Brand Name | Optoma |
---|---|
Item Weight | 8.7 pounds |
Product Dimensions | 8.6 x 8.6 x 5.3 inches |
Item model number | UHL55 |
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
Color Name | Black |
Specification Met | EPEAT Bronze |
Special Features | Auto focus and auto keystone for easy place and play, Compact voice-assistant compatible projection |
Speaker Type | Stereo, Built-In |
Item display height | 12 inches |
To see product details, add this item to your cart.
Ships from: Blue Sky Distribution Sold by: Blue Sky Distribution
To see product details, add this item to your cart.
Ships from: eTechtronics (Your Trusted Online Retailer) Sold by: eTechtronics (Your Trusted Online Retailer)
- VIDEO
Image Unavailable
Color:
-
-
-
- To view this video download Flash Player
Optoma UHL55 4K LED Smart Projector with HDR, Bright 1500 lumens, Works with Alexa and Google Assistant, for Home Theaters and Outdoors, Auto Focus, Bluetooth Speaker Built in, Stream Netflix, Black
Purchase options and add-ons
Brand | Optoma |
Recommended Uses For Product | Gaming |
Special Feature | Auto focus and auto keystone for easy place and play, Compact voice-assistant compatible projection |
Connectivity Technology | USB |
Display resolution | 3840 x 2160 |
About this item
- Ultimate room-to-room projector: The UHL55's portable size makes it easy to carry anywhere; a removable handle and Backpack are included with purchase for safe, easy transport
- True 4K Ultra HD: experience high-quality home cinema feel with 4K Ultra HD with 8. 3 million distinct addressable on-screen pixels, enabled by the Texas Instruments 4K UHD DLP chipset
- Voice assistant compatible: Alexa and Google Assistant compatibility enable intuitive voice control for powering on and off, changing volume, changing input source and controlling the USB media player.Noise Level:28 dB
- Hdr compatible: HDR10 technology with dci-p3 wide color gamut support displays everything in the rec. 2020 colors to match Television and Film quality; also Providing brighter whites, deeper blacks, and greater color depth
- Variety of inputs: connect with most media players, gaming consoles, PCs, Macs, and mobile devices with input options such as HDMI 2. 0 inputs with HDCP 2. 2 support, HDMI 4K, USB, VGA, and more
- Stream Netflix and more: smart TV apps and downloadable apps via Optoma marketplace enable internet streaming capabilities from your favorite streaming services including Netflix, YouTube, Spotify, Firefox and more
- Long LED light source life: Enjoy up to 15, 000 hours of life with its brilliant LED lamp enabling an average of 4 hours of viewing time every day for 10 plus years
- Enhanced audio: experience deeper, fuller and superior bass performance with stereo audio with Dolby digital; precision two 8-watt speakers deliver 360-degree, omnidirectional sound
- Built-in Bluetooth speaker: connect portable devices to the UHL55 and take advantage of the excellent room-filling audio system via Bluetooth
- Easy image set-up: the Auto focus and auto keystone sensors ensure a sharp, detailed image with no hassle; when the projector or table is bumped, the image will Refocus instantly
Videos for similar products
Important information
To report an issue with this product or seller, click here.
