NexiGo - Aurora Pro MKII UST Tri-Color Laser Projector

Most importantly is to darken your room (wall, floor, ceiling) into a cave, if not then it gets more expensive as you'll need alr screen. For the screen you can just use a wall and paint it white / grey or use spandex or cheap grey alr cloth. Some even use sheetrock panel as a screen. Unless you go tri laser projector which will limit your screen choices. Minimum is the likes of nexigo trivision ultra (mk2 coming soon), if $1400 is too much then you better get a tv. If you rather not turn your room into a cave then get ust. Nexigo ap mk2 is a nice option.

Ignore those deluded Valerion fans. Tbf if you only consume non subtitle dark content then maybe Valerion ebl will be the better choice for you. Assuming you're not sensitive to rbe, under $3k the best is dangbei s7 ultra max, then it's a tossed up between xgimi horizon 20 max and nebula x1. For ust, nexigo ap mk2 is better than valerion and has no rbe / speckle issue too.

Just get nexigo ap mk2 with alr screen. Other ust to consider such as epson ls650, formovie theatre 2, xiaomi c2, hisense pl1. They all have low or no rbe / speckle issues. Valerion dimming ebl doesn't activate with subtitles, no iris and have speckle issues.

If you're going to use it in a living room, you should really consider UST projectors. They're sometimes referred to as "Laser TV's" - but it's just a projector you put on a bench in front of your screen on the wall. The screen needs to be a specific ALR (ambient light rejecting) screen. That screen technology combined with how the projector is firing light from below makes them untouchable for use in a somewhat lit environment, even compared to high lumen long throws. Your budget is problematic. You can't get into an UST with a proper screen for quite that amount. It's close, maybe $2500 or so would do it, something like a Nexigo Aurora Pro and a cheap Wemax or Nothing Projector 120 inch ALR screen. No projector performs well without a screen, but UST's especially stand or fall with having an ALR screen imo. For any projector solution you absolutely want the ability to at the very least block all outside light coming in, but with a long throw projector on a white screen you need to pain the walls black too... which can be an issue in a non-dedicated room.

Nexigo Aurora Pro, the previous version, can be had for $2 grand but you also need to spend $700 or thereabouts (or up) for a 120 inch ambient light rejecting screen for UST's. The Aurora Pro is possibly still the best UST projector for black level and dark room viewing. The screen you have won't cut it for an UST, you need a specific one for a "Laser TV". Built in sound is not going to cut it, but if you spend about $2.5k on the projector and screen, the remaining $1000 can buy you an entry level 5.1 (or 7.1, sometimes those are cheaper) AV receiver, an affordable subwoofer and five affordable speakers to dot around the room. A Denon entry level AVR being one choice, like the AVR-S770H or the X1800 or the X1700 (the 1700 being previous gen but still great).

The two front runners right now are probably the Nexigo Aurora Pro MKII and the Hisense PX3-Pro. Both mid-priced at $3000+ and triple lasers. Also add $1000 and up for an ALR (ambient light rejecting) screen for UST projectors (99.9% mandatory imo). At 100 inches, possibly the Formovie Fresnel one. The Nexigo Aurora Pro (previous gen) is sold around $2000 and is still a top notch choice for dark room movie viewing, it has solid black levels and dark image handling. The UST specific ALR will let you have some light in the room and still a satisfying level of black in the image (albeit not remotely plasma blacks or OLED blacks, but good). Without a screen you'll have a lesser image and need 100% blackout in the room; 100% blackout recommended even with an ALR.

Nexigo Aurora Pro Mk II + an ALR screen (Nothing projector makes a seamless 132 inch if that fits on the wall, or a 120). A side benefit is that you wouldn't have to rip out the ceiling lights and fans since the projector would be on the floor in front of the screen. Without building a fake wall in front of the window you can't have an in-wall center anyway so you don't need something like a perforated screen. If you can't fit bigger than 120 (or less) I'd concur with ProjectionHead (aka Brian from Projectorscreen) that a floor-rising motorized ALR screen that comes up over the window would let you keep this room way more general use and then have a fantastic home cinema time anyway. You'd need blackout curtains over the window(s) instead of actually doing work to seal them. Alternatively if you prefer longer throw, a Valerion Pro 2 or Max, with the appropriate fresnel based ALR screen they sell. There are somewhat better projectors around the $5 grand mark but you're not buying just half the solution, you need to factor in the screen which can run $1-2 grand (or vastly more than that, you want a Screen Innovations Black Diamond in their Zero G motorized form it's more like five figures). But sure, you could go with a white screen and black everything but imo you absolutely don't need to. The clincher in my view is the available wall real estate you have to work with. If you could fit a 150, 175 or some other honking huge screen then a long throw and black walls would be the way to go. If you're limited to sub-150 anyway, why not UST?

