The ProjectorScreen.com & Projector Reviews 2024 UST Projector Showdown
2024 marks the third consecutive year of us hosting projector shootout events here at the ProjectorScreen.com headquarters and in those three years our "Showdown" events have quickly become the definitive event of their type.
We’re no strangers to doing ultra short throw projector or regular throw projector shootouts, comparing different models head to head against each other. Our UST Shootout series on Youtube and on our website have been some of our most popular and requested content. It seems that consumers want to know how specific projectors compare to each other to help determine which is best for your needs.
Despite hosting the event in our facility and supporting the event financially, the UST Projector Showdown, was entirely run under the direction of Phil Jones, Owner and Lead Reviewer at ProjectorReviews.com. Phil was responsible for the content selection, judging criteria and the final decision maker on the projectors to be included and the judges to participate.
We had help from several sponsors in putting on this event who provided us with some gear, such as Spectra Projection who provided us with all of the projector screens and UST carts that were used, AV ProEdge for lending us all of the signal distribution gear and Kaleidescape as the official media server, but to be clear, none of the brands competing were sponsors of the event, allowed on site or able to exert any influence over the competition or judges.
Each UST projector was plucked fresh from inventory. There were no golden samples or juiced up, cherry picked units provided by manufacturers for the purpose of this competition.
For this year's event, Showrunner/Producer Phil Jones took a different direction in regards to how the units would be setup/calibrated. Each manufacturer was invited to come to the Showdown Arena in the month preceding the event to personally setup their projector(s).
They were limited to a 2 hour time limit per unit and were not permitted to use any sort of sophisticated calibration equipment, meters or signal generators or analyzers - they were permitted to use the same type of tools as the average consumer would have available to them (light meter/color temperature apps, Spears & Muncil patterns and clips, etc).
No one should know the nuances of their projectors and all of the various settings and options than the manufacture themselves. Putting the onus on the manufacturers to configure their own units ensured that all competitors had the opportunity to ensure that their best foot was put forth taking into account the rooms lighting conditions as well as the content and criteria to be judged.
Many manufacturers made the trip out to the Showdown Arena to dial in their units and those who could not make the trip sent us specific settings and configurations to plug in. The only manufacturer who did not wish to participate or take advantage of the invitation was Samsung, who ironically has their QA lab located less than 30 minutes from our location.
For the configuration of the Samsung Premiere 9 LPU9D, Phil Jones had opted to put it into Filmmaker mode, which is generally considered to be the best image quality mode and made some adjustments to the white balance on a test pattern. He did not go much further into the options as without further instruction from Samsung, Phil had determined that they would have put their optimal settings enabled, right out of the box.
Setting up an event of this magnitude is no easy task and even this being our third year, it is far from easy. We go through all of this trouble and expense each year to answer this question: What are the best ultra short throw projectors in 2024?
Judges
For our competition to determine this year's best 4K ultra short throw projectors, Projector Reviews brought together a panel of six expert judges, including ISF certified calibrators, professional reviewers and video technology enthusiasts, each of whom is well regarded in the A/V industry in order to scrutinize and judge the projectors for this year’s ultimate UST shootout. We’ve got some familiar faces from previous years along with some new judges joining our panel. So, let's get to it and meet our judges:
Milton Santiago
YouTube Content Creator with over 80 million views, EBPMAN Tech Reviews is a trusted source for the latest in consumer electronics! EBPMAN delivers in-depth, reliable reviews to help you find the tech that’s right for you.
Chris Boylan
Chris Boylan is an ISF-trained calibrator and technology journalist, writing about audio and video technology since 1993. Chris founded tech site Big Picture Big Sound in 2005 and is currently Editor-at-Large for eCoustics.
How The Judges Picked Their Favorites
We wanted to enable the judges to choose the best ultra short throw projectors out there so Projector Reviews stress tested the contestants’ color accuracy and dynamic range with both SDR and HDR content, resolution/detail with still and motion video, image scaling/processing and contrast with both the lights on and the lights off.
Each ultra short throw projector was paired with an identical 100" Spectra Projection Vantage ambient light rejecting screen specifically made for UST projectors and one of the top performing screens from an ambient light rejection and image fidelity standpoint, which really allowed these projectors to “shine” in this all-out battle royale.
The projectors were evaluated side by side using a series of test patterns and movie/TV program clips from our Kaleidescape media player, Panasonic UHD disc player and an HTPC, that put each projector to the test.
All content was distributed to all projectors at the same time via hardware and connectivity provided by our sponsors at AV Pro Edge - and let me tell you that this was no small feat considering all of the different EDID's, HDMI conflicts, video sources and displays.
