The Formovie THEATER is an ultra-short throw (UST) 4k HDR laser projector. It uses the latest ALPD 4.0 triple laser light source, which is supposed to output up to 107% of the Rec. 2020 color gamut, delivering bright and colorful images in HDR10 or Dolby Vision. It can project content at an extremely short distance from the screen or wall: it projects an 80" image at a distance of 5.5" and up to a 150" image at a distance of 19.3". It has three HDMI ports and can passthrough advanced audio formats from Dolby and DTS through its eARC port. It also supports Dolby Atmos. Its MEMC motion compensation technology smoothes out fast-moving content like sports, and it has an Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) to automatically switch the projector to a low input lag mode when gaming. It has Bluetooth and Wi-Fi support and comes with the Android TV 11 smart interface with full Chromecast integration. Finally, it comes with an integrated 30W Bowers & Wilkins sound system.
Our Verdict
The Formovie THEATER projector is good for watching movies. It's bright enough to look good in dim rooms but not bright enough to handle moderately lit rooms. Its contrast is excellent, however, so content looks deep and punchy when the lights are off, so close the blinds and turn off the lights for maximum impact. It has a wide color gamut, but unfortunately, it's not bright enough to make them pop. The projector's color accuracy is inadequate out of the box, with magentas looking too red and cyans leaning strongly toward green. You'll have to invest in a calibrator if you care about color accuracy.
- Wide color gamut that looks especially good in HDR.
- Fully-featured projector with Android TV, three HDMI 2.1 ports, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.
- Ultra short throw capabilities, so you can place it very close to the wall or screen.
- Excellent contrast for deep blacks in dark rooms.
HDR10+ and Dolby Vision support.
- Not bright enough to make colors pop.
- The unit's color space setting is buggy, requiring users to manually adjust it based on the content if they care about color accuracy.
- Inadequate image accuracy out-of-the-box.
The Formovie THEATER projector is disappointing for gaming. Its image quality is strong, with excellent contrast, rich colors, and enough brightness to make games look punchy even in a dim room, but the input lag is very high, and it's limited to 60Hz with no 120Hz support. You should stick to watching movies with this projector.
- Wide color gamut that looks especially good in HDR.
- Excellent contrast for deep blacks in dark rooms.
HDR10+ and Dolby Vision support.
- Not bright enough to make colors pop.
- Inadequate image accuracy out-of-the-box.
Very high input lag.
Limited to 60Hz at all resolutions.
Changelog
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Updated Nov 14, 2025:
We've added Imaging, Optics, Noise, Supported Resolutions, HDR Format Support, 3D, Input Lag, and Audio Passthrough boxes as a result of our latest test bench. We've also added a Gaming usage in the Verdict section.
- Updated Nov 12, 2025: We've converted the review to Test Bench 0.10, which updates our Design tests, and adds a whole new suite of Inputs tests. We also added new gaming-oriented usage scores in Our Verdict. See the 0.10 changelog.
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Updated May 14, 2025:
We mentioned the newly reviewed AWOL Vision LTV-3000 Pro in the Color Gamut section of this review.
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Updated Dec 16, 2024:
We mentioned the newly reviewed Hisense PX3-PRO in the Pre-Calibration Color Accuracy section of this review.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We bought and tested the original Formovie THEATER projector. It doesn't have traditional variants or screen bundles, but Formovie has since released the Formovie THEATER Premium as an upgraded version of the same basic design. The Premium keeps the same triple-laser ALPD light engine and Bowers & Wilkins speakers, but adds higher claimed brightness, built-in Google TV with licensed Netflix, and HDMI 2.1 inputs. The table below highlights the main practical differences between the two models.
| Feature | Formovie THEATER Premium | Formovie THEATER |
|---|---|---|
| Brightness (ISO) | 2200 ISO lumens | 1800 ISO lumens |
| Throw ratio | 0.21:1 (can sit closer for same size, or go bigger from same spot) | 0.23:1 |
| 3D support | Yes (frame-packed / 3D modes after firmware update) | No |
| Operating system | Google TV | Android TV 11.0 |
| Streaming apps | Native Netflix app + Google TV aggregation | No native Netflix (needs external streamer) |
| Speakers | 2 × 15 W, Bowers & Wilkins (Gen 2 tuning) | 2 × 15 W, Bowers & Wilkins (original tuning) |
| Color gamut / calibration | 107% BT.2020 (with “more precise calibration” per Formovie) | 107% BT.2020 |
Our unit was manufactured in China.
