Hisense C2 Ultra Lifestyle Projector Review

This Hisense C2 Ultra projector review comes originally from our French friend Greg at MondoProjos. He meticulously takes all the measurements, and spends hours using, testing and reviewing every aspect of this and many other 4K and 1080p home projectors. This Hisense C2 Ultra projector review was performed on a pre-production European model, so some specs and features may differ from the ones that will be available in the USA. Just like our, we’re super excited to hear from a projection expert like Greg on this new Hisense Lifestyle Projector.

We’ll be having our own full review of the Hisense C2 Ultra (and other versions), so make sure you subscribe to our newsletter below and YouTube channel, so you’ll get notified when we put out the updated review and other great content around projection and home theaters.

The TriChroma 4K Projector with Lifestyle Design

Dear readers, I've got another great exclusive review for this blog and you. I give you the first online test of the brand new Hisense C2 Ultra, the brand's new projector. This is a model in the Lifestyle category that’s designed to blend harmoniously into modern home environments, combining projection performance, aesthetic design and simplicity of use. Unlike traditional projectors, which are often more bulky and technical, Lifestyle projectors adopt more compact and elegant shapes, often cubic or minimalist, to blend into the decor in a discreet way and make them easily transportable. The new trend aims to fix them on swing-type stands (this is the case of the C2 Ultra ) which rest on a circular freestanding mount that integrates a subwoofer.

The C2 Ultra is the top of a line of three C2 projectors that follow on from the C1 Cube. The new version won't be available until later this year, but as of the end of summer I've had a chance to review it and take all my measurements. So here's Mondoprojos' verdict on the new Hisense C2 Ultra lifestyle projector.

About the Hisense C2 Ultra

The Hisense C2 Ultra TriChroma projector stands out for its adjustable stand that offers 360° rotation and forward or backward tilt, making it easy to place in any space. Automatic keystone correction and autofocus ensure a perfectly aligned image, regardless of the projector's position.
TriChroma technology, based on a triple RGB laser light source, ensures color accuracy with 110% coverage of the Rec.2020 gamut. Image processing is optimized by artificial intelligence and complemented by technologies such as MEMC motion compensation, ensuring smooth and detailed images even in fast-paced scenes.

The projector uses a 0.47'' DLP TI chip and XPR4 technology to display a 4K image, despite a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The brightness of 3,000 lumens and a native contrast of 2000:1, combined with compatibility with Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+ and HLG HDR formats, ensure support for all current programs.
This lifestyle projector benefits from an optical zoom, allowing you to adjust the image size without loss of resolution, thus avoiding having to move the projector. The C2 Ultra is Xbox and IMAX Enhanced certified, offering an immersive visual and sound experience adapted to IMAX content. The partnership with Xbox highlights that this video projector possesses strong gaming functionality. Hisense announced an input lag of only 12 ms, guaranteeing optimal responsiveness for video games.

Finally, the C2 Ultra is 3D Ready with DLP-Link glasses that can be purchased as an extra option.
The C2 Ultra will be released in November 2024 at a reasonable price of $2499. But you’ll be able to pre-order the Hisense C2 Ultra from ProjectorScreen.com

Device Overview

As with most other lifestyle projectors, the Hisense C2 Ultra features a compact form factor for maximum portability. This new model and pedestal assembly weighs a total of 13.9 lbs. The projector has the following dimensions: 9.7 x 9.7 x 11.3 inches for an almost cubicle shape.

The C2 Ultra’s motorized optical block offers a projection ratio with optical zoom between 0.9 and 1.5:1.

The projector cannot be used without its stand, as the power supply plug is integrated into it.

The Hisense C2 Ultra features a 2 x 10W JBL sound section + 1 x 20W subwoofer, providing an immersive audio experience. It is also equipped with two HDMI 2.1 ports with eARC, two USB 3.0 ports, an optical output, an Ethernet port, as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity options. The Vidaa Smart TV system, coupled with a Mediatek MT9669 processor, allows quick access to streaming services, and the Alexa and Google Assistant voice assistants make navigation easy.

The remote control, which has the good taste to work by Bluetooth (no need to aim at a sensor), is large and long for such a compact projector. On the other hand, it is not the same model as that of the PX3-Pro UST which, in addition to an integrated battery rechargeable via a USB-C socket, was equipped with a solar sensor. Direct access keys to Netflix, Deezer, Prime Video, YouTube, KiD and Disney+ are present.

