GoKawiilThe LuxVision is the new flagship ultrashort-throw projector from AWOL Vision. Not surprisingly, the specs are impressive. A stated 6,000 lumens is certainly possible, given how bright the company’s other projectors are. The new design looks wonderful, too, with a sort of midcentury modern aesthetic that’s highly customizable.
There are two features that are most interesting. The first is a 120Hz refresh rate at 4K. That’s new this year, and it’s not just available on this projector, but also with JMGO’s Iris and Xgimi’s Aura 3 series. Given how the projector industry works, expect to see more projectors with this tech in the coming months and years as it trickles down.
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The other interesting feature is optical image shift. I’ve only recently started testing UST projectors for CNET, and one of the things I keep mentioning in my reviews is how much more difficult they are to set up correctly than the marketing suggests.
How the LuxVision looks
I got to check out the LuxVision at the IFA show in Berlin, and I can confirm they’re definitely bright. With minimal, if any, consideration for the overhead and ambient lighting, the LuxVisions were creating huge, bright images.
I won’t know how good (or not) the LuxVision is until I get it in my lab, but even now I’m going to praise it for one of its headline features: lens shift. Despite what the marketing from every UST projector company says, UST projectors can be a challenge to set up and fit in a room. They require precise leveling, angling and height, with minimal non-electronic ways to adjust the image other than physically moving the entire projector. The addition of lens shift here is a welcome improvement.
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Ultrashort-throw projectors, unlike longer-throw projectors, sit in the eyeline of everyone watching the screen. As such, their design is important. While I liked the Aetherion’s sci-fi angular design, not everyone will. Even the vertical-slatted, Niemeyer-esque LuxVision might not fit every decor in one of its three stock designs. As such, AWOL is going to offer different custom finishes to fit a wider range of living rooms and other spaces.
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