What can you expect from the $5000 Hisense L9H Ultra Projector.
To help you decide if this is right for you, we’ll take you through the setup process, the pros and cons, and the incredibly immersive experience you can achieve with this massive setup and investment!
To help you decide if this is right for you, we’ll take you through the setup process, the pros and cons, and the incredibly immersive experience you can achieve with this massive setup and investment!
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TechTranscript
00:00 What if I told you you didn't have to spend over $10,000
00:02 to get a 100-inch TV?
00:04 Something that's been gaining a lot of momentum,
00:06 especially recently, is laser TV projectors.
00:09 But as someone who's had them on their radar for a while,
00:12 I'm curious to see how a laser TV
00:14 stacks up to a traditional setup.
00:16 That's exactly what we're gonna find out today
00:17 with the Hisense L9H Ultra Short Throw Projector.
00:21 Having used this for the past few months,
00:23 I'll take you through the setup process,
00:24 what I like, and some of the shortcomings
00:27 that you can expect with this $5,000 setup.
00:30 Right off the bat, I was shocked
00:31 by how large the box it ships in is.
00:34 It wasn't heavy, weighing around 50 pounds,
00:36 so it was pretty easy for my fiance and my dad
00:38 to carry this down the front porch
00:39 to the basement where we were installing it.
00:41 Opening it up, you first find the projector
00:43 in its own smaller box with lots of padding on each side.
00:47 Underneath is another box
00:49 for the 100-inch projector screen
00:51 and all of its installation hardware.
00:53 Starting with the projector itself,
00:55 when we open it up, we first find its instructions,
00:57 gloves for handling the projector screen,
00:59 and its power cord.
01:01 This is a 4K UHD projector with 3000 lumens,
01:04 Dolby Vision and Atmos, and HDR10.
01:07 It runs Google TV, which includes all of your favorite apps,
01:10 including HBO, Hulu, and native support
01:13 for Netflix out of the box.
01:14 No weird third-party installation required.
01:17 Moving on to the larger box,
01:19 this has several metal pieces and rods inside
01:21 that, when put together, create the frame
01:24 of the projector screen.
01:25 And aside from the obvious of needing to have enough wall
01:28 to actually install this on,
01:30 there's a surprising amount of math
01:32 and measuring also involved.
01:34 All of this is to make sure
01:35 that you have the precise amount of space
01:37 between the bottom of the screen
01:38 and the surface that you're placing the projector on.
01:41 Altogether, this took up a very large chunk of our day,
01:44 and that's with three people being involved.
01:46 But we're gonna see if this extra effort
01:48 was worth it in the end.
01:49 Now, it's time to get surgical.
01:51 We began by putting on the included white gloves,
01:54 laid out this protective white sheet, and got to work.
01:57 Things did look a little bit intimidating at first.
02:00 Honestly, the included instructions
02:02 could have been a little bit better,
02:03 as some of the steps for connecting the pieces
02:05 were confusing, and we ended up watching
02:07 their online installation video a few times
02:09 to make sure that we were doing everything right.
02:11 Although you can get by with assembling
02:13 the entire frame on your own,
02:15 having the extra set of hands makes things way easier,
02:18 especially when it comes to moving on
02:19 to the next step of installing the actual screen.
02:22 Here, it was a big help to have that extra set of hands
02:25 before I began to unravel it
02:26 to make sure everything was in place.
02:28 We checked our math one more time,
02:30 and then began to drill and attach the mounting hardware,
02:32 which connects the two rods,
02:34 which provide height adjustment.
02:35 I would say another big consideration,
02:37 if you're trying to decide if a laser TV projector
02:40 is right for you, is what it looks like when it's off.
02:43 Especially against lighter colored walls,
02:45 I found that the gray screen stuck out like a sore thumb.
02:48 The black bordered frame doesn't really do
02:50 it any favors either.
02:51 A TV, on the other hand, while it would probably
02:53 be a little bit thicker and stick out further
02:55 from your wall, probably would be, I don't know,
02:58 less of an eyesore, in my opinion,
03:00 just because it's one single color.
03:02 Even though we finally have our screen installed
03:04 on the wall, we're not quite done yet.
03:07 We now need to go through the auto keystoning,
03:10 which, if you're unfamiliar, is its way
03:12 of determining where the frame borders are
03:14 so that the projector adjusts the picture
03:17 to look upright and straight.
03:19 It requires the use of your smartphone to take a photo,
03:22 which you then upload to this web-based app,
03:24 and then it's supposed to analyze it
03:26 and then do the adjustments that way.
03:29 But no matter how many times I tried it,
03:31 the results just never worked.
03:32 And so I had to rely entirely on manual adjustments
03:36 using the four screwed on feet at the bottom
03:38 to try and level the projector.
03:40 Given that premium price tag of $5,000,
03:43 this wasn't the seamless setup experience
03:45 that I was expecting.
03:47 Now, moving past that, after we downloaded
03:49 and logged into all our streaming accounts,
03:51 we were greeted with the very familiar home screen
03:53 that was snappy and already had
03:56 all our recommended content to watch.
03:58 I started by watching James Bond, No Time to Die.
04:00 And with all the lights turned off,
04:02 you quickly forget that this is a projector.
