Optoma UHD51A Smart Home Theater Projector Review

The Optoma UHD51A Smart Home Theater Projector is Optoma’s first smart product of this kind.

With its great video quality, overall good compatibility with other smart systems, and its light-weight size, this is a great fit for anyone who’s dedicated to smartening up their home or who are just getting started.

The voice control is a neat feature if you’re the type who’s prone to losing their remote control or if you’d prefer to command your movie to play, Sci-Fi style. And, of course, Optoma’s experience with home theatre systems is one of the best things to inspire confidence in their latest product.

While the video quality is a thing of beauty, there are a few things to keep in mind. This projector can’t tilt very far upward, so you’ll need to have a small table ready if you don’t want to attach it to the ceiling.

While this is a minor inconvenience compared to installing a new television in your home, it may be the one thing that makes this projector less than perfect.

Is struggling to gain the right viewing angle enough to make us give up on this projector? We have all the details ready for you on the Optoma UHD51A, good and bad, so you can make the ideal buying decision.

Optoma UHD51A Smart Home Theater Projector: The Details

Specs

• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 15.4 x 11.1 inches.
• Product Weight: 11.75 lbs.
• Product Type: Home Theater Projector.
• Compatible with: Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
• Resolution: 4K.

How Does it Work

When you purchase an Optoma Smart Home Theater Projector, you’re choosing high tech convenience.

While it can be connected with any of the cables utilized by its non-smart brother, the real charm lies in its wireless options.

Getting it set up is easy; simply turn on the device and pair it with your network. Once this is done, you can connect it with your other smart devices, paving the way for your wireless viewing sessions.

And that’s it! It’s time to view anything you want, for however long you want. With the following features, it’s going to be hard prying you away from the screen.

Voice Control

One of the main reasons for investing in a smart home is being able to control everything by voice commands.

With the Optoma smart projector, you can easily request your favorite movies to be played through Netflix, Amazon Prime, or any other streaming service.

Getting ready to take a nap, want to skip a scene, or just lost interest? You won’t even have to spend half an hour looking for the remote since you can just tell your assistant that you’ve had enough.

File Playback

Wireless playing is great, but sometimes manufacturers take things too far by making that the only thing your smart device can do.

Furthermore, while streaming services are great, they don’t always have that one movie. You know, the one you keep saved on a USB because you need to be able to watch it whenever?

The Optoma UHD51A can easily read any files you present, so you won’t have to worry about missing out on your favorite shows.

Even better, if you want to surprise a special someone with a modern mixtape, it can also read and play any music files you happen to have saved.

3D Compatible

Some people can’t get enough of 3D showings, others would rather it have never been invented. No matter which camp you belong to, 3D has been making its way into our living rooms at a steady pace.

If you happen to have kids that own some blu-ray 3D movies, they’re sure to enjoy this amazing feature.

The discerning gamer that’s hopping on the next wave of games will also be impressed by the 3D features that come with this home projector.

DLP Technology

Optoma integrated Texas Instruments’ Digital Light Processing technology into this theater projector to make sure you get only the greatest viewing experience.

What does this fancy technology mean? It allows the projector to have a higher contrast and faster response time and you’ll get true-to-life video since this reduces the amount of color degradation by a ton.

Dynamic Black Technology

To make your movie experiences feel like a cinema, this feature adds more depth to your video so every scene is as bright and crisp as it should be.

You won’t miss any information from your favorite mystery since even the darkest scenes will be able to shine through with all the details.

Optoma: The Brand

Optoma loves one thing and that’s clearly home theater projectors. While the Optoma UHD51A Projector is their latest centerpiece, the company has quite a line of home projectors that are certain to suit anyone’s taste.

It’s no surprise they’ve been making waves since 2002 when the technology was finally getting to a point where everyone could comfortably access their own home cinema sets.

They are now established in nearly 160 countries worldwide and they’re working hard to cater to everyone’s needs.

Optoma UHD51A Smart Home Theater Projector Review

The Positives

Can Connect to Various Sound Systems

If you’re a big lover of movies and audio, odds are you’ve already invested in a smart sound system. This Optoma theater projector is compatible with most of the better-known brands and a few of the lesser-known types.

