Hisense C2 Ultra 4K RGB Laser Mini Projector Review

The Hisense C2 Ultra’s Pure RGB Laser technology leverages the newest version of the Hisense Trichroma laser light source, which the company calls MCL28. The MCL38 engine uses 28 individual laser diodes/chips to generate light. By packing more light-generating components into the system, the C2 Ultra achieves a much higher brightness (3,000 ANSI lumens) than its predecessor (1,600 ANSI lumens), while retaining the superior color purity and producing one of the most accurate out-of-the-box pictures available today. Hisense claims that one of the laser diodes used in the MCL29 matches the output of 4 LED diodes typically used in an LED projector's light source.

According to Hisense, the C2 Ultra can reproduce up to 110% of the BT.2020 color space, producing true-to-life colors with exceptional vibrancy and depth. This translates to subtle variations in skin tones, rich, natural-looking location shots, and an immersive cinematic color experience. Basically, the richest and most realistic colors Hisense has ever produced.

The C2 Ultra’s solid-state laser module offers not only a long 25,000+ hours of light-source life (at full output), but also consistent image quality over the projector's life, with no noticeable brightness or color degradation as the light source ages. Hisense has improved the projector's dynamic contrast of 2,000,000:1, for improved black-level performance and dark-area detail compared to last year's Hisense Trichroma models.

The Hisense C2 Ultra features a Texas Instruments single-chip 0.47-inch DLP DMD image sensor. The C2 Ultra utilizes the company's latest-generation XPR controller technology, which shifts the DMD's pixels four times in four directions to display a 4K UHD (3,840 x 2,160p) image with 8.3 million individual pixels displayed onscreen. DLP and XPR are proven technologies, and this latest-generation controller is incredibly fast and accurate, minimizing pixel-shifting artifacts like smear, which can result in a subtle softening of the 4K image.

The DLP DMD (Digital Micromirror Device) is sealed to prevent dirt and dust from damaging the sensor's delicate microscopic components. A sealed light engine keeps your projector's DLP imager clean and produces a sharp image throughout its lifespan.

VIDAA OS is owned and operated by Hisense. Although it is primarily used as the operating system for the company's extensive line of smart televisions in recent years, Hisense has been expanding its use to limited projection products. VIDDA is focused on delivering much of what you get in competitive operating systems like Google TV OS, but with a fast, simple, and intuitive user experience that can only be achieved by trimming content bloat and focusing on the customer's core needs and wishes. With VIDDA, Hisense has created a bespoke user experience tailored to their hardware. Put simply, VIDDA focuses less on having the most content (movies, applications, and games) and instead puts its efforts into offering the best content that is right for its hardware and, more importantly, its customers.

The primary benefit of the VIDAA OS is its remarkable speed and efficiency, offering incredibly quick boot times and fluid navigation that avoids the lag sometimes associated with heavier operating systems like Google TV. VIDDA’s lightweight design ensures a responsive experience for users, offering a curated, streamlined content ecosystem that includes essential streaming services like Netflix, a broad collection of free, ad-supported streaming TV channels, and a growing, significant family of online gaming services. And all in a single interface that focuses on simple content discovery and reduced user frustration.

VIDDA also provides modern connectivity features, including support for Apple AirPlay 2 and Miracast, and offers comprehensive voice control integration across 28 languages, working with popular assistants like Amazon Alexa, and includes VIDDA Voice.

Hisense is one of the few projector manufacturers committed to an "all-in" approach to HDR, and the C2 series, including the C2 Ultra, offers robust support for Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10, and HLG. It’s incredibly convenient that the projector handles both Dolby Vision and HDR10+ dynamic metadata formats. Because of this broad HDR support, C2 Ultra users can stream high-profile HDR10+ content, like The Rings of Power from Amazon or Dolby Vision encode content like The Batman or the new Superman movie, and the projector will recognize and display the optimal dark- and bright-area details without having to down-convert to a static format like HDR10.

