Projector Reviews Images

TI DLP® Technology Meets LED, Gets Brighter, and Together, Take On Traditional Lamp Projectors - Page 4

Posted on August 3, 2020 by Art Feierman

What Exactly Are Those Laser TVs? And Why Do I Care?

Now I have teased you with mention of Laser TVs. So, let’s take a paragraph or two to bring you up to speed.

LG HU85LA home projector

An excellent example is LG’s dual laser, Laser TV, the HU85LA, seen below projecting a 100” image in my old testing room. Just add a screen (or wall – but an ALR type screen designed to “reject” ambient light, is really recommended for most rooms).

Laser TV – LG HU85LA: Note open door to hall, lots of ambient light entering on right, yet the colors are rich and well saturated!
Laser TV – LG HU85LA: Note open door to hall, lots of ambient light entering on right, yet the colors are rich and well saturated!

In theory, the heart of a Laser TV is nothing new – that would be the ultra short throw projector. They’ve been around for a decade! So, what does it take to be a 4K UHD laser TV? Easy enough. These are the ingredients:

  • Ultra Short Throw Design – Sits only inches away from, and below your screen
  • Long Life Laser Light Engine – Typically 20,000 hours or more
  • Smarts – Typically an Android Operating System
    • Usually with Voice Support (Alexa, Google)
  • 4K UHD DLP® Chip Set
  • Smart Apps – So you can have Netflix, Prime, Disney+ Apple TV, and more, all available over Wi-Fi
  • Built-in Audio
  • No AV Receiver Needed
  • Lots of Inputs, Including HDMI, and USB
  • Enough Brightness to Not Need a Fully Darkened Room/Cave/Theater
  • Easy Installation – A Laser TV and screen should be no more complicated to install than wall mounting a TV!

Sound good to you? Laser TVs get projectors out of the proverbial cave/home theater, into your living room… You can enjoy 100” or even 120” picture (or larger still) for less than today’s 70” – 77” OLED TVs!

I’m a particular fan of laser TVs. In my new home, I do have a dedicated, but very small theater (3rd bedroom). In my living room, however, I’m set up for a Laser TV. I am literally in the choosing process right now, having reviewed a number of them.

Here’s my living room setup picture while recently reviewing the VAVA Laser TV. I’ve paired it with a 120” VividStorm ALR screen designed for UST/Laser TVs:

Partially constructed stand to raise up the VividStorm 120” ALR screen

And here my laser TV setup in action Daytime (Optoma P1 Laser TV):

Cloudy day/early evening.  Even with lights on full, a bright saturated image.  More than fine for sports, general viewing.  P1 with VividStorm 120" ALR screen

And Night:

120” diagonal image from a Laser TV, at night, in my living room! Truly awesome!

Below: The living room of last summer’s rental, with lots of ambient light, when I first started working with the VAVA laser TV (the least expensive 4K capable Laser TV so far):

The VAVA laser TV doing sports – pre-calibration, afternoon ambient light.

The bottom line on laser TVs: They tend to all be 4K capable, have laser light engines (of course), are bright enough to work in most rooms with respectable lighting control, when paired with the proper screen!  The pricing of a great laser TV and screen is typically about the same as an OLED TV but will be two to three times as large a picture.

The Very Bottom Line

LED (and Lasers) – Today’s solid-state light engines are changing projection. Brighter, better picture quality, longer life, more reliable, less maintenance, translates into:

A better ROI for commercial uses and GTE (Greater Total Enjoyment) for home entertainment.

Thank you for your time and interest! We just served up a whole lot of information on the combination of DLP® Technology with solid-state light engines. Especially the new brighter LED engines, since that is a newer market about to explode, now that the newest LED projectors are bright enough to compete with mainstream lamp-based ones and bring with them a host of advantages, as we’ve discussed.

One of the largest market segments for high powered laser projectors are Houses of Worship, such as the multi-projector mega-church shown here.
One of the largest market segments for high powered laser projectors are Houses of Worship, such as the multi-projector mega-church shown here.

For your AV needs, or curiosity, or just plain reading pleasure we’ve assembled a few links you might find helpful.

The White Paper on the H-K Effect explaining why an LED projector (or laser) appears to be brighter than lamp projectors that measure the same.

For the delight of you who are engineers, especially tied to product development, you should find this TI resource valuable, as it contains specs on the DLP® chips, the various chip sets with additional capabilities and related white papers and documentation.

I am a huge fan of creating art using light. Major art festivals are lighting up buildings, entire neighborhoods, and it’s rather incredible. What could be more iconic than lighting up the Eiffel Tower with projectors?

Eiffle Tower

On the Lighter Side:

Our LED Projector and Laser TV Reviews links will provide much lighter reading.

Here are links to our reviews of three mentioned LED projectors and one Laser TV of course, you will find far more related reviews under the appropriate categories on the site, which include Pico and Pocket Projectors, LED projectors, and Laser Projector.

AAXA  4K1 Projector Review

Acer C200 Projector Review

ViewSonic X10-4KE Projector Review

LG HU85LA Laser TV Projector Review

Again, thank you, everyone, for your time. Please, stay tuned for more related info to come, including our First Laser TV report, a new Gaming Projector Report (featuring several LED DLP® projectors), and, of course, more and more reviews of solid-state projectors! - art

If you would like to sign up for our newsletter, stay tuned – it’s coming soon!

Latest Reviews

February 25, 2024

Introducing the Hisense C1: A cube-shaped 4K UHD lifestyle projector with an RGB triple laser light source and integrated JBL ...

February 19, 2024

The BenQ X3100i is a 4LED, 4K UHD (3,840 x 2,160p) 0.65" DLP short-throw gaming projector that offers a BenQ-rated ...

January 20, 2024

The BenQ V5000i is a $3,499 smart ultra-short throw 4K projector with RGB triple laser source. Ideal for vibrant, bright ...

January 2, 2024

The BenQ HT3560 is a 4K UHD projector offering vibrant colors and advanced features for $1,599. It offers a manufacturer-rated ...

© 2024 Projector Reviews

crossmenu linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram