A new 4K (3840x2160) laser projector—the UHZ50—has been released by Optoma. With an estimated street price of $2,799, the UHZ50 is among the least expensive 4K laser home theater projectors available rated for at least 3,000 ANSI lumens. (Only the dual-purpose ViewSonic LS700-4K, a less-advanced projector that we reviewed in 2020, costs less.)

Optoma UHZ50 NPA product

The UHZ50 uses Optoma's DuraCore laser technology, which guarantees no maintenance and a light source life of up to 30,000 hours in Eco mode—not to mention no costly lamp replacements. As mentioned, the projector is rated for 3,000 ANSI lumens and a contrast ratio of 2,500,000:1, presumably with Optoma's Dynamic Black function enabled that adjusts brightness output based upon what's happening in each frame. It has a 1.3x zoom and four-corner keystone correction.

An enhanced gaming mode provides low input lag, one of the most important things in a gaming projector. With a 4K/60Hz signal there's a 16 ms input lag time, and that can get as low as 4 ms with a 1080p/240Hz signal. The projector has two HDMI 2.0 ports (both with HDCP 2.2 support, one with eARC), so 4K/120Hz isn't supported.

Optoma UHZ50 NPA lifestyle

Included with the UHZ50 is built-in streaming support. If you already have your own streaming, or have a preferred streaming OS, two USB ports on the back can supply power. Additionally, videos and pictures can be shared wirelessly over 5GHz Wi-Fi via the Optoma Creative Cast app.

HDR10 and HLG are both supported with 100% coverage of both Rec. 709 and the DCI-P3 wide color gamut. A HDR brightness mode adjustment allows you to fine tune the setting for the source material being watched.

The Optoma UHZ50 is available now for $2,799.

For more detailed specifications and connections, check out our Optoma UHZ50 projector page.

To buy this projector, use Where to Buy online, or get a price quote by email direct from Projector Central authorized dealers using our E-Z Quote tool.

 
Comments (27) Post a Comment
Benevolent Posted Nov 1, 2021 9:53 AM PST
When should we expect to see HDMI 2.1 4K 120Hz with VRR Freesync premium support in a projector with 16 ms or less input lag? There are a lot of games on Xbox Series X that support this.
John Higgins Posted Nov 1, 2021 11:28 AM PST
Maybe an announcement of a low-input lag 4K/120Hz projector at CES (if we do see one I'd expect a price around $3,000, or maybe more). And we're just starting to see VRR-supported projectors (the Acer GD711 will support VRR, but only at 1080p resolution I believe). Hopefully more of those soon.
Mike J Posted Nov 1, 2021 12:54 PM PST
When can we expect a review?
Rob Sabin, Editor Posted Nov 2, 2021 9:02 AM PST
We are expecting to receive a sample soon but can't peg a timeframe for a finished review until we get it. It's an important projector so we'd like to get it out as soon as we can.
Grodnyc Posted Nov 2, 2021 9:11 AM PST
Will this have lens zoom memory for a widescreen setup?
Rob Sabin, Editor Posted Nov 2, 2021 9:23 AM PST
Manual zoom on this projector, so no lens memories.
Yug Posted Nov 2, 2021 10:32 AM PST
From reviewing the user manual, low latency gaming mode is only available on the HDMI 1 input, and Pure Motion (CFI) only on HDMI 3. So unless your receiver has two HDMI outputs, this is going to be a lot of manual switching. Or am I missing something?
Anyhony Posted Nov 2, 2021 11:54 AM PST
Are they finally going to include HDMI-CEC? Don’t understand why they’re so allergic to it!
Yug Posted Nov 2, 2021 12:43 PM PST
CEC? Yep, from the manual:

