Xiaomi 4k Laser Projector review (now with videos)

angrybird

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IMPORTANT UPDATE

I had started seeing an issue where the projector does not start up the first time, it takes a long time for the screen to appear, it seems that the laser is ON, but no display. (menu sound is on) so it is running.

AVOID BUYING Xiaomi Washed thier hands for all support or help

the old review will stay for now
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I had this projector for about a week now
for perspective, I had owned the following projectors in the past all are LCOS based:
SXRD: Sony HW40, 45, 50, 55, 300es and 500es series, and
D-ILA: JVC HD350, and X5000

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Software:
by default the software is in chinese, however with 3-4 clicks, it's possible to convert most of the projector to english.
the other bits that are in Chinese, are either local stuff you really dont about, I had went through google translation one by one item, and the only one that matter is focus adjust, everything else is english

Application wise, it wins hands down, compared to other projectors I owned, since all of them have no OS \ interface on their own.
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Sharpness:
this projector hands down wins over All the projectors I owned, there is 0 Convergence, and pixels are perfect even up close. this is the property of DLP since it uses a single chip

the projectors I owned are 3 chips, and convergence is always an issue
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Black Level, and brightness
I do not have a dedicated projector Room and used all of my projectors in my living room, this is why I could not perceive the difference in black level.

Having Said that, I had ordered a Sample for UST ALR screen, and using that screen, it beats any other projector I even owned (compared to my neutral while electric 120").
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convenient and ease of use, this Xiaomi wins Hands down, other the software mentioned above.

The fact its UST, makes the placement on the shelf right on the front (where the tv would normally sit) not only no installation needed, but its surreal to walk in the room without projecting shadows.

Being Laser Projector I have no worries about "lamp hours", even if I used it for 4 hours a day every single day, it would last for 15 years

Laser Projector show full brightness from the moment its switched on, there is no warm-up time.

And Lastly, I cannot put my Hand on it, but with Laser, it seems that the picture is stable unlike bulb based, which sorta flickers, (not that I noticed it when owning bulb base), my point is the picture looks more solid, and easier on the eyes.

I will add that the projector has two modes, highlight which maxes laser brightness, and movie.

I found the highlight mode, is way too bright for night viewing on 100" projected screen, so get a bigger screen, get grey screen, or just use movie mode
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Sound Bar is Fairly Good, nearly as good as the 65 Inch C7 Oled I had owned, which had fairly good built-in speakers for tv. this projector sounds like a normal sound bar, so unless you are planning to crank up the volume, it should suffice.

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projectors I owned above were not cheap, but its a big investment.

Laser projectors are expensive, and UST add to the price

having said that, laser projector means not buying 10 bulbs for its lifetime (assuming bulb last average 2500 hours) each priced at £200, that's already the cost of this projector in bulb alone for another model
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Price
Projector

I had paid 1900 US Dollars for it, which is around £1500

Details of the projector seller removed because they proved to be unhelpful.

screen:

I had not bought the screen yet, I just bought a sample for £30 from xy screens, make sure you get the PET Crystal not the PET Grid

this is the manufacturer in china, and they seem to have good reputation
Guangzhou Xiong-Yun Audio-Visual Equipment Co., Ltd. - projection screen,fast fold projection screen

Contact person:
Sales manager : Wendy Chou
Email:[email protected]
Whatsapp/Wechat/Skype/Mobile:+86 18825134099

I had spent my time negotiating until I got a price of $800 shipped to UK, again feel free to point to this thread if you struggle to haggle

some people recommend buying from XY screen, they are quick and generally have much fewer chances to get hit by VAT / Customs (no one reported being hit by customs including myself)

payment, I had used Ali Baba for the first time, after guidance from a local friend here who use it for imports all the time.

use Ali Pay, as its like PayPal with protection for the seller. and if you feel extra paranoid like me, use a credit card for Ali Pay, but be prepared for more fees.

the companies I pointed at are assured Alibaba trades, i.e. audit by Ali Baba as my understanding, and have a public sale figure, which is why I sent the money without worrying too much

Videos uploaded:







with full XY screen:

 
Last edited:
Interesting first thoughts, been waiting for some to start to flow through here. Still trying to decide whether to pull the trigger on this or hold out for a few more months and see where the following sit price wise.

