The bottom line: This home cinema projector gives video the 4K UHD treatment.
Given the specs on the Optoma UHD550X 4K UHD 2800 you'll be hard pushed to find a better deal that promises impeccable cinema-esque clarity.
With 8.3 million pixels, the projector can give your Blu-rays and games a huge amount of depth and detail, with Optoma claiming the image is "as clear as looking out a window". Swapping 3D for 4K is a great move for Optoma and with the addition of HDR compatibility, the UHD550X 4K UHD 2800 Projector has been optimised to deliver a home cinema experience like no other.
Pros: 4K Ultra HD picture quality, optimised to offer superior gaming
Cons: No 3D, and screen not included
Optoma UHD550X 4K Projector: Everything you need to know
When a 4K television isn’t enough, the Optoma UHD550X 4K UHD 2800 Projector is the next step up. Delivering Ultra HD 4K resolution, expect to experience 4 times more detail than your average HD television. Boosting the bright colours and defining the detail on darker scenes, gaming and HD-filmed television programmes can be expected to take on a new lease of life when projected onto the screen.
If you’re still uncertain of its ability to keep up with the big guns at the cinema, it uses an advanced DLP single-chip design, which is used by 80% of cinemas, so there's your answer.
It’s not just about producing a superior quality picture. To ensure that it continues to deliver a home cinema experience years into the future, Optoma has made sure that the projector meets the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) requirements for 4K UHD so it can keep up with progressive technology. It's also integrated a speaker that ejects a powerful 8W audio into the room - not quite cinematic surround sound but it will hook up to an external speaker system if you have one.
Performance
Whether it's HD gaming, sports or films, you can adapt the colour setting to ensure you achieve the best picture, while the standard setting on film mode will allow you to experience a film the way the director intended. Switch the projector to gaming mode for lightning response times and don’t miss a trick with the projector highlighting every little detail. Note that at 2800 lumens, this projector isn’t brightest out there but paired with 4K, the overall effect is rated highly.
If you’re going to be blowing up a picture to a home cinema size, any picture will need to be HD to ensure the resolution remains high. For non-HD programmes, the projector does a pretty good job of giving them a boost but bear in mind any image distortion may be amplified.
Design
To ensure the projector remains a people pleaser, Optoma have stuck to a white gloss finish. The vents have been made into more of a design feature than an obvious necessity and as an added bonus, the slight whirring of the projector is too quiet to interfere with any sound. At 7.8kg, it’s on the heavy side compared to other similar projectors that average around 2.3kg, mainly because of its 4K processing power, so just make sure you mount it to your ceiling with sufficient screws.
For a superior quality home cinema experience, the Optoma UHD550X 4K UHD 2800 Projector is a no-brainer.