In addition to dynamic metadata support, the C2 Ultra is certified by IMAX Corporation. This means the picture quality and the DTS-powered audio have been approved by Hollywood’s leading technical specialists. If you watch an IMAX Enhanced film, like most Marvel movies on Disney+, you’ll notice that in certain scenes, the traditional black bars disappear, filling more of your screen vertically. It’s a genuinely immersive audiovisual experience that simply shows more of the director's vision than a typical widescreen presentation.

Hisense understands that not every projector is going to be connected to a dedicated 7.1 system, so the C2 Ultra is equipped it with a very capable, integrated sound system. Built in partnership with JBL, the C2 Ultra features an onboard 2.1-channel audio system, raising the bar not only for Lifestyle projectors but, from a sheer dynamics point of view, for the built-in woofers' low-frequency response, which rivals many ultra-short-throw projectors. This means users immediately benefit from powerful, room-filling sound that lends real weight to explosions and depth to musical scores. The sound produced by the C2 Ultra is far from the thin, tinny sound quality typically found in many front projection units and certainly a step above most portable projectors. The inclusion of Dolby Atmos and DTS Virtual:X processing allows the projector to project a three-dimensional soundscape that significantly enhances the immersive quality of movies and games.

While the serious cinephile will undoubtedly connect a dedicated AV receiver via the eARC-enabled HDMI port, the C2 Ultra’s onboard audio is more than sufficient for casual viewing and is easily one of the best integrated sound systems in this class of compact projector.

The Hisense C2 Ultra core projector body shares a similar square shape and layout to the older C2 Ultra, including the placement of components and I/O. The Hisense C2 Ultra measures 19.7" x 7.1" x 8.5" (246.38 mm x 180.34 mm x 215.9 mm) and weighs 13.9 lbs. (6.30 Kg). Where the C2 differs is the base, which houses the gimbal and sound system. The projector and the gimbal are not user-detachable, so when you move the projector, it’s easier to lift it from the bottom of the square chassis, as shown in the photo on Hisense’s product website.

Hisense also included a large cloth string tie sack with the projector. I think it’s a surprising and poor substitute for a carrying case, as you are putting the projector, remote, power brick, and cables into a cloth bag to carry them around. The sack offers no device protection against damage or moisture, and honestly, I would be worried about the loose power brick, remote, or cables scratching the projector lens.

Other projector manufacturers, like JMGO, offer affordable foam-blown case solutions to securely hold and protect the projector and its components. It would have been nice for Hisense to include something similar. Or, I guess you can carry it around in a sack?

The projector offers an attractive design (like most Hisense projectors), blending black and gray tones with a semi-gloss finish. Its darker color will stand out far less than cream or white projectors, helping it avoid acting as a reflection source.

DeltaE, as a measure of grayscale/color accuracy of 3 and under, is considered 'Excellent' and imperceptible by the human eye. The projector's average white balance deltaE was around 1, which is outstanding. This measurement is better than many more expensive projectors we have reviewed, even after calibration.

The Hisense C2 Ultra was so accurate out of the box that the adjustments we made produced very little visual improvement. So while the differences between the default THEATER NIGHT mode and the calibrated version were measurable, most viewers would be able to notice them.

Screen material does make a noticeable difference in the visibility of laser speckle, especially in the reds. Laser speckle was noticeable when I was shooting onto my ALR (Ambient Light Rejecting) screen and almost unnoticeable when using my matte white screen.

The Hisense C2 Ultra delivers an incredibly wide color gamut across the HDR formats it supports, and it excels at displaying SDR content in the REC.709 color space. For my SDR testing, I chose a range of older content from The X-Files, True Lies, Lucy, and some news broadcasts.

The preset picture modes designed for cinema-style content were the warmest and most accurate pre-calibration. The STANDARD mode looked good in a room with moderate ambient lighting, producing slightly more saturated but pleasing colors. The average color temperature of the projector’s most accurate picture modes was about 6500K. SDR color is good.

