Acer M550 Home Cinema Projector (4kUHD Resolution, 2900 Lumens, 900000:1 Contrast Ratio)

I'm using this projector with an Xbox One X and Virgin Media Tivo and am running full 4k with both via an amplifier, I did notice that the setup was quite fussy with which cables are used and the manual for the projector does specify that the hdmi cable needs to be certified at 18Gbps throughput. I ensured that all cables to and from the amp are certified, this may be a factor that other people have missed. It looks great and is easy to use, it's not large, pretty light and I've not found it noisy.

This replaced a 1080p Optoma unit (HDX131xe) which was around 5 years old, and right out of the box the difference in sharpness is very noticeable as you would expect from a 4K device. There is a lot of debate about whether the technology which generates the 4K resolution makes it "true" 4K, but the quality of the image speaks for itself, and for the price there is nothing remotely close in price which offers "true" 4K. If you're concerned about this, Google "XPR" and "faux-K".There are a couple of drawbacks to this technology which cause two noticeable issues on this projector. Firstly, the black levels are not great. Don't be fooled by the insane contrast ratios in the specification, what you'll be getting in some dark scenes will appear more grey than black when compared to other projectors (which DON'T use XPR), however the brightness is high enough to counteract this most of the time. The other issue is that there is a light border around the edge of the image on all 4 sides, about 1 inch on the left and right, and 2 inches at the top and bottom. Again, it's not noticeable most of the time because this border is essentially extra "off" pixels, but it will cause issues for some setups if there are reflective objects around the edge of the screen, and in some respects it serves to lower perceived contrast, so buyer beware.This technology also introduces a small amount of extra noise, but the fans are very quiet to compensate for this, so overall the level of noise is very good. Interestingly, there is a "Silent" mode which will project at the actual native resolution (which is about 2x 1080p rather than 4x like 4K) therefore removing the noise of the XPR unit and also removing most of the fan noise too. It's not silent, but it's close enough, and quite a clever idea.This all might sound like the image isn't very good, but in reality the colours are vivid and bold, and HDR mode works pretty well. The brightness is good enough for daylight viewing, though as with all projectors, you'll get the best picture in a dark room, and with the right content, the image is at least as good as what I see in my local independent or smaller chain cinema. All things considered, the trade off when compared to my older 1080p projector, which had better contrast, has been more than worth it.Actually getting the image to look that good though is a big issue with this projector due to the settings. Most projectors (and many TVs) have confusing settings with things hidden in stupid places, and that's true here, but this one is bad mostly because there is only one user setting, and if you attempt to change one of the built in settings (ie turn the brightness up even one notch on "Sport" it will overwrite your settings with the "Sport" settings, which at first is confusing, and then just annoying! It does look OK out of the box, but depending on what you plug into it, fine tuning may be a pain, so be prepared to devote a couple of hours to getting it set up.All in all this projector met my expectations. There are a lot of new projectors of this class on the market now - "true" 4k or laser projectors are still a big step up in price. With that in mind, I totally recommend an XPR powered unit, and this one is the best I have seen.

Well what can i say i was really excited about this new 4k projector and one reviews i read stated it was better than the Optoma UHD550x. I unboxed the projector which is very large and set it up on a table. Switched it on and the image was amazing really breathtaking. I must warn you though this thing really chucks out some heat gets very hot ! After sitting back and watching a upscaled blu ray after 20 mins the unit shut down and never came back on !! So really disappointed. I wished i had gone for the optoma as its a better well named brand !! UPDATE : decided to go with OPTOMA UHD 550x which was on the black friday deal, glad i did, is so much better and work with everything flawlessly !!!

i bought this projector in a black friday deal after a long time of sitting on the fence about moving to 4K projection. the discount made it finally affordable for me. i enjoyed it for about 3 hours of initial testing, all with 4k Bluray UHD HDR content and made comparisons with the same content in bluray FullHD SDR - the difference is HUGE. i feared i wouldn't notice a change but i couldn't have been more wrong, it's a whole new level. FullHD suddenly seemed so dull and pixelated.Unfortunately, in it's 3rd hour of operating, the projector started making a very annoying and quite loud high pitched noise. it wasn't the "white noise" projector fans usually make (i could hear that also when in high lamp mode), but more a dial tone like shriek, which was very audible even across the room. loud enough to bother while watching a movie.i contacted customer service, explained the defect and was promised a replacement at my request, as i really loved this projector. i was asked to return it of course, which i did. BUT, even after talking to several associates about replacement i was suddenly refunded and since that point and for the past couple of weeks, customer service have been delaying the replacement with excuses, errors and lies. and have recently even gone back on their repeated promise and declined a replacement - offering me to just order it again for a full price (450 GBP more!). after being an amazon customer for the last 10 years, never returning an item, this experience had truly shattered my trust in amazon and i would advise to consider carefully when buying expensive items such as projectors from it.because of that, i am now left without this item, which i can longer afford.

Tried as an upgrade from a Epson eh-tw6600. but afraid to say the Epson still destroyed this on brightness and punchy deep colours. It does produce a very sharp smooth picture but lacks depth in colours compared to a lcd projector, was also very quiet in running. But main problem colour depth was like watching a cheap tv hence the Epson stays.

If you still manage to pick up this gem you won't be disappointed. Almost as quiet as my old Panny8000. I've also seen the M550 set against other 'newer' Acer PJ's with similar specs, and this is better. Good 4K definition, great whites and colour, and reasonable blacks. Long life bulbs are not expensive.