two minute review
The Hisense L9G is a revelation for the living room, but top tech never comes cheap. This $5,499 (about $4,000, AU$7,500) projector packs some big features you'd expect from the best projectors thanks to its ultra-short throw design, tri-color laser light engine, HDMI 2.1 ports with eARC, its HDR support, a Android TV interface and powerful 40W speakers.
A sample of the quality of the projector is shown from the beginning. It takes minutes to set up right out of the box (although it's an effort to bring the box home), and the projector's all-in-one nature makes the whole process simple. Most people will probably only be able to place it in front of a bare wall and enjoy a monstrous, bright and vivid image.
Hisense does not sell this projector as a basic projector, but as a laser TV. And in an effort to ensure superior picture quality for the price, Hisense includes an ambient light-rejecting projector screen that's designed to be permanently wall-mounted. This 100-inch or 120-inch screen (varies depending on projector model selected) will negate some of the minimalism of the setup when placed on a wall (it's not a roll-up screen), but for those who demand the highest image quality, it will reduce the impact ambient light and reduce distortions in the shape of the wall that could impact the image. Of course, for those who care little about ambient light effects or a bit of wall texture or who already have a quality projection screen, tough luck: the screen is included in the box and price.
This projector is definitely for the dedicated movie buff.
However, as good as its image performance is, the projector stumbles in a few places. For one, with its attempts to adjust brightness bit by bit for certain content, over-correcting in a way that makes lighting quite jarring. Its motion smoothing can also be problematic, as it helps reduce pan jitter at times, but introduces much more noticeable motion artifacts to everything else on the screen. Fortunately, the Hisense L9G has a ton of settings available to adjust these features and more, allowing users to dial in the display however they like. There's also Filmmaker Mode to leave the settings in the hands of the professional.
There's no denying the amazing quality of the Hisense L9G, but it's a projector that promises to make sense to potential buyers. It's certainly less of a compromise than a 100-inch TV, as even affordable models are many times the price of the L9G.
Price and Availability
The Hisense L9G is available for €5,499 (around €4,000, AU$7,500) in a 100-inch configuration and €5,999 (around €4,400, AU$8,000) in a 120-inch configuration.
Compared to its competitors, the cost of the projector and screen combination is much higher. For example, the Xgimi Aura is also pretty amazing for less than half the price, but it's not nearly as bright or capable in daylight. Meanwhile, higher-end projectors like the top-of-the-line Optoma UHZ50 (half the price) or the Epson LS12000 (at €4000) can offer higher quality images, a little more flexibility in setups with a few more hassles. and more refresh rate options for gamers
Design and features
- Compact and complete kit
- projection screen included
- Powerful audio capabilities
- Another Forbidden Zone on Netflix
Measuring approximately 24 x 6,1 x 13,6 inches and weighing just 24,7 pounds, the Hisense L9G has packed a staggering amount of technology into a small, compact body barely bigger than a few shoe boxes. . It's a wider and taller hair, but not as deep as the Xgimi Aura we recently tried, but it's just as easy on the eyes and more.
The unit looks a bit like a narrow, beefy soundbar, and it wouldn't be silly to think of it as such. It's packed in its own set of Dolby Atmos-enabled speakers with a combined 40W output that's more than enough for a group movie night in a 200- or even 300-square-foot room. Despite the size of the device, it seems to have almost no problem staying cool with minimal fan noise.
El projector tiene un diseño obscuro y algo futurista que sigue siendo bastante sutil. It could fit in well enough in a low-profile setup, although it's harder to hide the 100-inch ALR (ambient light rejection) projection screen that Hisense includes in an effort to make it an installed feature. permanently.
Within its slim frame, the Hisense L9G packs a triple laser light source. This uses separate red, green and blue lasers to create a bright and colorful image, up to 107% of the wide Rec.2020 color space, as there is no need to filter light (thus reducing brightness) to create different colours. The laser light source also promises a longer life than traditional projector bulbs, up to 25.000 hours in this case.
