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