The top of the line JVC projector is pretty good value for money. I mean, sure, it's $30000, but still great value for money if you're rich. And what I mean by that is state your darn budget... If you plan to go all in and start playing with anamorphic lenses for 2.35:1 and installing a MadVR processor then you want a long throw projector to accommodate that use case, but there's a lot to be said these days for UST projectors as well, the ALR screens really help, even in a darkened room. They're also silent (well, quiet) since they're expected to be in the room with you. Long throw projectors should ideally be in another room with a hole hacked in the wall for the lens. I personally qustion the wisdom of putting a device with fans literally over your head when watching a movie now that options exist. You'd have to pay a pretty big chunk of change to beat the image from a Hisense PX3 UST and, say, a 132 inch Nothing Projector ALR screen, or some other screen like Spectra Vision or similar that does cost more. Or the Nexigo Aurora Pro projector, that's still by all accounts the champ of dark room viewing and is in the $2000 ballpark (without screen). There's a pre-order opportunity for the Aurora Pro MK 2 that will sell for $1999 on pre-order, but that's still a few months out from shipping and of course there's some risk it won't be great (but honestly, I personally expect it to become the best UST on the market based on specs and what info is out here).

The top of the line JVC projector is pretty good value for money. I mean, sure, it's $30000, but still great value for money if you're rich. And what I mean by that is state your darn budget... If you plan to go all in and start playing with anamorphic lenses for 2.35:1 and installing a MadVR processor then you want a long throw projector to accommodate that use case, but there's a lot to be said these days for UST projectors as well, the ALR screens really help, even in a darkened room. They're also silent (well, quiet) since they're expected to be in the room with you. Long throw projectors should ideally be in another room with a hole hacked in the wall for the lens. I personally qustion the wisdom of putting a device with fans literally over your head when watching a movie now that options exist. You'd have to pay a pretty big chunk of change to beat the image from a Hisense PX3 UST and, say, a 132 inch Nothing Projector ALR screen, or some other screen like Spectra Vision or similar that does cost more. Or the Nexigo Aurora Pro projector, that's still by all accounts the champ of dark room viewing and is in the $2000 ballpark (without screen). There's a pre-order opportunity for the Aurora Pro MK 2 that will sell for $1999 on pre-order, but that's still a few months out from shipping and of course there's some risk it won't be great (but honestly, I personally expect it to become the best UST on the market based on specs and what info is out here).

AWOL 3500 is bright but has atrocious black level. Avoid imo. Hisense great. LG is old shit, it's not worth the money, I believe its RBE is reportedly also bad. Formovie Theater Premium, top notch, like the PX3 Pro. Another option not listed: Nexigo Aurora Pro, has the best black level vs these and is great for dark room viewing, should be gettable for about 2 grand, not sure of exact price now. But, Aurora Pro Mk2 is in pre-order for $2299 if you want to roll the dice, they added features that on paper should make it superb. On paper. Sight unseen. Thus, "roll the dice". Whichever one you get *you need a proper ALR screen* and those are maybe a thousand bucks for a 120 inch, and I think Nothing Projector has a 132 inch for under 2 grand. A motorized floor rising from Spectra Vision, Vividstorm or similar is in the $2 grand ballpark for a 120.

Since I really like UST projectors I'd have said "Nexigo Aurora Pro MK II" - $3 grand + $1 grand for an UST specific ALR screen, but with the ceiling mount and screen already there I guess that's out. Although not necessarily, still; it's still $4 grand and you could just dismount that screen and remove the ceiling mount. For long throw the Valerion projectors are hard to look past at this price point, they're embarrassing more established brands right now. However, I'd still replace the screen with Valerion's long throw Fresnel ALR screen. Also, what is that, a screen for mice? 100 inches in that space? Get a 150 and drop it low. This screen is mounted too high anyway.

Actually, it was easily beaten by both the PX3 Pro and the Nexigo Aurora Pro MKII in the comparo The Hook Up did.

