Theres no home theater experience quite like a giant projected screen.
For the average person, a projector is the best way to go big.
But projectors are also stuck in the past.
The ones thataresmart tend to be of the small, portable variety not really meant for extended home use.
Optomas UHL55tries to bridge that gap.
Its a$1,4004K projector running Android with support for Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant control.
Lets kick things off with the specs:
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The UHL55 isnt a portable projector, but its still smaller than most 4K options for the price.
It comes in at 8 pounds and is easy to move around where you need it.
Setting it up is straightforward.
Once turned on and set up, youll notice the biggest issue with the projector.
It isnt running Android TV… its a very basic, highly skinned version of Android 6.0.
That means no native Chromecast support.
It means no access to the Play Store.
It means many apps you give a shot to sideload (done via USB) will be broken.
Apps that do work might behave in a wonky manner.
Of those apps, the only ones I really cared about were YouTube and Netflix.
To any manufacturers looking to implement Android on their projectors…pleaseuse Android TV instead.
I know its probably more work, but its a far more pleasant user experience.
Its a relatively clutter-free situation.
The other part of the smart equation is support for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.
Now this, I can get behind.
Its a surprisingly robust amount of control, and it mostly worked without a hitch.
Perhaps Optoma had cleaned up its software by the time I got around to reviewing it.
Even 1080p content looked good thanks to some solid upscaling.
The lack of a zoom lens may help in that regard.
Completing the home theater experience are the speakers, tuned by Optomas NuForce audio team.
Traditional projector lamps also tend to slightly change color and brightness over time.
I have but two real caveats with the image quality.
Two… input lag performance isnt great, so this wont be your first choice for gaming.
However, the input lag seems to be significantly higher from lower resolution sources.
Id assume this is because of resolution upscaling, which I found no way to disable.
Most 4K projectors have lackluster gaming performance, but its something to keep in mind nevertheless.
Hopefully, this is something the company can resolve with a firmware update.
My impressions might come off as mixed, but I quite like this little projector.
The question then becomes whether its worth the money.
Theres Optomas ownUHD50,BenQs HT2550andTK800, andViewsonics PX727, to name a few.
If youre willing to spend $1,700,Optomas UHD51Asupports Alexa and Google Assistant too, just without Android.
But these dont provide the UHL55s flexibility, potential for upgrades, Bluetooth capabilities, or LED longevity.
Lets hope the next version comes with Android TV.
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