The annual InfoComm is the most popular in the American projector segment. The list of award-winning products at InfoComm 2025 in Orlando, FL is in line with the main trends in projector improvements, including increased brightness and resolution.
Predictably, last year’s Japanese Ricoh UHL3660 also made it onto the list. Its light output reaches 6,500 ANSI lumens, which is unprecedented for ultra-short throw (UST) projectors.
By comparison, the new flagship Hisense L9Q UST projector delivers 5,000 lumens. Other UST competitors range in brightness from 2,500 lumens to 4,000 lumens.
As known, ambient light makes the image colors dull and faded. Brightness compensates for its negative impact. Of course, viewing in a dark room eliminates this problem. But it’s hardly convenient when using a projector as an alternative to a TV in the living room. Honestly, even 6,500 ANSI lumens are unlikely to cope with direct sunlight. But this brightness is quite enough for a colorful image with saturated colors measuring 150 inches diagonally even in diffused daylight. Simply put, high brightness greatly simplifies the darkening task. Of course, it’s much more relevant in sunny California than on foggy Albion.
In addition, the projector has an improved Wide Quad Ultra Extended Graphics Array (WQUXGA) resolution with (3,840 x 2,400) pixels. In fact, this is a 16:10 aspect ratio version of 4K UHD. This resolution offers a higher pixel density compared to the standard 16:9 4K (3,840 x 2,160), which increases detail on larger screens.
The focusing range of the model varies from 85″ to 160″ diagonally. The 0.24:1 throw ratio provides 85″(image diagonal)@1cm / 100″@8cm / 160″@38cm.
The sealed twin laser OptiBright light engine operates maintenance free for up to 40,000 hours. Like the Hisense L9Q, it costs ~$ 6,000 today.
Ricoh UHL3660
The company positions the Ricoh UHL3660 as a commercial UST model for schools, museums, businesses, churches and other large rooms. Usually professional models are more expensive and provide higher performance. Indeed, high brightness, a video-out port for a secondary display, IP6X dust-proof rating, a record service life, and the maintaining functionality when one of the laser banks fails are very useful. But these bonuses are also true for Home Teather models. Of course, $ 6,000 is not cheap, but quite adequate for the unprecedented brightness for UST projector of up to 6,500 ANSI lumens. In fact, such a light output eliminates the problem of darkening the room even on a sunny day.
By comparison, the brightness of the closest UST competitors, including the Epson PowerLite 810E, Panasonic PT-CMZ50 and Hisense L9Q, reaches ‘only’ 5,000 ANSI lumens.
The model uses a 0.65-inch Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) – based Digital Light Processing (DLP) chipset from Texas Instruments. The larger physical size of the 0.65-inch DMD improves black levels and detail in dark areas compared to more common 0.47-inch DLP chips. These chipsets support XPR (eXpanded Pixel Resolution) technology with 2- or 4-phase pixel shift.
Its operation principle is simple and elegant. The projector divides the 8 million pixels of 4K content into 4/2 parts of 2 million/4 million each and reproduces them using 2 million/4 million micromirrors of cheaper 0.65-inch or 0.47-inch chipsets (2- or 4-phase pixel shift. Tilt of the lens with XPR module’s electromagnets shifts the images by half a pixel diagonally relative to each other.
Of course, the projector only displays one image at a time, but because of the high frequency, our eyes and brain perceive them as a single image in higher resolution.
Image quality
Traditionally, professional projectors have focused on brightness without worrying too much about image quality, which depends on color accuracy, color gamut, resolution and contrast.
Indeed, the UHL3660 only covers ~87% of the DCI-P3 color space and does not provide native contrast data. For comparison, Home Theater models with a three-laser light source cover up to 110% of the BT.2020 standard.
Native contrast characterizes the number of reproduced shades and detail in dark scenes.
Unfortunately, dynamic contrast (5,000,000:1 for UHL3660) is less informative.
But support for 4K resolution with pixel-shift-based XPR technology has become a bonus for the model. Moreover, Ricoh uses Natural Color Enhancer (NCE) technology adapted for projectors. Initially, Ricoh developed it for cameras to reproduce natural-looking colors by optimizing white balance for different areas of an image. In projectors it provides:
– Enhanced Color Gamut;
– Advanced RGB Adjustment;
– Bright Room Performance.
The UHL3660 offers five picture modes, including Bright, Standard, Natural, Vivid and Dicom-sim.
The bright mode even exceeds the claimed 6,500 lumens, reaching almost 7,000 lumens. Traditionally, its color accuracy leaves much to be desired due to a cool blue bias. But for sunny viewing, it may be the best choice.
The warmer picture with the Standard setting has more accurate colors, delivering up to 6,500 lumens of brightness.
The Vivid mode is designed for vibrant charts and graphs.
The Natural mode provides just over 6,000 lumens and is ideal for flesh tones, artwork, and natural scenes. In fact, it’s an analogue of Movie / Cinema modes.
Dicom Sim is designed for projecting X-rays and medical scans at a hospital.
