With its low input lag, bright visuals, and large projection, the Optoma UHZ50 offers great value for money for immersive gaming experiences, but you miss HDMI 2.1.
The Optoma UHZ50 is a smart 4K projector released in 2021. It uses pixel shifting to achieve 4K resolution, and similar to the best projectors, it supports HDR10 and HLG HDR and has a brightness of 3,000 lumens. Its connectivity options include 3 x HDMI 2.0 (one eARC), 3 x USB-A, 1 x RJ45, 1 x RS232, and 1 x audio 3.5mm, and it’s compatible with 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands.
It has a throw ratio ranging between 1.21:1 and 1.59:1, a full on/off contrast of 2,500,000:1, and a native contrast ratio of 1,007:1. The projector features vertical auto keystone correction, and 10% vertical lens shift.
Best For
Gaming
Consensus
our Verdict
The Optoma UHZ50 is a projector fit for gaming that can create a colossal screen size of up to 300 inches. Its 3,000 lumens brightness ensures it won’t get washed out in fairly illuminated spaces. The low 16.9 ms input lag (4K at 60 Hz) is sufficient for casual gaming, and it further reduces to 4 ms at 1080p (at the top of our verified tested projectors), excellent for competitive gaming.
It has HDR10 and a contrast ratio of 1,007:1 for vivid colors, but the blacks appear greyish during darker scenes, and there is mild color banding with HDR. And although not true 4K, you get 3840×2160 resolution with pixel shifting. The projector supports 120 Hz refresh rates, but it has no 2.1 HDMI ports, so that it won’t tap into the full potential of new-gen gaming consoles.
Reason to Buy
High brightness
Designed for immersive gaming, the UHZ50’s 3,000 lumens brightness is great for vivid visuals. Even with lights on, the visuals remain bright.
Great image quality
Colors are bright and vibrant with a DCI-P3 coverage of 85 to 90% and a Rec. 709 coverage of 99.4% even though the UHZ50’s DCI-P3 coverage ranks in the mid-third, and Rec. 709 coverage ranks in the bottom-third of our certified, tested products.
Although the 1,007:1 contrast ratio ranks in the bottom third of our verified tested products, you get striking visuals and colors, especially with HDR10. And the shadow detail is better than what you’ll see on most lamp-based projectors.
Exceptionally low input lag
Its 16.9 ms input lag (4K and 1080p at 60Hz) is suitable for casual gaming and ranks higher than 95% of the products in in our certified tested list. If you bring down the resolution to 1080p (240 Hz), the input lag lowers to 4 ms.
Reason to Avoid
Average black levels
Black levels in darker scenes appear greyish.
Slight color banding and rainbow artifacts
There is slight color banding with HDR, so color gradients don’t look smooth.
Since this is a single-chip projector with a color wheel, there are occasional rainbow flashes with high-contrast visuals.
No HDMI 2.1
Although the projector has multiple HDMI ports, none of them support HDMI 2.1, so it can’t fully utilize the capabilities of new-gen consoles.
The Optoma UHZ50 is a smart 4K projector released in 2021. It uses pixel shifting to achieve 4K resolution, and similar to the best projectors,…
The Optoma UHZ50 is a smart 4K projector released in 2021. It uses pixel shifting to achieve 4K resolution, and similar to the best projectors, it supports HDR10 and HLG HDR and has a brightness of 3,000 lumens. Its connectivity options include 3 x HDMI 2.0 (one eARC), 3 x USB-A, 1 x RJ45, 1 x RS232, and 1 x audio 3.5mm, and it’s compatible with 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands.
It has a throw ratio ranging between 1.21:1 and 1.59:1, a full on/off contrast of 2,500,000:1, and a native contrast ratio of 1,007:1. The projector features vertical auto keystone correction, and 10% vertical lens shift.
At 3000 lumens, the Optoma UHZ50 is much brighter than the Optoma ML1080 (1200 lumens), making it more suitable for well-lit spaces. However, the UHZ50…
At 3000 lumens, the Optoma UHZ50 is much brighter than the Optoma ML1080 (1200 lumens), making it more suitable for well-lit spaces. However, the UHZ50 has sharper resolution because it is a 4K projector (with pixel shifting), while the ML1080 is limited to Full HD.
The UHZ50 also has smart capabilities and 3D compatibility, making it far more versatile than the ML1080. The ML1080 does come out on top when it comes to full-on/off contrast with its 3,000,000: 1 ratio (vs the UHZ50’s 2,500,000:1) for deeper blacks. For more information, read our full Optoma ML1080 review here.
The BenQ TK700STi has a massive screen size of 200 inches, but the Optoma UHZ50 offers greater immersion at 300 inches. However, the TK700STi makes…
The BenQ TK700STi has a massive screen size of 200 inches, but the Optoma UHZ50 offers greater immersion at 300 inches. However, the TK700STi makes for a more compact setup with its shorter throw ratio of 0.9:1 (100 inches at 2 meters) vs. the UHZ50’s 1.21:1 ratio (100 inches at 2.6 meters). The TK700STi’s 8 ms input lag at 120 Hz is excellent, but the UHZ50 can get as low as 4 ms at 240 Hz, making it preferable for competitive gaming. Check out this LG Electronics Cinebeam HU715QW review for an ultra-short throw projector.
The Epson Pro Cinema LS12000’s contrast ratio ranges from 6000:1 to above 9000:1, which is considerably better than the Optoma UHZ50 (1007:1). It also supports…
The Epson Pro Cinema LS12000’s contrast ratio ranges from 6000:1 to above 9000:1, which is considerably better than the Optoma UHZ50 (1007:1). It also supports HDR10+ and HDMI 2.1, making it more suitable for 4K 120 Hz console gaming. However, although acceptable for casual gaming, the LS12000’s 16.9 ms input lag is much higher than the UHZ50’s 4 ms lag.
