Formovie C3 Ultra Short Throw Projector Review

This Formovie C3 review originally comes from our good friend Greg at MondoProjos who at his home across the Atlantic in France takes all the measurements and spends hours upon hours reviewing every aspect of these devices. This Formovie Cinema3 projector review was done on an Asian market model so some specs may differ. We’re excited to hear Greg's thoughts on the C3 ultra short throw projector!

Almost two years after the release of its ultra short throw mono laser projector, Fengmi/Formovie Cinéma 2 , the brand is marketing a slightly updated version with some innovations such as the switch to HDMI 2.1 sockets, increased brightness, an updated OS and a new video processor. The price also experiences a slight inflation, namely $1899 for the newcomer.

The Cinema 3 also goes by the truncated name, the Formovie C3.

On the budget friendly side, this model represents an alternative to the most popular UST, the Formovie Theater marketed at almost $3500 (though between $2800-$3000 on ProjectorScreen.com).

Unlike the Theater designed for the global market with menus and functions adapted to American, European and the French market, the Formovie Cinema 3 is only available in a version marketed in Asia with consequently menus in Mandarin and English. This is a point to keep in mind if you are considering purchasing this UST.

It is of course in the light of the Cinema 2 test bench that I will examine this new version, an opportunity to move away from cubic projectors for a while to refocus on ultra-short focal length laser rectangles.

The Fengmi Formovie Cinéma 3 is now available to order from our partner ProjectorScreen.com for $1899 here.

Meet The Formovie Cinema 3

Formovie (subsidiary of Fengmi) is a Chinese brand which specializes in DLP projection with ultra short and long focal length devices. The Cinema 3 contains in its innards a 0.47-inch DMD chip from Texas Instruments with a native resolution of 1920×1080 but which “reconstructs” the entirety of a UHD image (3840×2160) by displaying extremely quickly and imperceptibly to the eye, 4 images pixel shifted, you now know the song.

In its communication, the manufacturer proudly announces a brightness increased to 400 nits... except that this does not mean anything as such because this figure must be related to a screen size, information which is conspicuous by its absence.

On the other hand, as the light source is an ALPD 3 solution combining a laser with a phosphor wheel, we can normally expect a native contrast of 3000:1.

The use of this technology allows switching the device on and off with very little waiting time and above all its lifespan is given for 25,000 hours.

Just like the Cinema 2 , the Cinema 3 has Ultra Short Focal (UCF) or Ultra Short Throw (UST) type optics. This system allows the device to be placed as close as possible to the screen, preventing anyone from walking into the light beam. Such machines also make it possible to benefit from the ability to create a very large image in small spaces.

With its fixed projection ratio of 0.23:1, the Cinema 3 is capable of projecting an image of 100 inches diagonal with a distance limited to just 9.5 inches.

Held within the shell of this projector, resides a sound system (2 × 15W) compatible with Dolby and DTS, a media player capable of playing SDR audio and video files like 4K HDR directly from a hard drive or a USB key.

Design

The low price compared to the Formovie Theater is also accompanied by an equally reduced footprint: 18×12×3.6 in and 15.4 lbs. With its white shell that would look so cute in a living room, the Cinema 3 tends to appeal more to fashionistas than to lovers of immersion in a dedicated home theater room.

There is no zoom to aid positioning; it is its placement that will determine the size of the projected image. The manufacturer recommends a minimum of 8.6 inches away from the wall to achieve a 100 inches diagonal image size. The Cinema 3 is capable of realizing a focused image size all the way up 150 inches.

The focus is fully motorized and controlled by remote control, nothing is better than being able to check the precision of the image with your nose on the screen. You also benefit from an 8-point electronic keystone correction to adjust the geometry if necessary, and then adjustable feet under the projector to raise it if necessary.

The speakers are placed behind a gray fabric, the sockets to connect the different sources are located on the read of the projector facing the screen. There are 3 HDMI sockets in 2.1 format including 1 eArc (HDMI 3) and this is one of the main differences compared to the HDMI 2.0 sockets of Cinema 2. Next to them we find 2 USB 2.0 sockets, 1 LAN and an output line.

The integrated Bluetooth is in 5.0 format and of course it is possible to connect the projector via Wifi to your home network for firmware updates.

To physically turn the projector on and off, a button is available on the upper shell and it is the only one present. To control the Cinema 3, everything is done using the Bluetooth remote control, which must be paired the first time it is turned on. Be careful not to misplace it!

Menus

As stated in the introduction, the Formovie Cinema 3 is currently only available in Chinese edition. Its OS (FengOS in version 3) is delivered in Mandarin and there is otherwise only one optional language: English.

There are supposedly plans in the works to include an American version that includes an Android TV OS.

Therefore there is no need to dwell on the smartTV streaming functions which are all planned for the Chinese market. If you want to benefit from Netflix, Prime Video and other streaming services, you will need to connect an external source.

