My Home Theater Review

An in-depth breakdown of my new home theater setup

In college I picked up a Mitubushi HD1000U. This was my introduction to home theather projection. I was hooked. I knew I'd never want to go back to a traditional T.V. again. Fast forward over 10 years, I had recently moved, and it was time to update. 

Being in a better financial picture than college I was ready to upgrade in a serious way. My goal was to get decent solutions within the 3 categories of projector, screen, and audio. Luckily my timing coincided with the newest wave of projector technologies; 4k ultra short throw (UST). This is the setup I ultimately landed on;

Xiaomi Mija 4k UST

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Purchasing

Terrible! This was the most worrisome and troublesome of all 3 purchases. These projectors are not commercially available in the United States and must be purchased from Chinese suppliers. The dificullty with this option is if there are any issues it will be a hassle to return as there are significant import/export tarifs. Reading around on forums there are mentions of folks ordering off of Alibaba directly from a supplier in China. The savings by doing this were in the $200 - $300 dollar range. So I said why not! Alibaba makes it easy enough. Although it is a bit intimidating. Once on the app you make an inquiry to a supplier on pricing (cost + shipping). Imagine Ebay but instead of bidding you negotiate. This is meant for supplier so purchasing large order quantities. It is not a smooth consumer like purchasing experience as I found out later. After messaging a few suppliers and little negotating I settled on a purchase.

Fast forward 30 days, it took a while as it ships from a warehouse in Hong Kong, and the projector had arrived. The delievery experience was terrible. I recieved a cryptic and torn Fedex note indicating I needed to pick up a package from my local drop off. I wasn't home when the package had arrived, which there was not good notifications or estitmation of it's arrival. As I found out with a package of that value they won't leave it on you door step and instead leave it at a nearby local pick up location. For me that happened to be my neighborhood convience store, Walgreens, down the street. Well I did not know the Fedex slip was inregards to the projector package, I had no idea what it was for. It didn't strike me as important and so I went after a few days to see what the fedex note was for. Turns out it was the projector and they had just sent it back to the Fedex shipping center that day. argh. Not wanting to have it ship back to China, I knew that would be a disaster, I got a ride to the shipping center to pick it up. 

Once I had it at home and did an initial setup I immediately noticed a noise. When reading reviews people mentioned a high pitch whine that was expected. Others mentioned it being noisy and returning for another which was not noisy. I used it for a few days to get an idea on what I should do. It became very clear this was not a standard noise. When first starting it would be at a "refrigerator" level volume, roughly 45 db. After a minute or two of running a much louder, sounded like the fan, would kick in. A noise loud enough to carry over the built in soundbar. It ruined the viewing experience so it was time to return it. After much back and forth through the Alibaba app, providing multiple videos of the issue and pushing back multiple times on the fact it was broken and it was unexpectable I got the supplier to cave and initiate a return. So I pacakaged it back up, paid return shipping and sent it back. After a few weeks they messaged me back saying they tested and it was fine. No way, simply not true. I was given the option of sending me another unit without an option for another return or a refund. I opted for the refund. The process was frustrating, not consumer friendly and seemed untruthful. I did not trust the supplier to act in good faith issuing a new unit. 

After another few weeks I had my refund in hand. All in all it was about 2 months to go through the whole process. What to do next. I could try another supplier and potential end up in the same terrible back and forth. At this point I wasn't sure if it was general issue with these models as this seemed like a common occurance from some reviews. I considered the Vava 4k UST projector but it was about twice the cost. They had a few sales through out the year that offered significant discounts. Should I wait till one of these rolled around? The key was going to be whether it had a lower baseline nose level. I emailed them to find out. A Vava rep responded noting it had a Db of XX. Ultimately the price point won. I decieded to roll the dice again but this time I would order from GearBest as they seemed to have a more consumer focused purchasing experience. Which I reasoned would provide me a better return experience if I had issues again.

The second unit arrived from GearBest and I was back in action. Luckily my original unit was indeed defective and the noise issue I had did not affect the second unit.

Review

With a properly functioning unit in hand it was time to set it up and run it through it's paces. I have now been using this projector for over 6 months and feel I have a good grasp on it's overall quality.

Picture 

It looks fantastic! Bright and vibrant colors. Even before I had my screen and was projecting against a off color non uniform wall with marks I could tell it was signficiant upgrade from my 10 year old 720p lamp projector. 

