The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is rightfully considered the most popular platform for demonstrating innovative achievements. Until 1978, it was held only in New York. But given its success, from 1978 to 1994, the organizers held the Winter Consumer Electronics Show (WCES) in January in Las Vegas and the Summer Consumer Electronics Show (SCES) in June in Chicago. Then the organizers found the optimal compromise and for the past 30 years it has been held annually only in January in Las Vegas. Even the pandemic several years ago did not prevent it from being held, although some events were held in a virtual format.
Of course, this year was no exception. From January 7 to 11, the pavilions in Las Vegas were traditionally filled with visitors and company representatives showcasing innovative products. As usual, high-tech projectors and TVs were in the spotlight.
The marketing battles are mostly over in the TV segment. Today, more than 90% of sales come from Samsung & LG (South Korea), Hisense & TCL (China), Sony & Panasonic (Japan). The rapid growth in popularity of projectors has lasted no more than 10 years. Accordingly, the marketing passions in this segment are in full swing, and the market is replenished annually by new participants. In fairness, upon closer analysis, many new brands turn out to be associated with with well-known large companies. For example, Formovie is a joint venture between Xiaomi and Appotronics.
As a result, in addition to showcases from companies with a long-standing presence in this segment, the CES 2025 pavilions demonstrated products from Aurzen, TCL, Ultimea, Valerion, Yaber, etc.
Hisense
The ultra-short throw (UST) L9Q is the newest model from Chinese giant. It’s part of the ‘Laser TV’ series. Accordingly, the projector has a built-in receiver and comes with Hisense’s ambient light rejecting (ALR) lenticular screen. Its list of sizes is 100, 110, 120, 136 or 150 inches. In addition, they will be available for sale separately.
Hisense’s proprietary TriChroma triple-laser light engine delivers up to 5,000 lumens brightness and covers up to 110% of the BT.2020 color space. Moreover, the model provides 5,000:1 native contrast ratio, which is unprecedented for DLP and 3LCD technologies. These specs should deliver bright, rich colors even in high ambient light environments without additional dimming.
The developers paid a lot of attention to the projector’s appearance. As a result, it has a luxury design with a Black Walnut Décor Panel, Star Orbit Ambient Lighting, and brushed metal finishes. The Clous de Paris texture (a “hobnail” pattern) harmoniously complements the design aesthetic.
A 116W 6.2.2ch surround sound system with 10 speakers, a 15° tilted sound bin similar to Roman amphitheaters, Dolby Atmos and DTS Virtual X support provides a cinematic sound quality that will be sufficient for most. However, for audiophiles and music fans, the projector also features HDMI port with eARC for delivering digital audio content to an external soundbar.
The L9Q runs on the Google TV OS, supports Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and has HDMI 2.1, Wi-Fi 6E, NEXTGEN TV (ATSC 3.0) for connectivity.
Dangbei
Dangbei brand became one of the sensations of 2023, introducing the first projector with ALPD 5.0 technology. Today X5 Ultra 4K projector costs $1,375 and competes well in the mid-focal 4K Home Theater models segment. The new scheme uses three colors of laser light sources and three colors of LED light sources. It delivers more wide color gamut and unprecedented DeltaE < 1 color accuracy 'out of the box'. For reference, DeltaE < 3 is considered good even after calibration.
At CES 2024, the company introduced the ultra-compact (1.87″ thick@2.82 lb/1.3 kg) laser Dangbei Atom with Full HD 1080p resolution and brightness up to 1,200 ISO Lumens.
Today, it costs ~$ 900.
This year the company introduced the MP1 Max 4K projector also with a hybrid light engine. Near-perfect color accuracy of the three-laser light generator is achieved through Qualas laser technology. The additional filter for blue light wavelengths reduces eye strain. MP1 provides brightness up to 3,100 ISO lumen and covers 110% of BT.2020. Projector comes with calibrated settings for D65 color temperature and improved color accuracy.
The dual 12W speakers are placed in the 750ml sound chamber and reproduce bass down to 45Hz.
An integrated gimbal stand has 135° vertical tilt and 360° horizontal rotation, radically simplifying projector installation.