All of the projectors in the UST Projector Showdown were configured for both SDR and HDR to be viewed in both dark and bright rooms scenarios.
We also added non reflective divider panels between the UST cinema screens to limit light bleed between the units. Instead of using uneven and harsh lighting coming from the fluorescent ceiling lights, we added brightness and color temperature adjustable lights attached to the back of the screens to better simulate the lighting environment you’d find in a living room.
The judges were given ballot sheets to rate each projector for specific attributes of picture quality, such as Color Accuracy, Contrast, Black Level/Shadow Detail, and Detail/Sharpness.
Rankings are calculated in two ways;
1) Point tabulation. The sum of the points in each category (SDR & HDR) were tabulated to determine ranking for those categories as was the sum of both of those categories tabulated for "Total Point Score" that was then used to determine "Total Point Rank".
2) The judges were also tasked to pick their top 3 overall choices for "Overall Judges Pick", taking everything about the projector into account. This was done via ranked choice voting; 3 points were awarded for a #1 pick, 2 points for a #2 pick and 1 point for a #3 pick. Judges choice rank was based on the tabulation of points based on this ranked choice.
You will see a ranking for the following categories and can use this information as well as the raw scorecard averages and notable features section to help you determine which UST Projector may be the best for you.
In some cases, there was an obvious correlation between total points and the judges' pick rankings, but in other cases having higher total points did not necessarily mean the judges picked it for their top 3 overall.
Instead of separating the single laser and triple laser units into separate rounds as we did in our first UST Projector Showdown, all of the contestants were judged at the same time against one another.
While this may give an unfair edge to the triple laser USTs in terms of color gamut, it was decided that the average consumer is not beginning their journey based on the number of lasers that a projector has. Additionally, there is nothing to say that the other attributes of a single laser projector, such as contrast ratio, sharpness or otherwise, wouldn’t make them rank higher overall in the eyes of the judges.
We pitted these 8 different laser tv projectors head to head in the largest battle-royale the projection world has ever seen!
So, who what did our judges think of these USTs and how did they grade them so that consumers everywhere can determine which is the best ultra short throw projector for them?
Let’s find out!
11/20/24 - There was an error in the Judge's Pick tabulation and it has been corrected to reflect the Hisense PL2 coming in 3rd place.
The Results Are In
Here is how the judges ranked the best ultra short throw projectors for 2024...
Projector Resolution: | 4K |
Brand: | Hisense |
Product Status: | In Stock |
Lumens: | 3000 |
Projector Type: | Ultra Short Throw |
Light Source: | Laser |
Contrast Ratio: | 3,000:1 |
Chipset: | DLP |
Aspect Ratio: | 16:9 [HD] |
Native Resolution: | 3840x2160 |
Built-In Speaker: | Yes |
Warranty: | 2 Years |
Standard Lens Focus: | Motorized |
Wi-Fi: | Yes |
ARC/eARC: | eARC |
Operating System: | Google TV |
As a pioneer in the space, Hisense has always produced top quality UST projectors that have been considered among the best. This year, it is arguable that they are not just "among", but may actually be "the" best.
Not only was the PX3-Pro a resounding top pick by the judges, it also scored #1 when the points were all tabulated.
This projector is quite a leap up from it's predecessor, the PX2-Pro, which tied for 2nd place in the 2023 Showdown.
There have been many improvements to the overall picture quality;
This projector is BRIGHT. It easily cut through the ambient light while maintaining a stellar, vibrant image.
Not only has the native contrast ratio been tripled to over 3,000:1, the addition of dynamic contrast and superior image processing earned this UST projector top marks as the #1 overall pick by 5 our of the 6 judges.
I personally would absolutely consider this projector for both bright and dark room applications. I do feel the image to be a bit more digital looking than celluloid/filmlike in comparison to some of the other top scorers, which may not appeal to everyone, but there is no disputing that the PX3-Pro is a great projector and an even greater value at $3,499.