I am by no stretch of the imagaination an expert on projection setups and as such can't speak towards any technical details or compare and contrast against other options in any meaningful manner. I can say though as a enuthasist who is looking to create a cinema like experience this gets the job done well.

Once combined with the appropriate 4k UST ALR screen it took it to a whole other level. It's phenomenal. While I'm still dialing in my setup and there are issues which I have noticed and will highlight I can say it is a signficant upgrade and see it being my home theater setup for the next 10 years. Well at least until I have a dedicated theater room!

Sound

It's garabage once compared to a decent setup. Otherwise it gets the job done. I pieced my setup together over the year so I used the internal sound bar for a few months. 

Honestly I find the market position of this new category of projectors strange. They are positioned as portable home theaters. Maybe I'm lacking in imagination but they only time I could think of you moving it would be for a backyard theater night. Which are awesome! But would you really haul your expensive next-gen projector outside and expose it to the elements... no. It's why I've held on to my 10 year old Mitubishi. All of this adding up to the point of in this category why are they included and marketing on the audio aspect of these units? Seems like they could be built with out audio components, bringing down the price signficantly and making them more approachable to the small available space crowd. e.g. College students. 

Business strategy opinions aside while the audio quality pales in comparision to a dedicated setup it puts audio at a loud volume. If you wanted to haul this over to a friends or the park and have an outdoor theater it would work fine. 

Issues

Personally I am okay with the unit there are things to point out which should be seriously considered. When done so add up to this is not a projector I would recommend to anyone.

High pitch whine

There is an internal high pitch whine. It is on par with a refigerator but one that has the condensor running. Meaning go listen to your refrigerator and then open the door for a minute, close it and listen again. The noise the projector puts out is on par with a refrigerator actively running the cooling unit. It is noticeable. Although the more important question is probably does it pull you out of the experience. Yes and no. When a scene has sound it sets bellow it and is unnoticeable. If a scene is dead quite then yes your ear will catch it and it can pull you out of the scene. It's not all the time but it happens. I'm about 50/50 on how annoying that is. It's pretty far from not enough to make me return it but it's enough were I might find myself upgrading sooner than expected. Especially as more companies are producing 4k projects.

Blurred top of screen

When looking at the top left and right corners you will notice a slight blur. It's enough of a blur where you will recognize it as blurred but it's slight and small enough that I don't think I notice it unless I look to intentially notice it. My understanding is this is an issue common to all UST projects due to the extreme angle at which they cast light. i.e. I'm not sure this is a solveable issue on any UST. Meaning off all the issues I bring up this is the one you'll need to be aware of and okay with. There's no purchasing your way out of this.

With games this blur becomes much more noticeable as you are constantly looking at these locations along with the fact there can be text in those locations. Which when you try to read blurred will signficanlty increase your perception of the issue. 

Bottom border deadpixel?

My unit seems to have a single horizontal line across the very bottom that displays like a dead pixel. I can not tell if this is an issue with the hardware, software or transmission. Sometimes it's there, sometimes it's not. My guess is it is one of a couple things.

Hardware; somehow the projector is casting it.

Software; potentially a software issue at the projector OS level

Transmission; I think this is most likely. Somewhere in the chain of devices when the signal is handed off, the DHCP is done or who knows it ends up being part of the signal and the projector displays it as such.

Potentially this is related to the incredible and detailed Projector Junkies breakdown and repair of this projector.

Vividstorm 4k UST ALR Screen

The most considered of all these purchases was the screen. There are not many projector screen producers and of them there are only a few making UST Ambient LIght Rejecting (ALR) screens. Then to add an extra constraint for my setup I wanted a cieling mounted motorized roll-up screen as to not lose the wall real estate in my living room. There seemed to be 2 options the Solo Pro 2 with Short Throw screen material and the Vividstorm Pro Slimeline Tension Screen. The Solo Pro 2 being considerable more expensive than the Vividstorm.

Purchasing

While I had intially considered purchashing the Vividstorm screen through Alibaba after my experience with the Projector I ultimately ordered through Amazon US. It was a no fuss process. Although the box did arrive with some damage.

