The projector market doesn’t move particularly quickly. Most companies replace their models every few years and overall innovation is fairly slow. While there is certainly improvement over projectors from 10 to 20 years ago, that improvement is mild compared to the rapidly evolving TV market. That is, with one exception. The last few years has seen the rise in UST, or ultrashort throw, projectors. These short boxes don’t even look like projectors, nor do they install like one. Instead, they sit on a cabinet mere inches from a wall and are able to project 100-plus inch images.Â
With the promise of simple installations and impressive brightness specs, all wrapped with some elaborate marketing, UST projectors seem like the next big thing in the usually staid projector world. With companies both new and old coming out with models regularly, it sure seems like these weird projectors are the going to be huge.Â
However, they’re expensive. They’re expensive not just in terms of actual dollars, but especially when you compare them to more traditional projectors. Worse, the technology inside isn’t that different. In some key ways, it’s exactly the same. So are you paying more for similar or worse performance, and all for the promise of easier installation? Let’s take a closer look.
What’s a UST?
A traditional home projector can create a 100-inch image from a distance of around 10 feet. Depending on the lens, and if there’s any zoom, it can be a few feet farther or closer to the screen. A regular short-throw projector — not an ultrashort one — can create the same size image from around 5 feet. An ultrashort-throw projector can create a 100-inch image from less than a foot from the screen. They do this using a lens with far greater complexity than what you’d find in other projectors.Â
Most UST projectors use the latest in projector tech, including laser light sources and 4K imaging chips. So UST projectors can have an impressive…
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