Optoma’s new 4K projectors are a gamer’s dream come true

Optoma has announced its 2021 projector lineup today that should, in theory, pair nicely with the Xbox Series X and PS5.

The two projectors to be announced were the Optoma UHD35 and Optoma UHD38, successors to the generally well-regarded Optoma UHD30 from last year.

What makes these DLP projectors special is that they offer an ‘Enhanced Gaming Mode’ that helps them obtain an 8.9ms response time when gaming at 1080p at 120Hz or a respectable 16.7ms response time when playing games at 4K/60.

Not only do both new projectors have low latency, but they can reach a maximum screen size of around 300 inches – i.e. if you’ve dreamt of playing Xbox Series X and PS5 on a screen the size of your wall, these projectors can make it happen.

The good, the bad and the pricey

According to the specs provided to TechRadar from Optoma, these are also two of the brightest beamers we’ve seen in awhile – the the UHD38 can hit up to 4,000 ANSI lumens while the UHD35 will output a still-reasonable 3,600 lumens.

The projectors are not only 4K, but they support the HDR10 and HLG formats of HDR, plus they offer Blu-Ray 3D support if you still have your 3D Blu-ray collection laying around.

The bad news, at least in terms of specs, is that the projectors only use HDMI 2.0 instead of HDMI 2.1 and that means no 4K/120 support, unfortunately. We’re also a bit skeptical about the projectors’ 10W speakers, too, and the bulb is only rated for around 15,000 hours of use before it needs to be replaced.

So how much are Optoma’s new projectors going to set you back? Unfortunately, not as cheap as the 4K TV you might have had your eye on. The Optoma UHD35 is available now for $1,299 (around £950, AU$1,700) while the Optoma UHD38 is only slightly more at $1,399 (around £1,000, AU$1,800). They're pricey, but they should at least be easier to find than the Xbox Series X and PS5 are right now.