SDR MODE
Color Accuracy / Skin Tone
7.67
Black Level / Shadow Detail
6.83
Detail / Sharpness
7.33
24p Motion
6.50
Overall Scene Brightness
8.67
Daytime Viewing
8.00
HDR MODE
Color Accuracy
8.17
Black Level / Shadow Detail
8.50
Overall Scene Brightness
9.00
UHD Detail / Sharpness
8.00
Visual Artifacts
6.33
Daytime Viewing
7.83
Notable Features
Gaming Lag Time (4K 60hz):
17.6ms
Typical Street Price (USD):
Operating System:
Google TV
Projector Resolution: | 4K |
Brand: | NexiGo |
Product Status: | In Stock |
Lumens: | 2400 |
Projector Type: | Ultra Short Throw |
Light Source: | Laser |
Contrast Ratio: | 3,000:1 (full on/off) |
Chipset: | DLP |
Aspect Ratio: | 16:9 [HD] |
Throw Ratio: | 0.23:1 (D:W) |
Native Resolution: | 3840x2160 |
Lens Shift: | No |
Input Lag: | 4K/120Hz: 12ms | 4K/60Hz: 43ms |
3D Support: | Yes |
Warranty: | 1 Year |
Standard Lens Focus: | Motorized |
Wi-Fi: | Yes |
ARC/eARC: | eARC |
Operating System: | Android TV |
Vindication is here for the NexiGo Aurora Pro after finishing in the bottom of the pack in the 2023 Showdown.
Last year NexiGo had released a firmware update to significantly enhance their dynamic contrast and black level, but that update did not make it to our Showdown unit in time for the event which put it as a disadvantage. This year, we made sure that was not going to happen again.
NexiGo flew out this year to personally configure their projector (per the rules) and ensure it was completely up to date with all firmware that was currently available and boy, did it pay off.
While it may have only scored in 4th place when accounting for the score tabulations, it did get placed in the top 3 picks by 5 of the 6 judges when they took into account all factors including features and pricing.
SDR MODE
Color Accuracy / Skin Tone
6.67
Contrast
7.50
Black Level / Shadow Detail
7.83
Detail / Sharpness
7.33
24p Motion
3.33
Overall Scene Brightness
7.17
Daytime Viewing
8.17
HDR MODE
Color Accuracy
7.50
Black Level / Shadow Detail
8.67
Highlight Detail
8.17
Overall Scene Brightness
7.83
UHD Detail / Sharpness
7.33
Visual Artifacts
5.83
Daytime Viewing
6.67
Notable Features
Gaming Lag Time (4K 60hz):
18ms
Typical Street Price (USD):
Lumens:
2400 * standard not specified
Projector Resolution: | 4K |
Brand: | Hisense |
Product Status: | In Stock |
Lumens: | 2700 |
Projector Type: | Ultra Short Throw |
Light Source: | Laser |
Contrast Ratio: | 2,000,000:1 |
Chipset: | DLP |
Aspect Ratio: | 16:9 [HD] |
Throw Ratio: | 0.22:1 (D:W) |
Native Resolution: | 3840x2160 |
Warranty: | 2 Years |
Standard Lens Focus: | Motorized |
Wi-Fi: | Yes |
Operating System: | Google TV |
For a single laser projector, the PL2 really held it's own against the more expensive, triple laser projectors in the room. While it had a more limited color gamut, it also was free of laser speckle.
Interestingly enough, it had top marks in 4/6 of the SDR criteria and ranked #3 for SDR yet received no top score for any of the HDR categories, but was so well rounded it ranked #2 for HDR overall.
While the PL2 was not among the judges choices for top pick, it did rank in third place overall from a point tabulation standpoint.
Why so? One can only speculate that the Judges just generally preferred triple lasers and felt for the several hundred more dollars over the PL2, that a triple laser may have been the better over all value.
Hopefully we'll get some more clarification from the judges in our followups with them and their experience at the Showdown.
Any way that you skin this cat; the PL2 is as solid of a single laser that you can get and easily outperformed projectors at over twice its price.
SDR MODE
Color Accuracy / Skin Tone
6.67
Contrast
7.00
Black Level / Shadow Detail
6.33
Overall Scene Brightness
8.67
HDR MODE
Color Accuracy
7.00
Black Level / Shadow Detail
7.50
Highlight Detail
8.17
Overall Scene Brightness
8.17
UHD Detail / Sharpness
7.83
Visual Artifacts
6.33
Daytime Viewing
7.17
Notable Features
Gaming Lag Time (4K 60hz):
45ms
Typical Street Price (USD):
Operating System:
Google TV
Projector Resolution: | 4K |
Brand: | XGIMI |
Product Status: | Leaves Warehouse within 3-5 Business Days |
Lumens: | 2300 |
Projector Type: | Ultra Short Throw |
Light Source: | Laser |
Contrast Ratio: | 1,000,000:1 |
Chipset: | DLP |
Aspect Ratio: | 16:9 [HD] |
Throw Ratio: | 0.18:1?(D:W) |
Native Resolution: | 3840x2160 |
Lens Shift: | No |
3D Support: | Yes |
Warranty: | 1 Year |
Standard Lens Focus: | Motorized |
Wi-Fi: | Yes |
ARC/eARC: | ARC |
Operating System: | Android TV |
XGIMI rejoins us here in 2024 after their debut in 2022 with their original Aura UST projector and not being included in 2023.