This is a great advantage since you won’t have to invest in a new system just so it’s compatible with your new projector. Once it’s set up, it’ll attempt to connect automatically, saving you even more time.

If you already have a sound system, we highly encourage you to connect them to your Optoma device; it makes for a truly immersive movie night.

Bright 4K Picture

Sometimes a camera or beamer will be marketed as 4K and it can mimic the effect, but there’s no mistaking the real thing.

If you’re a fan of seeing the world in the highest possible definition, this home theatre might be the only way of really doing just that.

This allows you the same excellent quality of a high-def TV without having to invest in an entirely new screen.

A Great Smart Solution

Maybe you actually had your heart set on a smart TV, with all the bells and whistles, but just couldn’t justify the cost.

This home projector is a good solution to that problem, offering most of the great things of a smart TV without the hefty price tag.

Even better, if you’re having friends over to watch a hyped match or are watching Star Wars the way it was meant to be watched, projecting allows everyone a better view.

Great for Gamers

If you’re serious about gaming, this theater projector will only add to giving you the ultimate gaming experience. You’ll be able to see everything thanks to its large, widescreen abilities so you never miss a point.

Adding 4K to the experience only makes this projector better, since you’ll be able to see all the details in an immersive game just like the designers intended.

No longer will your gaming performance be slowed down by your television, the Optoma is here to change that.

The Negatives

Poor Tilt

Being able to place your home theater projector anywhere you want is a big aspect of gaining the best viewing experience.

Sadly, the Optoma UHD51A does not have a great upward tilt. Because of this, you’ll end up placing it either on a small table or attaching it to the ceiling.

Placing it on a low table makes recharging easier, but the handiest among us are sure to place it on the ceiling just to get the best viewing angle.

Fan Noise

While this is expected from projectors, it can be annoying if it’s all that you can constantly hear. While some users did mention some fan noise, they also mentioned that it wasn’t overbearing, thankfully.

Basically, you’ll be able to hear the fan functioning in between scenes or in dull moments, but while your screen has your attention, it won’t be a distraction.

Set Up

Some users found that setting up the Optoma projector wasn’t as enjoyable as using it. Especially since the tilt on this projector is limited, many found themselves fiddling with the placement for quite some time.

Once it’s set up and good to go, you won’t have to do many changes, but customers who are less handy or tech savvy may need a helping hand.

Here’s a video showing what the Optoma UHD5A1 looks like out of the box.

Overall Verdict

If you’re a big fan of seeing movies large and loud, but can’t be bothered to make it to the local cinema, the Optoma UHD51A Smart Home Theater Projector is the perfect match for you.

With its great video quality and wide range of compatibility with other smart systems, this is an ideal way of sprucing up your hobby or living room.

While the overall video quality is more than adequate, it still can’t beat a top of the line TV. In combination with the poor tilting, which limits the spots where you can place this projector, it isn’t the best fit for those with the highest of demands.

Nonetheless, if you’re looking to have a good time without breaking the bank, this projector fits the bill.

Where to Buy the Optoma UHD51A Smart Home Theater Projector

Optoma has a slew of home entertainment and audio systems; it’s clear they’re dedicated to ensuring customers have nothing but the best experience when viewing and listening to their favorite shows and music.

They’ve mastered their own market, and stay on top of market trends with products like the Optoma Smart Home Theatre. Their innovation has caused quite the stir amongst customers and enthusiasts, with their smart home theater being one of (if not the) first of its kind.

Their popularity and track record for providing great home entertainment makes their products a great choice for retailers. For customers, that means items like the Optomoa UHD51A Smart Home Theater are more accessible both in-store and online.

While it’s usually best to check tech, home department, and audio-video stores, you can kick-start your search with the following online retailers.

• Best Buy (from $1, 699)
• BH Audio Video (from $1, 699)
• The Home Depot (from $1, 625)

And of course, you can also find this smart home theater on Amazon.

That’s all for our Optoma Smart Home Theater Projector review. Tempted to give it a try?