vivian334
Member
This article may arrive a little late because a refund offer of € 400 was applied until December 24 for the purchase of an Acer VL7860 , which led a number of people to opt for the latter. But before publishing it, I wanted to have calibrated the two projectors with their latest software version, namely the C11 for the Optoma UHZ65 and the C07 for the Acer VL7860 , it is now done!
Optoma UHZ65
There is € 500 difference between the public prices of these two devices, that of the Optoma UHZ65 being € 4,490 , while that of the Acer VL7860 is € 3,990 . So the question many consumers ask is whether this price gap is justified. Well, it is precisely the purpose of this article to answer it, and without making the suspense last any longer, in my opinion the answer is clearly yes. I will now explain why.
Acer VL7860
Comparison: Optoma UHZ65 vs Acer VL7860
Black depth
The depth of blacks is the main problem encountered by 4K simulation DLPs! Indeed, their native sequential contrast rarely exceeds 1000: 1, which is quite low for a modern home cinema projector. And unfortunately, the Optoma UHZ65 and the Acer VL7860 are no exception to the rule, with very gray blacks when the "Dynamic Black" is deactivated. And that's where the bottom hurts for the Acer VL7860 , because the efficiency of this process is very relative as far as it is concerned, while it makes all the difference for the Optoma UHZ65 . Indeed, the "Dynamic Black" brings so little for the Acer, that I recommend deactivating it, while it is unimaginable not to use it with the Optoma ! For the latter, the "Dynamic Black" can be activated on three levels (DB1, DB2 and DB3), well from the first level (DB1), the reinforcement of blacks is considerable. Admittedly, this process generates some side effects (burnt white, especially in HDR, brightness pumping and variation in colorimetry), but it is very difficult to do without it for the Optoma UHZ65 compared to what it also brings. .
Black depth: victory by KO in favor of the Optoma UHZ65 !
Adjusting the laser power
The laser power can be adjusted from 50% up to 100% in 5% steps for the Optoma UHZ65 . But beware, to fully benefit from this setting, you need the C11 software version, because the previous version (C08) suffers from the “95% bug”. Indeed, as soon as we use the “Dynamic Black”, the marked power is not applied, but it is systematically 95% which is delivered!
On the other hand, for the Acer VL7860 one cannot finely choose the power of the laser, because only two levels are available: "eco" or high level.
Laser power adjustment: victory by KO in favor of the Optoma UHZ65 !
Edition of 12/29/2018
A user of the Acer VL7860 pointed out to me that the power of the laser is in fact adjustable on this projector, but provided that three conditions are met:
The ISF mode gives very accurate colors (CIE diagram) for the Optoma UHZ65 , for almost all levels of saturation, so much so that it is not necessary to calibrate this part, when it is not the case for the Acer VL7860 . In addition, better white balance results have been achieved in favor of the Optoma UHZ65 .
Colorimetry: victory of the Optoma UHZ65 .
Video noise
As soon as we put the "Super Resolution" on 1 with the Acer VL7860 , I find that immediately a fairly significant video noise appears, while this is not the case with the "Ultra Detail" of the Optoma UHZ65 . Suddenly, the "Super Resolution" is almost useless, which gives a certain advantage to the Optoma UHZ65 in terms of sharpness.
Video noise: victory of the Optoma UHZ65 .
The remote control
That of the Optoma UHZ65 is certainly not an example, but what about that of the Acer VL7860 ? It is simply too low-end! It is unworthy of a projector sold for more than $ 3000 .
Remote control: victory of the Optoma UHZ65 .
Subjective impressions
I have the Optoma UHZ65 , and if I recognize that it is not perfect, in particular because the "Dynamic Black" generates some defects, the image it delivers is still superb! Well, I don't know why, but every time I calibrate the Acer VL7860 , I don't have the same "visual slap". And the gap is not small, but downright abysmal! I say that trying to be as objective as possible, and without wanting to offend the owners of the Acer VL7860 , it really is not the goal, but this projector does not manage to give me the same sensations, even calibrated "with onions". So, I'm convinced that if we did a public demonstration, the Optomawould prevail hands down! Admittedly, the effectiveness of the “Dynamic Black” is undoubtedly a beginning of explanation, but not only because even on clear stages the Optoma UHZ65 is more demonstrative.
Certainly, these are subjective impressions, but I can guarantee you that it is sincere and that I have no interest in defending more the Optoma UHZ65 compared to the Acer VL7860 .
And to be very frank, I do not find the Acer VL7860 up to its price. A simple Benq W2000 delivers a more beautiful image! True, the Acer VL7860 will do a little better in terms of sharpness, and it has a laser, but with such a price difference, it should prevail hands down, well that is not the case .
