Shenzhen-based laser/smart projector maker Formovie has announced a Premium version of its Theater ultra-short-throw 4K laser projector. With upgraded visuals and improved audio, the new company flagship promises immersive cinema-grade viewing up to 150 inches.
The Theater Premium model is built around an enhanced flavor of Advanced Laser Phosphor Display technology, which was first invented in 2007 by Formovie's parent company, Appotronics – the Chinese projector brand was co-founded by the Appotronics Corporation and Xiaomi Technology in 2016.
ALDP aims to create cinema-like imagery "through the use of mixed multi-color laser lines and laser-excited fluorescent materials." The ALPD 4.0 RGB+ laser technology at the heart of the new Formovie flagship is reported to enable 2,200 ISO lumens of brightness output (up from 1,800 ISO lumens), a 3,000:1 native contrast, 107% coverage of the BT.2020 color gamut (up from 80%), for visuals that are "1.25 times clearer and purer than the previous Theater model."
There's support for Dolby Vision too, along with HDR10+ decoding and enhanced speckle suppression. A 0.21:1 throw ratio gets it 18% closer to the display surface or screen than its UST sibling – which translates to 150-diagonal-inch visuals with a back edge placed 16.5 inches away. Motorized focus and 4-point/8-point keystone correction should make for setup ease.
Instead of Android TV, the new flagship comes with Google TV built in, and that means official access to Netflix plus other popular streaming apps via an intuitive interface. Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 are cooked in. There's Google Assistant via the Bluetooth remote for voice searches, and Chromecast for sharing content from a smartphone or tablet screen.
A Game Mode has also been included to lower input latency when cabled to a console over HDMI, which gets lag down 18 milliseconds compared to 40 ms in the Theater model. There are three HDMI 2.1 ports (one with eARC), a pair of USB 2.0 connections, Ethernet LAN, as well as analog and digital audio outs.
Formovie has maintained its partnership with Bowers & Wilkins, but "the entire acoustic system has been upgraded to its second generation." The improved sonic goodness starts with optimized Dolby Atmos plus DTS-X support, a 990-cubic-cm chamber makes for deeper bass and the high end benefits from a new treble unit rocking a titanium diaphragm. This dual-speaker setup is still rated for 15 watts per-channel output though.
The Formovie Theater Premium model commands a suggested retail price of US$3,499, but goes up for pre-order on October 28 for $2,999.
Product page: Theater Premium