Top Brand: Optoma
What's in the box
Compare with similar items
This Item Optoma UHL55 4K LED Smart Projector with HDR, Bright 1500 lumens, Works with Alexa and Google Assistant, for Home Theaters and Outdoors, Auto Focus, Bluetooth Speaker Built in, Stream Netflix, Black | Recommendations | dummy | dummy | dummy | dummy | |
Try again! Added to Cart | Try again! Added to Cart | Try again! Added to Cart | Try again! Added to Cart | Try again! Added to Cart | Try again! Added to Cart | |
Price | $979.73$979.73 | $369.98$369.98 | -23% $499.99$499.99 List: $649.99 | -21% $789.99$789.99 List: $999.99 | $882.98$882.98 | -10% $1,799.99$1,799.99 List: $1,999.99 |
Delivery | Get it Mar 19 - 21 | Get it as soon as Thursday, Mar 21 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, Mar 19 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, Mar 19 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, Mar 19 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, Mar 19 |
Customer Ratings | ||||||
Picture quality | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.6 |
Brightness | 3.9 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.6 |
Remote Control | 2.7 | 4.5 | — | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.2 |
Sound quality | 4.2 | — | 4.8 | 4.7 | — | — |
Value for money | 4.0 | 4.5 | — | — | 4.2 | — |
Sold By | Blue Sky Distribution | AILESSOM US | Aurzen Direct | PNR Sales | Amazon.com | AnkerDirect |
hardware interface | vga, usb | hdmi, vga, usb, 3 5 mm audio, lightning | hdmi, usb2.0, 3 5 mm audio, bluetooth 5 | 3 5 mm audio, hdmi, usb3.0 a | hdmi, usb2.0 | bluetooth |
display resolution | — | 1920 x 1080 | 4k Supported | 1980 x 1080 | 2160 | 3840 x 2160 pixels |
brightness | 1500 | 20000 | 500 ANSI | 1000 | 3200 | — |
native resolution | 3840 x 2160 | 1920 x 1080 | 1920 x 1080 | 1920 x 1080 | 3840 x 2160 | 3840 x 2160 |
image contrast ratio | 250000:1 | 12000:1 | 20000:1 | 200000:1 | 12000:1 | — |
max throw distance | 17.4 feet | 6.5 meters | 30.5 feet | 11.1 feet | 1.65 feet | 4.22 meters |
Looking for specific info?
Product information
Technical Details
Additional Information
ASIN | B07GY4T18M |
---|---|
Customer Reviews |
3.7 out of 5 stars |
Best Sellers Rank | #3,174 in Video Projectors |
Date First Available | September 5, 2018 |
Warranty & Support
Feedback
Videos
Videos for this product
4:56
Click to play video
150” on a wall. Looks magnificent in person.
S. A. F.
From the manufacturer
Key Features
|
|
|
---|---|---|
Incredible detail, color and contrast.Bring the cinema experience to your home theater with 4K UHD High Dynamic Range (HDR) compatibility and wide color gamut for rich life-like color and contrast. |
Intuitive voice control.Expand your home theater with voice commands including powering on and off, switching sources, adjusting the volume and activating media player commands. |
Premium omnidirectional audio.Experience deeper, fuller and superior bass performance with two precision 8-watt speakers to deliver 360-degree, omnidirectional sound. With a built-in Bluetooth speaker, connect portable devices to the UHL55 and take advantage of the excellent room-filling audio system. |
Key Specs:
- 4K UHD (3840x2160)
- 1,500 ANSI lumens
- HDR10 support
- 250,000:1 contrast ratio
- Bluetooth remote
- Protective sliding lens cover
- 2 x 8W stereo speakers
Optoma UHL55
Portable 4K UHD Smart Projector
Instantly project incredible 4K UHD images with the compact 1,500 lumen Optoma UHL55 smart projector. Its protective sliding lens cover and power switch, auto focus, auto keystone, HDR10 support and 250,000:1 contrast ratio ensure easy place and play with gorgeous colors and deep black levels. Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant compatibility enable intuitive voice control for easy smart home integration using voice commands.
