Optoma True UHD35 Review

This projector weighs over 10 pounds, and the body is 12.4 by 10.63 by 4.65 inches making it slightly less portable but more powerful. With a maximum resolution of 3840 x 2160 and an insane contrast ratio of 1000000:1, the image quality is stellar. While this projector is best used as a home theatre, the measured 2306 Lumens offers decent brightness, even in ambient light — making it great for most settings. Read on to see how the Optoma UHD35 does throughout our hands-on testing.

Performance Comparison

Contrast Ratio

With a contrast ratio of 1000000:1, the UHD35 provides a wide range, ensuring a very pleasurable viewing experience.

Our black and white test slides reveal amazing contrast on the black scale and just okay contrast through the whites. The dynamic contrast, calculated by viewing the darkest darks and brightest whites, is wonderful. The black scale slide shoes clean and distinct transition from the lightest black to the darkest. The UHD35 loses some steam on the white scale slide. While it does not perform badly, there is room for improvement as there are several white color blocks that cannot be distinguished from one another.

The slight lack of contrast in the white scale does not affect the general viewing experience. The high black contrast makes shadows more discernable. Our Costa Rica video makes this very clear. Darker tones between each bump on the tropical frogs and rocks in the shadows of trees are easy to see. Overall, the UHD35 offers an excellent contrast ratio, ensuring that no detail is lost, even in videos with largely shadowed areas.

Color Accuracy

Color accuracy can heavily change the viewing experience. Altered skin tones and bright green oceans can be very distracting. The UHD35 offers some of the most accurate skin tone depictions. Our color wheel and slide tests also reveal very accurate colors across the board, with the exception of bright yellows.

Most projectors we have tested lean to the warmer side, and the UHD35 is no exception. Although the warmth is minimal and most colors remain true, this projector is significantly better than most of its competitors. Skin tone is nearly perfect. It does not turn darker tones red the way most projectors do, and lighter skin tones are not overly rosy.

Not only does the UHD35 offer extremely accurate skin tone, but it also provides some of the most accurate purples. Most of the projectors we test lean more toward magenta, but the UHD35 shows a true, rich purple. Reds are slightly darker and a little washed out but mostly accurate, and oranges are slightly redder. These inaccuracies are almost unnoticeable but worth mentioning. Blues and greens are pretty accurate as well. Our ocean slide shows vaguely turquoise water, perfect sky blue, and fluffy white clouds.

For some reason, the high-end projectors we have tested seem to struggle with yellow. The UHD35 portrays bright yellows with a bit of a green hue. Aside from that, the UHD35 projects colors very accurately.

Resolution

The three main components contributing to image quality are contrast ratio, color accuracy, and resolution. The UHD35 offers a maximum resolution of 3840 x 2160, which is stunning and passes all three of our resolution tests.

High Definition images are crisp. Even when zoomed in at 400%, eyelashes are crystal clear. However, there is a somewhat prominent dark purple outline of the outermost pixels, which becomes obvious when you zoom in.

Many lower-quality projectors reveal some cross-hatching or distinct steps in the Siemens Star test. We zoom into the middle of the star to reveal just how well the resolution performs, and UHD35 knocks this one out of the park. There are no steps, cross-hatching, or blurring towards the center.

Ease of Use

The UHD35 is very easy to use from the remote to the interface. The only place it falls short in this metric is portability, but this projector is best used in an at-home theatre, so portability should not be the main priority.

The backlit buttons on the remote make it easy to use in the dark, and the multi-user buttons allow you to customize your favorite settings. The UHD35 Verticle Keystoning is as easy as pressing a button. It also offers a wide range of specialized buttons: color mode, brightness, contrast, aspect ratio, 3D, DB, sleep timer, mute, menu, and input selection. The menu button is oddly small, considering how often you need to use it, but once you know where it is, this is a nonissue.

Image adjustments are also easy. You can change the focus by twisting the cylindrical head of the lens, which is more user-friendly than the standard shifting lever. The twisting motion allows for fine-tuning, while the lever is hard to back and forth, making things a little less customizable. There are also image adjustments that allow you to shift the entire image horizontally and vertically; however, it cuts off part of the image, making this feature a little obsolete.

The UHD35 is 12.4 by 10.63 by 4.65 inches and weighs 10.3 pounds. This is a bit on the heavier side, although some projectors weigh as much as 30 pounds, so in the grander scheme, it's not too big. Unfortunately, it does not come with a carry bag or a lens cover, so it's not particularly portable.

Brightness

For a projector that's geared more toward a home theatre set-up, the Optoma UHD35 is surprisingly bright.

The Optoma UHD35 claims a brightness of 3600 Lumens. Our testing reports a brightness of 2306 Lumens. While this is roughly 36% less than the advertised brightness, the UHD35 still outperforms many of its competitors. This level of brightness works decently in ambient light, making it a little more versatile.

Fan Noise

Generally speaking, a quiet fan is a better fan. However, there are other factors to consider, like the pitch of the sound the fan emits.

In this case, the lower the pitch, the better, as it's much less intrusive. Not only does the UHD35 an unintrusive sounding fan at a very low hum, but it's also very quiet. We measured the fan to emit a sound at 59 dBa, which is among the lowest of the bunch.

Should You Buy the Optoma UHD35?

Due to the sheer quality of the image, the Optoma UHD35 is a terrific value; that being said, it is not cheap. This is the kind of device you want to think long and hard about before you buy. If you are looking for stellar resolution, color accuracy, and contrast ratio, chances are you are going to be shoveling out a good amount of cash. If you don't care much about the image quality, or you're looking for a smaller projector, there are way less expensive options.

What Other Projectors Should You Consider?

If you are in the market for something for the office, the Epson Pro EX9240 has amazing brightness, meaning it performs well in high ambient light. The color accuracy, resolution, and contrast ratio are all a little low, so it's best used in a professional or educational setting for graphs and tables rather than in an entertainment setting. If you are looking for an office projector on a major budget, the ViewSonic PA503W is your best bet.