I’m challenging everything we know about home entertainment by switching from a TV to a projector. So, will this be a game changer or a complete disaster? Let’s find out with this – the XGIMI HORIZON Ultra, the world’s first 4K Long-Throw Home Projector with Dolby Vision.

Unboxing 

Starting with the unboxing, other than the projector itself, there is the User Guide, a very premium-looking and feeling remote, which does remind me of a better version of the Apple TV remote.

Then there is the power adapter, with a unique proprietary DC-in cable.

Then there is the power cable and also the included batteries in the remote earlier, nice!

Design & Build

Next, looking at the projector’s design and build, the HORIZON Ultra has a design that I’ve never seen before in a projector, because when you think about a projector, you immediately think of a huge and clunky piece of tech that you normally see in a classroom or a lecture hall, right?

But this projector looks absolutely beautiful. It has a combination of retro and future aesthetic. It also has a nice, boxy design that’s light silver overall with some darker beige as the side accents. 

Then in front, there is the Harman Kardon logo because, yes, the audio is coming straight from them.

So yeah, overall, even when the projector is just sitting on your shelf or table, it looks like a statement piece or just a regular speaker that really screams premium. The weight was also pretty hefty, so you know you are getting a really high-quality build.

However, the extra cool factor is that the slider in front automatically slides down when the projector is turned on, revealing the projector’s 4K lens and other sensors. 

And honestly, just seeing the slider go down when you turn it on is very cool and makes this projector even feel more premium than it already is.

Moving to the back of the projector, you will find the projector’s plethora of I/O ports, which include:

• a DC-IN power port
• a LAN port
• two USB 2.0 ports
• two HDMI ports, one of them supports eARC
• an optical port
• a 3.5mm audio jack
• and the power button.

Hardware

Now, onto the hardware. As mentioned before, this projector is the world’s first 4K Long-Throw Home Projector that is officially certified by Dolby Vision. It has a throw ratio of 1.2 to 1.5:1 with options for Front, Rear, Front Ceiling, and Rear Ceiling projection methods.

It also has precise colour accuracy, distinct contrast, and sharp black and white distinction. So you can say goodbye to the typical muddy colors that you’d usually get from the projectors of the old.

It also uses dual light technology that combines laser and LED technology, enabling them to overcome each’s shortcomings. 

Now, how does this complement each other? Well, the laser provides an ultra-wide colour gamut and ultra-high brightness at 2300 ISO lumens. Then the LED, on the other hand, provides a natural colour spectrum for long viewing periods without any eye discomfort. So this is definitely the best combination of both worlds.

Now, that’s not all! Let’s say that you’re projecting to a wall like how we have done here in the studio, most projectors would just look washed out. But this HORIZON Ultra uses intelligent wall colour adaption to adjust the picture for the best possible image, even on a non-traditional screen.

Next, let’s talk about intelligence. And no, I’m not talking about your favorite virtual assistant, I’m talking about the Intelligent Screen Adaption 3.0 where it automatically keystone adjustments, to give you a perfectly straight picture, plus it has an automatic focus as well, so no more blurry messes, especially with its lossless screen scaling.

As for the sound, the projector comes with dual 12W Harman Kardon speakers. These speakers come with Dolby Audio, DTS-Virtual X surround sound, DTS-HD, and other Dolby-certified sound features.

As for what makes this projector run internally, the projector comes with 2GB RAM and 32GB of internal storage. It also runs on Android TV 11 out of the box with Chromecast built-in. It also supports AirScreen, which is an Android version of AirPlay.

In terms of connectivity, other than the I/O ports mentioned earlier, it also supports dual-band WiFi 6 connection and Bluetooth 5.2. 

Performance

Now, let’s talk about performance. First and foremost, the projection over here is absolutely beautiful. 

My main gripe with projectors is always the fact that the picture produced is never up to par with conventional TVs. After using this HORIZON Ultra, my opinions completely shifted.

The hybrid laser and LED light did give super accurate colours and sharp contrasts. Very accurate to the point that the whole team is considering using this projector as their video editing screen. Should they do it?

Because the overall blacks look black, very close to how an OLED can be, but of course not exactly like an OLED but even the whites look white, where everything in between was pretty stunning as well. 

Then the 2300 ISO Lumens ultra-high brightness also means that you don’t need to keep your room in total darkness all the time too.

Now, noticed how I said ISO Lumens instead of ANSI Lumens? What’s the difference you might ask? Well, firstly, ANSI stands for American National Standards Institute and ISO stands for International Organization for Standardization.

Both of them measure how bright a projector is, just that 1 ANSI lumen equals 0.8 ISO lumens.

So, for projectors in general, sometimes you will see “ANSI” or “ISO” in front of it. That is what exactly it is for, so it’s kind of like saying a flashlight is super bright, but giving you an overall value of measurement on how bright it is!

So yes, with that high brightness, the quality on this projector is like having your own personal movie theatre at home, minus the popcorn smell and other funky BO smell that you might get in cinema these days… 

During my experience, the automatic keystone adjusting feature is an absolute lifesaver! I don’t really like fiddling around with the projector settings just to get a proper viewing angle. 

So having the projector adjust that and the resolution not only saves me a lot of time but gives me less potential headaches, because I do get stressed out with some tech items very frequently too.

And this is great, especially when I’m bringing this little beast between my home and here in the studio.

The built-in Harman Kardon speakers sound surprisingly good. They really benefit from all the Dolby Audio features that XGIMI hooked this thing up with. It does pretty much turns your living room almost like a mini-cinema with sound quality that is very impressive! 

[Sound test available on my YouTube video] 

So yes, the biggest thing for me is the overall experience because of its size and visibility, it is way more immersive than a TV, and it feels very real. 

Plus, projectors are great for those of you who do not have tons of space in your home – you can literally project a giant image anywhere, as long as you have a plain wall.

Conclusion

So, in conclusion, my overall experience with this XGIMI HORIZON Ultra has been really amazing, and this is one of the products that I have personally reviewed that doesn’t have any sort of huge drawbacks, very rare indeed but maybe if I had to nitpick would be the price, as it could be hard to reach for some as it retails at RM14,000 or about USD2,900.

So, if you’re still on the fence about projectors versus traditional TVs, it might be time for you to reconsider. 

And while you may not be familiar with this XGIMI brand, you should know that the brand started out in 2013 and has won over 44 international awards, including the CES Best Innovation Award, Red Dot Design Award, and even more.

Because, all in all,  this isn’t just a typical projector; it’s a total game-changer. With its stunning picture quality, intelligent features, and immersive sound, it’s redefining home entertainment as we know it.

–

🛒 Get the XGIMI HORIZON Ultra at the links below:-

Shopee (MY) – https://invl.io/cll6i54

Lazada (MY) – https://invol.co/cll6i55

Amazon – https://amzn.to/4auBH4w

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