Until recently, companies mainly offered Home Theater projectors or mini LED models. Bulky (10 kg and more) and expensive ($ 5,000 and more), but bright and contrast Home Theater provide good quality due to high brightness (several thousand ANSI lumens), good contrast (FOFO – 1: 1,000 and higher, dynamic – 1 : 1,000,000 and higher) and wide color gamut (100% DCI-P3 and more). Epson, Sony, JVC and several other world giants dominate this segment.
Compact LED projectors offer more modest image quality due to relatively low specs, but cost only a few hundred to $ 500. The niche of pragmatic compromise has been empty for a long time. Then companies woke up and the market quickly filled with not very expensive mid-focal mini projectors with fairly high specs.
New mid-focal compact projectors
A far from complete list includes:
– Dangbei DBOX02 Mars Pro 2 – $ 1,360, May 2024, Laser Phosphor, 2,450 ISO Lumens, 4K, Google TV with built-in Netflix;
– Dangbei X5 Ultra – $ 1,450, April 2023, Laser Phosphor, 2450 CVIA lumens, 4K, 1,200:1 (FOFO), Feng OS;
– BenQ X300G – $ 1,550, January 2024, LED, 2,000 ANSI Lumens, 4K, 500,000:1 Dynamic Contrast, Google certified with built-in Netflix;
– LG CineBeam PU700R – $ 1,565, May 2023, LED, 1,000 ANSI Lumens, 4K, 150,000:1 dynamic contrast;
– XGIMI Horizon Ultra – $ 1,600, August 2023, Laser/LED Hybrid, 2,300 ISO Lumens, 4K, Android TV 11;
– Optoma UHZ55 – $ 2,200, February 2024, Laser Phosphor, 3,000 ANSI Lumens, 4K, 2,500,000:1 dynamic contrast;
– ViewSonic LX700-4K – $ 2,200, March 2024, Laser Phosphor, 3,500 ANSI Lumens, 4K, 3,900,000:1 dynamic contrast;
– BenQ X3100i – $ 2,280, November 2023, LED, 3,300 ANSI Lumens, 4K, 600,000:1 dynamic contrast, powered by Google-licensed Android.
Of course, the Chinese giant did not stand aside and at CES 2023 presented its first portable Hisense C1 Cube lifestyle Smart Mini projector – $ 1,600, June 2023, RGB Laser, 1,600 ANSI Lumens, 4K, 2,000,000:1 dynamic contrast, 110% BT.2020, sound by JBL Audio Solution.
The superb price-quality ratio ensured its very high popularity and C1 found a place in most of the top lists of 2023. Of course, the company’s management adequately responded. At CEDIA Expo 2024 in Denver, the company introduced the improved C2 series of compact mid-focal 4K laser projectors.
Their Vidaa Smart TV system and high-performance Mediatek MT9669 processor provide quick access to streaming services. Of course, series supports Alexa and Google Assistant voice assistants.
C2 series
It includes the top-tier C2 Ultra, the mid-range C2 Pro, and base C2 / C2S models (C2S is Chinese analogue of the global C2 version).
But their smart options may differ slightly. For example, C1 has Dolby Vision and Chinese C1S doesn’t.
All models provide excellent δE ≈ 0.9 ‘out of the box’. It characterizes the color distortion on the screen and is considered good up to 3 even after calibration.
Their Tri-Chroma triple laser technology – based light engine provides 110% color gamut for BT.2020 color space.
In addition, all projectors:
– have 0.47″ DMD chipset with XPR (Xpanded Pixel Resolution) technology uses 4-phase pixel shift for playback of 4K Ultra HD (3,840 x 2,160) content;
– use anti speckle technology (efficiency up to 98%).
The speckles when using triple-laser RGB design are caused by interference. To be fair, similar technology was first successfully implemented in Xiaomi Formovie Theater.
– built-in audio system is certified by Dolby Vision / Dolby Atmos and powered by JBL Audio Solution. For reference, the James Bullough Lansing (JBL) electronics company is an American giant in the field of sound engineering;
– support 10-bit color depth, 3D, MEMC (Motion Estimation, Motion Compensation – frame interpolation for smooth playback), auto keystone correction with 3D ToF camera, Filmmaker Mode and IMAX Enhanced, have TÜV LBL (Low Blue Light) certification.
Compared to the C2 Pro, the C2 Ultra is a bit more expensive (~$ 2,500 vs $ 2,300), but is brighter (3,000 CVIA vs 2,600 CVIA) and additionally supports HDR 10+. Unlike the C2 Pro / Ultra with (0.9-1.5:1) optical zoom, C2 has 1.2:1 fixed lens only, is inferior in brightness (2,000 & 1,700 CVIA vs 3,000 & 2,600 CVIA) and contrast (1:1,700 vs 1:2,000).
