When I started looking for a projector setup to upgrade from my 65" OLED TV, I was overwhelmed with the amount of information I needed to learn to make the right choice. I wanted to go for 150" screen size and UST to avoid long cables and complex ceiling mounting. I quickly realized that proper 150" ALR screens are extremely expensive, and I'd have to go for something smaller. 100" would be too small for this room, so 120" turned be an acceptable compromise. It's 4x times the 65" TV and is a huge improvement in the viewing experience.
After doing some research and watching a number of reviews, I almost bought a VAVA projector, but then I realized their new version is about to be released, and I already missed the great crowdfunding price. At this point, I was OK to spend a bit more on a complete setup including the screen so that I don't have to look for the third-party options. This is how I found Hisense L9G with 120" Cinema screen. It checked most of the boxes for me: UST, 120", not too bad input lag for occasional gaming, 3-laser system without color wheel and with great color reproduction, good brightness, HDMI 2.1, screen included. I was not worried about it being a fixed focus projector since it should be perfectly tuned for the bundled screen size and fixed focus usually provides better sharpness.
Dealing with ProjectorScreen was a great experience. From placing the order, to getting the shipping updates, the package delivered and my support question answered within a day. The projector and the screen arrived in a huge box which is very well protected. Inside this box, there are 2 separate boxes for the projector itself and the screen.
I liked the design of the screen and how straightforward it was to assemble.
The main con for me was the outdated and inaccurate manual. The first issue is that unrolling the screen is different, don't follow the instructions, just unroll it normally and the back side would be facing you. The other issue was with page 11 saying the distance from the stand to the top of the template is 73.94", while on the very next page it says to measure 73" precisely for the same distance. The PDF on the ProjectorScreen site says it's 74". Be aware of this typo on page 12 and use 73.94" for the 120" screen option. The manual for 100" screen doesn't have this typo and specifies the same values on pages 11 and 12. It should not be a big issue even if you mount it using 73" value, the screen mounts have +-1.5" of adjustment with the rods, but it's better to have more usable adjustment range just in case.
Assembling the screen took a lot of time. I made a couple of mistakes that I want to mention. First, proper frame alignment is the key. If the gap on one of the sides is even slightly wider than the other, and the metal grommet is positioned on the edge of the inner frame, you won't be able to secure the outer frame. Before proceeding further with the springs, double check it's aligned as precisely as possible. There is also a spare spring on each of the sides which can rattle from your subwoofer later. Make sure to secure it with sticky tape or some mounting putty. After triple checking all the measurements, I was able to hang the screen at the perfect position that didn't require any further height or level adjustments. Projector feet were enough to position the image at the right spot, and it took about 20 minutes.
They recommend ~20" stand height for the projector and the stand I got was a perfect fit. With some minor modifications to the stand, I was able to fit the center channel speaker (Klipsch RP-450C) inside it. Denon AVR-S760H receiver sits right under the center speaker with less than half of an inch gap. I really like how it all turned out.
I'm used to Nvidia Shield TV Pro, and it works great with the OLED TV, so I decided to use the same source for the projector. It has better performance than the built-in Android TV hardware. It has almost perfect AI upscale to 4K. Netflix works out of the box. Chromecast is built-in. You can stream games from your PC or GeForce Now service. It still gets OTA Android updates.
As for the remote, you can use just a single remote from the Shield to control everything, thanks to properly working CEC. Projector turns on really quickly together with the Shield and the AVR. It remembers the last HDMI input used. In my configuration, Shield is plugged into AVR and AVR is plugged into the projector via ARC port. Volume control works via AVR and everything turns off with a single button. However, I'm a huge fan of Logitech Harmony universal remote, so that is what I'm using for this setup. I found AVR volume control works quicker directly than via CEC and I can also assign other remote buttons to control Denon AVR audio presets. I didn't find a way to control the projector itself using Harmony yet, but it's not really needed after you perform the initial setup.
Projector noise level is acceptable, you don't hear it at all while watching something. I noticed the power LED on the front of the projector sometimes appears ON, even when turned OFF in the settings. Probably a bug, looking forward to the firmware updates.
Overall, I'm very happy with Hisense L9G performance and the image quality. The blacks are not as good as on OLED, but that would be expected. The colors, the screen size, the brightness of the image are just stunning. ALR screen does its job and in the light controlled environment, I feel like in a real cinema. I almost ditched the TV, it's so small compared to the huge projector screen.
Hisense just announced a new projector with variable focus, but less brightness and no included screen. I'm happy I went for L9G model as it's still one of the best UST options in 2021 and is future-proof. Even if I decide to upgrade in several years, I'll probably reuse the 120" ALR Cinema screen from Hisense.