Hisense has big plans for the World Cup this year ... like, 80-inches big. Those plans will come to fruition in the new Hisense L5 Laser TV that will serve as a significantly cheaper sibling to the L8D, a $13,000 laser TV Hisense announced at CES this year.
At a slightly less wallet-busting price of 19,999 yuan (approx. $3,140), Hisense has hopes the L5 will succeed with China’s middle-class - as well as the rest of the world when it eventually leaves China.
Like the L8D, the L5 isn’t exactly a TV per se - it’s more of a short-throw projector with a lot of the modern conveniences of a TV - like smart functionality.
To that end, Hisense sells a projector screen with each and every one of its laser TVs to give it additional clarity and ease of use for people who might be used to traditional LED-LCD or OLED sets.
The L5’s main selling points are its price ($3,000 is a heck of a lot more affordable than $13,000) and its improved brightness of 400 nits. 400 nits might not sound like a lot but according to Hisense and some simple calculations (every nit of a projector’s brightness is equal to around 3 nits of a traditional TV’s brightness), the L5 should be capable of displaying clear images even in brightly lit rooms.
There’s no word yet on if the L5 will be capable of HDR or even if it will offer 4K - but those details will be coming sooner rather than later, we imagine.
Short-throw projector vs an LED-LCD TV
While there has always been contention between projectors and TVs in the heart of every AV enthusiast, the pull between the two has become even more intense these last few years as more TV makers move into the short-throw projector space.
Both Sony and LG have announced a number of short-throw projectors for this year, and while neither manufacturer lines them up against their traditional TV series, the two are becoming closer and closer in specs and price point.
So why choose a short-throw projector over a TV or vice versa? TVs have generally been less maintenance - as bulbs in projectors need to be replaced every few years and can be costly. On the other hand, short-throw projectors are usually designed in a way that they can be hidden or stored, allowing style-savvy entertainment enthusiasts to hide their equipment when company comes over.
One problem that’s becoming less of an issue is the requirement for projectors to be placed in a completely dark environment - a legitimate home theater, for example. As projectors are able to crank up the brightness without impacting a bulb’s life, projectors can slowly shift away from the darkened rooms of home theaters and into the modern living room - the Hisense L5 being a great example of this.
Hisense has started rolling out the L5 ahead of the World Cup in its home country of China, and has yet to announce global availability - though, if the L8D is any example, it’s something we’re likely to see at this year’s upcoming CES.
Source: PR Newswire
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