UHL55 | UHD50 | UHD51A | UHD51ALV | UHD60 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Customer Reviews |
3.7 out of 5 stars
93
|
3.7 out of 5 stars
875
|
3.9 out of 5 stars
175
|
3.9 out of 5 stars
175
|
3.8 out of 5 stars
425
|
Brightness / Contrast | 1,500 lumens / 250,000:1 with Dynamic Black | 2,400 lumens / 500,000:1 with Dynamic Black | 2,400 lumens / 500,000:1 with Dynamic Black | 3,000 lumens / 500,000:1 with Dynamic Black | 3,000 lumens / 1,000,000:1 with Dynamic Black |
Native Resolution | 3840x2160 @ 60Hz w/ XPR Technology | 3840x2160 @ 60Hz w/ XPR Technology | 3840x2160 @ 60Hz w/ XPR Technology | 3840x2160 @ 60Hz w/ XPR Technology | 3840x2160 @ 60Hz w/ XPR Technology |
Inputs/Outputs | 2xHDMI 2.0 (w/ HDCP 2.2, MHL 2.1 and Full 18Gbps), Audio-Out, SDPIF Out (Optical), USB-A (USB2.0), USB-A (USB 3.0 - 4K UHD USB Media Player), RJ45 | 2xHDMI 2.0 (w/ HDCP 2.2, MHL 2.1 and Full 18Gbps), VGA-In, Audio-In (3.5mm), Audio-Out, SDPIF Out (Optical), USB 2.0 Port (Service), USB-A Power, RJ45, RS232C | 2xHDMI 2.0 (w/ HDCP 2.2, MHL 2.1 and Full 18Gbps), VGA-In, Audio-In (3.5mm), Audio-Out, SDPIF Out (Optical), USB-A Port (Service), USB-A (Alexa Wi-Fi), USB-A (4K UHD USB Media Player), USB-A (Wi-Fi Wireless Display), RJ45, RS232C | 2xHDMI 2.0 (w/ HDCP 2.2, MHL 2.1 and Full 18Gbps), VGA-In, Audio-In (3.5mm), Audio-Out, SDPIF Out (Optical), USB-A Port (Service), USB-A (Alexa Wi-Fi), USB-A (4K UHD USB Media Player), USB-A (Wi-Fi Wireless Display), RJ45, RS232C | 1xHDMI 1.4 port, 1xHDMI 2.0 (w/ HDCP 2.2, MHL 2.1 and Full 18Gbps), VGA-In, Audio-In (3.5mm), Audio-Out, SDPIF Out (Optical), USB 2.0 Port (Service), USB-A Power, RJ45, RS232C |
HDMI 2.0 w/ HDCP 2.2 (Full 18Gbps) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
HDR10 with DCI-P3/REC.2020 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Bluetooth Remote Control | ✓ | NA | NA | NA | NA |
Smart TV Apps (Netflix, YouTube, FireFox) | ✓ | NA | NA | NA | NA |
Compatible with Amazon Alexa & Google Home | ✓ | NA | ✓ | ✓ | NA |
4K UHD HDR USB Media Player & Blu-ray 3D 1080p | ✓ | NA | ✓ | ✓ | NA |
PureMotion (smooth judder free video) | ✓ | NA | ✓ | ✓ | NA |
Product Description
Instantly project incredible 4K UHD images with the compact 2, 500 LED brightness Optima UHL55 Smart projector. Its protective sliding lens cover and power switch, auto focus, auto keystone, HDR10 support and 250, 000: 1 contrast ratio ensures easy place and play with gorgeous colors and deep Black levels. Alexa and Google Assistant compatibility enable intuitive voice control for easy smart home integration. Use voice commands to power the projector on and off, change volume, change input source and control the USB media player. An Android OS with smart TV apps, Optima Marketplace app store and info wall app deliver USB media playback compatibility, Internet streaming services, downloadable apps and customized information display. Unforce stereo audio with two 8-watt speakers provide crisp audio for movies and music.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers like the picture quality, sound quality, and value of the video projector. They mention that 4K content looks pretty good, and the built-in speakers are quiet. Some appreciate the color. However, some customers differ on quality, brightness, portability, and autofocus.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers like the picture quality of the video projector. They mention that the video content looks pretty good, 4K works wonders, and HDR is great. They also appreciate the HDR performance with Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon Prime videos, and the fact that it does 4K very well for the price.