It was packaged well internal and did not suffer any damage to the screen itself. Even so this was worrying. I live in Portland, Oregon which experiences quite a bit of rainfall and packaging damage like this could result in

Picture

Wow! At night with lights off the images projected onto this screen material are crisp, vibrant and bright. During the day the ALR aspect of the screen really does improve the brightness of the screen in situations with a lot of ambient light. 

Initially I though I was going to need to note a serious production issue with the screen that cause a large wave across the bottom left corner quadrant of the screen after throughly tensioning the screen this has completely gone away.


  DSC_0061.JPGVividstorm screen components and accessories

Issues

Horizontal creases

As this screen rolls up into the cieling there are horizontal indentations across the screen at even intervals. Honestly it's not all that noticeable but I would be lying if I didn't say it has not caught my eye, on a few occasions, while sitting 10 feet away. Typically it is during a very bright uniform color scense. e.g. A shot of a clear blue sky. I read on Amazon reviews that leaving the screen hanging, i.e. not rolled up into the casing, for an extended period of time can reduces these. I am currently trying this out.

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Corner stretch marks

There are two groups of three stretch marks on both the left and right corners of the screen. No amount of tensioning will correct them. My guess is it is a production issue with keeping the screen properly flat and tensioned when sealing the black tape on the bottom of the screen. While they are very visible when no image is being cast on the screen I never notice them while watching a movie as they are quite out of the way of the primary action of most scenes. 

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USB trigger

When the USB trigger is plugged into the Mija 4k when I wake the Nvidia Shield it sends a signal to the Nakamichi sound bar which then turns on which sends a signal to the Xiaomi projector which then turns and finally sends a signal to the Vividstorm screen. Once the screen gets the signal it begins lowering the screen but after a few seconds it seems to get another signal and then closes the screen. I have tried various combinations of inputs, when the USB trigger is plugged in, etc. all with the same effect. It just seems like the projector triggers multiple signals and the screen is ignorant to their meaning. 

Nakamichi 7.2.4 sound bar

I am not an audiophile. I am not sure I could tell the difference between a good and bad sound system. I am not sure what I should be listening for. After doing my research I know the common knowledge is that a discreet speaker setup is always going to be better audio quality. My priority was simplicity. This is ultimately what lead me to deciding on a soundbar. I knew I was not willing to sacrifice on rear speakers. 

Purchasing

Really straightforward, purchased on amazon.com

Review

It sounds great. Dialog is crisp. House shaking bass if you want it. *cough* Alien scene of the Nostromo landing on LV-426 *cough*. Rear speakers provide really immersive 3D sound. Although I'm not sure if that is the Dolby Atoms up firing speakers. I have not heard enough audio setups to tell. 

Nvidia Shield TV (2019 Refresh)

Purchasing

Ordered directly from Nvidia. Although I am not sure this is still an option.

Review

Extremely well designed software leads to a throughly pleasing experience and feature set. From the 4k AI enhanced upscaling to the tight integration with streaming apps. The rave review of the remote are every bit as true as they say. The triangle of shape of the remote is comfortable in the hand. The subtle detail of illuminating the buttons when picking up the remote just really highlights they did some proper user research and designed this to it's use case.

Conclusion

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My setup had a few unique constraints; throw distance, space conservation and large amounts of ambient light that lead my to make many of the choices I did. UST projector due to the throw distance not being enough to allow for rear projection. Motorized cieling mounted screen to free up the largest wall in my living room for other uses. ALR screen material to offset the light as well as work with an UST projector. While I do not think my setup will be turning any heads at avsforum.com I am happy with the outcome of my setup.

My Ambient Light Constraints 

I have large southern facing bay windows. There is a lot of light that gets into my living room. I am also located in Portland, Oregon so 6 months out of the year I have a 7pm or earlier sunset, plus grey days. Which makes for prime move watching half the year. For the brighter longer summer months I use a good quality black out curtains to get light control. These work very well.

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Overall Satisfaction

I love it! It was exactly what I was aiming for, a signficant improvement to my movie experience all around.

My largest compliant is with the Xiaomi Mijia 4k projector noise. Due to the loud enough to hear above some movie dialog, definietly on quite scenes, I unfortunately can not recommend this projector. I myself will be switching to a different projector. Currently eyeing the new Samsung The Premiere LSP7T with a noise level of 31db.

Cost of Setup - USD

Published on 2020-09-05