Hisense PX4 PRO 4K UST RGB Laser Projector Review

Hisense introduced Laser Cinema projectors in 2022 with the PX1-Pro. The PX4 Pro is the company's fourth-generation Laser Cinema projector and officially the first of the series introduced in 2026. On the surface, Hisense Laser Cinema and Laser TV projectors look almost identical, at least in terms of technology and performance. The main difference comes down to branding and one key feature: Laser Cinema projectors are not bundled with a matching projection screen. Hisense Laser Cinema projectors are less expensive than the company's bundled Laser TV products. Buying a Laser Cinema like the PX4 Pro means consumers can choose the screen type, size, and even brand they want to use. Laser Cinema projectors can digitally adjust focus for any screen size within Hisense's specified dimensions. For the PX4 Pro, that's up to an impressive 200 inches diagonally.

DLP has come a long way since Texas Instruments first put their chips in rear-projection television sets in the early 2000s. The core DLP technology has improved alongside supporting tech like light sources, moving from lamps to some of the most advanced RGB laser light sources on the market today. DLP continues to reinvent itself, moving away from spinning color wheels to solid-state light engines powered by advanced LEDs and laser light sources.

Last year, TI started rolling out a new generation of 0.47 DLP chips they call SST, along with a brand-new DLPC8445 controller in 2025, and the combination is groundbreaking.

The Hisense PX4 Pro’s new DLP DMD and controller chip improve the projector's overall performance on multiple fronts compared to older DLP projectors. This new SST/Controller combo lets the PX4 Pro process 4K at high refresh rates with extremely low input lag (1080p 240 Hz at 1 ms), which is faster than many dedicated gaming projectors.

For years, single-chip 4K DLP projectors were essentially stuck in a holding pattern. Older 0.47-inch chips paired with older controllers suffered from high input lag, brightness pumping, noticeable light leakage, and rainbow artifacts.

This new platform addresses nearly every one of those legacy pain points at the silicon level. In my opinion, the combination of the new 0.47-inch SST DMD and DLPC8445 controller is arguably the most meaningful architectural overhaul the consumer DLP space has seen in nearly a decade.

Just as TriChroma has advanced dramatically over four generations to deliver better brightness and more advanced color, Hisense has continued to improve its underlying projector technologies to address other aspects of the picture, like contrast and black levels. It’s hard to believe that just a single generation ago, blacks looked charcoal gray and dark-area details were often crushed or, at best, average. Hisense is once again changing the game with its new CineBlack technology.

CineBlack Pro is a proprietary contrast and black-level technology developed by Hisense engineers to address DLP’s historically elevated black floors. Rather than treating contrast as purely optical or something to fix in software, CineBlack Pro takes a hybrid approach that balances light attenuation with real-time frame processing.

CineBlack Pro features two underlying core components. The first is integrating a physical iris into the PX4-Pros optical assembly. Adding an iris to a projector is nothing new, but this technology has only recently been integrated into the optical assembly of an ultra-short-throw projector. CineBlack Pro uses a seven-step manual iris to lower the projector's black floor as the iris aperture decreases. This also lifts the projector's native sequential contrast from around 3,000:1 to 6,500:1. The PX4 Pro’s iris uses a user-selectable manual adjustment. Hisense chose this solution because locking the iris in place, rather than adjusting it dynamically, helps reduce brightness pumping.

The second major component of Hisense’s CineBlack Pro technology is software. Hisense engineers designed their Enhanced Black Level (EBL) algorithm to analyze incoming video signals and separate pure black backdrops from darker picture elements. Hisense EBL anchors deep blacks while selectively boosting the steps between various dark-area details right above black. EBL can display finer textures in elements like dark clothing, hair, or shadowed backgrounds without crushing blacks or raising the black floor into charcoal gray. Hisense also uses a dynamic grayscale technology alongside EBL, which dynamically reshapes the gamma and Electro-Optical Transfer Function (EOTF) curves.

