4K technology is the big thing making the rounds of the entertainment display world right now, but unlike your typical buzzword jargon, it’s something serious and experiencing serious technological development as well as sales fundamentals.
4K is the word used to define a resolution count that’s at least 4 times larger than the much more conventional Full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels that we’ve all become so used to. Currently, the most common 4K resolution consists of 3,840 x 2160 pixels but can also vary considerably and include resolutions of 4096 × 2160p or 3996 × 2160 pixels. The bottom line with regards to 4K is that it must have at least 4 times the total pixel count of normal 1080p HD resolution.
Formally speaking however, the Digitial Cinematic industry standard for 4K is defined as being 4096 x 2160 pixels at a 1.9:1 aspect ratio. This most frequently applies to 4K cameras and to many True 4K projectors like many of the Sony models we’ve covered above.
In the midst of all this development, the three most important gadgets that are emerging from the development of 4K are TVs, cameras and projectors. Here we’re going to focus on projectors and give you a solid rundown of everything you need to know if you’re thinking of buying one of your own.
Let’s get started.
What’s a 4K Projector Anyways?
Just as their name implies, 4K projectors are home entertainment digital cinema systems that offer you the ability to project either photo or video content onto any vertical or even upside down blank space in your home or office. The main difference between 4K projectors and conventional home theater HD projectors is that the former offer far sharper 3,840 x 2160 pixel resolution and usually also include a whole host of beefed up visual rendering features that cheaper HD projectors simply don’t have.
In essence, what 4K projectors give you is the ability to take your regular HD TV or video content and any native 4K content (such as movies) you have and project them onto your house walls at any one of a number of flexible projection (read screen) sizes. These can range from just 55” inches in diagonal width to a whopping 300” inch home theater sized image that feels almost exactly like a mini home theater.
What’s the Difference between Getting a Projector and a TV?
Aside from the obvious differences in design and setup, a 4K projector and 4K TVs differ mainly in price and overall quality. With a projector, you’re investing in a genuinely designed home theater system by the classical definition of such and the cost of these machines reflects that. Almost across the board, 4K projectors will definitely cost you more than their TV counterparts and often have price tags that are several times higher than those of even a very high priced Samsung or Sony 4K TV.
However, despite their price, what UHD projectors offer over UHD TVs is a distinctly flexible setup that allows you to install them in much smaller spaces than many TVs, adjust their screen size to any one of a number of ranges and of course move them much more easily since instead of weighing the 90+ pounds that a larger 4K TV weighs, they usually only heft out at 25 pounds or so. For example, the Sony 4K Ultra Short Throw Projector is designed in such a way that it can be slotted up against any wall and project its image directly above itself, thus letting it fit into even the narrowest living space assuming it contains at least 65” diagonal inches of wall.
Finally, in terms of image quality, what you’ll get with your projector is absolutely outstanding. These machines are designed with resolution and image rendering features that totally leave things such as hazy visuals and faded projections behind (via alsobrook source). They deliver a visual clarity that is at least as good as or possibly even better than that of their TV counterparts, it’s certainly less prone to physical damage to the internal screen components, since there aren’t any.
What is a 4K Projector Going to Cost Me?
4K projectors suffer from the one major detriment of not being cheap at all. High grade consumer projectors that currently exist on the market easily cost at least $10,000 USD and some such as the Short Throw Projector from Sony mentioned above will cost you well above $35,000 USD. These gadgets are still in the price range of serious, affluent home theater lovers, but they definitely deliver an enormous bang for their buck.
Update: April 3,2016 – Sony still dominates the consumer home entertainment 4K projector market with models that cost close to or above $10,000 but one relatively new alternative option that’s now on the market for a much more attractive price than what we’ve previously seen can be found in the form of the JVC DLAX500R 4K Home Theater Projector, which we’ve reviewed here. This model offers much of the same connectivity and content viewing at a smooth 60Hz as Sony’s models but it costs only $3,971.
This is a remarkably low price in this highly rarified market.However, take note that the JVC model is not a true 4K projector and instead relies on what JVC calls “e-shift” upscaling technology to generate a 4K resolution. Currently, the cheapest true 4K projector for the consumer market is the Sony VPLVW350ES 4K 3D SXRD Home Theater Projector. It also offers true DCI 4K at 4096 x 2160 pixels.
UHD vs 4K, What’s the Difference?
