Xgimi's Horizon Ultra 4K Projector Promises Dolby Vision HDR At An Affordable Price
The segment of consumer-oriented projectors is much less exciting than other entertainment devices. So, it's not often that a brand gets to call itself the world's first in some regard. Today is one of the uncommon days with Xgimi, a brand best known for its portable Android-based projectors for home viewing, announcing the "world's first 4K long-throw projector with Dolby Vision."
Like most of Xgimi's projectors like the Mogo 2 Pro and the Halo Plus, the Horizon Ultra is also intended for use within restricted spaces like homes or offices. Still, it can potentially offer some fairly engaging imagery, as you would expect in a theater — thanks to dynamic HDR through Dolby Vision. Meanwhile, you get inherent support for royalty-free HDR formats, including HDR10 and HLG, but not Samsung-backed HDR10+.
Besides its rich contrast, the Horizon Ultra is also touted to offer a bright and crisp picture, even in ample light. Xgimi bases this on the projector's strong light source that uses a hybrid "Laser-LED Dual Light technology" to produce a projection light source at a brightness of 2,300 ISO lumens — even though you will easily find brighter options in the same price range, albeit without Dolby Vision.
Strong daylight visibility claims
The brand's expression for being the first in its category is long and nuanced on purpose. It is because the Xgimi Horizon Ultra is not the only 4K projector with Dolby Vision. The cue here lies in the difference between long- and short-throw projectors and where they are employed (Xiaomi launched one of the earliest short-throw 4K projectors with Dolby Vision in November 2021).
Xgimi's claim doesn't hold well if we consider the long-throw projectors deployed in theaters, but those cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. In comparison, the Horizon Ultra is designed for home use and will be offered on Amazon and Best Buy for a measly fraction — just $1,699 as per the press announcement, although the official website's listing reads $1,899.
It wouldn't be wise to put the Horizon Ultra in the premium category of home theater projectors. But Xgimi strives to break its bourgeoisie image by offering impressive features other than high brightness. For instance, the company claims it covers "over 95.5%" of the DCI-P3 color gamut — a claim that makes it comparable to a premium LED or QLED TV.
200-inch screens with low-latency gaming
With Android TV support, you can project images as large as 200 inches to stream content from an online source. For smooth wireless connectivity, Xgimi offers Wi-Fi 6 connectivity. Alternatively, you can use the projector for gaming, based on the brand's claim of a super-low latency with eARC support over HDMI 2.1. Although you will be restricted to 60fps (frames per second) — due to the 60Hz refresh rate despite eARC, the inbuilt 12-watt speaker with Harman Kardon-tuned audio could bring some respite in the overall gaming experience. You may also use the optical audio port to blare the sound on a more robust setup.
Admittedly, the visibility of Dolby Vision may not be as good as a TV screen, especially an OLED or AMOLED, because the actual picture depicts factors outside the projector's reach including tussles with ambient lighting. But Xgimi claims its Intelligent Screen Adaptation (ISA) 3.0 technology can mitigate it to a great degree by automatically adjusting factors such as brightness, color temperature, zoom, keystone, and focus. It can change colors based on the texture and the color of the wall.
Apart from opulence features, Xgimi offers some useful ones, such as "enhanced eye protection," which automatically dims the light source when a person or object is detected in the front. For all that it packs, the Horizon Ultra becomes one of the most uncomplicated recommendations for price-conscious seekers of the home theater experience.