Popular Projector Comparisons
The Formovie THEATER is a good UST projector thanks to its excellent native contrast, solid color performance, and strong built-in speakers, but it's not the obvious pick in its price range. Newer USTs like the NexiGo Aurora Pro are noticeably brighter and deliver more impactful HDR, while the Epson EpiqVision Ultra LS800 trades some black-level performance for much higher brightness and lower input lag for gaming. If you don't specifically need a UST setup, long-throw models like the Epson Home Cinema 3800 or XGIMI Horizon 20 Max offer similar or better overall performance, often with more modern smart features.
Check out our recommendations for the best 4k projectors, the best projectors for home theater, and the best short-throw projectors. If you'd prefer to shop for a cheaper product, look up the best projectors under $1,000 instead.
The Formovie THEATER is better than the Hisense PX1-PRO for watching movies. The Formovie has much deeper contrast, so it looks punchier in pitch-black rooms when watching movies. Still, the Hisense is much more accurate before and after calibration, has a slightly wider color gamut, and has better gaming features than the Formovie due to its two HDMI 2.1 ports, which can do 4k @ 120Hz.
The Hisense PX3-PRO is better than the Formovie THEATER. While the Formovie has the slightly better contrast, the Hisense is noticeably brighter, with more vibrant and punchier colors. The Hisense is also more accurate out-of-the-box, even if it's noticeably too warm, and it can be improved more easily than the Formovie through calibration. Finally, the Hisense comes with a wider array of smart, wireless, and gaming features, making it more versatile than the Formovie.
The Valerion VisionMaster Pro 2 is better than the Formovie THEATER. The Formovie has the better contrast, but the Valerion is noticeably brighter, while also being much more accurate right out-of-the-box. The Valerion also has a much wider color gamut in SDR and HDR. Finally, if you care to calibrate your unit, the Valerion is easier to calibrate than the Formovie. The Formovie is, however, a UST projector, making it more versatile in certain room configurations.
The XGIMI HORIZON Ultra and Formovie THEATER are equally good but excel in different room environments. The XGIMI is much brighter than the Formovie, so it's the better option for rooms with a few lights, while the Formovie has vastly better contrast, so it looks much better in dark rooms. The XGIMI is smaller and lighter, so it's much easier to carry around, especially with its full suite of image correction features, which the Formovie lacks. However, the XGIMI isn't a UST projector, so you must install it further away from the wall or screen than the Formovie.
We've independently bought and tested over 60 projectors, and we've published all the detailed results for each so you can decide which one to buy. These have all been tested under the same standardized methodology, allowing you to compare them side by side. We still have all these projects in our lab so we can continually go back and compare them to ensure our reviews are still accurate. All our test methodology is also public on our website, so you can validate the results yourself.
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Test Results
This projector has okay brightness, with good brightness uniformity, although we had a hard time getting the top right corner to focus when compared to the rest of the image, as you can see here. It's capable enough for a dark room, but it looks washed out when a few lights are on. Unfortunately, the projector isn't bright enough to make its colors pop even with its wide color gamut.
Our brightness measurements were done post-calibration. You can reach up to 1800 lumens on the unit using the projector's default 'User' color temperature settings while setting the projector's 'Brightness Mode' to 'Office' with the 'Max Vivid' and 'Local Contrast Control' modes enabled. This results in a very inaccurate image, however. We couldn't get the unit near the manufacturer's stated 2800 lumens.
If you'd prefer a brighter projector, consider the Epson EpiqVision Ultra LS800 or the NexiGo Aurora Pro instead.
This projector has excellent contrast, with deep blacks when watching content in a dark room.
