The Christie GS Series of projectors are single-chip DLP laser models that range in brightness from about 6,000 lumens (ISO) to just short of 11,000 lumens. The line is comprised of three basic chassis at different levels of brightness, each available in either Full HD (1920x1080) or WUXGA (1920x1200) resolution. The DHD1075-GS reviewed here, rated at 10,000 ISO and 8,800 ANSI lumens, is the top Full HD option in the line, second only to the DWU1075-GS, a WUXGA projector boasting the same impressive features and 10,875 ISO/9,500 ANSI lumens.

The DHD1075-GS includes Christie's BoldColor technology, which utilizes the addition of a red laser to the blue laser found in single-laser projectors to dramatically improve color saturation and reproduction—especially noticeable in content that includes bright, vivid colors. What does this mean for you in practical terms? Generally more accurate color reproduction including more realistic skin tones and imagery in photography-based content, which can help add to the suspension of disbelief that movies require.

Will you be able to notice the difference? That's entirely up to the individual viewer, but what I can tell you is that I didn't find myself fiddling with the color, brightness and contrast settings to get a great image out of this projector; I was impressed with what it delivered right out of the box. I did have to go in and change the color calibration for both my laptop and the projector when I used the DHD1075-GS as a 2nd monitor for my late-2013 MacBook Pro, but this is likely an issue with my laptop rather than the projector and was easily dealt with.

The DHD1075-GS measurements, at 22.2 x 7.6 x 19.2 inches (WHD), and its approximately 55-pound weight make it relatively compact and light compared with past models in this lumen class, though it's about average against its more modern competition. Keep in mind that, short of putting it in a rigging frame, its sleek case and heavy weight could make it a challenge to install and to handle repeatedly in rental situations. Also, as usual, you'll pay a bit more for Christie's reputation for image quality, build quality, and customer service. At its $19,699 price (without lens), the ProjectorCentral projector database reveals that the DHD1075-GS comes in anywhere from $2,000 to as much as $5,000 more than some current 9,000-to-10,000 ANSI lumen laser projectors at full HD or WUXGA resolution. Fortunately, the projector lives up to expectations as a high-performing product.

Features

It is common knowledge that laser projectors provide value to the end user, with most units offering a 20,000-hour run time before the light source reaches 50% brightness. For houses of worship and other tall-ceiling venues, in particular, this offers high appeal as reaching mounting positions often entails a dangerous ladder climb or an expensive and cumbersome lift rental. Add in brighter whites, speedy on/off operation, and the option for 360-degree mounting, and investing in a laser projector seems a no-brainer.

The DHD1075-GS does not disappoint, delivering crisp images, detailed presentations and cinema-like film playback that found me wanting one for the home theater I don't have. The plethora of inputs (see Connections in the appendix), which includes HDMI, DVI-D, 3GSDI, USB and others, will allow just about any broadcast or PC source to be connected to it. And being able to mount at any angle without compromising cooling shows that Christie has put a lot of thought and effort into providing a projector that provides great flexibility.

One of the more surprising features was the inclusion of USB inputs and an integrated media reader for viewing images, which appears on many projectors meant for smaller venues and uses, such as home theaters, classrooms, mobile projection carts, etc. but not often on powerful large-venue projectors. This shows a commitment to serving as many end users and use cases as possible.

Another impressive feature was Christie Presenter, which combines with a wireless network dongle to allow for wireless presentations and includes controls for zooming in on the desired region of interest as well as for connecting to any display devices utilizing the same network.

And for those of you who might be wondering—yes, the DHD1075-GS does have Full 3D content compatibility, delivering full 1080p to each eye for those entertainment or enterprise applications that require it.

Christie DHD1075-GS Features

• 10,000 ISO lumen/8,800 ANSI lumen rated brightness
• 1,200:1full on/off rated contrast ratio (Christie RealBlack disabled)
• Native 1080p (1920x1080) resolution from 0.65-inch DLP chip
• Christie BoldColor technology
• 20,000 hour laser light source
• Built-in blending and warping
• Built-in color matching for multi-projector configuration
• 360-degree mounting orientation
• 24/7 operation
• SDI and HDMI loop-outputs provide additional flexibility
• Compatible with 6 lenses comprising a wide range of throw ratios from 0.36:1 to 1.52:1

Performance

The DHD1075-GS offers 10 different Picture Setting preset viewing modes. You can tune any of the predefined picture modes with a variety of adjustments including the usual Contrast, Brightness, Color, and Tint, as well as Gamma and RGB Gain and Offset. A dedicated User mode, that can be used to create and store a fully customized setting for a given source, further allows a selection of Color Temperature settings. Additionally, a menu adjustment for Color Wheel Speed allows selection of 2x or 3x, with the faster option providing for less potential of rainbow artifacts.

