The Hisense PT1 is an ultra-short-throw (UST) 4k DLP projector built around Hisense's TriChroma RGB triple-laser light engine. It supports Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10, and HLG, and it also includes IMAX Enhanced, Filmmaker Mode, and active 3D. Smart features run on Google TV, with built-in casting support (including Chromecast and AirPlay2) and voice assistant integration. Audio is handled by an integrated speaker system rated for up to 46W, with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support. Connectivity is strong, with two HDMI 2.1 inputs (with ALLM support), an additional HDMI 2.0 port with eARC/CEC for external audio, plus USB3.0/USB2.0, optical audio out, a headphone jack, and wired LAN, alongside Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth. For placement, its 0.20 throw ratio is designed for big-screen living room setups without needing much distance from the wall.
Our Verdict
The Hisense PT1 is a strong movie projector if you're mostly watching in a light-controlled room. Its native contrast gives dark scenes a convincing sense of depth, and it looks especially good in mixed content where shadow detail and highlights stay well separated without the image looking washed out. It doesn't perform as well in very dark content, where blacks are raised, so it isn't the best pick for horror movie night. Color performance is also a highlight, with a wide gamut that helps animated content and richly graded movies look vivid. The main caveat is that it isn't very accurate out of the box, so skin tones and neutral shades can look a bit off until you dial it in, and it doesn't have the raw brightness to make content look truly high-impact, especially in brighter rooms.
Fast, hands-off setup makes it easy to get a clean image quickly.
Strong native contrast in most real scenes gives movies good depth and separation.
Wide color gamut helps animated content and colorful grading look rich.
Pre-calibration accuracy needs work, especially for whites/skin tones, so it benefits a lot from calibration.
Near-black scenes don’t look quite as strong as its mid-bright performance.
The Hisense PT1 is a solid gaming projector if you want a big, colorful image and you're okay with a few tradeoffs. It supports high-refresh-rate gaming and can feel responsive once you enable the right performance settings. Image quality is a highlight, too: it has strong native contrast in most real scenes and looks its best in mixed and mid-bright content, where darker areas and highlights stay well separated without the picture looking washed out. That said, it's at its weakest in the darkest content, where blacks lift, and the image loses some depth, so it isn't the best choice if you mostly play very dark games, like horror titles, in a pitch-black room. It also isn't very accurate out of the box, so skin tones and neutral shades can look off until you calibrate or tweak it.
Strong native contrast in most real scenes gives movies good depth and separation.
Wide color gamut helps animated content and colorful grading look rich.
Supports high-refresh-rate modes for smoother motion once you enable the right settings.
Pre-calibration accuracy is rough, so without tweaks, whites look off.
Near-black scenes don’t look quite as strong as its mid-bright performance.
Input lag is noticeably higher at 60Hz.
The Hisense PT1 gets bright enough for a typical light-controlled or dim-room setup, and it has the kind of uniform brightness that makes a large image look evenly lit instead of patchy or vignetted. That said, if you're in a bright living room with lots of ambient light, you'll still want to manage reflections and keep the screen size reasonable to maintain a punchy-looking image.
Not bright enough to deal with ambient lighting or very large screens.
The Hisense PT1 has excellent contrast. In most movie and game scenes, blacks sit low enough to give the image a satisfying sense of depth, and darker areas stay separated from highlights without the picture looking washed out. It looks its best in mixed and mid-bright content, where contrast holds up well. In very dark scenes, it doesn't look quite as strong as it does elsewhere, so the deepest shadowy shots won't have the same extra depth you get from the very best dark-scene performers. Still, it never becomes flat or distracting, and the overall contrast performance is still a standout for its class.
Strong native contrast in most real scenes gives movies good depth and separation.
Near-black scenes don’t look quite as strong as its mid-bright performance.
Changelog
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Updated Jan 23, 2026:
We mention the newly reviewed LG CineBeam S in the Portability section of this review.
- Updated Jan 21, 2026: Review published.
- Updated Jan 16, 2026: Early access published.
- Updated Jan 14, 2026: Our testers have started testing this product.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Hisense PT1 is sold in multiple regional variants, and the biggest difference is the smart platform. The U.S. model runs Google TV (with built-in Google Cast), while some UK/Europe listings show VIDAA U7.6 instead, so the app selection and overall interface can vary by country. Connectivity is broadly similar across listings: three HDMI inputs (including an eARC port), USB-A ports for local media, Ethernet, and an optical output. It's still worth double-checking the exact port labeling and streaming support on the specific unit you're buying.
Our unit was manufactured in July 2025.
Popular Projector Comparisons
The Hisense PT1 is a compelling UST projector for the money if you want a big, clean image with strong overall contrast and excellent color gamut. It looks its best in mixed and mid-bright scenes, and it's also a solid pick for gaming thanks to its low input lag at 120Hz and 240Hz. The tradeoff is that it doesn't look as rich in the very darkest content, and it isn't very accurate out of the box, so you'll get the best results after a bit of tuning. If you're deciding between Hisense's own lineup, the Hisense PX3-PRO is a bit better overall for image quality, as it's brighter and more accurate out of the box, but the PT1 has the edge for gaming responsiveness, and it's also a bit smaller, lighter, and slightly quieter under full load. The PT1 also has the gaming edge over the otherwise better-looking XGIMI AURA 2 due to its high-refresh-rate support, although the XGIMI is more responsive at 60Hz.
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, see the best projectors under $1,000 instead.
The Hisense PX3-PRO is slightly better than the Hisense PT1, except for gaming, where the PT1 has the edge due to its lower input lag. The PT1 is also a bit smaller and lighter, and is slightly quieter under full load. For image quality, however, the PX3-PRO is brighter and is a bit more accurate out of the box.
The Hisense C2 Ultra is better than the Hisense PT1. The C2 Ultra is smaller, has a swivel stand for easier placement, is way brighter, and is also more accurate right out of the box. In turn, the PT1 has better contrast in dark scenes, although the C2 Ultra is better with bright content. The real kicker is gaming, as the C2 Ultra's input lag is significantly lower at 60Hz, making it far better for console gaming. It's also a bit lower at 120Hz. The PT1 does have the edge at 240Hz, making it a slightly better choice for PC gamers. The PT1 is a UST unit while the C2 Ultra is an ST unit, so the PT1 can live much closer to the screen than the C2 Ultra can; so consider your room placement when choosing.
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
The Hisense PT1 gets bright enough for a solid home-theater experience, especially in a dark room, and the image stays relatively even across the screen, although there is some vignetting in the corners and sides.
Still, the unit isn't really bright enough to deal with ambient lighting. If you want extra light for daytime viewing, the additional picture modes offer a bit more headroom than our recommended settings, but you're generally trading some accuracy for that extra pop.
| Picture Mode | White Light Output (WLO) | Color Light Output (CLO) |
|---|---|---|
| Vivid | 1002 lm | 1007 lm |
| Standard | 1147 lm | 1127 lm |
| Sports | 1005 lm | 995 lm |
| PC/Game | 1005 lm | 997 lm |
| Theater | 1191 lm | 1199 lm |
| Energy Saving | 897 lm | 887 lm |
This projector has an excellent native contrast overall. In dark scenes, blacks sit low enough to give movies and games a convincing sense of depth. It looks its best in mixed and mid-bright content, where it keeps strong separation between darker areas and highlights without looking washed out. In the very darkest near-black moments, it doesn't look quite as strong as it does once there's a bit more on screen, but it never becomes flat or distracting.
The Hisense PT1 has an outstanding color gamut coverage. It fully covers Rec. 709 for SDR, so everyday TV and movies look rich and saturated. More importantly, it reaches very far into the Rec. 2020 color space that is often used in HDR, which helps it reproduce a wide range of hues.
Pre-calibration, the Hisense PT1 isn't very accurate. Grayscale is the main issue: whites and skin tones look noticeably too cool, so the image can take on a slightly bluish cast in brighter scenes. Colors themselves are closer to the target than the white balance is, although desaturated colors are a bit off from what they should be. Gamma is also a bit off, which can make midtones look a touch darker than intended and reduce perceived depth until you dial it in.
After calibration, the Hisense PT1 delivers fantastic SDR accuracy. Grayscale cleans up dramatically, so whites look neutral instead of blue-tinted, and skin tones and near-white detail look more natural. Color tracking is also very tight, which helps keep saturated colors vivid without drifting off-hue, and gamma stays close enough to the target that the image doesn't look artificially lifted or crushed.
See our full calibration settings.
This is a laser DLP projector, so it delivers the crisp motion and clean sharpness you typically expect from the tech. The flip side is that, like most single-chip DLP models, some people may notice rainbow artifacts in high-contrast scenes or bright UI elements, particularly if they're sensitive to color fringing.
The Hisense PT1 is a UST projector, so placement is all about getting the chassis positioned correctly near the wall rather than relying on optical flexibility. There's no optical zoom or lens shift, and focus is manual, which means you'll want to take a bit of time to dial in sharpness and alignment during setup. It does include auto keystone, but like with most projectors, it's best treated as a convenience feature for minor corrections since heavy keystone can slightly soften fine detail.
For exact screen sizes and placement distances, our Throw Calculator is the easiest way to plan the install.
The Hisense PT1 isn't meant to be a take-anywhere projector. It's a fairly large, heavy UST chassis with no built-in battery, and it's designed to live on a dedicated piece of furniture near a wall rather than be moved around frequently. That said, setup is still pretty straightforward once you have a spot for it: it supports auto keystone for quick alignment tweaks, it has a built-in 46W sound system for a simple living-room setup, and the adjustable feet help you level it on a stand.
If you're looking for a more portable ultra-short-throw projector, consider the LG CineBeam S.
This projector has a nicely stacked input panel, with enough I/O to work as the hub for a full living-room setup. You get multiple HDMI ports, including HDMI 2.1 bandwidth for modern consoles, alongside features like ALLM, plus eARC for clean audio passthrough to a soundbar or AVR. It also has both optical and a 3.5 mm output for legacy gear, and two USB ports (one 3.0 and one 2.0 in front) for local playback or powering accessories.
For networking, Wi-Fi is onboard, and there's also a wired LAN port if you'd rather keep streaming stable. Overall, it's a flexible setup that should cover most sources without needing an external switch.
The Hisense PT1 supports a ton of different refresh rate and resolution combinations, up to a 240Hz refresh rate at 240Hz. Still, it downscales 4k @ 120Hz and 1440p @ 120Hz to 1080p @ 120Hz.
Keep in mind that in order to avoid any frame skipping at 120Hz, you need to have DLP Turbo Mode and High Refresh Rate Mode enabled alongside Enhanced Pro. The latter is necessary for 240Hz support.
The Hisense PT1's input lag is generally mediocre, mostly due to how slow it is at 60Hz; it's not the optimal choice for those who like to game at 60Hz on consoles. It's decidedly faster at 120Hz and especially 240Hz, making it a better pick for high-speed PC gaming.
Keep in mind that in order to avoid any frame skipping at 120Hz, you need to have DLP Turbo Mode and High Refresh Rate Mode enabled alongside Enhanced Pro. The latter is necessary for 240Hz support. Input lag is higher with High Refresh Rate Mode disabled, so we recommend just leaving it on when gaming.
The projector supports eARC, so you can pass higher-quality formats through to a compatible soundbar or AVR without having to run every source device directly into your audio system first.
The Hisense PT1 supports 3D playback, which is a nice extra if you still have a 3D Blu-ray collection or a compatible 3D source device. It includes the usual viewing formats like side-by-side (Left-Right) and top-and-bottom (Up-Down), and it also offers an Auto 3D mode to help detect the correct format. If you just want to use the projector normally, there's also a 3D-to-2D option so you're not stuck in a 3D mode by accident.
- Power cable
- Backlit remote control
- 2x AAA batteries
- Extra feet
- Air cleaner
- Gloves
- Microfiber cloth
- Brush
- User documentation
This projector uses Google TV, so you get an interface with broad streaming support and easy content discovery, plus voice control via Google Assistant. It also supports Apple AirPlay. For audio, it has a built-in 46W speaker system with up-firing drivers, and it supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X.