For the swinging integrated stand, it can be compared to a huge Lens-shift that helps to correctly position the image in the screen frame. However, if you abuse it, you will have to use electronic keystone correction, which is to be avoided to maintain the full resolution of the image.

Menus

The Vidaa U7.6 proprietary interface is common to the brand's TVs. It offers a dedicated app store and many options and streaming channels already installed. The choice of sources allows you to access the excellent integrated media player as soon as you connect a USB stick or hard drive to the C2 Ultra. For smart functions, everything is there.

The projector has all the tools and options that professional and amateur calibrators expect to correct colors and match them to the wishes of the film director and what he asked of his cinematographer.
Out of the box, the options offered for SDR signals are: "standard, filmmaker, cinema day, cinema night, dynamic, sport". They are then broken down into dedicated modes for HDR and HDR10+ sources, and reduced for Dolby Vision programs.
Most of the modes are fully editable and it is possible to ask the projector to apply the corrections to a single mode or to all of them.

Hisense provides the user with a 2 or 20-point grayscale adjustment, predefined color temperatures, factory-calibrated Gamma levels, and also (and this is rarer these days) a Gamma editor. The laser management is fine, on a scale of 1 to 10, and there are also two brightness increase modes.
The choice of Gamut is left to the user (rec.709, DCI-P3, rec.2020) or automated. The C2 Ultra also offers a complete CMS on the three dimensions of the Gamut (hue, brightness, and saturation), plus a dedicated skin tone adjustment. The various adjustment menus can be moved to the top or bottom of the image so as not to interfere with the probe's measurement field. This is an excellent point and shows that the designers of this model have thought of everything!

Finally, it is of course necessary to underline the presence of an image interpolation mode on SDR and HDR sources, as well as dynamic contrast management on three operating levels (low, medium and high).

Technical verdict

I should point out that due to the red shift that affects attempts to photograph the image of a pure triple laser projector like the C2 Ultra, there will be few illustrative images, as they would be misleading to the reader.

Image sharpness and precision

The Hisense C2 Ultra , equipped with a 0.47" DMD chip, uses DLP technology to simulate 4K resolution from a native Full HD image. While this approach may raise questions about image fidelity, the C2 Ultra does admirably well in terms of sharpness and accuracy.
When the lens is used without keystone correction, the projector delivers a razor-sharp image with no visible artifacts or distortion. The level of detail is impressive, even in the most complex scenes. Lines are perfectly crisp, and the absence of chromatic aberrations contributes to an uncompromising viewing experience.
This level of precision is a credit to the simulated 4K resolution, making extremely fine textures and details perceptible, especially in scenes rich in visual nuances such as those in HDR movies. The Hisense C2 Ultra proves that a smaller DMD chip does not necessarily mean a loss of quality in the final rendering.

Colorimetry and Gamma

The C2 Ultra manages to cover 96.26% of the BT.2020 Gamut references (70% of the colors that the human eye is capable of perceiving). This is not the 110% promised by the manufacturer, but it is already excellent, especially since this result is obtained without a filter, therefore without loss of brightness.

Few programs are encoded with this Gamut; DCI-P3 remains the majority among publishers, and for this Gamut, we reach 99.59%. The colors are thus powerful and clearly demonstrate the interest of implementing a triple laser architecture.

Out of the box, none of the factory modes fully satisfied me. For SDR sources, the goal is to get as close as possible to 6500 K with a deltaE difference of less than 3 and a Gamma of 2.2 or 2.4, depending on the treatment of the projection room. The two image modes that come closest are "Filmmaker" and "Day Cinema", but with a color temperature that is too cold (more than 7000 K for both).

By taking care to create a preliminary profile with my reference spectrophotometer, and applying it to my Klein K10A colorimeter, I was able to bring the colorimetry back to the references of the Professional Video Alliance, of which I am a certified calibrator.

The color temperature was adjusted to 6451 K, with a deltaE difference reduced to 1, a Gamma of 2.19 and a Color checker with an average deltaE difference of 0.7. It is surgically precise and the guarantee of being able to watch my films and series in the best conditions, without having to constantly return to the remote control, but above all with faithful respect for the work of the director of photography and the intentions of the director of the projected work.