Human eyes don't perceive brightness changes in a straight line. In a dark room, if you light a single candle, you’ll notice a massive jump in brightness. If you light that same candle in broad daylight, your eyes will barely register the difference. Our eyes are hyper-sensitive to tiny shifts in dark shadows, but relatively numb to the same numerical shifts in bright highlights.

If a projector simply took that straight mathematical signal and displayed it as-is, the picture would look completely unnatural. Shadows would look weirdly washed out and gray, midtones would look pale, and dark details would bunch together into an uneven mess. Gamma and EOTF curves are the mathematical curves built into video to match how human vision actually works.

Cineblack Pro technology expands grayscale separation, keeping subtle shadow tones distinct without washing out the darker portions of the image. Cineblack Pro lets users leave the system wide open in rooms that can’t control all ambient light sources, like the living room, or tighten the aperture to achieve a deep, cinematic black baseline in a dedicated dark room.

The main power button is on the right side panel, along with a high-speed USB 3.0 port. The opposite left side panel features a dedicated 3.5 mm analog headphone jack. The back houses four HDMI ports. It includes two HDMI 2.1 ports and two HDMI 2.0 ports, with eARC support on the third HDMI input for direct audio passthrough to an external soundbar or AV receiver. It also includes a Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port, an optical S/PDIF audio output, and a standard USB 2.0 port. The projector also features internal Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 wireless connectivity.

Like most of the core technology in the PX4 Pro, the projector's optical assembly underwent a major overhaul compared with previous generations of Hisense ultra-short-throw projectors. The PX4 Pro’s optical block is advanced enough to go toe-to-toe with the competition and display an image up to 200 inches diagonally, with minimal distortion and tight focus even in the most extreme corners.

Hisense has increased the PX4 Pro's optical advantage over many competitors by tightening the projector's throw ratio. Hisense shifted the optics down to a 0.20:1 ultra-short-throw ratio, a step down from the common 0.22:1 or 0.25:1 ratios on older UST projectors. In real-world terms, that's anywhere from a fraction of an inch to a few inches between the back of the projector and the screen. This reduction means the PX4 Pro can sit closer to the wall depending on your screen size. This can be game-changing. Hisense is also focusing on integrating the PX4 Pro’s LPU 3.0 engine and the optic’s motorized focus to maintain a sharp, distortion-free image whether you are projecting at 80 inches or the projector's recommended max of 200 inches.

If you are looking at pure sharpness and dark-room contrast, the optical playing field between the PX4 Pro and ultra-short-throw competition is closer than ever. The PX4 Pro represents the current cutting edge of DLP ultra-short-throw design, with an ultra-tight 0.20:1 lens.

VIDAA OS is an original smart OS that Hisense developed in-house, initially for its extensive line of smart flat-panel televisions. In recent years, Hisense has expanded its use to a growing list of video projectors, such as the PX4 Pro. With VIDAA, Hisense wanted to create a “best of both worlds” smart operating system that delivers much of the convenience you get in competitive operating systems like Google TV OS, but with a fast, simple-to-use experience that can only be achieved by trimming down on the thousands of unused applications and services and instead focusing on the customer's core needs. Hisense VIDAA offers users a bespoke streaming experience. Put simply, VIDAA is less about having the most content (movies, applications, and games) and more about delivering content that offers Hisense customers the best overall entertainment experience.

VIDAA OS isn't full of bloatware, so it is fast and efficient, with quick boot times and a navigation experience that doesn't suffer from the lag often seen with heavier operating systems like Google TV. VIDAA’s lightweight design, combined with the company’s curated ecosystem, gives users the content they want, including essential streamers like Netflix, free, ad-supported streaming TV channels, and a growing family of online gaming services.

VIDAA also offers modern connectivity features, including support for Apple AirPlay 2 and Miracast, plus comprehensive voice control integration across 28 languages with popular assistants like Amazon Alexa, and a voice search app called VIDAA Voice.