"...The Optoma UHL55 produces a stunning picture – out of the box. The picture is crisp and clear, and the colors are stunning...." Read more
"...For the money the picture is stunning. I like the natural colors and level of detail.- The fan noise is very low for me...." Read more
"...-4K4k works wonders, gaming is sharp and fluid. 4k enhanced games pop and I really can't do it justice in words...." Read more
"...Great picture, amazing sound, useless OS. Alexa works 1 out of 10 times with limited controls...." Read more
Customers like the sound quality of the video projector. For example, they mention it has great sound, is quieter than their lamp projector, and has sharp images with 4K resolution. Some appreciate the built-in speakers, the color, and the assumed LED.
"...The fan is quiet (unless it’s on high altitude mode, in which case it's blasting air like a jet engine)2.)..." Read more
"...Great picture, amazing sound, useless OS. Alexa works 1 out of 10 times with limited controls...." Read more
"...Quieter than my lamp projector• Very sharp images with 4K resolution• Bluetooth speaker mode...." Read more
"...FIRST TAKE:What's good: the built-in speakers, the color, the assumed LED durability...." Read more
Customers are satisfied with the value of the product. They mention that it is a bang for the buck, a great product, and has a better price-to-performance ratio. Some mention that the product has mediocre image quality.
"BUY THIS NOW WHILE YOU CAN! $749 is an unbelievably low price for an LED DLP 4K UHD smart projector...." Read more
"...I saw the UHL55 on offer so took a chance - and It's really fantastic value for the money.The Pro's:-..." Read more
"...At the current under $1k price point, it's also an absolute bargain." Read more
"This projector is a bang for the buck. Other portable projectors I tried over this were not able to match the quality of this product...." Read more
Customers generally like the color of the video projector. They mention that it has vibrant colors, crisp 4K quality, and is bright. The picture is colorful and sharp, and the HDR images, in particular, are breathtaking. Overall contrast, colors, and UHD picture quality blow their mind.
"...The picture is crisp and clear, and the colors are stunning...." Read more
"...For the money the picture is stunning. I like the natural colors and level of detail.- The fan noise is very low for me...." Read more
"...The color saturation more than makes up for it by keeping everything beautifully colored with no washed out image issues.-LIGHTING..." Read more
"...(although that's where the lack of lumens comes in, as the picture is too washed out at that distance)..." Read more
Customers are mixed about the quality of the video projector. Some mention it's an excellent product, works great for TV watching, and movies3D is great4K is perfect, while others say it doesn't always work, half the apps don't work, and the sound quality is okay, not very good.
"...’re within 6 feet of the screen – I have one setup at 6 feet and it works great. The other setup is at 10 feet and it doesn’t work at all…)4.)..." Read more
"Half the apps don't work, the only way to cast something is to mirror from your phone rendering your phone unusable...." Read more
"...-PURE MOTIONPure motion is hit or miss but it works well enough for sports. Not really recommend for gaming.-LED PROJECTION..." Read more
"...of the Smart App features, which is a good thing, because they don't work very well...." Read more
Customers are mixed about the brightness of the video projector. Some mention that it has a nice brightness, while others say that it is very noticeable during dark scenes. The remote control is not illuminated, and the picture darkens with HDMI 2.2 on 4K content.
"...At 1500 LED lumens it is definitely bright enough to watch comfortably with some ambient lighting, but probably not suitable in a room with sunlight..." Read more
"...The brightness could be higher...." Read more
"...It is more than bright enough though in a dark room. (Personally, other than Sunday afternoon football, I rarely watch during the day)...." Read more
"...Bluetooth remote, works in any direction (however it’s not backlit as advertised)The bad•..." Read more
Customers are mixed about the portability of the video projector. Some mention that it's a great portable product, with a relatively small footprint and built-in speakers. However, others say that it definitely isn't the most portable, and is pretty big despite being touted as portable.