HDR management

The Hisense C2 Ultra features built-in Dynamic Tone Mapping (DTM), which plays a key role in managing HDR content. This DTM automatically detects the right level of contrast and brightness to apply to optimize the HDR10 image, ensuring an enhanced viewing experience, with deeper blacks and better highlighted details in highlights. However, to take full advantage of this feature, it is essential to leave the dynamic contrast option enabled.

That said, despite this automated contrast management, calibration is necessary to obtain optimal results. Indeed, the color saturation and temperature parameters require precise adjustments using suitable measuring instruments. Without these corrections, the image may present notable deviations, particularly in color tones and white balance.

When it comes to Dolby Vision (DV) handling, the C2 Ultra offers good support, with efficient and automated processing of dynamic metadata, allowing for faithful and harmonious reproduction of DV content.

However, for HDR10+ sources, I noticed a recurring issue of clipping, where parts of the image lose detail in the highlights. This flaw makes the HDR10+ experience less convincing, potentially requiring special attention when viewing such content.

Contrast and brightness

In terms of brightness, the Hisense C2 Ultra lives up to the manufacturer's promises. During my tests, I measured a maximum of 2891 lumens, which is very close to the 3000 lumens announced. However, after calibration, the brightness drops to 1564 lumens, a level that remains largely sufficient to illuminate large image bases. In SDR, this projector can easily illuminate a 4-meter image base in 16:9 format while maintaining a comfortable luminance of 16 fL. For HDR content, it can manage a 3.15-meter base with a luminance of 26 fL, which makes it an excellent choice for configurations with very large projection surfaces.

Another strong point of the C2 Ultra is the fine management of its laser power, which allows the brightness to be precisely adjusted according to the size of the projected image. This flexibility is a significant asset for optimizing visual performance according to the environment and projection conditions.

However, when it comes to contrast, there is a slight disappointment. The native contrast ratio post-calibration remains at 1000:1, with no notable improvement over the previous model, the C1. By enabling dynamic contrast, the ratio climbs beyond 2000:1, but this does not compensate for the lack of a true high native contrast. In HDR mode, with dynamic contrast active, I measured a ratio of 2804:1.

Finally, the native black level measured at 0.19 cd/m² is a far cry from the best ALPD triple laser projectors, which can reach values as low as 0.045 cd/m². This means that while the C2 Ultra handles large, bright images well, it falls short when it comes to rendering deep blacks and detail in dark areas.

Fluidity

The Hisense C2 Ultra also excels in terms of fluidity and motion handling, thanks to the presence of a MEMC (Motion Estimation, Motion Compensation) frame interpolation option. This technology, often reserved for high-end projectors, manages to almost completely erase all traces of judder, those unwanted jerks that can alter the visual pleasure, particularly in fast action scenes or panning shots.
What particularly distinguishes the C2 Ultra is the finesse of its MEMC adjustment. The user can precisely adjust the level of fluidity to find the perfect balance between a natural rendering of the image and increased fluidity, without falling into the much-criticized "camcorder" effect. This allows the projector to adapt to a wide variety of content, whether it is cinematic films or sports.
This mastery of fluidity contributes greatly to the overall quality of the C2 Ultra, offering a smooth and uncompromising viewing experience.

Laser speckle

The projector also stands out for the absence of laser speckle, a phenomenon often encountered on laser source projectors. But what exactly is speckle? It is a kind of grain or visible flicker on the image, caused by the interference of laser light waves. This phenomenon can disturb the sharpness and homogeneity of the image, especially on uniform surfaces or in very bright scenes.
However, on the C2 Ultra, no speckle effect is noticeable. Whether watching HDR films or very bright content, the projector delivers a perfectly smooth image, without the slightest flicker. This absence directly contributes to the purity and clarity of the image, guaranteeing a viewing experience without distractions.

Overscan and typical gray border of the 0.47 DMD chip

The Hisense C2 Ultra avoids any overscan issues, meaning it doesn't apply any cropping through its video processing. This means that the entire source image is projected without any loss of content at the edges, a definite plus for those looking to preserve every detail of the original image.
However, one phenomenon related to the use of the 0.47" DMD chip is worth mentioning: a gray light band, about 2 cm wide, surrounds the projected image. This band is caused by the inactive micro-mirrors of the chip, a common defect on this type of DLP technology. Although it is not particularly annoying in dark scenes or when viewing in a well-optimized room, it can be more visible.
That said, this gray band has no direct impact on the quality of the projected image or on the sharpness of details, but it can slightly affect immersion in certain projection environments. It is therefore important to be aware of it, especially if you are looking for a totally refined visual installation.