Subjective impressions: victory of the Optoma UHZ65 .
Optoma UHZ65
There is € 500 difference between the public prices of these two devices, that of the Optoma UHZ65 being € 4,490 , while that of the Acer VL7860 is € 3,990 . So the question many consumers ask is whether this price gap is justified. Well, it is precisely the purpose of this article to answer it, and without making the suspense last any longer, in my opinion the answer is clearly yes. I will now explain why.
Acer VL7860
Comparison: Optoma UHZ65 vs Acer VL7860
Black depth
The depth of blacks is the main problem encountered by 4K simulation DLPs! Indeed, their native sequential contrast rarely exceeds 1000: 1, which is quite low for a modern home cinema projector. And unfortunately, the Optoma UHZ65 and the Acer VL7860 are no exception to the rule, with very gray blacks when the "Dynamic Black" is deactivated. And that's where the bottom hurts for the Acer VL7860 , because the efficiency of this process is very relative as far as it is concerned, while it makes all the difference for the Optoma UHZ65 . Indeed, the "Dynamic Black" brings so little for the Acer, that I recommend deactivating it, while it is unimaginable not to use it with the Optoma ! For the latter, the "Dynamic Black" can be activated on three levels (DB1, DB2 and DB3), well from the first level (DB1), the reinforcement of blacks is considerable. Admittedly, this process generates some side effects (burnt white, especially in HDR, brightness pumping and variation in colorimetry), but it is very difficult to do without it for the Optoma UHZ65 compared to what it also brings. .
Black depth: victory by KO in favor of the Optoma UHZ65 !
Adjusting the laser power
The laser power can be adjusted from 50% up to 100% in 5% steps for the Optoma UHZ65 . But beware, to fully benefit from this setting, you need the C11 software version, because the previous version (C08) suffers from the “95% bug”. Indeed, as soon as we use the “Dynamic Black”, the marked power is not applied, but it is systematically 95% which is delivered!
On the other hand, for the Acer VL7860 one cannot finely choose the power of the laser, because only two levels are available: "eco" or high level.
Laser power adjustment: victory by KO in favor of the Optoma UHZ65 !
Edition of 12/29/2018
A user of the Acer VL7860 pointed out to me that the power of the laser is in fact adjustable on this projector, but provided that three conditions are met:
- Have software version C07 (the latest to date).
- Do not use the Dynamic Black.
- Do not be in eco mode.
The ISF mode gives very accurate colors (CIE diagram) for the Optoma UHZ65 , for almost all levels of saturation, so much so that it is not necessary to calibrate this part, when it is not the case for the Acer VL7860 . In addition, better white balance results have been achieved in favor of the Optoma UHZ65 .
Colorimetry: victory of the Optoma UHZ65 .
Video noise
As soon as we put the "Super Resolution" on 1 with the Acer VL7860 , I find that immediately a fairly significant video noise appears, while this is not the case with the "Ultra Detail" of the Optoma UHZ65 . Suddenly, the "Super Resolution" is almost useless, which gives a certain advantage to the Optoma UHZ65 in terms of sharpness.
Video noise: victory of the Optoma UHZ65 .
The remote control
That of the Optoma UHZ65 is certainly not an example, but what about that of the Acer VL7860 ? It is simply too low-end! It is unworthy of a projector sold for more than $ 3000 .
Remote control: victory of the Optoma UHZ65 .
Subjective impressions
I have the Optoma UHZ65 , and if I recognize that it is not perfect, in particular because the "Dynamic Black" generates some defects, the image it delivers is still superb! Well, I don't know why, but every time I calibrate the Acer VL7860 , I don't have the same "visual slap". And the gap is not small, but downright abysmal! I say that trying to be as objective as possible, and without wanting to offend the owners of the Acer VL7860 , it really is not the goal, but this projector does not manage to give me the same sensations, even calibrated "with onions". So, I'm convinced that if we did a public demonstration, the Optomawould prevail hands down! Admittedly, the effectiveness of the “Dynamic Black” is undoubtedly a beginning of explanation, but not only because even on clear stages the Optoma UHZ65 is more demonstrative.
Certainly, these are subjective impressions, but I can guarantee you that it is sincere and that I have no interest in defending more the Optoma UHZ65 compared to the Acer VL7860 .
And to be very frank, I do not find the Acer VL7860 up to its price. A simple Benq W2000 delivers a more beautiful image! True, the Acer VL7860 will do a little better in terms of sharpness, and it has a laser, but with such a price difference, it should prevail hands down, well that is not the case .
Subjective impressions: victory of the Optoma UHZ65 .