"...It has a relatively short throw for tight places, and can easily be moved from room to room, or house to house for movie night at a friends place...." Read more
"...This projector is pretty big despite being touted as portable...." Read more
"...This is a portable projector with built-in speakers, so I feel lucky that I can take this downstairs if I'm desperate for a dark space...." Read more
"...Truly a portable projector that could be taken anywhere...." Read more
Customers are mixed about the autofocus of the video projector. Some mention that it is crisp and has no out of focus corners, while others say that the Youtube app is buggy and the autofocusing is not very useful.
"...Youtube app is buggy.• Autofocus is not very useful. It worked for me only when the projector was only about 5 ft away (which is about 65”)...." Read more
"...It has an ethernet port as well as WiFi3.) Auto-focus..." Read more
"...BUT, about 1 time in 10, when I turn on the projector it TRIES to autofocus, and messes up my manual focus...." Read more
"...-PICTURE QUALITY.Picture quality is crisp with no out of focus corners...." Read more
Reviews with images
-
Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
1.) 2008 Panasonic PT-AX200U (720p)
2.) 2014 BenQ W1070 (1080p)
3.) 2019 Philips Screeneo S6 (4K – pixel shifter)
The Optoma UHL55 produces a stunning picture – out of the box. The picture is crisp and clear, and the colors are stunning. You don’t have to fiddle around with a bunch of settings to get a really good overall picture – but you can if you want. The standard picture settings (cinema, game etc.) are very decent but, if you're an aficionado, you can also calibrate it - there are a ton of settings to fine tune the color.
At 1500 LED lumens it is definitely bright enough to watch comfortably with some ambient lighting, but probably not suitable in a room with sunlight streaming in. Don't be discourage by the 1500 lumens rating: I dug out my old Panasonic and an unused bulb I had for it, and the UHL55 at 1500 lumens was considerably brighter than the Panasonic, which is rated at 2000 lumens. (Incidentally, over the lifetime of the Panasonic, I spent about double its cost on replacement bulbs – an LED light source is a true blessing.)
Many of the official reviews for this projector slated it because of the limited apps available in Optoma’s app store, and because it’s operating system is based on Android 6.0 rather than the Android TV variant - that seemed to confuse the reviewers. Aside from it’s amazing picture, this is where this little firecracker really shines. Optoma provides you with the capability to upload APKs using the companion Optoma TapCast app, and them basing the operating system on regular Android rather than Android TV allows you to install a much wider variety of apps than you could if it was based on Android TV. All you need to do is upload the APK for another app store such as the Amazon Appstore; Aptoide; Aptoide TV; SlideME; 1Mobile (the list goes on…) and you open up a whole new universe of really cool apps making this one of the most versatile and functional 4K projectors available. Who would have thought…
Other aspects I find decent:
1.) The fan is quiet (unless it’s on high altitude mode, in which case it's blasting air like a jet engine)
2.) It has an ethernet port as well as WiFi
3.) Auto-focus (as long as you’re within 6 feet of the screen – I have one setup at 6 feet and it works great. The other setup is at 10 feet and it doesn’t work at all…)
4.) Auto-Keystone (works great at both distances)
5.) The Optoma Connect and Optima TapCast apps – these have recently been updated (like a few days ago) and are much more usable and less buggy. Still a few issues but, in general, they provide real benefit and are a great asset to accompany the projector.
Optoma Connect: I love this app – you can create info walls that pull together your information (e.g. meetings and events for the day, task list, reminders, the weather forecast, and even your favorite playlist) and display/play it in a fun and useful way. You can schedule this to come on and turn off at a schedule of your choosing – great for giving you a quick overview in the morning of what your day has planned for you.
