Samsung provides four preset picture modes: DYNAMIC, STANDARD, MOVIE, and FILMMAKER. The LSP9T out-of-the-box is set to STANDARD mode so the colors appeared to be slightly oversaturated.
I found the MOVIE mode delivered the most accurate colors followed by the FILMMAKER mode. Both modes are suitable for watching movies or television in a dark room.
FILMMAKER was collaboratively developed to provide consumers with a way to better experience the filmmaker's vision in the home. FILMMAKER mode enables a more cinematic experience on UHD TVs by disabling all post-processing, so the movie or television show is displayed as the filmmaker intended it.
STANDARD mode is Samsung's default for general viewing. This mode provides a balance between MOVIE mode's neutral profile and the DYNAMIC mode's highly over-saturated settings.
The DYNAMIC mode makes the picture brighter and colors more saturated. This mode is best for when the projector is used with lots of ambient light that would dramatically wash out the picture. Samsung strikes a good balance in this mode by not going full green cast like most projectors and retaining a decent range of colors in the projected image.
Overall, the LSP9T preset picture modes deliver picture quality that will satisfy most folks considering it for their homes. For those who what to fine-tune the unit's picture quality, Samsung provides a wide range of adjustments. In the projector's Expert setting, you can adjust up to fifteen image parameters in the presets, including Gamma, RGB White Balance, and detail CMS (color management controls).
I use these controls to calibrate the THEATER Mode for SDR viewing. Since your room and screen material can have a major impact on the overall picture, I don’t recommend using someone else’s calibration adjustments. If your room is brighter/darker or your walls are a different color, copying someone else’s results can cause more harm than good. However below are the before and after results in my room.
To test the projector’s color accuracy we use Portrait Displays Calman color calibration software.
Pre-Calibration Grayscale
Out-of-the-box, the grayscale (RGB Balance) of the projector’s Theater and Filmmaker Modes was better than most Laser TVs that we have tested. When measured, the color temperature was just a few hundred degrees off my target of 6500K.
The Rec. 709 color tracking of the LSP9T was also better than average. Greens were slightly over-saturated with a slight color shift in Cyan and Magenta. These issues were quickly corrected using the projector’s CMS adjustments.
Picture Mode: THEATER
Color Temperature: 6286K
Average Grayscale dE: 5.1
Gamma: 1.74
Post-Calibration Grayscale
We left the COLOR TEMP setting to Low. The LSP9T offers both 2pt and 20 pt adjustment in grayscale, but during calibration, I only needed to use the 2pt to fine-tune the image. I reduced the RED GAIN slightly while increasing the BLUE GAIN to produce a very good grayscale (RGB Balance).
To achieve my gamma target of 2.2 on my ALR screen in my room, I left the GAMMA to BT.1886. The LSP9T also offers CMS adjustments which we utilized to improve the projector’s color tracking of Magenta and Cyan.
Picture Mode: THEATER
Color Temperature: 6485K
Average Grayscale dE: 0.89
Gamma: 2.18
Delta E, as a measure of grayscale/color accuracy, of 3 and under is considered ‘Excellent’ and imperceptible by the human eye. Even before calibration, the average grayscale dE for the THEATER mode was around 5 which is good.
I left color temp at the default of “WARM 2,” Using projector 2pt white balance controls, I increased the Blue Gain slight while reducing the RED GAIN a couple of clicks. After the adjustment, the THEATER mode's average CCT of 6495K and the average grayscale dE of 1 which is outstanding.
For HDR viewing, we selected the THEATER picture preset. Just like with SDR we have to increase the BLUE GAIN and reduce the RED GAIN to achieve good HDR grayscale tracking.
The LSP9T can reproduce nearly 100% of the BT.2020 color space
Due to the Triple (RGB) Laser light source, the LSP9T can easily reproduce colors far beyond the Rec709 color space. Our measurements show that the LSP9T could deliver nearly 100% of the BT.2020 color gamut and approximately 140% of the DCI-P3 color space. As we have mentioned before most flat panels can not reproduce those wide of a color gamut.
Even though the LSP9T can deliver a much wider color gamut, it does an excellent job tracking Rec709
While the ability to deliver a massive range of colors is great, most content is not captured or mastered in BT.2020 or even DCI-P3. The LSP9T did a great job before and after calibration accurately tracking the Rec709 color space so SDR content did not look artificially oversaturated.
BRIGHTNESS
The Samsung LSP9T Laser TV has a rated brightness of 2800 ANSI lumens. Just how close did the LSP9T come to hitting that target? I set the projector to DYNAMIC mode, the brightest picture mode, and then took three to four readings about 15-20% out from the center of the screen.
Hisense L9G Brightness (Dynamic Mode, Maximum Light Level): 2785 lumens
The LSP9T measured 2795 lumens which is very close to Samsung's brightness claim. This results in bright saturated colors that really make HDR content pop.