In the simplest terms possible, there is usually no practical difference as far as your buying on the consumer market is concerned. 4K and UHD are used interchangeably by most home theater manufacturers and if you see either applied to a TV or projector, you’re also looking at a 4K device or display.
Formally however, 4K specifically signifies an industry resolution standard of 4096 x 2160 pixels. This is called DCI 4K and is the what most cinematic 4K projection technology uses. More common resolutions of 3,840 x 2160 pixels like those found in 4K TVs are called 4K ultra HD and nearly identical as far as visual similarities are concerned. UHD on the other hand is a more general term that can be used to describe resolutions that are smaller than 4K but still two or three times larger than normal Full HD AT 1,920 X 1,080 pixels or it can also be used to describe still experimental mega 8K resolutions of 7680×4320 pixels or more!
Content for 4K Projectors
The same content that can be viewed on any 4K TV can also be viewed on 4K projectors. They come with full connectivity for satellite, broadband, internet and cable transmissions, just like a modern TV and can also be connected to devices that play DVD or other recording media.
Streaming & OTT Broadcast content
However, just as is the case with UHD TVs, the amount of native 4K content that’s publicly available is growing all the time. Companies such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Instant Video, Hulu, Vudu and numerous others are offering streaming native 4K versions of their shows House of Cards and Breaking Bad and broadcasters such as the BBC as well as others in Japan are beginning to experimentally roll out widespread 4K broadcasting over their broadband channels. There is also a new 4K UHD content streaming service from Sony that’s being rolled out and expanded in 2016. Given that most true 4K consumer home theater projectors are in fact Sony models, it is likely that this particular source of streaming media will be compatible with Sony’s own projection technology.
Addtionally, if they are compatible with your 4K prjector via HDMI 2.0 connectivity, numerous streaming 4K UHD-capable set-top boxes like the Roku 4 4K media box or the Amazon Fire 4K TV box can offer access to thousands of Full HD content selections as well as a wide and growing range of 4K UHD programs from the same streaming media apps found in 4K smart TVs. These set-top boxes can be hooked up to any of the projectors we review here for a wide range of content options in both 4K and upscaled non-4K.
Hard Media 4K content
Two main sources of content come to mind here. The first is Sony’s own still very decent FMP X10 4K UHD media player. This device can be used to access the massive Sony Pictures home video library of downloadable 4K movies and in fact comes preloaded with a few selections out of the box. The FMP X10 can be hooked up to your projector for VOD 4K content from Sony’s selection of more than 500 hours of content.
Next and definitely not least on our list of 4K projector content options, there is 4K ultra HD Blu-ray media. 4K Blu-ray players and discs have both emerged in early 2016 to be an excellent source of 4K video with HDR for users who want a more robust content clarity experience or simply don’t have the internet connectivity for accessing streamed 4K media. The selection of 4K UHD Blu-ray titles is growing regularly and now includes pretty much all major new Hollywood releases once they go on sale from the Big Screen. 4K UHD Blu-ray players are also available from Philips, Samsung and Panasonic. All three model types can be hooked up to any of the 4K projectors listed on this page.
Bear in mind though that 4k is stil taking off, so content will indeed become much more available in the next few years.
Another benefit of every major brand of home entertainment 4K projector is that it possesses an internal upscaling engine that will dramatically enhance the viewing of conventional HD content on your screen, so while you wait for the probably inevitable 4K expansion of entertainment options, you can still enjoy even better than normal Full HD.
We should also mention some specifics of connectivity that you need to keep in mind if you’re going to get a 4K projector as your primary home entertainment technology. Just like a 4K TV, it needs to have the essential connection technologies built into it for accessing the latest 4K streaming and media player content in ultra HD. This means a projector with HDMI 2.0 ports, HDCP 2.2 compatibility in these HDMI ports and, crucially, HEVC decoding capability. If your projector also comes with a DisplayPort 1.2 connection, you’re even better off for hooking it up to PC gaming at 4K resolutions.
Should I buy a 4K Projector?
If you really want the best in home entertainment and want it to be ready for the 4K future, then yes, projectors are quite possibly the best product on the market today. If however your budget is a lot tighter than their costs, then you’re much better off simply going for a 4K TV. It offers the same visual quality at a much smaller price and your only major sacrifice will be the exquisitely large display space which a projector offers.
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