04:04 Out of the box, everything was bright and vibrant,
04:06 and what was most surprising was how sharp everything looked
04:09 on this massive screen.
04:11 Having these action sequences fill up nearly
04:14 an entire wall is incredible.
04:16 And although it's 40 watt Dolby Atmos speakers
04:18 won't replace a dedicated sound system,
04:21 for a built-in solution, it's quite good
04:23 and better than most TVs.
04:25 (TV static)
04:27 Even when we switched to the news,
04:33 it felt more engaging when blown up to 100 inches.
04:36 And with the lights turned off,
04:37 I'd even go as far as to say that out of the box,
04:39 it can be a little bit too bright,
04:41 which again, blew me away.
04:43 Now, when you're watching these examples,
04:45 don't mind the purple lines that you may see on screen.
04:47 That's just how the camera interprets that footage.
04:50 Trust me, it looks completely normal, no issues.
04:53 So, things look great and incredible
04:55 with the lights turned off, but how do they look
04:58 once we start to turn our lights back on
05:00 and open the curtains to let in some natural light?
05:03 Testing this with the ABC murders,
05:04 I noticed its advantage when watching it
05:06 from more dramatic viewing angles
05:08 off to the side of a room,
05:09 and the consistency overall with its image,
05:12 no matter where I was watching.
05:14 I could see this making laser TVs
05:15 like the Hisense L9H a really great choice
05:18 if you have a big gathering and you have a lot of people
05:20 in different parts of your house
05:21 all watching, say, the big game for the Super Bowl.
05:24 But as we continue to let in more sun
05:26 and turn on more lights overhead,
05:28 our image does begin to look a little bit more washed out now
05:32 and mind you, even though this was still
05:33 a relatively cloudy day, it became quickly clear
05:36 that this was an area that traditional TVs
05:39 still have an advantage.
05:40 And in all fairness, when you actually factor in
05:42 the size of the projector itself and the stand
05:45 or table that it's actually on,
05:47 a TV would still have the advantage
05:48 in terms of overall footprint.
05:50 Moving on to gaming, this is definitely something
05:52 I was really interested in testing out.
05:54 Using its 4K 60Hz HDMI port,
05:57 we started playing some Cyberpunk 2077.
05:59 As much as I've already played this game in the past,
06:02 both on my 49 inch ultra wide and my 65 inch TV,
06:06 it's a completely different experience
06:08 when blown up to 100 inches.
06:10 When you sit close enough,
06:11 it really does fill your whole peripheral.
06:13 It's incredible for story driven games and some shooters,
06:17 but I probably wouldn't use this for say,
06:19 a competitive FPS like Overwatch 2
06:22 because at that point, you're actually at a bit
06:24 of a disadvantage having something this large.
06:26 And at the same time, I would have actually preferred
06:28 having higher FPS and a smaller monitor
06:31 that was closer to me instead of that
06:33 more immersive experience.
06:35 Games like Alan Wake 2 are a perfect example
06:38 of the kind of game that I think this projector is best for.
06:41 Turn off the lights and it's instantly
06:43 a hundred times spookier to play.
06:45 And although I didn't get the chance to try this out yet,
06:47 again, for larger gatherings,
06:49 I think this would be the perfect choice for party games
06:51 like Mario Kart and Smash Bros.
06:53 So, after using the Hisense L9H 4K Laser TV
06:57 for a few months, what do I think?
06:59 Would I be willing and able to completely ditch
07:02 a traditional TV setup in favor of this?
07:04 When watching movies or playing certain games,
07:07 especially with the lights off,
07:08 I think the immersion and quality that you get
07:09 at a hundred inches, there's really nothing short
07:12 of calling this exciting and amazing.
07:15 That said, from this experience,
07:16 I did learn that TVs still have the advantage
07:18 in terms of ease of setup, as well as picture quality,
07:21 especially when the lights are turned on.
07:23 But laser TVs are an enticing choice for the size
07:26 that they offer, as well as their lower price point.
07:29 But there's a caveat here.
07:31 In late 2023, this price advantage is quickly disappearing.
07:36 Especially around the holidays,
07:37 we've seen some really deep discounts,
07:39 like the 98-inch TCL S5, which is 50% off
07:43 and goes for $2,499.
07:45 And even Hisense's own 100-inch U8K 4K TV is 50% off,
07:50 bringing its price to $5,000, which matches the price
07:54 of its laser TV counterpart that we're checking out.
07:57 Funny enough, though, when I first started this project
07:59 about two months ago, the value proposition
08:01 for the L9H and other laser TVs was largely in their favor.
08:05 I wouldn't be surprised, though,
08:06 if Hisense soon discounted the L9H to make it, once again,
08:09 the cheaper choice compared to TVs.
08:11 And if so, it would be an easy recommendation
08:13 for those trying to get one of the largest,
08:15 most immersive at-home entertainment experiences
08:17 that you can get, while still trying to be price conscious.
08:21 But let us know your thoughts on the L9H
08:22 and other similar laser TV options.
08:24 Is it something you'd be willing to switch
08:26 for your dedicated setup?
08:28 If you like these videos, be sure to subscribe
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08:31 You can also follow me for a more behind-the-scenes look
08:33 into how I make these videos and some of the other cool tech
08:35 that I'm reviewing.
08:37 This has been Paul, until the next one, catch you later.