Even though the best projectors can be a bit on the pricier side, when you compare them to the cost of a massive high-end TV, they start looking like a steal. But for some reason, they’ve remained more of a tech-enthusiasts’ toy than an everyday living room hero. Many folks still think that projectors can’t match up to the reliable experience of TVs.

To be honest, I was one of those skeptics not too long ago. The idea of a projector delivering vibrant colors and daytime brightness seemed far-fetched. But then, the Formovie Theater projector showed up and shattered every expectation I ever had from projectors. It has me convinced that TVs no longer need to be considered the default home entertainment devices. Well, almost.

Source: Formovie

Formovie Theater

$3000 $3500 Save $500

While the clever wordplay in its name is amusing, the Formovie Theater projector genuinely impresses with its stunning picture quality and audio performance. Thanks to Dolby Vision and Atmos support, movie nights get an authentic cinema feel. If you’re not big into gaming and can find a way around the Netflix hiccup, this is a top pick. Just make sure it fits within your budget!

Brand

Formovie

Native Resolution

3840×2160

ANSI Lumens

2800

Projection Technology

Triple-laser, ALPD 4.0

Connectivity

Wi-Fi 6

Throw Ratio

0.23:1

HDR

HDR, HDR10, Dolby Vision

Audio

2x 15W

OS

Android TV 11

Lamp Life

20,000 hours

Image Size

80—150 inches

Maximum Supported Resolution

4K

Lamp Type

Laser

Ports

3 x HDMI 2.1 (1 x eARC), 2 x USB, 3.5mm stereo, TOS Optical, LAN

Size

550 × 349 × 108 mm (21.7 × 13.7 × 4.2 inches)

Weight

9.8 kg (21.6 lb)

Color Depth

10-bit

Projection Method

UST

Battery life

NA

Wireless connectivity

Bluetooth 5.0

Pros

• Great brightness and contrast
• Dolby Vision support
• Powerful built-in speakers
• Android TV UI

Cons

• Netflix app doesn’t work
• Not suitable for competitive gaming

Price and availability

The Formovie Theater projector launched in late 2022 and is available to buy directly from Formovie’s official website and Amazon, as well as through a few chosen third-party vendors, such as Projectorscreen.com. Originally priced at $3,500, we’ve already seen it on discounts reaching up to $500.

The brand Formovie might not immediately ring a bell, but its pedigree is impressive, being backed by industry giants Xiaomi (yes, that Xiaomi) and Appotronics — the latter known for its expertise in commercial laser projection systems.

The projector made waves debuting as the world’s first UST projector supporting both Dolby Vision and Atmos. It’s also one of the few projectors with a triple-laser projection system instead of a single laser. Triple laser systems are known to offer a wider array of colors and an overall brighter picture. More on that in a bit.

Design, hardware, what’s in the box

I have to admit, as someone who’s mostly used the “grab and go” portable projectors, unboxing the high-quality, hefty box that the Formovie Theater projector comes in was a pleasant surprise. Inside the box, things are kept simple: You get the projector, its power cord, and the remote. Given that it’s an Ultra Short Throw (UST) projector designed to be kept on tabletops, you won’t find any wall or ceiling mounts here, although it has a software option for upside-down and ceiling projection.

Weighing a solid 10 kg, the Formovie Theater looks and feels luxurious. It’s this sleek, rectangular slab that would look cool in any room, even if it’s just sitting there turned off. The muted dark gray-and-black shade is minimalistic yet charming – and more importantly, it seamlessly blends into the background during those late-night binge sessions.

At the front, you get a fabric-covered speaker grille, which adds to the device’s aesthetic appeal. Plus, there’s a Formovie logo that lights up subtly and a set of four LED dots that blink to life when you summon the Google Assistant. And for those who value privacy, a physical mute slider is thoughtfully placed on the side.

On both sides, you get speaker ports and air vents for the built-in fans. The projector also features nifty rubber feet that are height-adjustable. Up top, there’s this angled section housing the light source and lens, safeguarded by sensors to promptly switch off the blinding light should something come in its path – a feature I accidentally tested more than once.

