However, this is the first projector I’ve used where I feel like I don’t need blackout curtains (or significant modifications to my home). During the day, I can watch music videos or shows and still see that everything is going perfectly fine. As evening begins, natural light becomes perfect for a movie night, with an almost overwhelming screen (most of) makes going to the movies obsolete.
I wish the projector offered more control over color profiles and calibration. I usually watch content through my PS5, and while the HDR Vivid preset works best with other devices, I had to switch the projector to HDR Game to compensate for the PS5 private HDR color correction, otherwise bright scenes will be overblown.
While there are a number of tools for creating custom HDR color profiles, adjusting white balance, or setting color correction, they all involve relative correction, rather than adjustment to a reference sample. (to be fair, this is pretty common for most TVs and projectors).
However, I was more impressed with the projector’s tools to align the frame. The calibration chart helps you physically align the projector itself until the projected rectangle aligns with the screen you’re projecting on. If you need further adjustment afterwards, a manual calibration tool allows you to further adjust the alignment in the software.
And finally, there’s a focus tool to adjust the motorized lens, in case the projector goes out of focus. Mine focused just fine when I set it up for a 120-inch screen, but I needed to refocus when I lowered the screen and moved the projector closer to the wall to create a more reasonable 90-inch projection.
Screen
The ALR monitor that AWOL also submitted for review is a huge benefit — but it comes with a significant cost. No packages or sales, 100-inch monitor costs $1,100while the 120 inch version – the one I tested – is a whopping $1,800. The price of the monitor alone is comparable to the price of many TVs. But once they’re established, it’s hard to deny the difference they make.
Setting up the monitor is a challenge on its own. The large 120-inch version is so big that I had to move furniture just to lay it flat while mounting the frame. This whole process takes a few hours and it’s best to have at least two people help lift it up the wall. It also required careful measurements, not only to make sure the screen fit my wall and was mounted properly, but also to make sure it was mounted high enough and the projector was far enough away from the wall to get full coverage. 120-inch screen.
Once mounted, the image quality from the projector is significantly improved. ALR screens are designed to reflect light from below where the projector is located, while rejecting light from above (such as overhead lights). In fact, it gives images with a much better contrast ratio and provides brighter images.
