This 4K Projector Is the Easiest Way to Build a Home Movie Theater

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Photo: Andrew Liszewski/Gizmodo

I’ve by no means been a fan of projectors for house use. To me they’ve at all times been too scorching, too noisy, require separate audio system, and costly if you need sufficient brightness to be viewable earlier than sundown. But after watching Black Widow on a 12-foot display screen in 4K HDR within the consolation of my household room, the XGIMI Horizon Pro projector has satisfied me in any other case.

The price of a superb projector has dropped dramatically through the years, even fashions able to 4K resolutions. But the XGIMI Horizon Pro will nonetheless set you again $1,700, which is pricey given the constraints of when and the place you should use it. For that a lot cash you will get an enormous 82-inch 4K TV with sufficient brightness and distinction to observe any time of the day. But should you’re attempting to sometimes recreate the massive display screen expertise of a movie show at house now that so many mainstream movies are premiering on streaming providers, the Horizon Pro is a superb all-in-one answer requiring little or no setup to get a improbable image.

It’s a Box

Most projectors aren’t purported to be the point of interest of a room—they’re designed to be hidden or mounted out of sight. As such, the Horizon Pro remains to be primarily a field with a lens on the entrance—however a field that XGIMI’s designers have at the very least spent a while making aesthetically pleasing. It’s obtained some curves, and it’s wrapped in a housing with a perforated sample that facilitates each built-in audio system and cooling. It’s not ugly, it’s not fairly, it’s simply inoffensive.

XGIMI has squeezed in just about as many useful ports as there’s room for on the Horizon Pro.

XGIMI has squeezed in nearly as many helpful ports as there’s room for on the Horizon Pro.
Photo: Andrew Liszewski/Gizmodo

On the again you’ll discover the standard connections together with an optical out for audio, two USB 2.0 ports, two HDMI ports (one supporting ARC), a headphone jack, and a LAN networking port for connecting it to your house community with a cable. If you battle with getting a robust wifi connection all through your house, it’s a pleasant choice to have, however I had no bother streaming 4K content material from providers like Disney+ over my house’s wi-fi community.

Without a built-in adjustable stand, your best bet is to use the Horizon Pro attached to a standard adjustable tripod.

Without a built-in adjustable stand, your finest wager is to make use of the Horizon Pro connected to a regular adjustable tripod.
Photo: Andrew Liszewski/Gizmodo

On the underside of the projector you’ll discover a very giant rubber footprint with 4 ft guaranteeing it gained’t slide round when positioned on a desk or different easy floor. What you gained’t discover is an extendable leg or any option to angle the projector up when it’s sitting by itself. You’ll want a stack of books or coasters for that, however the higher answer is to make the most of the usual tripod mount on the underside. A tripod with a ball head makes it extremely simple to place the Horizon Pro on the actual top and angle you want—you’ll simply wish to ensure that the tripod you employ can accommodate a tool that weighs 6.4 kilos, plus the exceedingly giant energy brick the Horizon Pro depends on. (Seriously, it’s like one thing that shipped with an early ‘aughts laptop.)

Are lens caps no longer a thing with projectors? It would have been a nice inclusion given how portable the Horizon Pro is.

Are lens caps no longer a thing with projectors? It would have been a nice inclusion given how portable the Horizon Pro is.
Photo: Andrew Liszewski/Gizmodo

One minor complaint: Given the projector’s comparatively small footprint it’s simple to journey with if you wish to convey film night time to a pal’s home, nevertheless it utterly lacks a lens cap. There’s no simple option to defend the projector’s most fragile part, and I might have appreciated to have seen XGIMI at the very least embrace a option to connect an affordable lens cap, even when it needs to be bought individually.

Quiet but Loud

To maximize the lifespan of the intense bulbs used, all however the smallest of projectors depend on a fan to dissipate warmth, and that has usually been one in all my greatest annoyances: the incessant white noise they produce. But the Horizon Pro’s fan is so quiet that it has by no means been audible over the overall din of the room I take advantage of it in (which is subjected to the quiet hum of a close-by fridge, and the sound of the AC working). During most of my testing I’ve sat inside three or 4 ft of the projector and at no level have I ever truly heard its cooling fan working.

They won’t give you a surround sound experience, but the built-in 8-watt speakers are plenty loud and clear for any room.

They gained’t offer you a encompass sound expertise, however the built-in 8-watt audio system are loads loud and clear for any room.
Photo: Andrew Liszewski/Gizmodo

Another factor that’s at all times aggravated me about projectors is that until you’re simply stepping by means of PowerPoint slides in a convention room, it’s essential to convey your personal audio system for watching motion pictures or enjoying video video games—what’s usually constructed into these units is simply terrible. That’s not the case right here both. As emblazoned on both sides of the Horizon Pro, the projector encompasses a pair of 8-watt Harman Kardon audio system inside. You’re not going to get a real encompass sound expertise from them, however they’re each greater than loud sufficient to fill a room—I’ve by no means had the quantity previous 75%, which is already far too loud to be comfy. They additionally supply wonderful vary and stable bass efficiency with out ever distorting. They can’t compete with a devoted woofer that lets you actually really feel an enormous explosion or the sounds of a gun combat in a film, however in any other case there’s little to complain about how the Horizon Pro sounds.

A Surprisingly Excellent Remote

The distant controls that normally ship with projectors at all times look like an afterthought, and for probably the most half they’re actually solely ever used to make settings changes when the projector is mounted out of attain. But with Google TV on board, XGIMI has included a fully-featured media distant with a beautiful brushed steel physique.

The remote XGIMI has included is surprisingly excellent, and even features a lovely brushed metal finish.