All three C2 series projectors support active 3D in the following formats: Frame Packing, Side-by-Side, and Top-and-Bottom. The 3D effect was very good without an objectionable sacrifice of onscreen brightness and not too much flicker to make watching a movie uncomfortable. Unfortunately, no mainstream streaming services, such as HBO, Disney+, or others, offer 3D content that can be played back on a 3D-capable projector.

The availability of new release 3D Blu-ray discs is dismal at best in regions like North America. With many retailers no longer carrying physical media in stores and major studios planning to phase out physical media in favor of streaming, the future of 3D home content looks bleak. Some streaming services, like Disney+, do offer a limited selection of 3D movies, but they are only available on the Apple Vision Pro and not on 3D televisions or projectors.

The Hisense C2 Ultra is the follow-up to the company’s C1 lifestyle projector. This C2 series actually includes three models, all sporting a cool, modern design that features a built-in gimbal base. After putting the C2 Ultra through its paces, I’d say it's a formidable option as both a home theater and transportable projector, offering great color, solid sound, and a truly impressive feature set.

The C2 Ultra offers excellent color quality, displaying vivid, accurate colors that remain consistent across almost everything you watch. It achieves this remarkable color because of the powerful Hisense TriChroma RGB laser engine. Honestly, whether I was watching an animated movie or a densely colored nature documentary, the results were excellent.

A big bonus here is how little fiddling with the settings is needed. The C2 Ultra’s out-of-the-box picture presets feel like they were tuned with real care at the factory. Movie-centric modes like FILMMAKER, CINEMA DAY, and CINEMA NIGHT all produced pleasantly warm images that practically jumped off my matte white projection screen.

It’s also an incredibly bright projector. Not surprisingly, this thing looks fantastic in a fully light-controlled home theater. What’s perhaps more surprising is that even if you have a room with modest amounts of uncontrolled ambient light, say, a window with some light bleeding through, the picture remains perfectly watchable.

Now, we should talk about black levels. They are, for a DLP projector of this class, pretty average; your blacks are probably going to look more like a dark charcoal gray. The good news is that this is mostly offset by the projector’s exceptional ability to showcase both dark-area details and bright highlights, a feature particularly beneficial for gamers. Yes, deeper black levels would certainly make for a more immersive experience, especially during moody or dark scenes, but I’ve definitely seen worse performance from other, even higher-priced, DLP models. While the C2 Ultra may not hit the absolute, inky blacks you see on some higher-end displays, its performance is more than serviceable, especially considering it often sells for just under $2,000 at retail.

The Hisense C2 Ultra also impresses with support for Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HLG High Dynamic Range, and IMAX Enhanced. HDR is notoriously hard to get right on a projector, but Hisense, more than most companies, seems to be offering modes that show a visible difference from standard SDR in both the darkest and brightest parts of the image, which is seriously commendable. Plus, this thing is officially "Designed for Xbox," meaning it's optimized specifically for next-gen console gaming, a huge plus for serious players. And if you’re just watching regular SDR content? It still benefits hugely from the C2 Ultra's great color rendering and brightness, so everything looks great.

The built-in speakers, tuned in partnership with JBL, deliver sound that is both clear and powerful enough to easily fill a medium-sized room. Overall, the audio quality is nicely balanced, offering enough mid-bass to add real depth to movie explosions and game soundtracks. The projector includes a decent range of audio adjustments, designed to enhance the bass or compensate for where the projector is actually sitting. Of course, if the built-in modes make dialogue hard to understand, you can always connect an external sound system, but for casual viewing, the on-board audio is totally fine. The only potential downside of the built-in subwoofer design is that it increases the projector's size and weight, well beyond those of a typical lifestyle or gaming projector. Is this worth it? I think so, but ultimately you’ll have to decide for yourself.

Whether you're planning movie nights, serious gaming sessions, or just casual TV, the Hisense C2 Ultra delivers a really well-rounded home theater experience.