Coming to a big screen near you

A massive 100-inch laser 4K television — one of the most exciting products to hit the market this year — is set to revolutionise home viewing.

Hisense 100-inch 4K Ultra HD Laser TV

I had an amazing time at the weekend getting acquainted with a TV form factor we’ve seen little of in Australia. Hisense’s massive 100-inch laser 4K TV is indeed one of the most exciting TV ­products to hit the local market this year.

The system comprises a short-throw projector that beams movies and TV onto a special 100-inch screen on a wall nearby. With a short-throw projector, there’s no need to beam light across the room. You place the projector on a table or stand just 20cm from the wall. The projector throws light upwards onto the screen.

The projection console houses all the TV’s electronics and also acts as a soundbar, offering virtual 5.1 surround sound courtesy of JBL. Hisense supplies an extra 6.5-inch 60-watt subwoofer and, in Australia, the console contains one free-to-air digital tuner. This package of three units is sold ­together as a single system.

Hisense 100-inch 4K Ultra HD smart dual colour Laser TV

The Laser TV system is impressive. It’s a world away from the rear projection systems of a decade or more ago, the ones you’d see in pubs showing large fuzzy images. With today’s short-range projector technology, images are sharp and, in dark conditions, you’d swear you were watching a 100-inch backlit LED TV rather than a projected image.

This isn’t the first Hisense Laser TV short-throw projection system. Hisense has been developing these systems since 2007 and launched the first model in 2014. This is the fifth generation version and boasts a dual-colour laser, with 80, 88, 100 and 150-inch 4K UHD models already selling overseas. Finally Hisense is making a 100-inch model for Australia. Current systems support HDR10 with the prospect of HDR10+. There’s also talk of a 150-inch screen down the track.

These latest models have a dual-colour system made up of separate red and blue lasers with green via a phosphor film.

Hisense 100-inch 4K Ultra HD Laser TV

I spent time watching 4K content on the 100-inch screen at about four metres away, the recommended viewing distance. Over an evening and morning, I watched 4K programs on Netflix such as Our Planet, The Chef Show, The Highwaymen, House of Cards, The Crown and fast ­action with Hyperdrive.

It’s hard to imagine you aren’t watching a regular TV. It’s great. Colours are bright without being oversaturated, detail is excellent, although at 100 inches, 4K resolution is more stretched than, say, at 70 inches, but sharp nonetheless. The screen has a pleasant matt appearance rather than the glossy, reflective look of a TV image.

At night-time this TV is amazing, by day the projection system affects performance. The Laser TV in the demonstration house was placed on a wall facing east, and with the sun streaming in at sunrise, I couldn’t see much. Vision was still faint with ­indirect sunlight. You need to place the screen on a wall away from direct light, maybe in a home cinema room. That’s the price you pay for a projection system.

Movement was very smooth even when watching fast action car racing. Hisense says the TV can transmit content at 60 frames a second, with pixel refresh rates of up to 200 Hertz. You can drop back to 24p in cinema mode if you want.

Hisense 100-inch 4K Ultra HD Smart Dual Colour Laser TV with HDR

Hisense uses the same UHD processor found in its Series 7 TVs to upscale content to 4K. It says it takes just 26 nanoseconds to process content. A faster display of content should suit online gamers wanting an extra split-second for a winning edge.

However the Laser TV uses an earlier version of Hisense’s VIDAA U operating system (version 2.5). So the variety of available apps is limited. Popular apps such as Netflix, YouTube, Stan and TED come installed and you can use Plex to access your home movie collection. There are dedicated buttons for Netflix and YouTube on the Bluetooth remote. SBS on Demand is installed but you depend on Freeview Plus to access other catch-up services.

The TV has an app store but it’s mainly games. There’s no Foxtel or Amazon Prime, so these would need to be input via HDMI. I couldn’t test the upscaling of regular free-to-air TV at the test ­installation.

In the end, the big TV delivered a great home theatre cinematic experience in optimal conditions. The console delivers 110 watts of sound and you can set the equaliser for boomy cinematic audio if that’s your preference. The console has 14 built-in speakers.

The short-throw projector console.

The extra inputs are at the back right-hand side of the console. You get 2 x HDMI 2.0, 2 x HDMI 1.4 and one is ARC (audio return channel) enabled for outputting to external speakers. You can add other speakers such as at the back of the room but you’ll need to use cables. There’s also USB3.0 and USB2.0 inputs. You’ll need decent wall space for the screen, which is 224x127cm. At 31kg, it’s not light, but you won’t need any wires or plugs for it. All electronic connections are via the console.

The laser bulb delivers 3000 ­lumens of brightness and is fixed. It cannot be replaced. However Hisense says it will last 25,000 hours before reaching its half-life (half brightness). That’s the equivalent of eight hours a day viewing for 8½ years. The warranty is for three years.

The laser bulb has a safety setting that, when activated, will turn off the projection light if you’re too close to it. Looking into the laser light is highly dangerous so you’ll need to keep children away.

Having just three components — a console, subwoofer and screen — suggests installation would be easy. Nevertheless Hisense offers delivery to metropolitan areas and a “white glove” installation that ensures the ­device spacings are correct. They also calibrate the display. You have to be careful not to touch the projection system.

On screen image from Hisense 100-inch laser TV

You’ll need to consider buying or selecting a piece of furniture to place the console on before ­installation.

The Hisense 100-inch 4K Ultra HD smart dual-colour Laser TV will be available in Australia from the end of this month from JB Hi-Fi, The Good Guys and Harvey Norman for a recommended $19,999. Sadly, our dollar is sending the price of tech northward as the recommended US price is $US9999. To have a big 100-inch screen on the wall for ten grand is impressive, given TVs such as a new 110-inch Samsung can cost northward of $100,000.

I was impressed with the innovation and execution of the 100-inch Laser TV, which for many people might be the best way to enjoy a huge cinematic TV experience at home.