Since the LSP9T utilizes an RGB laser light source it can easily reproduce DCI-P3 color space commonly used in HDR content without a color filter. Most home theater projectors would have to depend on a color filter to display the DCI-P3 color gamut but this filter can reduce the overall brightness by up to 45%. When viewing HDR on a projector, I believe brightness is more beneficial than a wider color gamut which is why I always recommend disengaging the color filter.
The LSP9T can deliver 2800 ANSI lumens which results bright vibrant colors
Because of the Triple Laser light source, you don’t have to choose between wider color gamut reproduction and brightness. A projector utilizing a color filter would need a light source outputting nearly 5000 ANSI lumens to match the HDR color volume reproduced by the LSP9T. When viewing HDR, the LS9T can display brighter, more saturated colors than most projectors on the market.
BLACK LEVEL AND SHADOW DETAIL
I found the black level and shadow performance on the LSP9T to be above average when compared to many other laser TV projectors I have reviewed. As I mentioned above, in the HDR section, there was an increased level of visibility in both shadow and bright highlights. This improvement in HDR detail was also visible in SDR content. The black details were certainly not crushed on this projector.
The LSP9T makes use of a 0.65-inch DLP imager which can give this projector an advantage compared to typical ultra-short-throw projectors that make use of a 0.47-inch DLP imager. I'm not implying that the LSP9T will outperform Sony SXRD or JVC D-ILA home theater projectors when it comes to black levels. However, as the LSP9T is a laser TV, it's often used in rooms with some ambient light, so the ability to reproduce deep blacks is not as critical. In those higher ambient light environments, brightness and dynamic color benefit the end-user more.
HDR
While we didn't get the opportunity to test out any HDR10+ material on the LSP9T, the projector did an excellent job displaying HDR10 content. Since projectors cannot reproduce the brightness range found in HDR content, good tone mapping is critical. The projector video processor's effective tone mapping is probably due to Samsung's years of HDR expertise. The colors in HDR content looked better on the LSP9T than most 4K HDR projectors so the projector's ability to produce a wider color gamut than most projectors really paid off when viewing HDR material.
VIDEO QUALITY
There is no doubt that the proliferation of 4K content is growing at an exciting pace. Still, TV shows and live broadcasts are likely to continue to be produced in HD for many years to come, making good upscaling an essential feature. Samsung knows this and can apply their expertise in upscaling to the LSP9T offering outstanding results. Sports in 720P and Blu-ray content in 1080p all looked great on this Samsung projector.
While most Blu-ray UHD content is available in HDR10, a lot of 4K streaming material is still only 4K SDR. The Samsung LSP9T delivered sharp and detailed images without any problems in both SDR and HDR.
Samsung uses a 0.65-inch DMD Texas Instruments (TI) DLP chipset to deliver its 4K (3840 x 2160) displayed image. Sadly, not all 4K mastered movies offer enough fine detail to make a difference when watching 4K SDR and HD content.
SOUND QUALITY
The Samsung LSP9T offers soundbar quality audio to match its excellent picture. This 40-watt sound system offers Dolby 4.2ch built-in audio that provides an impressive amount of simulated surround sound big enough to beat almost any televisions sound on the market.
Samsung uses what they call Acoustic Beam technology with 22 holes in the chassis to direct and maximize the performance of the projector's left and right speakers, producing a pleasant mid-bass that filled my demo room with high-quality sound.
The onboard audio system produced room-filling sound and provided an overall excellently-balanced tonality. The Samsung Premier LSP9T Laser TV is one of the best-sounding laser TVs I have reviewed.
If you are looking to achieve even better performance, the LSP9T comes with HDMI ARC (audio return channel) functionality to send multi-channel audio from the projector to a connected external audio system.
The LSP9T is a very quiet projector even when running in Dynamic mode. We don't take audio measurements here at Projector Reviews, but anecdotally I could barely hear the projector when viewing the quietest of content.
GAMING MODE
Let me be clear; the Samsung LSP9T is not a gaming projector. It is a home entertainment projector with a decent input lag of roughly 50 ms, meaning that gaming on it is really fun with its giant 130-inch 4K image. However, "Gaming mode" on this projector does not mean you will be competing at a professional level because this amount of input lag, while not horrible, is nowhere near that of a gaming projector. Sub $2,000 gaming projectors offer input lag ratings as low as 5 ms at 1080p and 16 ms at 4K 60p.
You can certainly have an excellent experience with any modern PlayStation or Xbox first-person shooting game or even PC game. However, I think you will have a much better experience with casual gaming. 50 ms input lag is more than good enough for the average gamer. When you compare the LSP9T with other gaming projectors, you will likely come to the same conclusion I reached. The Samsung LSP9T input lag won't be an issue for casual gamers, who will probably focus more on the bright, detailed, color-saturated big-screen image than the projector's input lag.
