Optoma HD20

Value

Retailing for nearly $3000 more than the Optoma HD20, you’re definitely getting an upgrade. The Canon’s native resolution of 1400 × 1050 is not native to HD video, but it gets the job done close enough. We loved the black & white and color performance, but the motion performance left something to be desired. If you plan on moving the projector around, one of the its best features was the auto-calibration that takes care of the color shifts and keystone, no matter what surface you point it at.

	Comparison Specifications
	Optoma HD20	Canon REALiS SX7 Mark II
Price
Resolution	1080p 1920 x 1080 (16:9)	SXGA+ 1400 x 1050 (4:3)
HD	Yes	Yes
3D Support	No	No

Blacks & Whites

The Canon SX7 Mark II can get a lot brighter than the Optoma HD20, but had a hard time maintaining a consistent black level.

Color

The Canon SX7 Mark II was capable of producing very smooth color curves, on par with the better TVs we’ve reviewed.

Motion

For whatever reason, the Canon SX7 Mark II suffered from a lot of motion blur and artifacting. Fine detail was lost and we noticed some false coloration and haloing. The Optoma HD20 was better in this regard.

Viewing Effects

The 1.7x zoom lens on the Canon SX7 Mark II gives you a lot more flexibility than the 1.2x lens on the Optoma HD20.

Connectivity

The Canon SX7 Mark II does not have an HDMI port, which some people might take as a sign that it’s not intended for home theater. Perhaps that’s true, in a way, but we’re totally fine with recommending this amazing “office” projector for home theater. Besides, you can easily use a cheap adapter to fit an HDMI signal into the DVI input.