Given the projector's 3000 lumen output and concentrated beam near the projector lens, Hisense has integrated a pair of proximity sensors that dim the screen very quickly when something gets close and turn the lights off completely. It's pretty responsive, responding quickly to our presence in most cases, but it seems to be motion-based, allowing the lights to turn back on if we're standing still, so it won't protect your eyes if you're staring calmly into the lens. . . Oddly enough, it almost looks like the top of the projector has a sliding cover to go over the lens when not in use, but it's just a part that doesn't move, leaving the glass lens cover exposed to the dust.
The system includes Android TV and Wi-Fi 5 or Gigabit Ethernet connection. Unfortunately, like many Android TV implementations from somewhat less popular brands, Netflix is not supported. The performance of the operating system is also occasional, but it can be used to a great extent.
Hisense has also included three HDMI ports, two of which support HDMI 2.1 and one that offers eARC, giving you plenty of options for high-quality video and audio signals. Bluetooth allows connections to and from the system, enabling external speakers or using the projector as a speaker. Optical and WiSA audio connections are also available.
One feature the projector lacks is flexibility. The lens has a fixed focal length. Too close to the wall or too far away, and it starts to look blurry. Although there is some wiggle room, you will lose focus if you move too far or too close to the wall. This isn't your "40" one day, 300" the next type of projector. It's more portable than a 100-inch TV, but it's designed to work like a 100-inch TV. This makes it the ideal distance from the wall for the 100-inch model is around 11 inches, though we found it very sharp at about 8 inches from the wall.
However, four adjustable feet on the bottom of the projector and eight-point digital geometric correction can help adjust the image correctly, and this geometric correction can be done manually or automatically with a phone's camera (in the browser). , even, so there is no application). download required).
Image quality
- Large (4-inch 100K image)
- Bright (3000 lumens),
- And Vivid (107% Rec.2020)
- Great right out of the box with plenty of tuning options
- Greatness in acting and theater.
There is not much to complain about the Hisense L9G. This projector takes exceptionally good technology and puts it to work. Even without the ALR projection screen, the Hisense L9G can create such a bright image that we feel comfortable watching almost anything in our living room in the middle of the day. If the weather is nice we can stick to cartoons, but with drawn shadows or cloudy weather the L9G has no trouble presenting a satisfying picture.
For movie or game nights, photography is a delight. The project handles exceptionally vivid colors as well as rich contrast that makes scenes even more dramatic. Even more impressive is the amount of shadow detail left in the image. Even looking in daylight, the details of the characters' dark clothing and hair are largely visible.
Everything jumps to crisp 4K. Dune and Nightmare Alley expanded to the proportions the L9G is capable of for a cinematic experience with the benefit of pause. Cartoons are alive with their colors. And the Japanese campaign of Ghost of Tsushima is beautiful. Input lag is low enough to even tackle bosses without too much trouble.
As good as the photo is, not everything is effortlessly perfect. The projector falls into some of the same traps as televisions. Your attempts to smooth motion can result in a lot of erroneous movement of characters and elements on the screen, and the brightness can change dramatically as the projector tries to improve the image from shot to shot. Motion smoothing seems to help with shake at least for panoramic images.
These problems are usually a bit annoying and you are not stuck with them. Hisense offers a host of configuration options, allowing for many different levels of motion smoothing, lighting control, color adjustments, and the ever-useful Filmmaker Mode. Settings can also be saved for different input sources, allowing users to create a special profile, perhaps for a 4K Blu-ray player, and a separate profile for a game console or two.
Should you buy the Hisense L9G Laser 4K TV?
Buy it if...
You want the ultimate home theater in a box
The Hisense L9G includes everything you need for an incredibly enjoyable video setup with the projector, your speakers, your smart TV deck and projection screen all in the box.
You want a big, big picture
There is nothing small with the Hisense L9G. It is designed to provide a 100 or 120 inch image. While it can go a bit smaller, it'll get fuzzy before it's smaller than most TVs.
Do you want to tune...