The house projector discipline is aggressive, so a brand new contender providing a 120″ show, 4K decision with HDR assist, and lighting-fast refresh charges makes for an alluring prospect. That Philips is promising all that for below $1000—and virtually half that on pre-order—virtually sounds too good to be true.
Philips hasn’t been fairly as large a participant within the projection sport as a few of its rivals, with its vary centered on the broadly entry-level NeoPix fashions and the ultra-short throw Screeneo laser projectors. The GamePix 900 is one thing new, emphasizing improved gaming efficiency even at gigantic scale. It boasts latencies as fast as six milliseconds—important for fast-paced gameplay the place you need as little enter lag from controller-to-screen as doable—and refresh charges as excessive as 240Hz, and comes with three devoted show presets: Motion Gaming, Journey Gaming, and Sports activities Gaming, every tailor-made for greatest leads to such genres.
Anybody who pays consideration to the gaming market will possible know {that a} constant excessive body price at 4K (or increased) decision is a little bit of a holy grail, one thing even a few of the greatest screens battle to ship with out breaking the financial institution. Even then, the console or PC working the sport must be highly effective sufficient to push out extremely high-res frames rapidly sufficient to reap the benefits of a quick display screen. Usually, you will find yourself in a center floor, such because the Samsung Odyssey G6 OLED, which presents an insanely quick 360Hz refresh price however a sub-4K show decision of 2560 x 1440.
Getting Lit
Attaining all that, and at this worth, is the place these few sacrifices are available in, because the GamePix 900 is undeniably barebones in virtually each different respect. Its design is fundamental, a svelte however uninspiring matte black cuboid (219 x 219 x 119mm, weighing in at 2kg), and solely has one adjustable leg to tinker with its bodily orientation and throw angle.
{Photograph}: Matt Kamen
The GamePix 900 finds itself performing some artful number-wrangling to justify its lofty specs. Whereas the projector is certainly able to hitting these buttery-smooth 240Hz refresh charges and nigh-imperceptible 6ms latencies, it solely does so at a 1080p decision. If you wish to play something in precise 4K—3840 x 2160p—then the refresh price and latency drop accordingly.
The trade-off is greater than price it. Enjoying the likes of Marvel Rivals blown-up to wall-size, at aggressive pace with basically no noticeable lag is a unbelievable expertise, even when “solely” in 1080p HD.
Nonetheless, few homeowners are possible to make use of a projector purely for gaming, and total image high quality proves to be a little bit of a secret weapon for the GamePix 900. Each 4K Blu-rays and 4K streamed content material from Netflix and Disney+ (all performed via a linked PS5) look crystal clear, even at that most 120″ projection.