Does this have 3D as there seems to be some conflicting reports ?

Viewsonic X1000-4k
Optoma P1
LG HU85LA

Or the current Dell S718QL
 
none of the projectors you mentioned above will be cheaper.

I read somewhere that Optoma would not be cheaper than the UHZ65 and it make sense.
Dell one, you would be lucky to get it second hand for %25 mroe than xiaomi.

to answer your question, I did not see 3D menu, but then I had not used 3D source in case it auto detect. but can try that later.
 
none of the projectors you mentioned above will be cheaper.

I read somewhere that Optoma would not be cheaper than the UHZ65 and it make sense.
Dell one, you would be lucky to get it second hand for %25 mroe than xiaomi.

to answer your question, I did not see 3D menu, but then I had not used 3D source in case it auto detect. but can try that later.

Hmmm something to think about then and decide if the extra cash is worth the warranty from potentially buying in the UK.

I'm desperate to buy one and if the ones i mentioned are to be higher in price like you think and i guess i do too then i may well plump and buy the same on you bought.

I do like the idea of a 3D option so if this has it like it says it does on the spec sheet then that would likely seal the deal for me and will get one ordered along with a 100 inch ALR screen
 
Thanks, @angrybird - was looking forward to your thoughts. Seems as if they made you pay the VAT on the boarder? Any chance you might have tried it out on HDR material, perhaps through an external player (ATV, Nvidia Shield) and compare it to your c7? Also, any chance you might have a console around to try it out in terms of gaming performance, input lag? Thanks!
 
I will measure input Lag, with PC later, slow-mo video, running timer off the laptop screen, with projector mirrorred.

I think its better than hooking my PS4 Pro, as the test will be more accurate that way.

I do not have ATV or Nvidia Shield however if someone is nearby, they are welcome to try it out.

as for comparison to the C7, lets be real :) nothing touches OLED. even 30K projector.

having said that, its not that bad. I would say on par with Plasma Level of Black.
 
Lag is approx 70ms by default without engaging any mode.

projector software was updating while power cycling, so will test more later
 
I can confirm, there is 3d function for this projector by going into setting

Thanks for confirming that, Looks like i am going to pull the trigger on this over next day or so as i am done waiting now lol.

Stupid question time then, does that mean that i need a 3D source such as a player ?
 
Thanks for confirming that, Looks like i am going to pull the trigger on this over next day or so as i am done waiting now lol.

Stupid question time then, does that mean that i need a 3D source such as a player ?

I used mira cast from phone, used youtube to trigger 3d, but I have no glasses so not sure how good \ bad it is right now.

will test with the glasses I have later
 
I used mira cast from phone, used youtube to trigger 3d, but I have no glasses so not sure how good \ bad it is right now.

will test with the glasses I have later

Ok that would be awesome. I have 3D rips on my Plex server so i imagine i can use that and would just need to buy some 3D glasses so i can watch. must admit i do like the idea of being able to watch movies now and again in 3D.

I was looking at a 120 inch screen but having measured the one we have at work in the conference room i can see that it is far too big for the living room so thankfully i did measure. I think i am going to order a 100 inch screen from XY screens and then make it fit lol.

With there being no keystone adjustment did you find it easy enough to make it fit your screen, albeit with some messing around and tweaks until it fit the size?
 
Ok that would be awesome. I have 3D rips on my Plex server so i imagine i can use that and would just need to buy some 3D glasses so i can watch. must admit i do like the idea of being able to watch movies now and again in 3D.

I was looking at a 120 inch screen but having measured the one we have at work in the conference room i can see that it is far too big for the living room so thankfully i did measure. I think i am going to order a 100 inch screen from XY screens and then make it fit lol.

With there being no keystone adjustment did you find it easy enough to make it fit your screen, albeit with some messing around and tweaks until it fit the size?


