The Optoma CinemaX P2, widely available for $3,299 despite a $5,799 list price, is a head-to-head competitor with the $3,499 BenQ V7050i reviewed here earlier this month. Both home projectors are in a higher price and performance bracket than the $2,499 Xgimi Aura, our Editors’ Choice award winner among 4K-resolution ultra short throw (UST) laser projectors for casual viewing, and both deliver a big step up in color accuracy. Unfortunately, both show rainbow artifacts (bright areas breaking up into flashes of red, green, and blue) more frequently than is typical for laser-based DLP projectors. But for users who don’t see those artifacts or don’t find them annoying, both the Optoma and BenQ are good choices, and the former offers enough differences that you might find it a better pick.
Integrated Smart TV, But Not Particularly Useful
The P2, which measures 5.1 by 22.1 by 15 inches (HWD) and weighs 24.3 pounds, is available in white or black. Like most of the 4K UST projectors we’ve reviewed, it’s built around a laser-phosphor light source, rated in this case at 30,000 hours in Eco mode or 20,000 hours at full power, with a single 1,920-by-1,080-pixel DLP chip that uses TI’s XPR fast-shift pixel shifting to put 3,840 by 2,160 pixels on screen. The recommended range of image sizes for the lens is 85 to 120 inches diagonally at a range of 8 to 16.5 inches from the screen.
Setup is straightforward: Plug in the power cord, optionally make an HDMI connection to one or more video devices, and connect to a home network via Wi-Fi or Ethernet. Then adjust the position to fill the screen, and use the remote to adjust the powered focus for a sharp image. The menu also offers warp correction, which can help correct for distortion if you’re not using a sufficiently flat screen, and an automated screen-fit feature to adjust the image to match your screen size. As always, however, digital correction of image size or geometry is best used only if you can’t avoid it, since it lowers brightness and can introduce artifacts.
Most smart UST 4K projectors we’ve tested use Android TV for streaming—either fully integrated, as with the Xgimi Aura and the $2,699 Wemax Nova, or supplied on an HDMI dongle, as with the BenQ V7050i. The P2 uses a fully integrated version of Aptoide instead. It has the advantage of not needing setup, except for individual apps, but it offers fewer apps, and many don’t work as smoothly as their Android TV equivalents. The options for YouTube, for instance, include both 1080p and 4K versions, but the latter wouldn’t download in my tests.
Optoma says it’s aware of these limitations and is exploring ways to improve the P2’s streaming in a future firmware upgrade. Until that happens, the workaround is to plug in a streaming HDMI dongle, but that requires using an HDMI 2.0b port, leaving only one free, and that solution makes you juggle a second remote. The P2 also has an HDMI 1.4a port, but it doesn’t support 4K HDR, 4K at 60Hz, or ARC for connecting to an external audio system. On the other hand, the BenQ V7050i offers only two HDMI ports, one meant for its Android TV dongle. The Optoma’s extra HDMI port arguably gives it a slight advantage for connection to video devices even if you add a dongle.
Optoma rates the P2 at 3,000 ANSI lumens, which is more than enough to light up the 120-inch, 16:9 maximum screen size for which the lens is designed, even in moderate ambient light in a family room using a 1.0 gain screen.
The stereo sound system is basically a built-in soundbar facing the viewer. Its two 19-watt speakers each offer one full-range driver and one woofer, and they deliver more than enough volume to fill a large room at much higher quality than most projectors or large-screen TVs. Quite simply, the P2 packs one of the best projector audio systems I’ve heard, one capable enough that you might not see a need for anything more. If you do want to use external audio, there’s an S/PDIF audio-out port, and one of the HDMI ports supports ARC.
Impressive Color Accuracy Straight Out of the Box
The P2 menus offer five predefined modes for 1080p SDR material, plus a user mode, with menu settings to let you tweak or perform a full calibration for any of them. I chose the Cinema mode for my viewing tests, because it delivered spot-on color with default settings along with good contrast, the darkest black level of any of the modes, and good shadow detail in a dark room.
Note that there’s a frame interpolation option for smoothing motion, which can improve the look of live or recorded video. However, most people prefer the way filmed material looks with the feature turned off.
With 1080p SDR material, the P2 delivered good color accuracy, contrast, and sense of three-dimensionality. It lost a little shadow detail in dark scenes, but not enough to lessen the scenes’ dramatic visual impact. It was also bright enough for even dark scenes to stand up to low levels of ambient light.
For 4K HDR10 input, there’s one predefined HDR mode and four HDR picture mode settings, which are the equivalent to what many projectors label as HDR brightness. Your best setting will vary with room brightness or even from one HDR disc or source to the next. In my tests comparing 1080p SDR and 4K HDR versions of the same movies, the P2 actually delivered more shadow detail and better overall brightness for most scenes with the SDR versions. But the HDR versions were quite watchable, and showed more fine detail, as you’d expect given the 4K resolution. There’s similar support for HLG HDR.
The P2 also handled Full HD 3D well. In my tests using DLP-Link glasses, I didn’t see any crosstalk, and 3D-related motion artifacts were at the low end of what’s typical for current-generation projectors. The 3D mode was also brighter than usual in comparison to the projector’s 2D modes, making it quite usable with the lights on. For gamers, there’s a Gaming Mode setting (not to be confused with the Game picture preset) to shorten lag time. However, I measured it at 73ms for 1080p and 65ms for 4K (both at 60Hz), which even casual gamers may consider too long a lag.
As already mentioned, I noticed flashes of red/green/blue rainbow artifacts more frequently with the CinemaX P2 than with some other DLP 4K UST laser projectors. This won’t matter if you’re one of the many viewers who don’t see these artifacts easily or don’t find them bothersome. But if you’re annoyed by them, it could be a deal-breaker. Our standard advice for DLP projectors applies: If you find rainbow artifacts irritating, buy from a dealer that accepts returns without a restocking fee, so you can test the P2 out for yourself.
A 4K Short-Throw for Your Short List
The Optoma CinemaX P2 offers a lot to like, most notably top-tier color accuracy and impressive audio. If your budget is tight or you insist on fewer rainbow artifacts, consider the Editors’ Choice-winning Xgimi Aura or the Wemax Nova. Neither matches the P2 for image quality, but both show fewer rainbow artifacts and deliver good enough quality for streaming and live video by most viewers’ standards. The Aura handles movies on disc nicely, as well.
The harder choice is between the CinemaX P2 and the BenQ V7050i. Between the two, the BenQ takes better advantage of HDR, particularly in dark scenes, which may tip the scales for some buyers. But the P2 delivers better out-of-box color accuracy, slightly higher brightness for 2D, much higher brightness for 3D, and a much more robust sound system—and if none of those factors makes up your mind, the Optoma’s lower street price gives it the edge.