Aesthetically, I find this to be one of the most attractive units of the bunch and as inconsequential as it may sound, I am a huge fan of the motorized lens cover.
Performance wise, it was pretty apparent that in SDR, the Aura 2 had the most natural skin tones and best color accuracy scoring top marks in that criteria.
Oddly, HDR was a mixed bag. The Aura 2 really struggled with challenging scenes, especially brighter ones where highlights were blown out and detail got lost. That being said, when the same exact content was switched over to Dolby Vision, the Aura 2 appeared to be an entirely different projector, displaying a fantastic image.
There is no doubt that the HDR handling in the stressful content used in the Showdown pushed the Aura 2 past it limits, but if you are watching mostly SDR or Dolby Vision content, this projector won't let you down.
I hope that XGIMI modifies its tone mapping algorithm accordingly to get the same level of HDR performance as they do Dolby Vision which would make this unit a stronger contender in next year's Showdown.
SDR MODE
Color Accuracy / Skin Tone
8.00
Contrast
6.67
Black Level / Shadow Detail
6.00
Detail / Sharpness
6.50
24p Motion
6.00
Overall Scene Brightness
6.50
Daytime Viewing
7.17
HDR MODE
Color Accuracy
6.50
Black Level / Shadow Detail
6.17
Highlight Detail
5.83
Overall Scene Brightness
7.33
UHD Detail / Sharpness
6.67
Visual Artifacts
5.67
Daytime Viewing
6.67
Notable Features
Gaming Lag Time (4K 60hz):
19.4ms
Typical Street Price (USD):
Operating System:
Android TV
Projector Resolution: | 4K |
Brand: | Samsung |
Product Status: | Leaves Warehouse within 1-2 Business Days |
Lumens: | 3200 |
Projector Type: | Ultra Short Throw |
Light Source: | Laser |
Contrast Ratio: | 1,500:1 |
Chipset: | DLP |
Aspect Ratio: | 16:9 [HD] |
Native Resolution: | 3840x2160 |
Lens Shift: | No |
3D Support: | No |
Warranty: | 1 Year |
Standard Lens Focus: | Motorized |
Wi-Fi: | Yes |
ARC/eARC: | eARC |
Operating System: | Tizen |
Of all the brands competing in this year's Showdown, Samsung was the only one who opted to not to configure the unit themselves or provide any recommended settings, despite having the QA lab less than 30 minutes from the Showdown Arena and Phil and I having multiple calls with various people from different departments in the Samsung organization.
Phil Jones had made the call to put the LPU9D in "Filmmaker Mode", which is traditionally considered the "best" mode from an image quality perspective and make some white balance corrections.
While that made the LPU9D technically accurate, it completely made the overall image quality fall apart.
Because the rules stated that all of the USTs were to be configured by the manufacturer themselves and that this particular manufacturer didn't want to provide any insight; this was as true to "out of the box" as it could be and placed the Samsung Premiere 9 at the very bottom of the pack tabulation wise and was not selected as a pick by any of the judges.
Could this projector have scored higher if Samsung did not decline to provide insight or made it a better out of the box experience? Absolutely!
I plan on spending some more time with this unit myself to see what modes and settings I can input to make the image shine and then compare it against the top picks to see how it could have stacked up.
SDR MODE
Color Accuracy / Skin Tone
7.00
Contrast
4.50
Black Level / Shadow Detail
4.17
Detail / Sharpness
6.33
24p Motion
6.33
Overall Scene Brightness
5.17
Daytime Viewing
4.67
HDR MODE
Color Accuracy
5.00
Black Level / Shadow Detail
4.00
Highlight Detail
6.83
Overall Scene Brightness
6.50
UHD Detail / Sharpness
6.33
Visual Artifacts
5.67
Daytime Viewing
4.83
Notable Features
Gaming Lag Time (4K 60hz):
53ms
Typical Street Price (USD):
Projector Resolution: | 4K |
Brand: | EPSON |
Product Status: | In Stock |
Lumens: | 4000 |
Projector Type: | Ultra Short Throw |
Light Source: | Laser |
Contrast Ratio: | 2,500,000:1 |
Chipset: | LCD |
Aspect Ratio: | 16:9 [HD] |
Throw Ratio: | 0.16:1 (D:W) |
Native Resolution: | 3840x2160 |
Lens Shift: | No |
Input Lag: | 4K/60Hz: 21.0ms | 1080p/60Hz: 22.1ms | 1080p/120Hz: 12.3ms |
3D Support: | No |
Warranty: | 2 Years |
Standard Lens Focus: | Manual |
Wi-Fi: | Yes |
ARC/eARC: | ARC |
Operating System: | Android TV |
This was perhaps the biggest surprise to me in the Showdown - the LS800 took a mighty fall compared to it's 2nd place victory in the 2023 Showdown. This is really a result of the image mode and settings that Epson had decided to use for this years event.
