Acer H7550ST Projector Review – Performance 2

Posted on April 14, 2017 By Nikki Kahl

ACER H7550ST PROJECTOR – PERFORMANCE – PAGE 2: Sharpness, Audible Noise, and Image Noise

Acer H7550ST Sharpness

Acer did a good job when it comes to sharpness, with the H7550ST’s being decently sharp for the price! As is typical for lower cost projectors, if focused on the center, you will be able to see some softness out by the corners of the screen. You can remedy most of this by focusing so that the sharpest point is a third out from the center, as per Art’s recommendation. This truly works, and if you have a Playstation 4, focusing on the username text is usually a good bet. It’s possibly I mentioned already that I am a filmmaker – I specialize in camera operation and editing – so sharpness is something I have a real eye for. During the process of this review, I never had any problems with the H7550ST in terms of focus. Movies, TV and video games all looked pretty sharp, though not as sharp as some of the more expensive projectors or some LCD TVs I’ve seen.

Since the projector is on a table that gets bumped occasionally, I have to reposition it so that the image is straight on the screen. This doesn’t happen often, but the lack of lens shift makes this a physical process rather than a digital one. Before I started working with the Acer, I was testing the Sony VLP-VW665ES – a $15,000 projector – on Elite Screen’s CineGrey 3D material and got spoiled by the excellent lens shift and automatic focus right from the remote. Projectors of the sub-$1000 category usually do not come with lens shift, so it’s really not a big deal. The H7550ST holds its focus very well. That is, it doesn’t lose focus after 30 minutes or more of watching. I am able to watch hours of content without noticing anything of the sort. The only time I had trouble with focus is when I physically bump the projector out of position and have to move it back as well as refocus. This has nothing to do with the lens or focus ring, so that’s a plus for the Acer.

In the photos in the slider above, you can see the sharpness of a few movie scenes, the menu of the Playstation 4, and font sizes for your reference. Again – pretty sharp for the price. More expensive projectors will have superior optics, so if high-quality cinema is something you’re deeply interested in, you may consider spending a little more on your purchase.

H7550ST Audible Noise

The H7550ST is one of the louder single chip DLP projectors, and part of the reason is because of its size – at 7.5 pounds, it’s one of the smaller projectors in its class. Since there’s less room to absorb the noise, and larger exhausts relative to its size, what we’ve got here is a noisy little guy. However, you’re only likely to hear the fan noise in quiet scenes and if the projector has been active for a couple episodes. Also, if you’ve got the volume up – we usually have it between 70 and 90 here – you won’t hear much at all.

The audible noise level comes in at about 42db in full power, 39 in Eco mode. Now, that’s at the louder end of the spectrum – BenQ’s HT3050 claims 29db at full power and 27db in Eco mode. Still, I barely notice the sound, but it is loud enough that it will not be acceptable to the most “noise adverse,” even in Eco. It also has a bit to do with how invested you are in what you are viewing. The noise level seems quieter when we’re really “into” the show or movie. It’s partly about perspective at that point. Since we don’t measure audible noise, I listened to a few projectors to get an idea of the level of sound. I would say this projector is on the louder end of the other projectors I’ve worked with (several NECs, BenQs, and Epsons). That said, get some good speakers or have the volume turned up and you should be good to go.

H7550ST Image Noise

While there is some mosquito effect present, as with most single chip DLP projectors, there’s not much to talk about. These familiar images from earlier in the review show the level of image noise produced by the Acer H7550ST. The mosquito effect typically occurs in the blurry backgrounds of an image. I found it to be most noticeable on lighter scenes, and more specifically, when I was looking for it. Nothing to mention about motion artifacts either. As for 3D, there wasn’t any crosstalk that I could detect.