Valerion Pro 2. Although unless there's a very compelling reason to go lifestyle, I'd buy a Nexigo Aurora Pro MKII ultra-short throw and a proper ALR screen for it. Just plonk it down in front of the screen. No weird digital keystone required, no trapezoidal light spill or shit, just a super clean image. But of course if you can't use a fixed screen, a proper motorized ALR is a chunk of change; https://www.projectorscreen.com/vividstorm-motorized-floor-rising-alr-projector-screen-for-ultra-short-throw-projectors-92-inch-with-acoustically.html Keep in mind you still want a good tensioned screen regardless of what you get; granted a normal crappy white screen can be had for less. But an UST + ALR will mitigate most of the other problems with the room because it doesn't spill light as much, and it also rejects what other light is there.

You'd probably be better off with a 5050ub even though it's bulb fed. It has considerably better black levels. They're cheaper too (well.. same ballpark). Or, you could look into the Valerion projectors, the Pro 2 model almost certainly gives you a better image in just about every way. Or the Max, better yet. Since you're talking about in-wall speakers, UST projectors are out (can't combine UST ALR screen with perforations) otherwise one of those would have been a choice, at 120 inches; a $2000-ish Nexigo Aurora Pro provides a better image and better dark room viewing than the LS11000 (haven't seen it with my own eyes, have seen a comparo online by The Hook Up). Epson projectors also all have loud fans; I'm an Epson owner myself. I have to run mine on 70% power to shut the fan up otherwise it sounds like a vacuum cleaner.

The LS800 is the best of them and at about 70% brightness the fans become almost inaudible. At 100% power you get a little more light output but there's also noise. Epsons tend to have audible fans. However, that presupposes the right screen and the right placement. The thing that makes UST's more resilient to daylight (not immune, just somewhat more resilient) is the UST specific ALR screen, and the fact that the UST is placed on a bench in front of the screen. If you ceiling mount, you lose that entirely and have to use a white screen, and at that point you're probably better off with a long throw. At least that will bounce the light more or less towards you instead of into the floor. UST's are zero compromise when it comes to placement. They *have to* be at the right distance both horizontally and vertically from the screen; the LS800 is the shortest throw on the market so it doesn't have to come quite as far away as others. Projectorcentral.com has throw calculators. You could do something like a Valerion Visionmaster Pro 2 and Valerion's Fresnel ALR screen for those. The ALR is a little less effective than an UST ALR (because an UST fires from such a unique angle from below, it's easier to reject light from above) but if you need it ceiling mounted that would be one of the few sensible approaches I can think of. Here's a rando video that shows what a Valerion with ALR would look like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfOfofvQzis - a big difference in the dark, and an enormous difference with lights. Darkness is still basically a requirement to use a projector. Your image looks absolutely terrible compared to what my ALR creates with some light but there's no projector that can ignore ambient light.

It's also worth mentioning here that if you don't have an issue with the rainbow effect, there are several UST's now that beat all Epsons, including the LS800. The LS800 is great for no rainbow, and for the shortest throw on the market, but a Nexigo Aurora Pro MK II will beat it in just about every way otherwise, except pure firepower (and using 100% of hte firepower makes it *loud* so it's less than great for movie watching at over 70% brightness.)

I have Nexigo MkII. Picture is great. Very bright, colors are sweet with some adjustments. Valerion was my second choice but ultimately wanted to go with a UST pj. All im missing is a screen. Can see that my wall isn't perfectly flat. Good luck

I finally received my Auroa Pro MKII a month ago. Im not disappointed at all. Bright, clarity, sound, colors are amazing. I do want to get an ALR screen. My wall isn't perfectly flat.

Yes on ALR or Fresnel for daytime watching. I also suggest the Nexigo Aurora Pro MKII. Its unbelievable. Best contrast levels and black levels of all USTs. Rabidly active community that keeps tweaking and improving it. Great customer support putting out firmware updates that keep improving the picture. I predict it will win the UST shootout this year. Otherwise, Hisense PX3 Pro.

Px3-pro is great but if you are coming from oled i would recommend Nexigo aurora mk II pro instead. You'll loose some brightness but get a way better contrast that is closer to oled then the hisense.

If you can get an UST working then go for Nexigo aurora pro mk 2, it has insane contrast combined with an ALR screen. Valerion visionmaster 2 pro or Hisense will be brighter but have significantly lower contrast so you would have to step to something like Visionmaster max in that case.

Something like Nexigo aurora pro mk 2 with a good ALR (right now can be had as a bundle for 3000$) will give you the best picture quality without the issues of large LCDs or OLEDs. But for that to work you'll still need some blinds to limit the amount of light the room gets.