Epson decided to configure the unit in "Cinema Mode" and only do a minor white balance adjustment. While this is theoretically the most accurate or "best" image quality mode; our judges certainly did not agree.
Last year. the LS800 really impressed the judges with it's high brightness and dynamic contrast that really are well demonstrated in "Dynamic Mode" however those two of the LS800's greatest assets were neutered away by placing it in Cinema mode.
While Cinema Mode may most akin to Filmmaker Mode and be more "accurate" from a color perspective (as the LS800 has very limited CMS controls) it just ended up looking dimmer and more washed out than the other projectors in the room. I am unsure of what other settings could have been plugged in to help this projector in Cinema Mode, but based on what we saw in the room, I would simply skip over using that mode at all.
I personally am still a big fan of this projector, especially in environments with higher levels of ambient light. If it were up to me, I would have configured the LS800 in Dynamic mode for this contest as that is how it scored so highly last year, but this year's rules were "manufacturer's choice" and as far as the judges determined, Epson chose wrong.
SDR MODE
Color Accuracy / Skin Tone
5.33
Contrast
6.00
Black Level / Shadow Detail
4.33
Detail / Sharpness
3.50
24p Motion
6.17
Overall Scene Brightness
5.83
Daytime Viewing
6.50
HDR MODE
Color Accuracy
5.67
Black Level / Shadow Detail
5.00
Highlight Detail
6.33
Overall Scene Brightness
6.00
UHD Detail / Sharpness
3.83
Daytime Viewing
6.83
Notable Features
Gaming Lag Time (4K 60hz):
16.7ms
Typical Street Price (USD):
Operating System:
Android TV
Our primary sponsor, Spectra Projection came through again this year for us and provided 8 of the best ultra short throw projector screens to use for this competition, which ensured all projectors were using an identical & uniform 4K rated surface that was ideal for the type of competition we held. They also provided us with specialized carts for UST projectors with mounting carts made for USTs.
Kaleidescape again was the official media source for the Showdown and their expansive catalog and impeccable fidelity provided a flawless viewing experience.
Our friends at AVPro Edge who provided us with such an array distribution, connectivity equipment and their line of Bullet Train hdmi cables to help ensure that all went well with our signals, EDID and HDMI connections.
Conclusion
One would think after doing this for several years, it would be second nature by now. That is not quite the case.
This was a very exhaustive effort to bring the best ultra short throw projectors together in one room where they can truly be compared in side-by-side, leaving nothing to memory. Everyone involved, from our 6 expert judges to the event staff, to the Showrunner/Producer, Phil Jones, did a tremendous job and a service to projection enthusiasts everywhere.
As always, it was great meeting and mingling with these judges, both reconnecting with some that I became acquainted with last year and some new friends this year. The comradery between the judges was almost instantly formed and it was truly enjoyable and insightful to be a fly on the wall during the contest listening to their banter and partaking in it myself in the evenings before and after the Showdown.
One of the unique qualities of the Showdown is that it continually opens the eyes of the participants for them to see how when reviewing a projector juxtaposed next to several others, it really can change your perception of a projector's performance and attributes as opposed to when reviewed and analyzed in a bubble. It really helps put things in perspective when being able to directly compare each projector against so many other units at the same time.
You may be used to this in a television showroom, but when it comes to ultra short throw projectors, there is no larger collection set up in one room to be able to evaluate at the same time than what we have built here at ProjectorScreen.com, with dozens of units in our library.
Keep this page bookmarked and check back soon as we will be adding some additional content that we just didn't have time to squeeze in before publishing this as we wanted to share the results with you all as soon as possible.
Thank you for joining us as we award the winners of the best 2024 ultra short throw projectors in this UST Projector showdown, and as always, KEEP ON PROJECTING!
Need help picking the right ultra short throw projector? Give us a call:
(888) 392-4814