The Three Best 4K Triple-Laser Projectors, Ranked

If you are spending somewhere between $2,000 and $2,600 on an all-in-one 4K projector, these are the three you are choosing between. They are all RGB triple-laser. They all cover roughly 110% BT.2020. They all sit on a gimbal, all stream natively, and all measure between roughly 2,900 and 3,500 ANSI lumens in modes you would actually watch, whatever their boxes claim. XGIMI's 5,700-lumen rating is a green High Power mode nobody uses; ignore it.

So forget brightness. It is a wash. Three things separate them.

Contrast, where the Anker Nebula X1 is alone. It carries a 6-blade dynamic iris, and ProjectorJunkies measured its native contrast up to 6,432:1, the best they have recorded on any DLP projector. The Hisense C2 Ultra measures around 1,600:1. The XGIMI Horizon 20 Max measures around 1,510:1. That is a four-fold gap, and it is the difference between shadow detail with depth and shadow detail that looks like gray fog. In a bright room you will not notice. The moment you turn the lights off, you will.

Placement, where the XGIMI is alone. It is the only one of the three with true lens shift, plus or minus 120% vertical, plus motorized zoom and focus. If your projector cannot go in the center of the room, this is not a nice-to-have, it is the only one of the three that will square up a clean image without digitally cropping it.

Gaming and sound, where the Hisense makes its case. A real 240Hz mode at about 12 to 15ms, 'Designed for Xbox' certification, and a JBL 2.1 system with an actual 20-watt subwoofer, the best-sounding of the three. The XGIMI also games at 240Hz (1ms at 1080p, and it has the better platform in Google TV). The X1 is locked to 60Hz and is not a gaming projector, full stop.

The price picture, which shifts, currently makes the decision easier than it used to be: the X1 sells around $2,199, the C2 Ultra around $2,499, and the Horizon 20 Max around $2,599. The best picture is currently the cheapest of the three.