Christie incorporates their "RealBlack" contrast enhancing technology into the DHD1075-GS, which turns off the laser light source when the scene is black. Although this results in a higher measured contrast ratio, Christie engineers explained that RealBlack only activates in presence of a 100% black signal, so it does not usually enhance the black level or contrast with active content. The major use for this feature is for situations where turning off the laser would allow for less distraction for viewers, perhaps when the projector is idling, and it is said to be particularly handy in blended configurations as the RealBlack helps hide the blend between multiple projectors when no signal is present.

Along with the various Picture Settings, Christie provides two Eco modes to reduce laser power and brightness for situations that don't require the projector's full output. Eco 1 reduces power by approximately 20%, while Eco 2 does so by 50%.

I tested the DHD1075-GS with Christie's model 140-102104 zoom lens, which has a 1.52-2.89 throw ratio. Following is a brief description of the Picture Setting modes, as well as the measured ANSI lumens brightness for each with the lens at the widest (brightest) telephoto position. As noted in the Measurements appendix, shifting the zoom to its longest telephoto position resulted in approximately a 20%-21% loss of brightness.

Presentation (7,069 ANSI lumens). Meant for programs like PowerPoint, Excel and the like, it cools the color temperature to 7,500K in order to provide more crisp and perceptually brighter images. When viewing spreadsheets, the detail was superb and easy to read. Characters did not pixelate or blur, and given a larger screen, I feel the detail would continue to hold up well into the 200-inch-plus screen size.

Video (5,014 ANSI lumens). As happens in many projectors, the least bright mode here is the one that is easily the most visually pleasing option for movies and TV shows. The skin tones are realistic and pleasant without any harshness or "highlight blooming" that can be an issue with some projectors. Color temperature falls in at the industry-standard 6,500K neutral gray. I would recommend this mode for the discerning viewer who is primarily interested in the most accurate image reproduction for movies or photos, especially in dark-room settings where its lower brightness can be more effective.

I watched many different styles and genres of movies and TV during this demo, and I can say that animation was sharp in detail and smooth in texture, and grittier content, such as the Jason Bourne movies I watched on Blu-ray disc, retained the original film grain, color saturation and color grading.

Bright (8,245 ANSI lumens). When you need the absolute brightest image this projector can deliver, this is the mode for you. Skin tones are not as pleasing or smooth as in the Video mode, and there is a subtle green tint to the picture as is often found in a projector's brightest mode. But there are times when max brightness is of more importance, such as in higher ambient light conditions, and this setting still provides a solid and perfectly acceptable image on screen for many less critical viewing applications.

Enhanced (7,026 ANSI lumens). When you want to dazzle your audience with impactful color reproduction, this mode gives the colors a slight bump to just give you the little bit more. Though it may not be technically accurate for studio-mastered content, there really isn't any negative effect on the image. Often times when you push color saturation too far, you can get a "blooming" effect where colors begin to splotch because they are over-saturated and the display cannot reproduce it. You won't see any of that in this mode unless you are manually pushing the saturation control to max. If you want your colors to pop as much as possible and grab your viewer's eye, this is the mode for you.

REC709 (5,991 ANSI lumens). When your source content utilizes the Rec.709 color standard and you want to ensure your projector is faithful to the original, this mode is what you want. It conforms to the use of a RGBW color palette. You will notice a drop in overall brightness, but that is part of the standard to ensure that your bright highlights are not clipping. Along with the Video mode, which is slightly less bright, this is another good option for most HD movie content. Although many projectors do include a discrete Rec.709 preset picture mode, not all do, so it's a great choice to have on hand that takes the guess work out of trying to create your own mode.

Real (6,938 ANSI lumens). This is primarily for realistic nature imagery, such as nature documentaries, landscape and nature photography, and the like. White light is close to 6500K to mimic natural sunlight and thus render colors more accurately, though it preserves a good bit more of the projector's inherent brightness than either the Video or REC709 modes.

DICOM SIM (6,967 ANSI lumens). This mode mimics the DICOM medical imaging standard and applies a grayscale that is specifically for high-contrast black and white imagery like X-rays. Of course, if you are using full-color slides or evaluating polychromatic imagery or documents, I would use Presentation or even Bright as they will provide higher color accuracy while retaining high brightness.

Blending (6996 ANSI lumens). If you need to blend two or more of these projectors together, this built-in mode will help accomplish this. It reduces brightness by around 15% from the projector's max and takes the guesswork out of setting these parameters on each projector. With the projector's built-in blend and warp capability, your blend should not take very long to set up and you can move on to enjoying all the benefits that blending and/or stacking have to offer.

