In today's technological landscape, setting up a living room involves more than just installing a television. Many young families now consider adding a projector to their setup, as it offers a larger screen and a more immersive viewing experience. However, one of the primary concerns for many is the clarity of the image. Without proper guidance, even a significant investment might not yield a projector with satisfactory image quality. Therefore, opting for a 4K projector for the living room becomes essential.
This review aims to explore whether there's a viable option among this year's 4K projectors specifically designed for living room use.
When selecting a 4K projector for your living room, it's important to consider various factors. Different industries have their own standards and specifications, and the projector industry is no exception. Understanding these parameters can be a bit daunting, especially considering the presence of genuine and false specifications. If you want to get a good product without breaking the bank, it's essential to pay close attention to the following explanation.
Choosing a 4K resolution projector offers more than just increasing pixel count; it also enhances the clarity and sharpness of the image. Additionally, 4K projection provides improved color accuracy and vibrancy, making it a worthwhile investment for your home entertainment setup.
True and False 4K Resolution
Projection manufacturers are increasingly deceptive, leading to the appearance of many 4K projectors in the market. However, some 4K projectors are genuine, while others are not. Often, in some miscellaneous stores, you'll come across projectors labeled as "compatible with 4K," "maximum resolution 4K," or "supports 4K." These are all false 4K projectors; they can only play 4K content at best but do not necessarily produce native 4K images.
4K resolution refers to a resolution of either 38402160 or 40962160 pixels. The actual resolution depends on the DMD (Digital Micromirror Device) display chip. Typically, to achieve true 4K resolution, one needs to purchase DMD display chips with a size of 0.47 inches or 0.66 inches. Look for labels indicating "Native 4K resolution" or "Standard 4K resolution" when making a purchase.
When it comes to high-end projectors, the choice of light source matters a lot, especially for a 4K projector in the living room. That's why many top brands are now opting for laser light sources. The light source determines various aspects of the image quality, such as brightness, color gamut, and contrast. Resolution determines clarity, but the light source is equally crucial.
You have options like LED, bulb, and laser light sources. For living room use, laser is the best choice. Laser technology has seen rapid development in recent years, surpassing other light sources by far. Currently, the best performing technology is ALPD 5.0 super full-color laser, which significantly enhances the picture quality. It outperforms other laser sources comprehensively, making a phenomenal difference in the viewing experience. This technology is currently only used in high-end projectors like the Domie X5 Ultra, making it truly exceptional.
The ALPD 5.0 technology combines six light sources, comprising a blend of three-color lasers and three LED sources. The principle behind it is to extract the essence while eliminating the drawbacks, maximizing the advantages of both three-color lasers and three LED sources, while perfectly avoiding their respective weaknesses, such as the speckle issue with three-color lasers and the low brightness problem with LED sources.
When it comes to 4K projectors for the living room, there are several top-notch options from leading domestic brands to consider. Among them are the Dangbei X5 Ultra, the JMGO N1S Ultra, and the Xgimi RS 10 Ultra. Priced at around a few thousand CNY, these high-end flagship projectors offer excellent picture quality. While all three boast 4K resolution, there are differences in their light sources and other configurations, leading to variations in visual quality and user experience.
On the light source, the BE-X5 Ultra utilizes ALPD 5.0 super full-color laser technology. This technology not only eliminates the speckle and color fringing of three-color lasers, enhancing brightness, but also restores the colors of the image to the most realistic state, while achieving the best color gamut. It can achieve a color accuracy of Delta E <1 and has obtained TÜV Süd professional color accuracy certification, ensuring high color accuracy and delivering a more authentic visual experience. With a super wide color gamut of REC.709 206%, DCI-P3 152%, BT.2020 110%, and compatibility with 10.7 billion colors and 10-bit color depth, it presents a richer range of colors.
The Nut N1S Ultra employs a more traditional three-color laser, which has both clear advantages and noticeable drawbacks. One advantage is its wide color gamut, capable of covering the BT.2020 color space. However, due to the strong coherence of the three-color laser, the projected image may have a slightly grainy texture, thus reducing image quality. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as speckle, where color fringes appear on both sides of text or objects in the three-color laser image. Prolonged viewing may result in eye discomfort.
The JMGO RS 10 Ultra is actually the least cost-effective among these three models. Although it uses eye-protecting three-color laser which can to some extent suppress speckle, it cannot completely solve this problem. Additionally, the projected image has low contrast and dull colors, showing no noticeable advantage in image quality compared to the other two models.
The best recommendation for a 4K projector for the living room in 2024 is still the X5 Ultra by Dangbei, which features ALPD 5.0 technology. Although the nominal brightness of the Dangbei X5 Ultra is not the highest among these three models, its actual picture contrast and brightness are indeed the highest. When buying a projector, it's also important to consider the internal hardware configuration, such as the processor and memory. Among these three projectors, both the Dangbei X5 Ultra and the JMGO RS 10 Ultra use the MT9679 processor, while the XGIMI N1S Ultra uses a slightly lower-level MT9669.
The memory configuration for the Be X5 Ultra includes a whopping 6GB of system memory paired with 128GB of storage capacity. Meanwhile, the XGIMI RS 10 Ultra comes with 4GB of system memory and 128GB of storage capacity, and the N1S Ultra from JMGO offers 6GB of system memory and 64GB of storage capacity. Among these options, Be boasts the highest configuration.
Overall, if you're looking to buy a 4K projector for your living room within the same price range, the X5 Ultra from Danby offers the best value for money. With the X5 Ultra, you can enjoy picture quality comparable to a television set while also experiencing the thrill of watching on a big screen. It's really satisfying to get everything you need in one go.