Optoma TapCast: With this app you can fully control the projector, whether it’s projecting or in standby mode. By that, I don’t mean just switch it on and off – Alexa is there to do that for you. I mean you can view the actual projection of the projector on your phone or tablet, even when it is off. Really helpful for staging presentations, downloading and installing apps, and generally controlling to projector from anywhere so long as you’re on the same network. The app also lets you use your mobile device as remote/keyboard or as an “air-mote” – using the gyroscopes in the device to turn gestures into mouse movements. Really useful for those Android apps not designed for TVs that you’ve downloaded that need keyboard input or a mouse to click on various areas of the screen. Starting to see some of Optoma’s strategy and logic here…? Oh, and get this: you can Annotate on the projector image that’s displayed your mobile device, and it will show up on the projected image! “Hey, can you send me a copy of that design up there on the screen?” Goodbye whiteboards and markers…
Negatives:
1.) Neither of the HDMI 2.0 (HDCP 2.2) ports are capable for use as an Audio Return Channel (ARC) so the audio for any media streaming directly from the projector can’t easily be played through your surround sound receiver. If anyone has managed to get this right, please comment and let me know. You can, however, connect the projector to a Bluetooth speaker (or Bluetooth receiver) and direct the audio through your sound system, but without the surround processing. Including an optical audio out (S/PDIF) rather than an ARC seems a little awkward considering that projectors are generally placed a fair distance from a receiver setup. It’s easy to provision the 25ft HDMI cable, but not so easy a 25ft S/PDIF cable.
2.) TapCast doesn’t natively support Miracast, so projecting from your windows PC to the projector screen requires installing the TapCast app on your Windows 10/other computer.
You can’t beat this 4K projector for value. BUY IT BEFORE THE PRICE HIKES AGAIN!
Images are photographs of my UHL55 at 6ft from the screen. There is some ambient light in the room, a fair distance from the screen. The first two images are of the info wall (via Optoma Connect)
Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2020
1.) 2008 Panasonic PT-AX200U (720p)
2.) 2014 BenQ W1070 (1080p)
3.) 2019 Philips Screeneo S6 (4K – pixel shifter)
The Optoma UHL55 produces a stunning picture – out of the box. The picture is crisp and clear, and the colors are stunning. You don’t have to fiddle around with a bunch of settings to get a really good overall picture – but you can if you want. The standard picture settings (cinema, game etc.) are very decent but, if you're an aficionado, you can also calibrate it - there are a ton of settings to fine tune the color.
At 1500 LED lumens it is definitely bright enough to watch comfortably with some ambient lighting, but probably not suitable in a room with sunlight streaming in. Don't be discourage by the 1500 lumens rating: I dug out my old Panasonic and an unused bulb I had for it, and the UHL55 at 1500 lumens was considerably brighter than the Panasonic, which is rated at 2000 lumens. (Incidentally, over the lifetime of the Panasonic, I spent about double its cost on replacement bulbs – an LED light source is a true blessing.)
Many of the official reviews for this projector slated it because of the limited apps available in Optoma’s app store, and because it’s operating system is based on Android 6.0 rather than the Android TV variant - that seemed to confuse the reviewers. Aside from it’s amazing picture, this is where this little firecracker really shines. Optoma provides you with the capability to upload APKs using the companion Optoma TapCast app, and them basing the operating system on regular Android rather than Android TV allows you to install a much wider variety of apps than you could if it was based on Android TV. All you need to do is upload the APK for another app store such as the Amazon Appstore; Aptoide; Aptoide TV; SlideME; 1Mobile (the list goes on…) and you open up a whole new universe of really cool apps making this one of the most versatile and functional 4K projectors available. Who would have thought…
Other aspects I find decent:
1.) The fan is quiet (unless it’s on high altitude mode, in which case it's blasting air like a jet engine)
2.) It has an ethernet port as well as WiFi
3.) Auto-focus (as long as you’re within 6 feet of the screen – I have one setup at 6 feet and it works great. The other setup is at 10 feet and it doesn’t work at all…)
4.) Auto-Keystone (works great at both distances)
5.) The Optoma Connect and Optima TapCast apps – these have recently been updated (like a few days ago) and are much more usable and less buggy. Still a few issues but, in general, they provide real benefit and are a great asset to accompany the projector.