The screen-facing side houses a plethora of ports, namely three HDMI slots (one of them is eARC-ready), two USB-A ports, ports for 3.5mm and optical audio out, and a LAN port for those who like their connections wired. Wireless connectivity options include Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0

The Bluetooth remote feels like any other streaming box remote, with dedicated buttons for launching YouTube and Google Assistant. One nifty addition is the “Launch board” button, which allows direct access to projector settings like Focus, Keystone, etc.

Projection features and setup

The shining star of the show here (quite literally) is the ALPD 4.0 RGB+ triple laser projection system. This projector natively supports 4K resolution images bursting with 8.3 million pixels, and the brightness is rated at a commendable 2,800 ANSI lumens. What’s impressive is its longevity – rated for a 20,000-hour lamp life, you’re looking at roughly 13 years of use if you run it for about four hours daily. The color coverage is equally impressive, offering 107% coverage for BT.2020 color gamut.

Now, onto its practical setup. The 0.23:1 throw ratio means you can get a 100-inch screen from just 9 inches away from the wall. Depending on the projector’s placement, you can get anywhere from an 80-inch to a 150-inch screen size. Thanks to my pre-installed 120-inch screen being placed a bit too high, I had to settle for a 105-inch display before it spilled out onto the ceiling. During my usage, I placed the projector about 12 inches away from the screen, with a vertical gap of around 15 inches from the screen.

Setting it up was straightforward. There are thumb-wheel controls for manually adjusting the projector’s feet for leveling it, and you can also use keystone correction to straighten out the image. Focus fine-tuning might be needed for the initial setup, but once done, it stayed consistent during my usage.

Software experience

The Formovie Theater projector comes powered by Android TV 11. If you’ve ever played around with an Android Smart TV or streaming device, you’ll know exactly what to expect. It’s the usual home screen setup with access to a massive lineup of apps from the Play Store, like Disney+, Peacock, Hulu, Prime Video, etc.

Unfortunately, like many other Android TV projectors, this one too isn’t licensed for some apps, and the most significant omission here is Netflix. If you’re a Netflix regular, you’ll have to invest in a dedicated streaming device to connect to the Formovie Theater. I instead used the opportunity to dive deeper into Apple TV+’s offerings (and I’m glad I did). It’s still a bummer not having Netflix here, but it’s definitely not the end of the world.

Beyond the Netflix snag, the Android TV experience is solid, with all other streaming apps working as expected. The built-in Chromecast means casting from your mobile devices is always available. The interface itself is clean and responsive, with snappy animations and quick app launch times. Two months in, and it’s still running just as smoothly as the first day — no complaints on that front.

Image quality

Before we dive in, here’s some context: My regular-use projector is the Philips Screeneo U4 UST projector — and I’ve mostly only used projectors under $1000. My projector screen is a generic one sourced from Amazon and isn’t a luxury item either. It’s worth noting that for the best experience, a premium ALR screen is highly recommended and would significantly enhance the Formovie Theater’s visual output.

Naturally, trying out a $3000 projector for the first time, I was expecting something special. And it delivered spectacularly. Everything I watched looked stunning, with great contrast levels and vivid colors. The 4K HDR stuff was, as expected, top-notch. But what surprised me was how good 1080p videos and older SDR movies looked, thanks to some effective upscaling.

The default color tuning might feel slightly inaccurate for discerning eyes, leaning towards bluer hues. While certain modes like “Vivid” and “Sport” go a tad overboard with saturation and contrast, “Movie” mode struck the right balance for me. There’s also an intelligent switch in color modes when you play HDR or Dolby Vision content. For those who prefer manual tuning, a never-ending array of white balance, color tuning, and picture adjustment options are available.

I watched a lot of HDR and Dolby Vision content from Apple TV and Disney+, and the experience was nothing short of cinema quality. The colors are punchy with sharp details, and the black levels are impressive. They’re basically as good as what you’d get from an LED TV, but of course, OLEDs still have an edge in that department.

One thing that stood out to me was the projector’s brightness. Some nights, I actually felt the urge to turn it down a bit — it’s that bright. However, it comes in handy if you’re watching in a semi-lit room or during the daytime. In fact, if you have suitable curtains and a good quality ALR screen setup, daytime viewing with the Formovie Theater isn’t going to be a problem at all.

The high brightness levels also help this projector nail dimly-lit scenes. Many projectors falter here, struggling to depict intricate details in shadows, which isn’t surprising considering the inherent light limitations. Yet, with this one, I often felt like I was watching movies on a TV, not a white screen on my wall.