The distant XGIMI has included is surprisingly wonderful, and even encompasses a pretty brushed steel end.
Photo: Andrew Liszewski/Gizmodo

You not solely get all of the buttons it’s essential to navigate Google TV, together with shortcuts for Google Assistant, a again button, and fast entry to the house display screen, however XGIMI has additionally included a devoted button for triggering the projector’s handbook or auto focus modes, which must be necessary if, just like the Horizon Pro, a bodily focus wheel isn’t included on the projector itself.

A limited set of redundant controls can be found atop the projector, but you won’t want to lose that remote.

A restricted set of redundant controls may be discovered atop the projector, however you gained’t wish to lose that distant.
Photo: Andrew Liszewski/Gizmodo

A restricted set of redundant controls will also be discovered atop the projector, together with fast entry to quantity, however as a rule you gained’t need the included distant to ever go lacking.

Google TV With One Big Limitation

One factor that’s made projectors a extra interesting answer for a simple house theater is that lots of them now run Google TV as an alternative of a proprietary working system with an unsightly and complicated consumer interface. Even should you’re not conversant in Android, Google TV is simple to navigate, and thru the Google Play Store you’ll be able to set up virtually any streaming app possible… virtually. Netflix retains a good rein on what units are permitted to entry its streaming service, and the XGIMI Horizon Pro is just not one in all them.

Even with Google TV installed, Netflix isn’t available for the Horizon Pro, so you might want to consider pairing it with a cheap streaming dongle.

Even with Google TV put in, Netflix isn’t obtainable for the Horizon Pro, so that you may wish to think about pairing it with an affordable streaming dongle.
Photo: Andrew Liszewski/Gizmodo

You can soar by means of hoops to try to make Netflix work, like casting a stream from one other gadget, however that defeats the comfort of getting Google TV constructed proper in. My answer is to easily join a $50 Chromecast with Google TV, however I might nonetheless definitely prefer to see XGIMI get Netflix’s approval ultimately.

Easy Setup and a Treat for the Eyes

Yet one other inconvenience of the projectors of yesteryear was the setup course of. The extra degree they have been positioned, the higher the possibility you had of getting a superbly squared picture utilizing restricted keystone controls. The Horizon Pro can do that routinely, and even regulate the projected picture to keep away from gentle switches, work, and different objects which may block the picture should you’re utilizing a wall as a display screen.

Excellent manual keystone controls means you don’t have to stress over perfectly positioning the Horizon Pro.

Excellent handbook keystone controls means you don’t must stress over completely positioning the Horizon Pro.
Photo: Andrew Liszewski/Gizmodo

It works, however can usually result in a smaller picture that defeats the usage of a projector, so a giant empty wall gives you one of the best outcomes and higher make the most of the Horizon Pro’s decision. But you don’t must essentially stress over completely positioning the projector when setting it up. Its handbook keystone correction controls are wonderful, permitting you to regulate every nook individually in a number of instructions so you’ll be able to simply appropriate for a projector that’s barely misaligned.

Both manual and autofocus controls are available, but when it works, the autofocus works quite well at producing a very crisp image.

Both handbook and autofocus controls can be found, however when it really works, the autofocus works fairly effectively at producing a really crisp picture.
Photo: Andrew Liszewski/Gizmodo

The Horizon Pro’s autofocus can also be wonderful, and it may be set to refocus each time the projector is turned on, and when motion is detected. Unless you completely mount it someplace, there’s a superb probability the projector goes to get by chance bumped. For no matter motive, the projector’s preliminary try to autofocus at energy up at all times leads to an extremely blurred picture for me, regardless of guaranteeing its software program is totally updated. But triggering autofocus once more utilizing the distant at all times leads to an extremely sharp picture after that. Manual focus changes can be found, however I’ve but to want to make use of them.

The Horizon’s Pro $1,700 price ticket isn’t low-cost, however when in comparison with the $700 Anker Nebula Capsule projector which solely musters 720p resolutions at 200 lumens, for an additional grand you’re getting a lift to three,840 x 2,160 pixels at 2200 lumens. Depending on how distant from a display screen or wall the projector is positioned, that’s greater than sufficient illumination to create a vivid picture in a room even in the course of the day.

I’ve been testing the Horizon Pro at a distance of a bit over 12 ft from a wall, which produces a picture about the identical dimension diagonally, and whereas I can play vivid video video games like Animal Crossing in the course of the day with the blinds drawn, content material with darker photos is sort of unattainable to see till it will get darker outdoors. I’ve given up on attempting to observe Star Wars: The Bad Batch till after sundown with this setup, however that’s with the projector creating an enormous, wall-filling 144-inch picture. If you go smaller, or use a highly-reflective display screen as an alternative of a tan-painted wall with a matte end like I do, you’ll see a lot brighter outcomes.

Are Your TV’s Days Numbered?

Would I think about the XGIMI Horizon Pro a everlasting alternative for a TV? No. For $1,700, your cash will likely be higher spent on as giant an OLED as you will get with sufficient distinction ratio and brightness that you just’ll by no means have to fret if a room is just too vivid to make use of it.

Where the Horizon Pro excels is as a short lived different to a giant TV. Maybe you need a huge display screen in your bed room with out truly hanging an enormous black monolith on the wall that may conflict with the decor, or, like myself, you wish to recreate a movie show expertise at house and make the most of first-run motion pictures nonetheless debuting on streaming providers. You may simply spend tens of hundreds of {dollars} constructing your self a everlasting house theater, however that now appears even much less interesting to me when the $1,700 Horizon Pro has let me confidently say goodbye to film theaters as soon as and for all.

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