If you love movies but don't want a massive TV dominating your living space, an ultra-short-throw projector could be a good option. Samsung has added two models to its Premiere line of premium screen fillers, offering 4K visuals and immersive sound.
"Research finds the #1 factor buyers search for in a new projector is whether it provides a cinematic experience. That’s why we’ve refreshed our award-winning lineup of The Premiere projectors to make it even easier for you to experience theater-like visuals, right at home," said the company's James Fishler.
"The Premiere 9 and 7 transform your everyday living space into an immersive viewing hub, delivering incredible picture quality, immersive sound and endless ways to enjoy your favorite content. They truly set the standard for modern home entertainment."
The top of this premium line shapes up with the Premiere 9 model, which boasts triple laser technology – giving RGB colors their own light source to put out up to 3,450 ISO lumens (with Samsung reporting that's roughly equivalent to 3,200 peak ANSI lumens).
Viewers can look forward to 4K UHD visuals at 130 diagonal inches when the unit is positioned just over 9 inches from the vertical display surface – which should be close enough to prevent folks casting a shadow when getting up for a toilet break. This model comes with the promise of sharp, vibrant and dynamic visual entertainment, covering 154% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, and supporting HDR10+ and HLG content. Soundtracks rock courtesy of a built-in 40-watt 2.2.2-channel up-firing Dolby Atmos speaker system.
The Premiere 7 flavor makes use of a single laser light source to output 2,500 ISO lumens (2,400 ANSI lumens peak), and throws imagery at a maximum of 120 inches. DCI-P3 coverage comes in at a still color-rich 100%, the projector supports HDR10+/HLG too, and audio is served up via 30-W 2.2-channel speakers.
Both models benefit from AI picture enhancement technologies such as an upscaling tool that brings lower-resolution content up to glorious 4K and a booster function for automatically adjusting onscreen brightness and contrast to deal with various ambient lighting conditions.
They run Samsung's Tizen OS Home edition platform for access to streaming entertainment, with Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and Samsung TV Plus available via a few clicks on the remote. Alexa and Bixby voice assistants are awaiting your commands via far-field microphones as well.
The company's Gaming Hub is also cooked in, a cloud-based service to level up to popular titles without needing to cable up a console. If you do want to physically connect to media sources, there are three HDMI ports with audio return plus one USB Type-A. Ethernet LAN and Wi-Fi 5 can get you online, and Bluetooth 5.2 is onboard too.
Should you need to spruce up your interior between movies, the projectors can also throw widgets onto the wall for such things as a giant digital photo album or clock face with fireplace video underneath – all controlled via a SmartThings app running on a smartphone, which can also control compatible devices like lighting, thermostats and security systems. Of course, mobile screens can also be mirrored.
Both models are available to order now. The Premiere 9 model is a very pricey proposition at US$5,999.99 while the Premier 7 comes in at $2,999.99. If you're quick, Samsung will also throw in a free 2nd-gen Freestyle projector with every purchase.
Product page: Premiere projectors
Cutting edge is always expensive.
I have a 4k projector with 7000 lumens and it cost me about 900 bucks, plus maybe 150 with shipping for a screen 6x9 feet in size.