I had not finish setup just yet.

as for XY screen, I got a sample from them which costed me £28 to get here, you can have it for £20 if you wish, save you paying few hundreds before to see how much is it worth it for you.

personally I am going to experment with some paint first and compare to this sample, to see how much of this good black from the "grey screen effect" and how much from the light rejection.

one thing for sure it does not a lot better than just white screen, in badly controlled room colors
 
I had not finish setup just yet.

as for XY screen, I got a sample from them which costed me £28 to get here, you can have it for £20 if you wish, save you paying few hundreds before to see how much is it worth it for you.

personally I am going to experment with some paint first and compare to this sample, to see how much of this good black from the "grey screen effect" and how much from the light rejection.

one thing for sure it does not a lot better than just white screen, in badly controlled room colors

Does the XY look better in a room where there is lots of light.

I get what you re saying and i think for me i would like the thin bezelled screen to be on the wall for aesthetics if nothing else as i'm not sure i would like the whole wall painted or even a selected area with special paint. Plus my wall isn't what i would call perfectly flat too
 
Screen looks better with light. But I was surprised to see much further mprovements when I switch off the lights.

Badly controlled room color means that light will bounce off the screen then to nearby surfaces then back again to the screen, washing the color a bit. ( ray tracing at its finest :D )

This effect is greatly reduced with the screen.

I do not have flat wall myself. But if paint get good color. I will look into getting Pvc or wood surface and paint sample to see how it will fair.

Advide I got is do not under estimate the masking. So I will experiment with that as well.

Thin bezel means less masking
 
I had tested the projector with my Bose qc35 ii and works as expected.

vlc media player to stream from my pc with no issues.
(installed plex but had not used it before, enlighten me why is this better)
 
Screen looks better with light. But I was surprised to see much further mprovements when I switch off the lights.

Badly controlled room color means that light will bounce off the screen then to nearby surfaces then back again to the screen, washing the color a bit. ( ray tracing at its finest :D )

This effect is greatly reduced with the screen.

I do not have flat wall myself. But if paint get good color. I will look into getting Pvc or wood surface and paint sample to see how it will fair.

Advide I got is do not under estimate the masking. So I will experiment with that as well.

Thin bezel means less masking

Hmmm that definitely sounds like the screen is worth the purchase. I have seen various youtube videos fro XY and have to say it looks good.

i actually watch minimal tv during the day so will be mostly at night when it comes into its own BUT my son does play fortnite and want him to continue to be able to do so and thought it would be pretty cool to do it on such a large screen.

That said if it looks garbage then i will revert back to the tv for all things fortnite as my main driver is for movie night to be honest.

As i said before i was actually suprised just how big 120 inch screen is and so glad i measured the one at work as it would look stupid in my living room and take over the wall lol.
 
I had tested the projector with my Bose qc35 ii and works as expected.

vlc media player to stream from my pc with no issues.
(installed plex but had not used it before, enlighten me why is this better)

Only reason i use plex is due to me not maintaining the server myself and rely on "a friend" to put the latest content on there for me.

Plus i have it on the kids iPads for travelling and find it just works for me, others may disagree
 
That's good. I keep hoping that one day someone will come up with a 100% fool-proof non-rainbowing DLP solution, because in every other respect they seem superb and great value for money. It's just once you see them...
 
I feel that I need to explain why I did not got for 1080p version projector,

from experience, watching 4k or 1080p movie on my 65" TV, I can barely tell the difference, and only when I get too close to the tv.

having said that, in a 120" projector screen, pixels are 4x larger than 65 inch tv, and there is a big difference in details between 4k and 1080.

1080p on 120" results in 18PPI! which is like watching 720 x 540 on 65 Inch

4k would be ~38PPI, which is about the same as watching 1080 content on 65" TV
 
where did you get your projector from angrybird? could you upload some pictures during the day/night if possible. Want to sell my 65 inch tv and just use this in the main sitting room.
 
where did you get your projector from angrybird? could you upload some pictures during the day/night if possible. Want to sell my 65 inch tv and just use this in the main sitting room.

currently setup is not complete, and without good screen it does not give the projector justice, I will snap pics later anyway. just so you can have an idea
 
2 simple questions - what would you rather watch a normal film on, your C7 or your projector
and what device would you want to watch a HDR movie on?
 
2 simple questions - what would you rather watch a normal film on, your C7 or your projector
and what device would you want to watch a HDR movie on?

1- I sold my C7, using the projector now
2- same as above although keep in mind that HDR does not matter much on projectors. thus I had not tested HDR
 

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