The VIDAA home screen shows apps, inputs, recommended content, account features, voice services, screen sharing, AirPlay, HomeKit, and network settings. Since the operating system is based on a platform used in millions of Hisense TVs, it's well laid out and responsive. VIDDA makes it easy to personalize the home screen. If you want Disney+ front and center for the kids, you can quickly arrange your apps.

The PX4 Pro’s smart platform makes the projector more self-contained, which is great for traditional lifestyle projector customers. However, many enthusiasts will still use an Apple TV, Roku, NVIDIA Shield, Kaleidescape, or game console as their primary media source.

Beyond the smart menu, the PX4 Pro includes an extensive set of picture adjustments to optimize image quality. Advanced calibration adjustments include Gamma, RGB Balance, and CMS. Similarly, the Sound controls go beyond simple volume, offering preset audio modes and even a full equalizer to fine-tune the audio response to your room acoustics or listening preferences.

The most common criticism of DLP projectors seems to be their elevated black floor. A projector's black floor is the darkest black area of the projected image it can register. With DLP projectors in general, and UST DLP projectors specifically, it seems to have been something of a given that black parts of the image would be less black and, at best, dark gray. Well, not anymore. With the PX4 Pro, Hisense made raising that floor a top priority for the engineering team, changing how the projector displays blacks compared to both its predecessor and its direct rivals.

Hisense improved the black floor on the PX4 Pro through CineBlack Pro technology and the projector's 7-step physical iris. With the iris, especially on the PX4 Pro, it isn’t strictly leaning on the PX4 Pro’s ENHANCED BLACK LEVEL (EBL) software to manage dimming to mask light bleed; the PX4 Pro gives you direct mechanical control over the optical barrel. To be clear, Hisense's implementation of EBL on the PX4 Pro is excellent, and the software plays a role in this projector's black floor and its ability to render dark-area detail.

The PX4 Pro has a manufacturer-rated contrast of 6000:1 to 6500:1, more than double that of the PX3 Pro, and it really shows when projecting darker content like The Batman, for example. If you look at these two projectors side-by-side, and I did, the PX4 Pro wins hands down. The PX3 Pro is an excellent projector, but it has a fixed-aperture lens locked wide open. To deepen blacks, you had to rely on the projector's laser modulation, which often resulted in visible brightness pumping.

With the way the PX4 Pro handles contrast, you can adjust the laser light output to the exact level you want (within its range, of course) to dial in your black floor and dark-area details to the content you are watching. It’s as simple as stepping down the iris to remove excess brightness and achieve deeper black levels, with minimal brightness-pumping artifacts and flutter.

Let’s explore how the PX4 Pro compares to the competition, starting with LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) like JVC DILA or Sony SXRD. While the PX4 Pro is a massive improvement over previous generations of DLP projectors such as Gravity “Chef's Kiss,” the PX4 Pro does not and cannot match the inky blacks of LCoS. The PX4 Pro does move DLP dark-room contrast much closer to dedicated cinema standards than any previous PX-series model has managed, but it is not an LCoS Sony or JVC killer.

Against newer competition from brands like the AWOL Aetherion projectors, the gap narrows significantly. Between these two projectors, it becomes clear that the PX4 Pro's black floor leap relies heavily on its EBL and dynamic grayscale algorithms to step luminance down while actively expanding the projector's blacks. The Aetherion Max takes a slightly more conservative approach to gamma, prioritizing shadow detail while minimizing crushed blacks. If blacks are your top priority, then the Aetherion Max is worth looking at. To be clear, the Hisense PX4 Pro does an excellent job with black floor and dark-area details and, overall, would be my choice, but the Aetherion has the edge in those areas.

The result is that the PX4-PRO avoids being labeled a "lights-on-only " projector and is flexible enough to fit just as competently in any home theater room.

I absolutely love how good the sound quality is on ultra-short-throw projectors compared to what we’ve typically gotten on most video projectors, and even what is available on a typical flat-panel television. At best, UST projectors offer sound quality akin to an entry-level soundbar. The PX4 Pro is a clear step up from entry-level. This projector sounds much better, especially compared with older models like the PX3 Pro. It’s also not a port of the L9Q’s onboard sound system.