User (8,235 ANSI lumens). A staple of most modern projectors, the user mode allows you to customize your own picture settings for connecting to a specific source that requires a fully optimized image. From my experience, it's pretty hard to beat the built in image modes, but this mode allows for a high degree of fine-tuning to get the picture "just a little bit better."

Conclusion

The DHD1075-GS costs more than most of its direct competition, reflecting Christie's standing as a high-quality, proven brand that is frequently approached to create solutions for complex situations and scenarios. Nonetheless, although you'll pay more for it, my audition time with the projector did not disappoint and was reflective of a premium product in terms of both its build and image quality.

Color saturation, skin tones and the overall image provided by the DHD1075-GS was amazing, and its flexibility for many types of scenarios is readily evident. Being able to adapt the DHD1075-GS to a wide variety of situations provides additional value, and its ROI extends to the use of this projector well beyond the standard "hang it from the ceiling" installation. With its variety of lenses that range from ultra-short-throw to a long telephoto zoom, integrated blending, and 360-degree orientation, it's easy to say that the limitations of this projector are your own imagination. Factor in the long-life light source and low maintenance needs, and it all combines to make the DHD1075-GS another solid offering from Christie.

Measurements

Brightness. Given the quarantine measures in place during the Spring of 2020, the testing environment was a bedroom utilizing a 75-inch portable projection screen. While this is significantly smaller than the screen size this projector is meant for, our industry-standard ANSI measurements appropriately account for the image size.

The maximum brightness from our sample with the 1.52-2.89 zoom lens set to its widest (brightest) position, averaged over nine screen sectors, resulted in an ANSI measurement of 8,235 lumens. This is slightly short of the projector's 8,800 lumen spec but well within the 10% ANSI tolerance. Note that the projector's 10,000 ISO lumen specification is based on a similar nine-point measurement but accounts for a larger number of samples.

The projector's two Eco modes allow you to tailor laser power and light output in any given Picture Setting mode. By using Eco1, which reduces brightness by 20%, you can potentially increase the longevity of the laser light engine, allowing A/V departments and managers the ability to protect their investment if the full brightness is not needed. A 20% reduction of brightness can also help relieve eyestrain when viewing high contrast imagery, such as documents or spreadsheets.

The Eco2 option drops the brightness by a full 50%, which may find less utility among users but could be helpful if your viewing environment usually incurs high ambient light but also gets used periodically for entertainment with the lights out.

Christie DHD1075-GS ANSI Lumens

Mode	Normal	Eco1	Eco2
Bright	8,235	6,588	4,118
Presentation	7,069	5,655	3,535
Video	5,014	4,011	2,507
Enhanced	7,026	5,621	3,513
REC709	5,991	4,793	2,996
Real	6,938	5,550	3,469
DICOM SIM	6,967	5,574	3,484
Blending	6,996	5,597	3,498
User	8,235	6,588	4,188

Zoom Lens Light Loss. On our sample, shifting the Christie 140-102104 zoom lens (1.52-2.89 throw ratio) from its widest to longest telephoto setting resulted in a drop in brightness of approximately 21%, resulting in 6,500 ANSI lumens in the projector's brightest mode.

Brightness Uniformity. Brightness uniformity with our selected lens was very good, with little difference in measurements at both ends of the zoom spectrum. Wide zoom provided 89% BU and the telephoto position only slightly lower at 87%. There was no visible hotspotting or inconsistencies at any time during my viewing.

Fan Noise. Rated noise in lab conditions is specified as 35 dBA in Normal power mode or 32 dBA in Eco2, both at the projector's slower 2x color wheel setting. The default color wheel setting, 3x, is said to better reduce the potential for rainbow artifacts, but results in a noticeable increase in noise.

Input Lag. The DHD1075-GS is meant for commercial spaces, from church auditoriums to large lecture halls and classrooms. Therefore, it is no surprise that with 1080p signals it measured a relatively high 74ms input lag (averaged across 3 measurements). This would be considered too high for some gaming or simulation applications, but these are clearly not core target markets for this type of projector.

Connections

• HDMI (x2, One on rear panel, one on bottom of projector, independently selectable)
• 3GSDI (BNC)
• DVI-D (Digital only)
• HD15
• USB (Type B mini) - Display over USB
• USB (Type A) - Image Viewer or WiFi Dongle (optional)
• RS232 in
• HDBaseT (RJ45)
• Ethernet (10/100) RJ45
• 3D Sync in/out (BNC)
• Wired remote control (3.5mm stereo) - loop out available for daisy chaining

For more detailed specifications and connections, check out our Christie DHD1075-GS projector page.

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