One of the Best 4K Ultra Short-Throw Projector TVs Is On Sale During Black Friday at Amazon — Here’s Why It’s Worth Buying

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If upgrading your home theater setup is on your to-do list, then now’s a good time to consider replacing your old screen with a laser projector. Looking for a recommendation? We highly suggest AWOL Vision’s LTV-3500 Pro 4K UHD ultra-short throw triple laser projector, which is on sale through Dec. 2 during Black Friday at Amazon.

Originally $6,499, the LTV-3500 projector is only $4,999 — that’s $1,500 off one of the best short-throw laser projectors on the market right now. Bonus: The company is also honoring a 30-day price match guarantee.

Related: The Best Amazon Prime Day Deals on Everything from Tech to Luxury Beauty

If that’s out of your budget, the company’s other discounted (and equally worthy) models are on sale for up to $1,099 off and include a free screen: The LTV-2500 projector bundle with a 100-inch screen is only $2,348 (save $950) or the LTV-3000 Pro bundle for $3,238 with a 100-inch screen (save up to $1,060). You can also buy screens separately for 20 percent off.

Still not sure if the AWOL Vision projector is worth buying on sale? Keep reading for our honest review, plus some of the best brand’s deals to shop at Amazon during Black Friday.

AWOL Vision LTV Projector: Review, Pricing

AWOL Vision previously sent our shopping editors a review unit. In our hands-on testing of the LTV-3500 Pro UST (ultra short throw) projector, to say that we were impressed is an absolute understatement.

While streaming visually stunning films such as The Lord of the Rings and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in a pitch-black environment, or playing video games like Minecraft, Mario Kart or Forza Horizon 5 with ambient light during the day, we were blown away by the truly cinematic experience across our 100-inch screen. It can project between 80 to 150 inches of screen size, and boasts Dolby Vision technology, a brightness level of 3500 ANSI lumens, HDR10+ and more than one billion colors for the ultimate contrast, vibrancy and accuracy. (The company notes that its device is the only RGB UST projector in the market with Dolby Vision and Atmos, HDR 10+ and Active 3D.)

It delivers in the original 24fps without adding extra frames, allowing you to watch films exactly as the directors intended. Gamers, meanwhile, enjoy a screen lag time of only 8ms in 1080p, an impressive number considering the massive picture size. The Dolby Atmos surround sound and included Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max (reg. $60) make it incredibly easy to plug and play.

The ultra-short throw projector only needs to be about seven inches away from the wall, so it’s great for those who don’t want to mount anything to their ceiling or walls. We have ours sitting on an adjustable coffee table similar to this one that just happens to be the perfect height (17 inches high, in our case) for projecting onto the 100-size screen.

The projector includes a pair of 3D glasses, but we’ve yet to use them given the lack of overall availability and variety of quality 3D movies for home streaming.

AWOL Vision LTV Projector: How to Choose the Right Model

AWOL Vision offers three ultra short-throw triple-laser projector models that all support Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. The difference among them is the brightness level in lumens (or the amount of light output from a bulb), denoted in the model name. The general rule of thumb: A brighter projector will give you better quality and more fine details, but it depends on the size of your room and the amount of ambient light coming in.

According to AWOL Vision, the LTV-2500, LTV-3000 and LTV-3500 projectors reach 147 percent of DCI-P3, which is the RGB color space used in digital movie theater projections. If you want to get even deeper into industry standards, you can also consider foot-lamberts (ftL), which is the measurement of screen luminance for a one-foot-by-one-foot screen area. To calculate ftL, take the projector lumens and divide it by your screen area’s square footage, then multiply it by the screen gain. (For reference, 16ftL is recommended by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers for pitch-black commercial movie theaters.)

Assuming you’re using AWOL Vision’s screens (which have a 1.3 gain), the LTV-2500 projector paired with a 100-inch screen is nearly 107 ftL, while the LTV-3500 Pro with a 150-inch screen is just under 62 ftL. Even if you’re using the brand’s intro model, you’ll be well beyond the recommended range for screen brightness.

Read on below to find out which AWOL Vision projector is best for every budget and need.

AWOL Vision LTV Projector: How to Choose the Right Screen

Though you can project onto any flat, white wall, we recommend bundling the LTV-2500 projector with one of AWOL Vision’s matte white screens (available in 100-, 120- or 135-in. sizes), which delivers a seamless viewing experience by only absorbing light from the projector, resulting in an up to 80 percent better picture quality. We did test the projector on a blank white wall but found that even the slightest surface texture was a distraction, and ended up installing the 100-inch screen.

For rooms where you don’t have to worry about incoming daylight, the Cinematic screen is ideal and resists up to 95 percent of ceiling light.

If you want the crème de la crème of AWOL’s ALR (ambient light rejecting) screens, go with the Cinematic+, which is a motorized floor-rising screen and resists up to 95 percent of ceiling light.

Read more about the AWOL Vision LTV-2500 projector’s specs and shop the Big Spring Sale deals before they’re gone at Amazon.com.