With the PX4 Pro, Hisense continues the partnership with Devialet Audio. The PX4 Pro’s onboard sound system features six discrete drivers powered by a 66-watt, 4.0.2-channel system. Two upward-firing speakers on top of the projector's chassis create sound cues off the ceiling, anchoring elements of a movie's sound mix in 3D space when you play a Dolby Atmos or DTS:X soundtrack. Devialet tuning is more than a badge; it keeps vocals up front while delivering solid mid-bass punch for such a small chassis. Like previous Hisense USTs, its decent mid-bass performance keeps the sound from distorting with speaker flutter or cabinet rattle, even at high volume.

Compared to the very similar-looking Hisense L9Q, the PX4 Pro’s setup isn't quite the same. The L9Q has a larger chassis, so it has more room for driver enclosures, and it offers almost double the power. It’s also more expensive. The PX4 Pro leverages the Devialet relationship to maximize its 66-watt onboard sound, delivering a sonic step-up from the PX3 Pro.

One last thing I want to talk about is yet another significant improvement of the PX4 Pro compared to previous models, and that’s the projector cooling system noise, or in this case, the almost complete lack of the PX4 Pro’s cooling system noise. Hisense accomplishes this in two ways. First, Hisense uses a liquid cooling system the company calls a “sealed phase-change fluid loop,” integrated into the LPU 3.0 light source. Hisense has created a cooling system that works at the laser diode rather than slapping a giant copper heat sink with fans on top of the projector's biggest heat source. This means that, compared to the PX3 Pro, this new Hisense projector is quiet.

Technically, Hisense has only managed to drop the PX4 Pro’s self-noise by maybe a couple of decibels. Still, the difference matters, especially in my living room, where UST projectors are designed to be placed. The real technological twist Hisense has pulled off here is shifting the audible pitch of the projector's cooling system into a deeper range. This makes the projector's cooling system less noticeable to you and me. Bravo Hisense. Unless you have the projector BRIGHTNESS ENHANCER cranked up to its upper levels, like ULTRA, most of the sound it makes will blend into the sound already being played through the PX4 Pro's speakers. Hisense claims the PX4 Pro is virtually silent when it comes to cooling noise, and most of the time I agree.

The new Hisense PX4 Pro Laser Cinema may look like an incremental improvement over the PX3 Pro, but it's as close to a redesign as possible without going back to the drawing board. Hisense has managed to significantly revamp and improve every aspect of this projector's operation, from the laser light source, DLP imaging system, optical assembly, smart operating system, and the built-in sound, all while keeping the projector at a reasonable price point of $3,999 MSRP.

Hisense uses the latest Texas Instruments 0.47-inch SST DMD and DLPC8445 controller, combined with a multi-step iris, to deliver a native contrast of up to 6500:1. This is a better published contrast specification than the company's own new flagship XR10 standard throw projector. The adjustable iris lets users balance brightness and black level based on screen size, room conditions, and viewing preference.

The PX4 Pro’s optical assembly features an ultra-short-throw fixed focal length with a 0.20:1 throw ratio. Compared to the PX3 Pro, this tighter throw allows the projector to sit even closer to the screen.

The VIDAA OS is fast, easy to use, and smart when paired with the right streaming services, apps, and games.

Finally, let’s look at the projector's advanced gaming capabilities. Gaming at 1080p 240 Hz with 1 to 4 ms input lag is stellar, and Hisense is the first ultra-short-throw projector to offer AMD FREESYNC PREMIUM certification. FREESYNC PREMIUM certification ensures the PX4 Pro can sync its refresh rate with your GPU to eliminate screen tearing, while Low Framerate Compensation (LFC) prevents stutter when frame rates drop during demanding games.

The PX4 Pro supports all relevant HDR formats, improving the gaming experience and ensuring you can natively watch content in whatever HDR format the creator chose to encode their movie, TV show, or game in.