Review on Epson'S 2022 Ultra LS800: 4K PRO-UHD, HDR, 150" Projection With Smart Streaming And Built-In Yamaha Speakers! by Curtis Sherman

I've had an Optoma UHD60 projector for a few years now. Didn't use it that often (still only has 56 hours on the bulb) but when I did, it was a gorgeous picture. But I had it mounted on the back of the great room using a pretty inexpensive 125" Elite motorized screen. I got tired of the shadows if someone walked across the room and passed through the projection beam, got tired of the heat it generated especially in the summer (winter it was a boon). I wanted something I could put on a entertainment center in front of a screen.I had the chance to get this, and jumped on it.The downside is that it's a 2022 product and there's no HDMI 2.1 connectivity. But it does support 120Hz at least in 1080 for anyone who has a use for that.Me, I use it for video games and movies. I have a new 2022 Yamaha AVR that all my equipment runs through, so I simply have this in one of the two HDMI outputs on my receiver, this and my OLED TV. So my Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X, HD Blu Ray player, media center PC, Apple TV, it all goes through that.I started out using this with my standard drop down screen but since it isn't tensioned it had wavy surfaces and while the picture was good, it was distorted solely due to the screen. But what I saw was enough to get me to buy the Vividstorm 120" floor rising screen that Revain just delivered yesterday. NOW I can really speak to what this can do.The setup here is simple. At power on it will offer to set up the wireless (unfortunately there IS no wired ethernet here) and the screen layout. You can select the corners to pull them in or out so that you can have this fixed just right on the screen. However, be aware the top right corner can NOT be moved. So when you are beginning your setup, make sure that top right corner is where it needs to be, since then you can make the REST of the corners get to where THEY need to be.The noise level is simply unbelievable after my Optoma projector. I've had this thing on bingeing TV shows for up to 16 hours straight, and the fan noise never got to the point I could hear it over any ambient noise in the room.Brightness levels are mind boggling. My Optoma was 3000k lumens, so this is a full third more. The good thing is that let me feel better getting a screen that is only .6 gain. Yes, I'm losing some brightness with my ALR screen, but this is so much brighter than the Optoma was that I'm still better off now. And I can use it in a fully bright room with my ALR screen and see it just fine.Out of the box it comes at about 50% brightness setting, and I left it there until I was done with my new screen, then tweaked it a bit. I'm still only running about 65% brightness since that gives me great brightness but still leaves me with an amazing black level that the grey ALR screen can afford.The control works well. My complaint is that it isn't backlit. Something that had a dim light for the buttons when you picked it up would've made this a much more USABLE remote. It has the standard buttons you'd expect, including one to simply turn off the laser instantly if you want to pause something.There are other picture options as well, such as the ability to have it trim a tiny bit off of the edges, so that you can get it right around the edges of the screen, but if you still can't quite get it right, this lets you take just a sliver off the left and right so you don't get bleedover from the edge to the surface behind the screen.There is a game input that supports lower latency and things for game consoles. That's what I currently have my AVR plugged into since I do use this for PlayStation and Xbox as well as movies. But you will lose the ability to change a few settings with that input enabled. The critical ones for me, brightness and such, all still work fine so I wasn't concerned, I lost nothing in the process.The feet allow for a slight bit of adjustment as well when it comes time to line up the picture.I love how close this can be to the screen though. It makes this SUCH a better layout than my projector hanging over the couch from the top of a half height wall between the great room and the kitchen.The panel on the right (looking at it from the room while it is pointed at a wall) has a lever to pop it off, although it is tethered so it won't go far. Behind that is the focus knob and the input jacks. You will want to make sure to get a flexible HDMI cable, since the one I had to get that was a little longer than the rest to fit where this had to be placed is a bit stiffer than the others and isn't bending well to come out from behind this panel. It's not even a high angle, but that's still enough for some cables.It turns on quickly, and powers off quickly. I don't miss the fan cranking up like it did on the Optoma to cool the lamp even more after use.I do wish the focusing knob was a rotating one with gearing reduction though. It's simply a sliding lever so it's tough to get as granular as you may want to get.I assume the android smart functionality should work fine, although I don't use it as such. The only thing I use apps for (Plex, Tablo, and Philo) are done either from the Apple 4k TV or my media center.I did initially start testing this with a 4k display laptop though, using the Thunderbolt to HDMI adapter I have. The picture was great, but what I really liked was that THIS was when I got to try out the speaker built into this. Since I have a full Atmos layout in my house via my receiver, I don't use speakers on devices like projectors or TV's. But the built in Yamaha soundbar here was actually quite impressive for an onboard sound system. Full sound, and while it lacked punch of a sub, it still had some decent low end reproduction, and the mids and highs were full, didn't sound tinny at all. Now after so many years of a full sound system for my entertainment center, I couldn't use just a soundbar or something. But if you have a small space, and are using built in speakers, this will definitely be able to hold its own.The price is my only issue, really. It's pricey, since I had a great 4k HDR picture with my Optoma that ran half as much. but the Optoma was limited in the screen I could use. My room has blackout cellular shades but I don't keep the room dark 24/7. The benefit I found with an ultra short throw is that you can get a screen that blocks most of that ambient light and still lets the light from BELOW the screen show through well. And this really does. That is what sets this apart for me.If you're looking for an UST projector, this definitely needs to be on the short list. Awesome lumen level, does gorgeous blacks on the right kind of screen (and honestly in a projector forum I saw photos of people using this on a positive gain screen and still having what seemed to be impossible black levels there too).