Hisense didn’t seem to want to choose between pure performance and portability in its new 6,000 ANSI lumens projector. And thus the Hisense XR10 was born, and it is simply a beast of a projector.
Design and build
There’s not much that looks like it
He XR10 from Hisense stands out as one of the most attractive projectors available. It has a modern lifestyle and technical vibe, and all of that is emphasized by the oversized projector lens jutting out of the front.
Hisense chose to equip the XR10 with a lens system that includes 17 elements in a high-temperature resistant package that looks gorgeous from a design perspective. Inside that lens unit are a few tricks we’ll get into, but it’s worth noting how incredibly cool the optics on this projector are.
The lens is located on the right side of the cubic chassis. On the left are a series of sensors for calibration, as Hisense wants users to move the XR10 freely without any problems. These sensors allow automatic screen adjustment, keystone distortion and focus.
The top houses what look like two buttons, but it’s just a power/volume knob and a light sensor. The volume dial has a small red indicator, which adds a nice touch to the overall design.
The rear of the XR10 has a minimalist design but not so much in function. There are three HDMI ports, two USB Type A ports, and a pair of audio and Internet connections. As far as the HDMI ports go, this may even be overkill for those who plan to move the unit around frequently.
One of the small touches Hisense gave to the XR10 is a design emblem covered in clear plastic. Underneath is more plastic, but shaped like the internal components of the light engine. Three small RGB lights illuminate when the projector is on. It’s purely for aesthetics, but it’s a cool addition.
All those little design elements are brought together by the huge machine-perforated plates on each side, and the entire XR10 looks truly unique.
The power within is simply hidden, not non-existent.
The XR10’s lifestyle look may be enough to fool you, or the central optical lens may seem like a gimmick for the quality look.
I’ve seen enough product design methodologies, but the XR10 It really delivers performance without a doubt.
Inside there is a triple color laser engine with a life of 25,000 hours, very similar to the Hisense L9Q us recently reviewed. The engine is rated for Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and HDR10 content with a contrast ratio of 6000:1. Hisense is able to achieve such an incredible contrast ratio with an additional manual light choke, called IRIS, which restricts the light, much like the aperture on a camera controls the path of light.
The trade-off here is lower brightness for higher contrast. But the IRIS function has seven levels, so you can fine-tune your experience. If you want the projector to be at full power, expect up to 6000 ANSI lumens. It’s incredibly bright and daytime viewing would probably never be a problem. If you want to get the best image, obviously turn off the lights and adjust the aperture settings. If you just want to watch something on a big screen, turn it on.
An internal liquid cooling system keeps the temperature within temperature, which is not a common feature in consumer projectors. The system is closed loop, so it will not pose the threat of leaks or problems. Compared to a fan-cooled system, it does a good job without the noise of a jet engine. Sitting right next to it, it is audible, but none of the audio from TV or movies will be drowned out.
The lens also has a couple more tricks. The XR10 brings lens shifting into play, so you can find virtually any angle. The reach it has is crazy. Hisense claims that the lens shift feature does not affect image quality and I have not found this to be the case. Out of habit, I still try to physically configure the projector to get the best image with the least adjustment possible. But even at the most extreme angles, lens shift can push the image several meters in either direction.
All of this is topped off by an image that contains 118% of the BT2020 color space and on a screen of up to 300 inches. I didn’t test the XR10 on a 300-inch screen because I simply don’t have the space for something that big.
However, I used a 120-inch ALR screen that I tend to test most projectors with. A 300-inch picture makes sense for an outdoor space, but getting a home theater screen that big will cost a pretty penny.
Performance
The image of surprise.
Using the XR10 actually bothered me a bit. Not because it didn’t work as I expected, but because it did better than I expected and gave me mixed feelings. I love Hisense’s L9Q and still use it as a mainstay in my small movie theater.
Still, the XR10 produced a very good image, although a little warmer than the image from my short throw projector. It’s not a fair comparison, I know. But it goes to show that not only is the L9Q a beast of a UST projector, but the XR10 is its own kind of beast, all while coming in a package you can carry in a small luggage bag.
Yes, it comes with its own suitcase.
First of all, setup was very easy. That’s an area Hisense nailed with the XR10. You can take the projector and set it up virtually anywhere, from a couple of feet to more than 12 feet away. If there is a screen, it will select it and configure the image for you. At the very least, it performs automatic keystone correction and focus adjustment with surprising accuracy on any given wall. I didn’t expect it to dial up my screen so quickly, but it locked quickly without any adjustments required on my part.