Operating noise

With the projector off, the residual noise measurement in my test room is 34.3 dB. Once the triple laser source is active, the cooling noise of the device is 35.9 dB. A difference of 1.6 dB, very easy to bear, which indicates that the C2 Ultra is a very discreet device.

The integrated JBL sound system is impressive in its dynamics and precision, thanks to the presence of the subwoofer in the foot of the swing stand. You can easily do without an external system.

Power consumption

I noted a maximum of 128.2 W, which is very surprising when you know that the actual brightness of this projector reaches a maximum of 2891 lumens (see contrast and brightness section).

Subjective opinion

From the first few minutes of using the Hisense C2 Ultra, I was struck by how crisp the image was. In scenes like Paul’s dark takeover scene in Dune 2 (1080p SDR), I could make out every detail in the darkness, from the faces of the gathered crowd to the subtle movements of capes in the wind. This scene is often a tough test for projectors, which struggle to do justice to shadows while maintaining clarity. Here, the C2 Ultra kept the image crystal clear, with remarkable smoothness, even in fast transitions. There was no blurring, no ghosting: everything seemed to flow naturally.

In terms of fluidity, the projector really impressed me. During the opening battle in the dark woods of Gladiator (4K HDR), where so many other projectors might suffer from stutters or micro-slowdowns in camera movements, the MEMC of the Hisense C2 Ultra handled things with incredible ease. Every sword swing, every horse gallop, was rendered with a continuity that literally immersed me in the action. This fluidity is essential in a film like Gladiator, where there are many action scenes punctuated by rapid camera movements. This frame interpolation option really played its part in maintaining this visual dynamic without any loss of quality.

But what probably struck me the most was the colors. With its TriChroma technology, the C2 Ultra delivers colors that seem to literally explode off the screen. In Dune 2, the saturated hues of the costumes and the subtle nuances of the desert sky were absolutely striking. The red and gold tones, often difficult to control, were perfectly calibrated and always remained accurate, never overdone.

Another great example is the tank battle scene in Fury (4K HDR), both indoors and outdoors. The mix of metallic hues of the vehicles, flashes of fire and explosions, all contrasted with the tired faces of the soldiers, came across brilliantly. Even in broad daylight, with the play of light and shadow passing through the tanks’ cabins, the colors remained vibrant, yet still realistic. I was able to fully appreciate the projector’s rich color palette in this complex scene, a formidable test for the dull grays and greens often found in war scenes.

Despite all these qualities, it must be acknowledged that the contrast of the C2 Ultra does not quite reach the level of the best UST projectors, such as the Hisense PX3-Pro or the Formovie Theater. In comparison, I noticed that in extremely dark or high-contrast scenes, the blacks sometimes lacked depth. In Fury , for example, during some indoor night sequences, I felt a slight lack of density in the blacks, which sometimes appeared a little grayer than I would have liked. It is not obvious, but for those with an eye for this kind of detail, it can sometimes make the difference in the immersive experience. That said, this lack of contrast is compensated for by an overall clarity of the image that remains impressive and by the brightness of the projector sufficient for most environments.

Conclusion

The C2 Ultra retains the excellent base of the C1 and adds the Subwoofer swing stand as well as the optical zoom that was missing from the first opus. The brightness has improved a lot and the manufacturer's promises in this area are kept. When it comes to contrast, I do not note any improvement compared to the C1 . Only the activation of dynamic laser management allows to increase this value, but this does not equal all the strength of a native contrast. On the other hand, it is imperative to use it on HDR sources, because it works like a DTM, by correctly positioning the right EOTF level.

The big strong point of the C2 Ultra, however, remains the color management and its ability to be perfectly calibrated. You can put this TriChroma projector up against all the big Epson, JVC or Sony models over $10,000: none of them are capable (and by far) of delivering a Gamut covering almost 100% of the BT.2020 references, and this without a filter, therefore without any loss of brightness. The contrast still needs to be improved and otherwise these "monsters" risk gathering dust.

So it seems that Hisense engineers have put some "home cinema" potion in their gourds, because from one generation to the next, progress is visible and rewarded. Faced with the improvements made, I can only reiterate my enthusiasm with the delivery of a double Gold Award for this model.