expect at first glance, and can handle relatively undemanding audio like Viva Pinata 2’s “cute” soundtrack, they tend to fall apart with the explosive theatrics of something like Gears of War 2 The midrange distorts and even disappears under duress, all too often taking the vocals with it.
“‘Verdict”‘
Although the GT-7000’s audio system is a disappointment, the projector more than makes up for it by producing amazingly good images for such an amazingly affordable device. In fact, it’s good enough to perform believably on both HD movies and games, giving it an all-round appeal that makes the £480 asking price look so cheap it’s almost obscene. But in a nice way.
points in detail
value 10
functions 7
picture quality 7
design 7