C2 Ultra Key Features
As with the C1, the contrast ratio of the new series is 2,000:1. Models 2024 use Vidaa U7.6 proprietary interface. It offers a dedicated app store and many options and streaming channels already installed. The C2 Ultra’s motorized optical block offers a projection ratio with optical zoom between 0.9 and 1.5:1. Focus range varies for 65~300″ image sizes diagonally. It weighs of 13.9 lbs / 6,3 kg and has dimensions of 9.7 x 9.7 x 11.3 inches (24.6 x 24.6 x 28,7 cm).
The C2 Ultra was developed in partnership with Designed for Xbox, one of the leading gaming accessory company.
It offers the Game mode with a refresh rate of up to 240 frames per second (fps).
The gimbal design, optical zoom and auto-calibration functions, including Focus, Keystone Correction, Obstacle Avoidance, Screen Fit In and Adaptive Wall Color, ensure fast and accurate installation.
However, other installation options are also available.
In addition, the developers placed an additional sub-buffer in taller stand of C2 Ultra.
The audio system includes 2 x 10W JBL sound section and 20W subwoofer. Frankly, the sound quality allows most consumers to get by without an additional soundbar. However, for music lovers, the developers have added an HDMI 2.1 port with eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel for transmitting lossless digital audio to an external soundbar).
The list of modes for SDR signals includes Standard, Filmmaker, Cinema Day / Night, Dynamic and Sport, which in turn contain a choice between HDR and HDR10+ sources, and reduced for Dolby Vision programs.
Brightness on the Laser 10 setting ranges from 1750 Lumens for Filmmaker to 2900 Lumens in Standard. But this aspect has its nuances.
CVIA Lumens
Sources indicate the brightness of C2 projectors in CVIA Lumens or ANSI Lumens. This oddity requires a brief explanation.
As known, the brightness of a projector directly affects the image colors saturation and is one of the main specs of any projector. Given its marketing importance, companies developed and use their own methodologies and units of measurement. As a result, brightness is indicated in ANSI / LED / ISO Lumens and even Lux (illumination of 1 m² on the screen). Moreover, in addition to white brightness, Epson additionally indicates Color Light Output (CLO), focusing consumers’ attention on the absence of losses in 3LCD projectors due to the lack of a color wheel.
LED projector manufacturers rate projector brightness in LED lumens, taking into account color perception (Helmholtz-Kohlrausch effect).
Brightness units list:
– ANSI Lumens (luminous flux at nine points on the screen);
– Lux – illumination of one square meter;
– ISO Lumens (1 ANSI Lumen ~ 0.8 ISO Lumens, ISO 21118 standard);
– LED Lumens (1,000 LED Lumens ~ 417 ANSI Lumens).
To eliminate confusion, in October 2022, the China Electronics Video Industry Association (CVIA) released the results of selective testing for projector brightness and suggested a group standard. The list of its developers included leading brands, platform vendors, and survey agencies, including, for example, Hisense, JmGO, Dangbei, Harqu, etc. Today it’s called the CVIA lumens brightness standard.
As known, ANSI lumens assumes a fixed color temperature of 6500K. According to the developers, CVIA lumens considers the amount of ambient light in the viewing room and projector’s color temperature (6000K – 18000K). As a result, CVIA lumens ratings tend to be typically higher vs ANSI lumens ratings for the same projector. The difference is 5-10% and appears when playing dark scenes.
Conclusion
Pros
– high brightness;
– auto keystone correction, autofocus, optical zoom and swinging integrated stand for adjustments in 2 planes;
– color gamut up to 110% in the BT.2020 color space;
– no laser speckles;
– superb JBL audio with integrated subwoofer;
– SmartTV with Netflix;
– 12 ms input lag for gaming;
– compact design;
– 3D support.
Cons
– slightly expensive for mid-focal mini projectors;
– only average performance for HDR10+ content reproduction;
– not ideal black;
– non-removable gimbal stand due to integrated power supply plug.
The Chinese giant has once again managed to create a superb model. Despite the compact design, almost all specs of the Hisense C2 Ultra correspond to the premium level, including high brightness, wide color gamut, subwoofer and high gaming performance. Moreover, the technology for reducing laser speckles effectively solves one of the main problems of projectors with a triple-laser light engine.
A radical expansion of installation methods (tabletop / tripod / wall / ceiling) and auto settings also have become one of the bonuses. Indeed, a projection distance of several meters requires placing the projector in the center of the room. But the power cable on the floor is hardly convenient, especially in a family with children and pets. Multi installation and auto settings minimize this problem of all mid-focal projectors.
Unfortunately, everything has its price. Hisense C2 Ultra costs about $ 2,500, which is a bit expensive for this segment. However, C2 Pro ($ 2,300) and the basic C2 are significantly cheaper. In addition, the series is expecting the traditional correction of launch price.
Video demonstrates the new Hisense C2 series of mid-focal 4K laser projectors.