Optoma UHD35 Gaming Projector Review- Special Features

Optoma UHD35 Cinema Gaming Projector Review – Special Features: 240Hz/4.2 ms Input Lag, 8 Segment Color Wheel, HDR 10 & HLG, Auto 3D Display with ISF Calibration Setting, DLP BrilliantColor^TM Technology, Dynamic Black Technology, 4K Ultra Detail, Display mode for Gaming, Wall Color Setting, Lens.

The Optoma UHD35 is listed as featuring a 240Hz refresh rate when its Enhanced Gaming mode is activated. This is an amazing performance specification, but there are some caveats.

Nothing has really changed in the couple of months since my UHD50X review. There are no gaming consoles that support 240Hz. The PS5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, and PS5 next-generation consoles, graphical powerhouses that they are, (especially compared to previous generation consoles) will have to drop the resolution to 1080P to even realize 120Hz game performance. These consoles will have to adopt dynamic resolutions, so the display can refresh the screen in sync with every frame.

The ability to game at 240hz is currently limited to gaming on a PC and then only at 1080P resolution. Even with these current limitations, each increase in refresh rate is generally followed by a reduction of input lag. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Optoma claims 16.7ms at 4K 60Hz, 18.9ms at 1080p 120Hz, and 4.2ms at 1080p 240Hz. As with previous models, the 1080p limitation at 120Hz and 240Hz is a limitation of current gaming consoles, as well as a limitation of the software, but there’s always the possibility of addressing these gaming systems’ limitations through future updates. The main reason for the 1080p limitation is the HDMI 2.0 specification. Even with a computer powerful enough to run a game at full 4K resolution and a high refresh rate, the projector would still be limited. Sadly, the HDMI ports on the Optoma UHD35 are still limited to HDMI 2.0 and 1.4, so realistically, high-resolution, high-refresh gaming is never going to be possible on this projector.

The Optoma UHD35 incorporates an RGBWRGBW 8 segment Color Wheel designed to achieve a more vivid color performance with 3,600 high Lumens of brightness. According to Optoma, their specialized color calibration and adjusting technologies allow the UHD35 to reproduce the HDTV Rec. 709 standards, so the UHD35 should provide accurate colors.

The Optoma UHD35 supports HDR10 (High Dynamic Range) and HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma). When an HDR/HLG signal is imported, the projector automatically switches to HDR/HLG display mode. Optoma’s HDR color mapping and tone mapping technologies enable HDR/HLG movies or games to be presented with optimized performance with accurate color and dynamic contrast. HDR is a standard designed to display a higher dynamic range in video signals, allowing the image to be shown with more brightness and color without losing any details. Optoma UHD35 allows users to adjust the dynamic range according to the video content or environment. HLG is an HDR system that was specifically developed for television by the BBC and Japanese broadcaster, NHK. Online video streaming platforms such as YouTube, Freeview Play, or DIRECTV all support HLG formats as well. You can enjoy TV programs like World Cup games or Blue Planet at home with stunning HDR effects.

HDR is where I see an improvement in this Optoma. In my previous UHD50X review, I didn’t see much difference with HDR on or off, but that’s not the case with the UHD35. Like the out-of-the-box color modes, I suspect what I’m seeing here is the work of the software team. Whatever the reason, the projector displays HDR content with a visible difference to SDR. A pleasant surprise.

Optoma provides a 3D Display mode to resolve the issues related to variations in the brightness of 3D images due to overlapping signals and the use of specialized lenses. When a 3D signal is received, the system directly switches to 3D mode to elevate image brightness and contrast.

The built-in ISF Display mode allows a professional calibrator to save your calibrated day, night, and 3D mode settings for the ideal viewing experience. Optoma’s color management system (CMS) displays colors that best match your viewing environment. This unique feature provides you with the flexibility to fine-tune the color settings for optimal precision.

BrilliantColor technology utilizes an advanced image processing algorithm enabling the usage of more colors on the color wheel than the standard Red, Green, Blue, and White segments found on many DLP projectors. This Optoma technology enables the projector to produce higher brightness levels by boosting mid-tone colors, resulting in vibrant, accurate colors projected on the screen. DLP BrilliantColor technology for UHP lamps can achieve up to a 50% improvement in brightness over traditional three-color, color wheel designs, allowing the projector to produce over one billion colors.

Dynamic Black can accurately control light bulb output power and automatically adjust it, based on different image brightness. There’s no need to use an aperture ring to adjust for dark scenes. With the Auto Gain function, details are more pronounced and an increase in the projector’s contrast ratio of nearly three times is achieved. This means that images appear true to life, with a dramatic increase in contrast. The Optoma UHD35 Dynamic Black technology is one of the key reasons that Optoma claims this projector can display 1,000,000:1 contrast. The Dynamic Black mode makes darker video content present with more depth. If you’re going to watch any serious movie or television content, I recommend you turn on this mode. When Dynamic Black is engaged, there’s a noticeable increase in the UHD35 fan noise, especially when the video transitions between whites and blacks. I found this increase to be unpleasant. Typically, you would set the projector to ECO mode to mitigate the noise, but you can’t engage ECO mode when Dynamic Black is turned on.

At the heart of the Optoma UHD35 is a Texas Instruments high-performance DMD. This DMD technology makes good use of TI’s XPR technology. XPR provides fast switching to display 4x the number of pixels of 1080P (8.3 million). Optomas XPR technologies fast switching creates pixels horizontally and vertically to achieve 8.3M and the highly detailed image that you see on the screen, and it does this all faster than your eye can see.

Optoma’s Color Lab simulations were carried out for gaming in different ambient light settings to calibrate and boost the details in the dark and develop the exclusive Game Display mode. This means that gamers can avoid getting stuck at a certain level, as they can clearly find the gimmick hidden in the dark.

Don’t have a white wall or a projector screen? No problem! Optoma’s Wall Color setting, lets you alter the projected image based on the color of your wall. With six options to choose from, you can easily adjust for projecting on a variety of colored walls including blackboard, light yellow, light green, light blue, pink and grey walls to get more accurate color reproduction, despite not projecting onto a white surface. Now you can project an image onto almost any wall with a more accurate color gamut.