The Formovie THEATER projector has inadequate color accuracy out of the box. Its color accuracy is poor, with magentas looking red and cyans leaning towards green. The color temperature leans very cold, and you can further see this through the projector's mediocre white balance, with most whites leaning towards blue. If you'd like a similar but more accurate projector, consider the Hisense PX3-PRO instead.
The Formovie THEATER projector has full color calibration and 11-point white balance calibration, and it's vastly more accurate after adjusting these settings. The projector's white balance and color temperature are now fantastic, with barely any accuracy errors. Sadly, while improved, the color accuracy is still only okay, with cyans and purple still slightly leaning towards green and red, respectively, and most colors are somewhat undersaturated.
The Formovie THEATER projector has a wide color gamut, although you need to adjust the TV's 'Color Space' setting based on the content to get the most out of this projector. We took our Rec. 709 measurements with the 'Color Space' setting set to 'On,' and the Rec. 2020 measurements were done with it set to 'Off.' When the 'Color Space' setting is set to 'On,' it limits the projector's color gamut to the Rec. 709 color space, which overclamps the color space, as it can't fully portray the Rec. 709 color space.
Inversely, when 'Color Space' is set to 'Off' or 'Auto,' it sets the projector to its much wider native color gamut, which is now oversaturated in Rec. 709 but works very nicely with Rec. 2020. 'Auto' is supposed to switch the color gamut based on the content, but it doesn't work correctly, as it just expands all content to the native color gamut of the projector.
If you're looking for an even wider color gamut, check out the AWOL Vision LTV-3000 Pro instead.
This projector uses a laser light source, which requires no maintenance and will last for 20,000 hours or more, according to Formovie. It's not a true 4k projector, as it uses pixel shifting to create a higher-resolution image. This offers better quality than a pure 1080p projector but isn't as good as a native 4k projector.
The Formovie THEATER is a fixed-lens ultra-short throw projector with no optical zoom or lens shift, so placement flexibility is limited. The 0.23:1 throw ratio lets you fill a large screen from just a few inches away, but you have to physically slide and square the chassis to line it up, since you can't "nudge" the image with the lens. It has motorized autofocus and automatic keystone to clean up geometry, which is handy for quick setups on a TV stand, but, as with all digital corrections, you'll get the sharpest image if you leave those off once the projector is properly positioned.
Use our throw calculator to calculate exact throw distances.
The Formovie THEATER projector isn't designed to be portable as it's big and heavy and lacks an integrated battery, so you need to plug it into an outlet. It also has no automatic image correction feature, so you'll need to manually adjust the focus and image geometry. It does have a 30W speaker system from Bowers & Wilkins, so you won't need to worry about connecting it to a soundbar if you move it.
The Formovie THEATER projector is pleasantly quiet for a bright UST. At full laser power, the fan stays in the background as a soft whoosh rather than a high-pitched whine, so it's easy to tune out once a movie starts playing. You'll hear it in silent scenes if you sit very close to the unit, but in a typical living-room setup with normal volume levels, the projector's noise is unlikely to be distracting.
The Formovie THEATER has three HDMI ports, with one of them doubling as the eARC port. The projector also supports Bluetooth.
The Formovie THEATER is a poor choice for responsive gaming. Even with all of the latency-saving options enabled (PC Mode on, ALLM on, and Game Mode active), its input lag stays around the mid-60ms range at 4k and 1080p, which feels sluggish.
The Formovie THEATER has excellent audio passthrough support. Over HDMI eARC, it can send out pretty much every common home-theater format, including Dolby Atmos over Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus 7.1, DTS-HD MA, and DTS:X, as well as standard Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1. It also handles 2-channel LPCM at high sample rates, but it can't pass multichannel LPCM, so consoles and streamers should be set to bitstream Dolby or DTS instead of LPCM 5.1/7.1. If you're using a regular ARC port or the optical output, you're limited to compressed 5.1 (Dolby Digital or DTS), but that's still fine for most soundbars.
The Formovie THEATER has Android TV 11.0 built-in with Chromecast support, so you can share your phone or laptop screen directly with the projector. The projector has a 30W Bowers & Wilkins speaker system with two full-range speakers and two tweeters.