During the pandemic, projector reviews were something I really looked forward to. With no chance of watching movies in the theatre, this was the closest a movie buff like me could get to the big screen experience. But this was also the time I realised that even as projectors were now much better than what they used to be, many walls still come in the way of you experiencing these gadgets to their best. Let me explain with this Optoma L1+ projector review.
The Optoma L1+ is an ultra-short throw home projector that aspires to replace your television. It is light and compact and does not take much more space than what a small living room TV unit will have. All you need to set it up is to plug it into a power source and then a content source. The L1+ has an Android dongle of its own, which gives you access to content, but then, the review unit did not come with it. Users, too, have to buy this separately, which might not be needed as most of us now have at least an Amazon Fire TV dongle at home.
Earlier, I tried out Optoma and other projectors that come with the software preinstalled, and I think this is the way to go, especially if projectors have plans to replace the television. I used the projector with my Apple TV 4K. After all, this is a 4K projector.
Yes, I have a living room wall where a short-throw projector can be used effectively, even though it is a bright yellow. However, my 65-inch television squats over this space. So, I had to find a location where this could be made to work. Now, with a regular projector, I would have used a wall in the bedroom or the space behind my living room sofa to project, even though watching in such situations can be uncomfortable.
But this is a short-throw projector and can’t be perched up on a stand meters away from the wall. This needs to be next to the action. My final solution was to use this on the dining table, but this meant I did not have more than 60 inches of space to project, and there was a small switchboard encroaching into the projection area.
A short-throw projector and can’t be perched up on a stand meters away from the wall (Nandagopal Rajan / Express photo)
But then, such is life. Those investing in a good projector will ideally do so because they have the mind space and space at home to move towards a home projection system.
Set up is easy, as it is with projectors these days. If the image is not how you want it, you can quickly hit the focus settings and get it perfect. The remote is very handy for everything you want to do here, as there are no buttons on the device as such. There are three HDMI ports for connectivity, and an audio out port and one S/PDIF.
The Optoma L1+ has great specs on paper with DLP 8K UHD that packs 8.3 million pixels on screen and enables HDR, low lag gaming mode with 240Hz smooth motion and 3D. All of this translates to stunning viewing on the wall, even when it is daytime. Yes, this is among the best-performing projectors I have used during the day, and that means this is an actual TV replacement if you are considering it.
Thanks to the 4LED system, the clarity is pretty good, even when you are not using a projector screen and just beaming on to your wall, like mine, which is not even white. You can make out distinct colours and shades, even of grey. Watching the Great Train Robbery series, the effect was almost as good as watching in a cinema. The Optoma L1+ has two features, which I really loved as it helped improve the experience dramatically. One is the ability to increase the HDR brightness, which worked for those times when I was watching something during the day. Second, the Dynamic Black just makes the visuals much more stunning, especially when you are watching a horror flick like the Nun 2, which has a lot of dark frames and highlights. Both of these were things you could not do in projectors before.
The Optoma L1+ has great specs on paper with DLP 8K UHD that packs 8.3 million pixels on screen and enables HDR, low lag gaming mode with 240Hz smooth motion and 3D.
It helps that Optoma projectors have speakers that are better than most televisions. And this is an area where projectors have improved so much over the years. I remember how, for reviews a few years back, I had to use an extra computer speaker system. Now, you even have present audio modes like in a soundbar.
Most Read
There are many preset modes, and they make a difference, especially when you are in the Movie or Gaming modes. I tried playing Asphalt 8 on the Apple TV, and the images flowed smoothly without any lag at all. But I did not overdo this as I did not want to expose my 12-year-old to the temptations of a large screen for gaming.
The Optoma L1+ comes with so many settings inside that you can get every aspect of the projection exactly as you want it. I liked the ability to adjust the digital zoom. Also, you can change aspect ratio to a wide angle mode, too, if you have access to such content.
As I mentioned, my only real grouse with this device is it does not have Android TV-like software pre-baked. This should be a no-brainer these days, and using a dongle for this does not really help. For better adoption of projectors, companies need to make it a TV replacement in every sense.
At Rs 2,80,000 lakh, the Optoma L1+ might be a bit pricey for many to consider as a television replacement, especially since the best TVs are still half the price. But if you are setting up a room just for your entertainment experience, then this is certainly among the best, hassle-free options out there. Also, given how versatile this is, offices and educational institutions can also consider this as something to fall back on.
