Xgimi Horizon Pro

As I watch the specs of dust float through the otherwise invisible beams of light in my living room, I feel that little spark of technical magic. The wall across from me has been transformed into a screen that's larger than what could fit through my front door, by the virtue of a box smaller than a modern console. I feel a clunking sensation in my brain as a chunk of my mind falls into place, "Everything's a screen now" the echoes of thoughts whisper and pause. "Unless of course, you're a coward."

That's what playing with the Xgimi Horizon Pro feels like even minutes out of the box. You plug it in, point it at a wall, and away this wonderful little beastie goes. The auto keystoning will work to give the best screen experience it can on any surface you give it, and watching it do its thing always feels like magic. I wanted to lay down on the couch so I pointed it at the roof, then wanted to take it to bed so I moved it there, plugged it in and away we went. 

The universal mount at the bottom means I can put it on a camera tripod or anything else I need. When my dogs walked past and knocked it, the auto focus ability kicked in straight away to give me back my smooth visuals nice and quick, without me having to do a thing. It's just really nice.

While it's a powered projector rather than a wireless like the Xgimi Halo Portable Projector, it still really encourages that sense of possibility. Anywhere I can get power to this thing I can use it to have a great visual experience with the full capabilities this 4K HDR10 resolution beamer offers. It's like a portable cinema experience, that still needs power.

Something that draws back a little are the included speakers. They do the job but they're quite tinny and sharp to the ear compared to a theatre setup. To be fair, it's very good for the size of the machine and supports DD+ but the Xgimi Horizon Pro seems built like a monitor or TV with the idea that you're likely going to connect it up to your own speakers or headphones. This does make it less portable if you're using your home setup, but I happen to have a couple of excellent BlueAnt X5 Bluetooth speakers which are hefty yet portable units that deliver impressive stereo sound. Paring these and all Bluetooth devices I tried with the Xgimi Horizon Pro was incredibly easy and gave me a dangerously wicked sound setup.

The LED light source is rated at 2,200 ANSI lumens and the bulb is set to last the life of the projector, which should save you money down the line. Given this is no cheap beamer, that's a nice little bonus. Those 2,200 lumens are no joke, and I've been able to play games and watch content in fairly brightly lit rooms with the windows open. When it's dark you get an even more vivid and colourful image to boot. The downside is the blacks aren't as deep, especially compared to what you'd find with a HDR screen. It turns out shining lights onto a wall just can't make it any darker.

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But the Xgimi Horizon Pro is billed as a gaming projector, and hell this site isn't PC watchers. The Xgimi Horizon Pro boasts a latency of less than 35ms, which is great for a projector but it has some catches. Plugging a PC or console into the back via HDMI 2 is, sadly, the only real way to play games on this machine. It's a shame because the streaming capabilities built in are great, but without that HDMI 2 connection and enabling gaming mode, the latency is just too high. I was playing Genshin Impact plugged in, but without gaming mode on and I was struggling to time the cooking mini-game where you need to push a button at the right moment. This was due to the latency, and switching to gaming mode had me immediately back to cooking up a storm of Adeptus's Temptations. 

That being said, this is by far the best gaming projector I've personally ever tried. Hardcore pros are going to notice that 35ms but I was happily running around Overwatch 2 winning and losing about the same as normal. Mostly just giggling to see that my whole wall is full of a Zarya much much bigger than I am who's about to take me down. I have also played a not small amount of SpiderHeck, a brilliant neon Nidhogg style game with spiders, available on Gamepass, which often requires some twitchy movements, especially against other players. I would like it known that I still totally dominate. 

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If you want something with the best latency and deepest blacks, get a gaming monitor, or even a TV. But if you were tossing up on a projector and you have the money to drop on this very not cheap one, it sure is a lot of fun. You can set it up within seconds, and have all your video streaming services ready to go. Have the biggest game nights on your wall with all your friends, and even easily take it around to their house.