On the other hand, there is an internal media player that is very efficient in both SDR and HDR.

Let's move on to the menu dedicated to image settings. The modes offered out of the box are as follows: “sport, standard, movie, showy, display and game, custom ”. The latter is the only one that can be really useful for attempting a calibration. I say try because for the CMS, there is none, only global adjustments of hue and saturation are available and for the color temperature, if RGB options are certainly present, they intervene globally and not separately in Gain and Bias.

No Gamma editor either, nor EOTF management; it will be necessary to adjust with the only “Brightness and Contrast” options available.

Light power management is broken down into 4 levels: “Day, View, Night, Silent”. A “Dynamic Contrast” option appears only in the “custom” menu.

The HDMI sockets can be configured as desired between 1.4, 2.0 and 2.1.

Let's not forget to talk about MEMC (image interpolation) whose presence is essential to combat judder. The system has 3 levels: “low, middle and high”.

Technical Evaluation

Sharpness And Precision

It is in this part that in my opinion the progress is the most notable compared to Cinema 2, which was already not far behind in this area. The new chip and AI video processing provide an undeniable benefit without overplaying the sharpness adjustment. The C3 is a true 4K projector and it shows.

Fluidity And Motion Handling

Enabling image interpolation once again appears mandatory, but this is the case for all recent DLPs tested. While I am not sensitive to the AEC effects, on the other hand I am very sensitive to judder (the bad 3:2 pulldown which causes slowdowns and loss of precision in tracking shots). The medium and high levels of MEMC allow you to get rid of anything that disrupts the fluidity of your image without causing the dreaded soap opera effect.

Colorimetry And Gamma

The respective gamuts of the C2 and C3 are very close. The coverage of rec.709 is 109% and that of DCI-P3 is 80%. This result reminds us that we are facing a single laser with a phosphor wheel and not a triple laser. Faced with this gamut I focused the calibration on the rec.709 references.

This is necessary because, as is often the case with Chinese projectors, the color temperature out of the box is much too cold. Laser power selections also affect the overall result. The higher the brightness, the more blue the gray scale displays.

The mode closest to D65 (close to being spoofed) is the one titled "Movie". It gives 7277K combined with a deltaE deviation of 12.41 and a Gamma of 2.13. In other words, we are far from the right score and we will have to roll up our sleeves and take out probes and sights to correct all this. This operation will be all the more difficult in the absence of a CMS to intervene precisely on the gamut, added to the fact that intervention on the RGB levels is only done on one point.

The PVA standards provide for a deltaE difference after calibration of less than 2 and a Gamma of 2.4 in a dedicated movie watching room and 2.2 in a non-dedicated room like a den. These are ideal because not all projectors can achieve this level of precision; the Formovie Cinema 3 is one of them. With the options present in the menus, I managed to reduce the color temperature to 6586K with a deltaE difference of 3.13. The Gamut is also well corrected but this is the level of precision that can be obtained with this model.

Contrast And Brightness

The native contrast before calibration is admirable, similarly to the other ALPD USTs already measured here. The maximum is 3362:1 (native) with standard mode. However, going through the calibration box and searching for a colorimetry faithful to that desired by the director of the projected work results in a loss of brightness and contrast. Thus, after calibration, there remains a sequential contrast (FOFO) of 2085:1 associated with a brightness of 1290 lumens in “View” mode. This remains visually very good for a DLP 4K 0.47 but less than other references including the more impressive Formovie Theater.

The Ansi contrast is not exceptional and even small with a very small 54:1.

For the 400 nits claimed by the brand, I am not able to confirm them. At best with the standard mode I arrive at 191 cd/m² on a 100-inch screen, or a maximum of 2258 lumens (once again very close to the values ??obtained on the C2).

After calibration in View mode, the C3 is capable of projecting an SDR image with a 143 inch base in 16:9 format while maintaining a luminance of 16 fL and 78” base in HDR with a luminance of 26 fL. It is possible to obtain more brightness but you must then calibrate by selecting the “Day” laser power setting.

Uniformity

To check the uniformity of the color distribution and thus judge the effects of the optics on all parts of the image, a target made up of 15 rectangles is specially used. An initial measurement is taken at the center of the screen with the Jeti Hi Res 1501 spectrophotometer and then the deviations (deltaE) are measured in the other 14 rectangles. This verification makes it possible to identify differences greater than 3, mainly concentrated on the leftmost row of the image. UST projectors, due to the very nature of their optical unit, are more subject to these deviations than models with a classic focal length. However, this analysis must be weighed because it remains limited in scope.

HDR Management

I will not return to the false trial of poor HDR management found on the Cinema 2, I demonstrated its absurdity in a dedicated article on the MondoProjos blog.