Lastly, a mention of the MEMC feature, which basically fills in some extra frames into your content to make it appear smoother and sharper. It works seamlessly for shows and movies. But with sports like soccer or cricket, there are moments of unintended comedy with the ball seemingly multiplying in mid-air. To be fair, it also happens on many TVs that do MEMC, and it only happens in those specific cases.

Sound quality

Thanks to a noteworthy collaboration with Bowers & Wilkins, the Formovie Theater is no slouch in the sound department either. It comes fitted with dual 15-watt speaker arrays, with front-firing tweeters and mid-bass drivers, and side-firing bass-reflex ports, all combining to deliver clear, powerful audio that could give many Bluetooth speakers a run for their money.

To begin with, it gets impressively loud — so much so that anything beyond 70% volume was a bit too intense for my personal preference. The Dolby Atmos functionality is only available when you plug in a compatible audio setup, but even without that, the projector is able to create a feeling of depth in the audio, projecting a wide soundstage that complements the huge screen size. The stereo separation is palpable, and the bass, while not ground-shaking, is respectable for built-in speakers.

That being said, it will surely not outdo a dedicated home theater system, especially something with a dedicated subwoofer to add that much-needed heart-thumping bass to your movies. But it was good enough that I didn’t bother moving my speakers from the other room.

Gaming and miscellaneous

The Formovie Theater projector isn’t really tailored for hardcore gamers, but to be honest – that huge screen and those punchy colors do make gaming a visual treat. It does come with support for Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) when hooked up to compatible gaming consoles like the PS5 or Xbox.

However, don’t expect it to be a gaming powerhouse. The input lag is noticeable – alright for a laid-back FIFA session with friends, but potentially irritating in fast-paced multiplayer showdowns demanding split-second accuracy. While it offers a decent gaming experience, you should lean towards a 120Hz OLED TV if gaming is your primary focus.

Summing up with some additional notes: Although the fans run almost continuously, they are quiet enough not to disrupt your viewing experience. A quirky design choice is the raised lip around the ports, which means devices like my Fire TV stick can’t directly plug in due to casing interference. That said, standard HDMI cables fit just fine.

Competition

If you’re exploring reputable brands for your home theater setup, consider Samsung’s The Premiere, a triple laser UST projector with specs mirroring the Formovie Theater, though it’ll set you back over $5,000. Epson’s EpiqVision Ultra LS800, with its 10-bit HDR colors and impressive 4000 Lumens brightness, is another worthy contender.

The Hisense 100L9G 4K Tri-Laser UST Projector lines up closely with Formovie’s specs, offering an even brighter 3000 ANSI Lumens and a robust 40W speaker system. And for those looking for that extra sprinkle of cinema magic, the AWOL VISION LTV-2500 offers a 3D experience right at home.

Should you buy the Formovie Theater projector?

If you’ve set your sights on an epic home theater setup and don’t mind splurging upwards of $3,000, then it’s a strong yes from me. The Formovie Theater offers crisp visuals, Dolby Vision support, and built-in audio that combine to elevate your movie nights to a whole new level. Plus, it’s bright enough to work well during the daytime, although to make the most of it, you might want to invest in a high-quality ALR screen and some decent curtains.

If you’re just on the hunt for a good screen, picking up a 65 to 75-inch 120Hz OLED TV could be a more wallet-friendly decision. But if it’s a gigantic screen of 80 inches or more that you’re dreaming of, a laser UST projector like this one becomes a pretty attractive option.

Sure, there are a few other Laser UST projectors out there with similar specs, but the Formovie Theater doesn’t really fall short in any significant way. The main drawbacks? The lack of Netflix compatibility and some input lag. Still, as a movie-centric projector, it truly gives you a bang for your buck, holding its own even when compared to higher-priced rivals.

Source: Formovie

Formovie Theater

$3000 $3500 Save $500

While the clever wordplay in its name is amusing, the Formovie Theater projector genuinely impresses with its stunning picture quality and audio performance. Thanks to Dolby Vision and Atmos support, movie nights get an authentic cinema feel. If you’re not big into gaming and can find a way around the Netflix hiccup, this is a top pick. Just make sure it fits within your budget!