Optoma Connect: I love this app – you can create info walls that pull together your information (e.g. meetings and events for the day, task list, reminders, the weather forecast, and even your favorite playlist) and display/play it in a fun and useful way. You can schedule this to come on and turn off at a schedule of your choosing – great for giving you a quick overview in the morning of what your day has planned for you.
Optoma TapCast: With this app you can fully control the projector, whether it’s projecting or in standby mode. By that, I don’t mean just switch it on and off – Alexa is there to do that for you. I mean you can view the actual projection of the projector on your phone or tablet, even when it is off. Really helpful for staging presentations, downloading and installing apps, and generally controlling to projector from anywhere so long as you’re on the same network. The app also lets you use your mobile device as remote/keyboard or as an “air-mote” – using the gyroscopes in the device to turn gestures into mouse movements. Really useful for those Android apps not designed for TVs that you’ve downloaded that need keyboard input or a mouse to click on various areas of the screen. Starting to see some of Optoma’s strategy and logic here…? Oh, and get this: you can Annotate on the projector image that’s displayed your mobile device, and it will show up on the projected image! “Hey, can you send me a copy of that design up there on the screen?” Goodbye whiteboards and markers…
Negatives:
1.) Neither of the HDMI 2.0 (HDCP 2.2) ports are capable for use as an Audio Return Channel (ARC) so the audio for any media streaming directly from the projector can’t easily be played through your surround sound receiver. If anyone has managed to get this right, please comment and let me know. You can, however, connect the projector to a Bluetooth speaker (or Bluetooth receiver) and direct the audio through your sound system, but without the surround processing. Including an optical audio out (S/PDIF) rather than an ARC seems a little awkward considering that projectors are generally placed a fair distance from a receiver setup. It’s easy to provision the 25ft HDMI cable, but not so easy a 25ft S/PDIF cable.
2.) TapCast doesn’t natively support Miracast, so projecting from your windows PC to the projector screen requires installing the TapCast app on your Windows 10/other computer.
You can’t beat this 4K projector for value. BUY IT BEFORE THE PRICE HIKES AGAIN!
Images are photographs of my UHL55 at 6ft from the screen. There is some ambient light in the room, a fair distance from the screen. The first two images are of the info wall (via Optoma Connect)
The Pro's:
- The quality of picture given its 4k resolution might not be as impressive as other competitor models but these cost at least $2000 upwards. For the money the picture is stunning. I like the natural colors and level of detail.
- The fan noise is very low for me. I have it placed very close to where I sit and though I can hear it, it doesn't disrupt my enjoyment of use and I can't hear it when audio is playing from the speaker.
- The audio is really good. It sounds better connected to external speakers but it's loud, clear and well balanced in my opinion. The LG I had before was truly awful in comparison. You can also use the projector as a bluetooth speaker for other devices.
- The bluetooth remote is much more reliable than a standard IR remote. By default this remote is set to IR and I had a load of trouble trying to use this until I went into settings and changed to bluetooth. It's now fast and responsive.
- People have complained of the lack of apps due to not being Google Play compliant - there is pretty handy app that Optoma created an app called TapCast for ios and android and it's easy to sideload apps. I have added VLC which is a must for video content. It's true that the selection of apps on the Optoma store is poor.
- The network abilities seem good so far and I can easily stream from my mobile, tablet, computer and a Synology NAS drive. Apart from a couple of minor stutters on once occasion, playback has been really smooth. I also love that audio is in sync unlike the prior LG projector.
The Cons:
- The app selection really is poor natively, so learning to sideload is essential to get more out of the projector. Netflix won't stream 4k due to DRM limitations as far as I can see.
