Hisense has announced a lower cost version of its popular C2 Ultra 4K short-throw projector, sacrificing some of the most advanced features in order to lower the barrier to entry for consumers interested in getting a balance of big-picture power and portability.
The company said the new Hisense C2 4K short-throw projector features the same triple-laser light system as the more powerful C2 Ultra sibling and can achieve brightness of 2,000 lumens. That’s quite bright for any laser projector model, although it's notably not quite as high as the C2 Ultra.
Other specifications include a contrast ratio of 1,700:1 and support for the full gamut of high dynamic range formats – Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10 and HLG, according to a report by NotebookCheck.
The company quotes a refresh rate of 60Hz at 4K resolution, though that can be doubled to 120Hz for gaming if you are willing to scale things down to 1080p. The projector is not a “native” 4K model, as it achieves this using a technique known as “pixel shifting”, which involves outputting multiple 1920 x 1080p images that overlap with one another to create the impression of 4K resolution, but it is pretty effective. The pixel shifting technique is widely used by many projector brands, including the likes of Epson, which refers to the tech as “4K Enhancement”, BenQ, which calls it “XPR”, and JVC, which calls it “E-Shift”.
For consumers, the advantage of pixel shifting is that it provides a way to project 4K images onto a wall or screen at a much lower cost, with “true” 4K projectors generally commanding much higher prices. That’s not to say the Hisense C2 is necessarily cheap, as it isn’t – although we don’t know U.K. prices yet, one German listing has it priced at €1,999, or around £1,700.
One of the main features found on the C2 Ultra that didn’t make it to the standard C2 is the zoom lens, which means it has a fixed projection ratio of 1.2:1. Still, that makes it possible to beam images of between 65-inches and 300-inches onto any surface. And the C2 still features motorised focus adjustment and auto keystone correction capabilities for easy set up.
For gamers, they’ll likely appreciate that there are a pair of HDMI inputs on the projector, with one supporting Auto Low-Latency Mode, in addition to two USB 3.0 ports and headphone jack. Meanwhile, sound is delivered by a pair of integrated JBL speakers that deliver a total output of 20-watts.
The projector runs Hisense’s Vidaa operating system, providing access to streaming apps, and AirPlay support is said to be on the way via a software update.
