AWOL LTV-3500 Short Throw Projector Review: Bright but Expensive

However, that is the primary projector I’ve used the place I felt I did not want blackout curtains (or vital modifications to my residence). During the day, I may placed on music movies or reveals and nonetheless see what was occurring completely properly. As night units in, the lighting naturally turns into good for a film evening, with an awesome display that nearly (virtually) makes going to a theater out of date.

I do want the projector supplied extra management over shade profiles and calibration. I usually watch content material through my PS5, and whereas the HDR Vivid preset labored finest with different gadgets, I needed to swap the projector to HDR Game to compensate for the PS5’s personal HDR shade calibrations, in any other case vivid scenes had been overwhelmingly blown out.

While there are just a few instruments to create customized HDR shade profiles, modify white stability, or set shade correction, all of them contain relative fiddling, as a substitute of adjusting to a reference template (which, to be truthful, is fairly frequent for many TVs and projectors). 

However, I used to be extra impressed with the instruments for aligning the body of the projector. A correction chart helps you bodily align the projector itself till a projected rectangle is in keeping with the display you are projecting onto. If you want extra changes after that, a handbook correction instrument permits you to additional modify the alignment within the software program. 

And lastly, there is a focus instrument to regulate the motorized lens, in case the projector is out of focus. Mine got here targeted simply high-quality once I set it up for a 120-inch display, but I did must refocus when reducing the display and transferring the projector nearer to the wall to make a extra affordable 90-inch projection.

The Screen

The ALR display that AWOL additionally despatched for evaluation is a big profit—but it comes at a considerable value. Without bundles or gross sales, the 100-inch display prices $1,100, whereas the 120-inch model–the one I examined—is a whopping $1,800. The costs for the screens alone rival the price of many TVs. But as soon as they’re arrange, it is onerous to disclaim the distinction they make.

Setting up the display is an ordeal all by itself. The large 120-inch model is so big I needed to transfer furnishings simply to put it flat whereas attaching the body. The complete course of took a few hours, and it is undoubtedly finest to have at the least two individuals to assist carry it onto the wall. It additionally required cautious measurements, not solely to verify the display match on my wall and was mounted correctly, but additionally to verify it was mounted excessive sufficient, and that the projector was far sufficient away from the wall to get the complete 120-inch display.

Once mounted, the image high quality from the projector improved considerably. The ALR display is designed to mirror mild from under, the place the projector sits, whereas rejecting mild from above (corresponding to overhead lights). In observe, it provides the picture a a lot better distinction ratio and supplies a brighter image.