The model uses the upgraded InstanPro AI Image Setup 2.0 for autofocus and real-time keystone correction. The official global version will include Google TV. The stated price will be ~$ 1,900.
Aurzen
Aurzen is a young English company that has already created several successful ultra-compact projectors in a few years, including the BOOM and EAZZE D models. The new Aurzen ZIP pico projector has a tri-fold design, which allowed the developers to place it in a case with dimensions of 3.31 x 3.07 x 1.02 inches / 8.4 x 7.8 x 2.6 cm at a weight of 280 g. It has already received the informal name ‘the world’s smallest DLP microchip for HD’.
With its tiny dimensions, the model uses an LED light source, providing a brightness up to 100 ANSI lumens. Also it has a native 720p resolution with support for 4K content, a contrast ratio of 300:1 and a throw ratio listed of 1.09:1. Its price on Kickstarter was $ 249.
The list of other features includes:
– time-of-flight (ToF) ‘zero-second’ autofocus and auto vertical keystone correction;
– built-in 5000mAh battery for 90 minutes;
– fast charging and magnetic accessories.
The dual-hinge gimbal of adjustable stand enables adjustment up to 180°. Its a built-in gyroscope adapts to vertical projection for phones and tablets. Finally, it has built-in surround sound.
Aurzen ZIP is compatible with Android, Windows, iOS, macOS, and Bluetooth and provides mirroring without third-party Wi-Fi. The model is ideal for supporters of an active lifestyle.
Samsung and LG
Of course, the South Korean giants also presented their models. Samsung’s Premiere 8K UST wireless projector was first presented at CES 2023, and the company has already presented its improved versions twice. The projector creates an image up to 150-inches diagonally from about 12 inches from the screen. It receives content via an external Wireless One Connect Box, the range of which is limited to 10 meters. Given the limited 8K content, upgrading the quality of 4K to 8K is its main bonus. Triple laser RGB light engine provides a light output of up to 4,000 lumens. Aauto brightness feature reduces the influence of ambient light. The model has 100W 8.2.2ch audio with Dolby Atmos support, auto keystone, auto focus, screen scale, and side-level height adjustment. Samsung’s Sound-on-Screen technology is also a bonus. It creates the illusion of the sound source location on the screen.
The compact triple-laser Premiere 5 UST projector offers an innovative touch interactive feature. It expands the projector’s capabilities in gaming, education, or creative activities.
LG showed the PF600U, which combines a projector with a Bluetooth speaker and an LED lamp, and the CineBeam S (PU615U). Today it’s one of the smallest-ever 4K UST models. Its weight and size are only 11 x 16 x 16cm and 5.5 lb/ 2.5kg.
The PF600U delivers 300 ANSI lumens of brightness, has an FHD (1,920 x 1,080) resolution, supports OTT streaming via LG webOS, and is designed as a floor lamp.
The CineBeam S has 4K UHD (3,840 x 2,160) resolution and 500 ANSI lumens of brightness. It covers 154% of the DCI-P3 standard.
XGIMI and Formovie
Chinese XGIMI has unveiled the Aura 2 (WM03B) 4K UST projector.
To be fair, this model was first presented at the IFA 2024 exhibition in Berlin. For reference, IFA is an abbreviation that stands for Internationale Funkausstellung (German) or International Consumer Electronics Fair (English).
Projector has innovative Dual Light 2.0 (Laser + LED) light engine, providing brightness up to 2,300 ISO Lumens and color gamut of 99% in DCI-P3 color space. It uses built-in 60W Harman Kardon speakers, supports DTS:X and Dolby Atmos. Other specs also correspond to the top level.
For example, ISA 5.0 is considered one of the best intelligent picture adjustment systems in the industry. The model costs ~ $ 2,700.
In addition, the company introduced XGIMI Ascend 2-in-1 setup.
It includes a floor-rising motorized 100-inch ALR (ambient light-rejecting) screen and two integrated premium Harman Kardon soundbars.
To be fair, the company is currently positioning it as a concept product in home entertainment.
Like XGIMI, Formovie showcased Cinema Edge 4K UST projector, which has been available since summer 2014.