While there are really good projectors nowadays that can even compeat with OLEDs to some extent, those model's are sadly outside your budget. Unless you have specific reasons not to get a 77' OLED (like burn in or sensitivity to panel imperfections) i think it would be the better choice.

Personally I would go with Nexigo aurora pro mk 2, it has insane picture quality for the price (3000$) and can even compeat with high end TV's on everything besides brightness. Being a DLP projector it also doesn't have the uniformity issues you get with those large LCDs or even OLEDs which can be a deal breaker for some people as well.

Recently launched Nexigo Aurora Mk II pro is probably the best fairly priced dark room UST you can currently get. If it's in your budget and can be a ordered where you live it's the best choice for both gaming and movies.

Quite a few of the recent UST projectors feature game modes with competitive input lag. Be mindful that most of the input lag numbers they advertise are when playing at 1080p. I have the NexiGo Aurora Pro MKII and it does a great job with gaming. The only thing I miss from my OLED is VRR. I often preferred the 40Hz balanced mode some developers offer but that won’t be an option with this or any UST. It’s 30 or 60Hz only at 4K. You can go up to 240Hz on some systems, though still no VRR support.

MKII startup time is unbearable. Also, the unit I tested was too dark for daytime viewing.

I've tested a lot of projectors (written reviews for some) and seen many others. I had a Epson 5050 and JVC RS420 before this one. I also have a Nexigo Aurora Pro MKII in for review right now. N5? Are you in Europe? I know the NX5 was called the N5 over there. I think the NZ500 is a pretty big jump over the bulbed JVCs. Contrast in mixed scenes is quite a bit better and it'll stay brighter over the long haul due to laser. I also really don't like the dynamic contrast on previous JVCs but it is pretty good on the NZ500. On the NX and NP models it clips too much and makes people look like wax in dark scenes

I've been researching this and I feel best for money is the nexigo aurora mkii

I game on an UST and it's an epic experience. Input lag is completely unnoticeable. If you're not going to spring for an expensive UST/ALR screen combo, I recommend getting some blackout curtains. Ditto for any projector setup, really.

Need a little more info on this one. Like the other comment said you got a UST mixed in with Long throw projectors. And also only the Epson uses bulbs. The other 2 are laser. So what's the room, space, screen size etc. I have the Aurora pro mk 2. Great ust but it does require very specific height and distance from the wall to throw perfectly.

I got the Aurora Pro Mk2 and their 120" screen on the anniversary sale. These projectors really shine with an ALR screen. I ran without it for a bit while waiting to paint the wall and hang the screen. And while it threw alright on the wall by itself, soon as any lights were on it was a heavy wash. Now with the screen even with lights on its still very clear. Are you planning on putting it on the hearth and throwing it above the fireplace? I will say a UST projector actually takes up more space than a flush wall mounted TV just because of the media stand required to properly throw the image on the wall. Not to mention you're looking at a $3k projector for a 70" image. Vs a $500-$700 4k uhd TV.

If you are in a room with some ambient light, or even with white walls, Nexigo is better. If you are in a completely dark room, Hisense might be better.

If you don’t need extra brightness, Valerion is a better option than Nexigo. Just be aware you may have to choose the screen carefully for RGB laser projectors. But if your room has all-white ceilings, the black level may not differ too much. The extra brightness, almost doubled, could give you a better HDR/DV experience. XGIMI is great if you need more flexible position with its optical zoom and lens shift.

For the budget, the original Nexigo Aurora Pro with their Fresnel screen bundle would give you very good results in your setup. Or px3-Pro and Aurora Pro MKII, but you will pay some extra for the screen.

I have a barely used Nexigo Aurora Pro for sale well under your budget. If that product fits your needs let me know.

I have nexigo pro and it’s been nothing but great.

If moving the ceiling mount would be an option, I would definitelly go with a Nexigo. Perfect for the dark room and also for gaming. I have one if youre interested: https://www.ebay.de/itm/146680115778?chn=ps&_ul=DE&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=707-134425-41852-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=146680115778&targetid=2352311494706&device=m&mktype=pla&googleloc=9193546&poi=&campaignid=21674171206&mkgroupid=172695884331&rlsatarget=pla-2352311494706&abcId=10011800&merchantid=7364532&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21674171206

I have the Nexigo MkII. It's freaking amazing, regardless what content it's displaying.

I picked up a trilaser Nexigo and it's native 4k. Ran me 1300 on Prime Day.

Not sure if it helps or makes your comparison harder, but the Nexigo does drop to around $1399-1499 on sale. Maybe even the Valerion Plus or Plus 2 should merit consideration at that price point.