When you connect HDMI CEC-compatible devices to the projector with HDMI cables, you can control them on the same power on or power off status using the HDMI Link control feature in the projector’s OSD. This lets one device or multiple devices in a group power on or power off via HDMI Link Feature in a typical configuration, your DVD player may be connected to the projector through an amplifier or home theater system.
Christoph Posted Nov 3, 2021 6:30 PM PST
Specs sound impressive. These built into a UST projector would be amazing.
Greg Posted Nov 4, 2021 4:23 PM PST
Will this have an RGB colorwheel like the P2?
Mike Posted Nov 4, 2021 4:26 PM PST
Downloaded the manual and noticed an RF Emitter Port for VESA 3D which is great news for 3D fans. High lumens coupled with the the superior VESA 3D format (don’t loose sync like DLP-Link sometimes do) should result in a fantastic 3D experience. Nice to see Optoma bringing it back for this 4K projector. Looking forward to the review.
Jipp Posted Nov 7, 2021 10:01 AM PST
Looks like the noise level is roughly the same as the UHD30? Can anyone confirm how it sounds? No have the UHD30 and the noise (even on eco) drives me nuts!! :(
Jose Luis Posted Nov 9, 2021 1:52 PM PST
Will this new laser projector use the new DMD from Ti (DLP471TE DMD) chip? I read improvements in the black level control:

"The major differentiation of this chip, in addition to its very small size, is the increasing degree rotation of the mirrors from the last 12 ± ° of DC4 to ± 17 °, which will surely increase and black levels which is the Achilles heel of this technology."
Jose Luis Posted Nov 11, 2021 9:34 AM PST
I think that this laser technology needs two color/phosphor wheels, unlike the two-laser system from LG that use only one "mirrors" wheel, in relation to the rainbow effect related to DLP technology.
Vishu Posted Nov 26, 2021 7:23 PM PST
How does the 3D viewing campare with viewsonic LS 700 4K?
Vishu Posted Nov 26, 2021 7:26 PM PST
How does the 3D viewing campare with viewsonic LS 700 4K?
Ganesh Posted Dec 1, 2021 8:31 PM PST
Is this a direct competitor to the LG UH810pw? If so how does this stack up to the LG? Looking forward to your review.
Rob Sabin, Editor Posted Dec 1, 2021 8:40 PM PST
Ganesh, without having yet reviewed the UHZ50 we can't say for sure how they compare, but what we can say is the UHZ50 will be the better projector for gaming as it is designed from the ground up for low input lag. this is one of the weaknesses of the HU810.
milesaz Posted Dec 4, 2021 8:02 PM PST
Hello, How are you? So when is the review coming?
Rob Sabin, Editor Posted Dec 6, 2021 6:34 AM PST
We are still waiting for a review sample.
gadam Posted Dec 17, 2021 12:21 PM PST
When you do get a chance to review one of these, would you please find out for us just what is disabled when using game mode? And also what input lag is when features like HDR are enabled? Thank you.
Heyward Posted Dec 18, 2021 2:12 PM PST
I just purchased this projector and installed it yesterday. First impressions are WOW. My previous projector was the UHD60. This UHZ50 image is more dynamic. The contrast ratio is superb. I've never seen blacks so black and whites so white. I'm still tweaking the settings. My only complaint so far is the image has an occasional flicker. I think it's the Dynamic Black adjusting between scenes. I look forward to your review so I'll have a recommended starting point with the settings. With my previous three projectors, I used your recommended settings as a starting point.
Milesaz Posted Dec 22, 2021 1:10 PM PST
Hi, Still no review unit yet?
Rob Sabin, Editor Posted Dec 22, 2021 1:23 PM PST
Our review is complete and is in its editing/vetting stage. Should be out shortly.
Fitsum Alebachew Posted Dec 24, 2021 7:07 PM PST
This sounds like everything the LG HU810PW is but better in almost every metric, while still being less expensive. Did I miss something?
Rob Sabin, Editor Posted Dec 27, 2021 8:31 AM PST
Fitsum, I think your assessment is on target as far as how things look on paper, except that we can't really compare the image quality without putting these two side by side. The HU810PW is a very sophisticated projector that offers an adjustable fixed iris, effective dynamic HDR tone-mapping that requires no adjustments to accommodate different HDR content, and very extensive picture adjustments for those who want to calibrate it. The things the Optoma has going for it beside slightly lower price are low input lag and high frame rate for gaming and 3D playback. Unfortunately we don't have an HU810 sample on hand any longer to do a comparison, but we might be able to remedy this in the coming weeks.

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