- This projector is pretty big despite being touted as portable. It's also heavy and there is no battery so needs to be connected to a mains at all times.
- The remote is incredibly frustrating to use until you switch it to bluetooth. I would click repeatedly with no response. They could have made this clearer in the instructions.
- The brightness could be higher. It's fine for a dim room and best in the dark but during the day while still visible you wouldn't really want to be using this.
In summary I don't think there is another 4k projector on the market at this price. There are a few trade offs and caveats but generally I think this is a great projector and worth every cent of the current $750 price tag. Just be prepared to spend some time working out the quirks and how to sideload apps from your mobile using the TapCast app.
Top reviews from other countries
Original take:
Overall it's a great projector and very competitive at the $1500 price point.
The image is produced by pixel-shifting, meaning a 1080p image is offset 4 times producing 3840x2160 pixels by oscillating the chip many times per second. Some purists might scoff at this but I find the result imperceptible and I verified that it produced a native 4K image that is pixel-perfect.
Although it is categorized as a portable projector that goes on your table top, it's quite large and heavy. You won't be carrying it around to a friend's house or on your camping trip easily. I hard mounted it to my ceiling and it won't move from there. Because of it's intended application, the power cord is very short so I have the power brick velcro-ed along the wall. Not the best looking setup, I wish Optoma supplied a longer cable.
I get a 125 inch image from a distance of approximately 11 feet. There's no optical zoom, lens shift or vertical keystone so you will be limited in your placement options. The image is sharp and bright enough to watch in the day with curtains blocking some of the outside light. It really shines in a light controlled room with bright, popping colors that match pricier projectors.
Right out of the box, the colors are way off and need calibration. I'm not a professional nor do I have calibration equipment. It took me many hours of adjusting to get realistic looking colors and skin tones. HDR sources look particularly bad and need lots of tuning to look as good as SDR sources. You won't get a true HDR image here (a limitation of projectors vs TV) but at least HDR10 is supported so it's able to decode and display an HDR source. Although I was annoyed at first, once I figured out adjustments that looked good to me, the image is spectacular. Much better than the JMGO N7 and XGIMI H2 I owned previously and at 125 inches, 4K Makes a huge difference.
The box is a bit noisy during operation, there's an electronic noise that I believe might come from the pixel-shifting chip. The noise gets drowned out once you start watching something but the first unit I had was particularly noisy. Other than that, the fans produce a quiet humm that's very tolerable even when the projector is next to you. I'll subjectively say that the UHL55 sits between the wisper quiet H2 and the jet-engine sounding N7.
I recommend overlooking the underwhelming on-board Android operating system and plugging in your own box like an Nvidia Shield to get the most out of the projector. The incorporated smart features are handicapped by the lack of Widevine DRM meaning you will get an image capped at 480p from apps like Netflix and Amazon. You will also not be able to passthrough surround sound even if there's an optical-out port, I only managed to get 2.0 stereo output with Kodi and VLC. These same apps on my Nvidia Shield pass through surround sound like they are supposed to. I found the best setup is to use the projector as a monitor only. Set up your equipment in this order: Source->Audio Receiver->Projector. That way you get to fully exploit the benefits of your home theatre system with a 4K image and uncompressed surround sound.
The on-board speaker sounds like you'd expect from a TV speaker. Some might like the versatility and it's there if you need it.
Plug in your game console and enjoy immersive gaming on a giant screen. Subjectively, I found no input lag and I'm able to be competitive playing online games on my PS4. Now I can't wait to enjoy 4K gaming on the upcoming PS5
In the end, even if the Optoma UHL55 is flawed in some ways, I really love it and I'm giving it 5 stars. We have to keep in mind that projectors are a compromise and purchasing one for your specific application requires a lot more planning than buying a TV. The UHL55 has an identity crisis, sitting between a portable projector and a full size home theatre projector, but it doesn't stop it from delivering a 4K home theatre experience unmatched at this price.