We've had the 120" L9G serving as our home's sole TV for several months now. Here are my thoughts:
Note: Our prior projector was a BenQ W1070 (a budget 1080p long throw) from 2013, projecting onto a painted wall. I don't have experience with expensive projectors/screens to compare this to.
- Summary: this is an excellent projector + screen combo in this price bracket (got my unit during the $5K promotional period) that produces an A- cinema image but is capable of shining an acceptable image with daylight. The 4/5 rating is because 1) 5/5 would require a truly exceptional piece of kit for my reviewing purposes, and 2) the chromatic aberration produces fuzzy text for the discerning eye.
- The short throw + ALR screen + projector brightness combo of this kit does remarkably well during daylight viewing. This was the primary reason we chose this projector. Our living room is flooded with natural daylight, so combating this (without window shades) was a top priority. I'm happy to report that casual viewing during the day is adequate. Is it as good as an OLED TV? Of course not (though it also doesn't come with an obscene amount of glare). Do I want to watch especially dark films at noon? No, not really. But do bright shows (like kid-oriented Disney options) perform well enough to satisfy the toddlers? Yes. Then, once night comes, the image is brilliant.
- The Hisense L9G has far greater color saturation vs. our prior projector. When the Netflix logo appears upon the launch of the app, I'm still surprised by just how RED it is. All the while, actual images projected from the shows do not appear over saturated - it is only when the scene calls for a particularly rich splash of color do you notice that extra capability.
- I'd say the single largest complaint I have with this projector is chromatic aberration. I know this is a challenging consequence of wide angle lens physics, but it is noteworthy nonetheless. It becomes most apparent when looking at the various menus for the apps (aka: lots of text on screen) and was the only thing that made me think, "Hmm. Unlimited resolution doesn't really matter if the lens isn't capable of keeping the fidelity." As a photography hobbyist, this isn't new news for me, but some may turn the projector on for the first time (usually standing 2 feet from the screen to do so) and immediately feel bummed that the text appears fuzzy with a green/magenta haze. In conclusion, I'd say text was rendered as "sharply" on our old 1080p projector as the L9G; however, 4K content itself certainly yields plenty of crispness (especially when seated 10+ft away from the screen).
- As I'm sure you've read elsewhere, the black levels aren't pitch black. This is far from a deal breaker for us giving our priority for daylight viewing (thus needing a lot of brightness).
- The onboard speakers are surprisingly good, but don't hold a candle to a home theater speaker setup. Perhaps if you added a sub to compliment, you could get away with it; but really, you're spending $5K+ on a TV - you probably have dedicated audio ready to go anyway.
- The input lag is unnoticeable to my amateur gaming perception. I am enjoying time with an Xbox Series X quite a bit with this projector.
- It runs pretty quietly. From time to time, we hear the fan speed up, but overall, it's basically silent compared to a lamp-based projector mounted to the ceiling right above your head.
- Last but not least: if you invite friends over that haven't seen a legit 120" TV before, you'll probably get some "holy crap"s when you boot up a good looking movie. :-)
Note: I tried snap a quick photo of daylight viewing, but the captured image looks horrible compared to the actual thing. In real life, it has far more contrast, saturation, accurate white balance, etc. Apologies.
Those are my primary takeaways for now. Will try to provide any updates in the future if needed.