Wall Color mode compensates for projection onto a painted wall. It offers settings for light yellow, light blue, pink, or green.
Key Features
The model can be placed on the ceiling, wall, table or floor. But because of its high power, it requires at least 40 inches of clearance on its three open sides for cooling air.
The UHL3660 uses an unusual OptiBright dual-laser light source with two photoluminescent wheels with phosphor coating. The increased green level provides higher brightness with lower power consumption and a longer service life.
Unfortunately, the UHL3660 does not have optical zoom, which is typical for UST projectors. Therefore, the image size is adjusted only by the distance between the projector and the screen.
The UHL3660’s motorized focus from the remote control works flawlessly. Model supports 4:3, 16:9, and 16:10 aspect ratios. A dedicated 21:9 widescreen setting for Microsoft’s 21:9 Front Row videoconferencing is absent. But the built-in edge-blending feature can combine images from two UHL3660 projectors for an ultra-wide aspect ratio image.
A recessed compartment on the underside of the projector is designed for digital content modules, including Amazon fire stick-based signage players or consumer HDMI sticks like Roku or Google TV.
Pros & Cons
Pros
– the brightest current UST projector;
– WQUXGA (3,840 x 2,400) resolution;
– dual-laser light engine;
– IP6X dust-proof rating;
– Geometric Correction, Warping, and Blending instalation settings;
Cons
– Wi-Fi only for Miracast wireless screen casting;
– no 3D support;
– input lag of 58.7 ms at 1080p@60Hz is good only for casual gaming;
– no optical zoom;
– built-in audio system only 2x 3W + 5W subwoofer.
Ricoh UHL3660 vs Hisense L9Q
The relatively affordable price and fairly high image quality of the professional Ricoh UHL3660 make it to compare it with the newest Home Theater Hisense L9Q.
Ricoh UHL3660 is more compact and lighter – (14 x 53 x 47cm)@11.5 kg vs (30 x 75 x 44cm)@12.9kg. But Hisense L9Q has a stylish, luxurious design with a brushed metal finish, black walnut accents, and ambient lighting effects.
Ricoh UHL3660 vs Hisense L9Q:
– 6,500 ANSI Lumens vs 5,000 ANSI Lumens (ANSI IT7.228 standard);
– Display Type – 2 cm DLP x 1 vs 1 cm DLP x 1;
– 0.65-inch vs 0.47-inch DLP DMD with support of pixel-shift – based XPR technology;
– resolution – 4K WQUXGA (3,840 x 2,400) vs 4K (3,840 x 2,160);
– light engine – OptiBright Dual Blue Laser Phosphor vs ADLP 4.0-based triple-laser TriChroma;
– color gamut – 87% of the DCI-P3 color space vs 110% in the BT.2020.
The color gamut is the range of colors that a device can reproduce. Accordingly, a wider color gamut provides more colors and shades, which directly affects the image realism. For reference, Rec.709, DCI-P3, and Rec.2020 are color spaces or standards used in display technologies. The narrowest Rec.709 is for HDTV and Blu-ray, DCI-P3 is used in digital cinema and offers a wider color gamut, Rec.2020 (BT.2020) has the widest color gamut.
– contrast – 5,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio (native contrast – no data) vs 5,000:1 native contrast ratio (dynamic contrast – no data);
– input lag – 58.7 ms at 1080p@60Hz vs 12 ms at 1080p@120Hz with Game Mode and Turbo Mode activated;
– internal speakers – 2x 3W and 5W subwoofer vs 116W 6.2.2ch premium sound system built-in.
Conclusion
The relatively low price of the new Ricoh UHL3660 with a fairly high image quality makes it correct to compare the professional model with the Home Theater Hisense Laser TV for the first time. Indeed, they offer almost identical price-quality ratio, and the results of their comparison are ambiguous. The current price of both models is ~$ 6,000.
Professional Ricoh UHL3660 bonuses:
– 30% brighter (6,500 ANSI lumens vs 5,000 ANSI lumens);
– more compact and lighter;
– video-out port for a secondary display;
– IP6X dust-proof rating;
– up to 40,000 hours service life;
– duplication of laser bank.
Hisense L9Q Laser TV:
– higher image quality due to superb native contrast (5,000:1), wider color gamut (110% BT.2020 vs 87% DCI-P3) and higher color accuracy;
– 116W 6.2.2ch premium sound system vs 2x 3W internal speakers and 5W subwoofer;
– better gaming with input lag of 12 ms at 1080p@120Hz (with Game Mode and Turbo Mode) vs 58.7 ms at 1080p@60Hz.
Overall, the Ricoh UHL3660 is more versatile and good enough for Home Theater. It’s also ideal for public use in large rooms, even with fairly bright ambient light.
But the Hisense Laser TV provides higher image quality and radically surpasses its competitor in sound quality. Therefore, it’s preferable for home use. However, the happy owner of any projector is unlikely to regret the money spent.
This video demonstrates the Ricoh PJ UHL3660 UST 4K laser projector.