The C3 benefits from new functions and features including HDMI 2.1 management but it only manages static HDR10 and HLG metadata by applying a fixed cutoff above 1000 nits. Anything above this results in poor highlight mapping, with burnt whites. You will then need to call on the HDR Optimizer function of a Panasonic UHD player for help.

The brand announces support for HDR10+ dynamic metadata, unlike on the Formovie C2. However, I am not able to confirm this point, at least not on the test copy which is not HDR10+ compatible as my Spears and Munsil test pattern attests.

On 600 and 1000 nits encodings, no problem, the projector sets itself on the correct restitution level upon detection of the source.

Input Lag

Game mode allows us to benefit from a notable reduction in reaction time compared to Formovie Cinema 2 since we go from more than 70 ms delay to 40.2 ms, i.e. a result less than 50 ms and therefore the attribution of the “good for Gaming” qualification according to mondoprojos.fr.

Additional clarification for Gamers, the Formovie C3 is VRR compatible on its HDMI 2.1 sockets, my PC detected it as such.

Laser Speckle

No problem on that front: the phosphor wheel through which the blue laser passes plays the role of a protective filter thwarting any desire for the speckle to rear its head in your favorite film or series.

Overscan

The display of an overscan/cropping pattern by Cinema 3 ensures that its video processing does not apply an abrupt cut to the edges of the image, cropping part of it. I admit that I cannot remember the last projector on which this phenomenon was highlighted because for several years the overscan has been deactivated by default. This is once again the case here where 100% of the useful image is found on the screen.

The C3 's very good native contrast also helps absorb the gray bar that is usually much more noticeable on DMD projectors. You’ll find that is in no way disturbing.

Quality Of The Integrated Sound System

There is no major brand associated with the sound system installed in the device like how the Formovie Theater has sound by Bowers & Wilkins , this absence on the Cinema 3 in no way means that it is a discount solution. With its 2×15W, the C3 speakers provide a precise, ample sound show with great finesse.

Operating Noise

Before any reading of the operating noise of the projector ventilation, I make sure to note the residual noise in my room with the projector turned off. This amounts to 35.1 dB. Once the projector is turned on and regardless of the laser power selected, the sound level measured is 36 dB, an increase of less than 1 dB compared to the projector turned off. Cinema 3 is therefore very discreet and quiet.

Power Consumption

While the operating noise measurements do not make it possible to distinguish the 4 power levels of the laser light source, the same is not true with the electrical consumption. From the most powerful to the most economical, we go from 255.4W (Day), to 226.3W (View), then 139.5W (Night) and finally 127.8W (Silent). Limited energy requirements compared to the light power delivered (2258 lumens max; details are given in the brightness and contrast section).

Subjective Opinion

The main gain brought by the C3 compared to the C2 is the precision of the image. The new chip and its FAV (Picture Quality Engine) and AI (Image quality Enhancement) video processing allow 1080p SDR sources to look like 4K and 4K HDR sources to be rendered in all their splendor.

I still really appreciate the results in terms of dynamics that are offered by the ALPD projectors. They are the best at getting the most out of DMD XPR chips. This feat allows you to achieve convincing blacks and night scenes with depth and detail. On the darkest passages in the Indians' tents in "Prey" 4K HDR, the C3 enchanted me with the details on the outfits and objects.

On recent 1080p masters like “Simple Things”, flesh tones are subtly reproduced and the precision continues to delight the retinas. Sometimes you need to step back from the measurements and put myself in the shoes of a film-loving enthusiast to truly appreciate a projector. If the immersion is there, without constantly thinking about the details, and inconvenience of fiddling with the remote control, then it's all good. To say, with this Cinema 3 I enjoyed two films in a row without needing to mess with the settings.

Conclusion

The many qualities of the Formovie Cinema 3 make it undoubtedly deserve an award... and the negative points don’t don’t hold it back enough from earning the golden prize (barely). Indeed, we have to be realistic: the enhancements over the Cinema 2 are relatively slight. A major step forward would have been support for HDR10+ dynamic metadata as mentioned above, alas, this is not the case. The second aspect that bothers me concerns the average user and concerns the colorimetry out of the box. It requires calibration and as you read above, this operation is not as precise to carry out as one would like due to a lack of the necessary image adjustment options.

Aside from these two points, the Gold Award is there to highlight the strong points of this projector. They are nothing less than sharpness, fluidity, brightness, contrast, quiet operation, and you get all of this at a reasonable price! After this list, you will have understood why it’s easy to say that Formovie has mastered ultra-short-throw laser projection and we must now hope that we will be blessed with a global version possessing more options for settings (like those found on the Formovie Theater) and with complete smartTV functions. (and French for those who speak it). In summary, if you don't mind what it can be criticized for and your primary goal is to achieve a high image quality, the Formovie C3 is an excellent machine.