I found it somewhat frustrating to focus on. The focus adjustment works fine on its own, but making my own adjustments was more difficult than necessary. During the automatic process, calibration wheels appear on the screen, but disappear when you take over manually. So essentially, you can’t manually adjust focus with any kind of reliability. I ended up going back and forth between the home screen and focus adjustment to dial things in.
Once it’s marked up on the screen or drive-in wall, the XR10’s image will look great. It’s 4K with all the features Hisense likes to include. I tend to turn most of them off because I find that enhanced sharpening, AI image recognition, and brightness improvements can muddy the image in a number of ways. But to each his own.
I would still recommend playing with each image setting; No two people have exactly the same preferences.
A sharpened image looks fantastic and the XR10 really shines when you use IRIS to add more contrast to content than you could achieve by turning on Dark Details. Of course, it reduces the brightness. With the IRIS set to basic level one, you will not see a 6000 or even 5000 ANSI lumens image. In fact, brightness level 7, which is the default when the XR10 runs its own operating system, is just as bright as the L9Q at level 8. In fact, you get an extra step of brightness with the XR10.
In practice, raising the IRIS significantly reduces the halo around the image. That means less excess light passes through. You can tell because that halo begins to fade. It doesn’t disappear, but it plays a much smaller role in the disappearance of dark scenes.
I found that setting the projector to the brightness that gives me the best color reproduction (around 8) and then using the IRIS to control the brightness was the best way to get a good, consistent image. In the end, you still can’t get a bright image without removing some contrast, but the XR10 comes much closer to a movie theater image than I expected.
But that means you have to sacrifice a bright image for more contrast, because projectors can’t pull contrast out of thin air. There is always light and you need to go somewhere. That light devours the dark colors.
Still, the XR10 does a phenomenal job of creating a sharp and colorful image.
In my room, I had to place the XR10 a little further away and zoom in on the image. That’s because the optimal place for the XR10 to sit and project a 120-inch image is about 10 feet away from the screen, right on my couch. So I moved it behind the couch. You can set it up on a tripod, mount it on the ceiling, or simply place it on a table and angle it with its adjustable legs. The only reasonable option for my space was a tripod. It’s not ideal, but it works.
Getting there might also take a bit of effort. The XR10 weighs 23 pounds on its own. The tripod I used was one of the largest I have, designed for heavier cameras. On the other hand, you can buy a projector-specific tripod, and as long as you’re okay carrying a projector the weight of a sack of potatoes, I’d still consider it portable.
It doesn’t have Google TV…
Since I’m also picky, I ran an HDMI cable from my AVR to the front of the room. That way, I had access to my streaming devices and audio settings. Without it, there are two problems.
The first, although not really a problem, is the built-in audio. For what they are, Hisense’s Devialet-powered speakers are very good. I had no problems with them and there were many options for marking them. However, any image the XR10 can display in a dedicated space deserves dedicated audio.
Second, the XR10 doesn’t actually run Google TV like most of the company’s other projectors. Hisense opted for VidaaOS, which is very similar to Google TV but a little busier for my tastes. It also comes with many apps installed, many of which I will never use. The mainstays are Netflix, YouTube, YouTube TV, Peacock and a few others. But that’s only about 5% of what VidaaOS has preloaded.
It works well and is quite intuitive, but a creature of habit like me would prefer to connect Google TV or something a little less stimulating.
Final thoughts
The XR10 is in a strange place because it offers this incredible package of quality and portability, but those types of buyers seem to fall into different groups.
Still, Hisense put a lot of technology into the XR10 so that it can be used in any way. I would be more than happy to mount it on the ceiling and spend time running audio and video. At the same time, it should be picked up and set up in a different part of the house or outside for a movie night. While portable projectors would require some performance sacrifice for that experience, the XR10’s only drawback is that it needs a nearby power outlet to do so.
Plus, it’s not cheap. The XR10 starts at $6,000, although it can be had for only $5,500. There are many things that influence that price, such as the huge variety of lenses, liquid cooling, and the internal IRIS construction.
If portability appeals to you, the After testing and using it for a while, I don’t really see any drawbacks when it comes to pure performance. Of course, if you want something you can leave in place for Hisense-like imaging performance, the L9Q has been a great ultra-short throw option. It really comes down to form factor.
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