TV and projector maker Hisense has announced that its flagship lineup of L9G laser TV projectors have received a free Dolby Vision update. The update was provided this week via an automatic firmware update, allowing L9G owners to immediately experience the benefits of Dolby Vision’s high dynamic range.
While Hisense is not the first company to announce a projector with Dolby Vision – Xiaomi has launched a model with Dolby Vision compatibility, although this model is only available in China – the L9G is the first model of its kind in the US market to provide this feature, which is commonly found in the best 4K TVsbut not on projectors.
Otherwise, the L9G is a complete A/V package consisting of a 4K Ultra Short Throw (UST) projector and an Ambient Light Rejection (ALR) projection screen. The projector, which sits approximately 12 inches from the wall-mounted screen, has a built-in 40-watt Dolby Atmos audio system, Android TV for streaming, and Google Assistant voice control. It sells with a 100-inch display for $5,499 (about £4,000, AU$7,500) or a 120-inch display for $5,999 (about £4,400, AU$8,000)
Hisense calls the L9G a ‘TriChroma’ projector based on its advanced light engine that uses separate red, green and blue lasers to transmit images. Along with high brightness – the L9G offers a specified light output of 3,000 lumens – Hisense’s UST projector achieves 107% of BT.2020, the recommended color space for Ultra HDTV. (Few TVs or projectors are capable of reaching full BT.2020, which is not even supported by current streaming or disc-based video formats.)
Analysis: It’s About Time Projectors Have Dolby Vision
Why did it take so long for Dolby Vision to arrive on projectors? Compared to regular flat-panel TVs, projectors have limited light output. The HDR10 format that 4K models support is a basic high dynamic range variant where the movie or TV show streams its maximum and average HDR brightness to the screen (a TV or projector) and then accommodates that static information from the screen. best possible way. capacity.
Dolby Vision, on the other hand, is a dynamic HDR format where the contrast range of images is determined scene-by-scene or even frame-by-frame. With Dolby Vision, the screen (again, a TV or projector) can transmit information about its maximum brightness/contrast potential to the source, and the video content can then be dynamically ‘tone mapped’ to make the most of the system’s potential.
Note that I used the word ‘system’ there. With a pre-configured projector and display package like Hisense’s L9G, both the projector’s light output and the screen’s contribution to the brightness and contrast levels of the images are a known quantity. This differs from most projector setups where screens with different levels of gain (the proportion of projected light that is reflected back by the screen material) are used or there is no projection screen at all.
With its high brightness, TriChroma laser light engine and built-in display with predictable performance characteristics, Hisense’s updated L9G laser TV appears to be the right candidate to launch Dolby Vision into projectors. previously reviewed the LG9 and commented favorably on its image quality. We may have to call it back now to see how it fares with the Dolby Vision update.