The model uses Google TV with native netflix support, provides up to 2,100 ISO lumens brightness and screen size up to 150″. Its ALPD 4.0 (Advanced Laser Phosphor Display)-based triple-laser light engine and HDR10 / HLG support provide up to 110% Rec.709 color gamut.
Today, the price has dropped from its $ 2,000 launch price to $ 1,800, making the Formovie Cinema Edge one of the cheapest 4K UST laser projectors on the market.
TCL, Ultimea and Valerion
One of the leaders in the TV segment, Chinese TCL decided to expand its activities by announcing its first portable projector TCL A1 in the fall ($ 499 MSRP / $ 400 street price, 1080p, 360 ISO lumens, 120″, Google TV built in). At CES 2025, the company introduced the ‘twistable’ battery-powered Google TV PlayCube projector. The model consists of two rectangular sections. The projector itself is placed inside the cube. The rectangular rotating ‘stand’ provides easy adjustment of the projection direction and doubles as a speaker.
This solution is unique and seems very promising.
Founded in Seattle, Ultimea has been successfully competing in the market for more than 10 years. The company presented Nova C40 with 90-degree gimbal stand (360° horizontal / 135° vertical pan and tilt adjustments), very bright Poseiden E40 and Thor T60 laser TV.
The Thor T60 UST (ultra short throw) offers a 4K UHD resolution, superb native 4,000:1 contrast ratio, 120% BT.2020 color gamut, and brightness up to 4,000 ANSI lumens with Tri-Color laser engine.
Unfortunately, it’s quite expensive. Specifically, in Canada, the projector is available for CAD $ 6,799 (~$ 4,739).
The superb ‘Viewing Contrast’ (contrast with ‘Enhanced Black Level or EBL is on’) up to 15,000:1 of the VisionMaster Pro 2 has made the Valerion brand popular. At CES, company showed the VisionMaster MAX, which is not yet available.
The upgrades (Max vs Pro 2):
– seven levels of manual iris control provide an optimal compromise between brightness and contrast;
– up to 105% vertical lens shift eliminates distortions of keystone;
– optional zoom lens of interchangeable lens increases throw ratio from 1.5:1 to 2.1:1.
Yaber, NexiGo and JmGO
The compact Yaber K300S UST with triple-laser light engine (brightness up to 1,000 ANSI lumens and full DCI-P3 gamut coverage) became the most interesting exhibit in the new line. Its weight and thickness are only 3.97 lbs / 1.8 kg and 8.66 inches / 22 cm, respectively.
To be fair, it’s larger and heavier compared to the ultra-compact Philips Screeneo UL5 UST with (9 x 9 x 21cm)@1.0 kg, but brighter (1,000 vs 550 ANSI lumens). Keith Haring design, 100-inch diagonal@9″, Dolby processing and a JBL audio system are its added bonuses.
Nexigo showed Aurora Pro MKII 4K UST with premium specs.
Despite the impressive $ 3,500 MSRP, the company’s website lists the price at only $ 2,200, providing superb value for money and, accordingly, excellent marketing prospects.
Of course, the latest ALPD (Advanced Laser Phosphor Display) 5.0 Pro – based Tri-LED-laser light engine and native contrast 4,000:1 (full on/off) are its main advantages.
NexiGo also announced a prototype of the TriVision Ultra MKII. Preliminarily, this model will use the latest DLPC8445 4K UHD display controller from Texas Instruments with sub-millisecond latency and variable refresh rate. In this case, the model quite realistically claims a place on the list of the best gaming projectors.
JmGO showed the N3, which is an improved version of the N1S Ultimate (September 2024, ~$ 2,100), which is part of the popular JmGO N1 series. It’s brighter (4,000 ISO lumens vs 3,500 ANSI Lumens) and has a motorized gimbal for auto-screen alignment.
Conclusion
Overall, CES demonstrated good progress in the projector segment. Reducing the size and weight while maintaining the price level, expanding smart functionality and improving the main specs, including brightness, contrast and color gamut can be considered the main current trend. Those wishing to replace a traditional TV with a projector have a wide choice of superb new models.
This video demonstrates the ultra compact UST 4K laser projector K300S.