Samsung Premiere LSP9T Ultra Short Throw 4K Laser Projector
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Great HDR Tone Mapping and Detail
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Best Throw Ratio
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Brightness
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Great App Support & OS
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eARC & HDR10+
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Vivid and Punchy Color
CONS:
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Laser Speckle
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Color Oddities With Certain Red Hues
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Mediocre Black Levels
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Limited Dolby Atmos Support From Certain Apps
Is It Worth The Price?
It’s been exactly a year since I tried getting my hands on the Samsung LSP9T (The Premiere). After eventually giving up on Samsung sending one out I decided to take matters into my own hands and buy one. The Samsung Premiere is an ultra short throw 4K laser projector that comes in two variants. There is the less expensive LSP7T which retails for $3500 and the more expensive LSP9T which retails for $6500. The biggest differences between these two models is that the cheaper LSP7T has a longer throw ratio so it sits farther from the wall, less color accuracy, less brightness, and less powerful speakers.
At $6500, LSP9T competes with the more expensive ultra short throw projectors like the LG HU85LA which goes for around $5000, and Hisense L9G which retails for $4999.
“This makes the LSP9T the most expensive ultra short throw projector that I’ve reviewed so far.”
The model that I’ll be reviewing is the LSP9T which I was lucky enough to get on sale at Best Buy for $5550. This makes the LSP9T the most expensive projector ultra short throw projector (Laser TV) that I’ve reviewed, and this price does not include a screen.
As I always say, ultra short throw projectors always look best with an ambient light rejecting screen so I always suggest working a screen into your budget if you plan on buying one. To test out the LSP9T I'll be using the 100” lenticular CLR screen that came with the Hisense L5 which works great.
I may refer to this as a laser tv throughout this review as it’s easier than calling it an ultra short throw laser projector.
What’s In The Box?
In the box you get a user manual, documentation, a power cord, Samsung's very familiar smart voice remote in white, batteries for the remote, and the projector itself. The premiere is only available in white and even though I would have preferred black, it does have a really clean design. It has light gray fabric covering the front that hides a pair of 40w internal speakers. There are no visible buttons on the front top or sides and the sides are reserved for ventilation. Of course you’ll find all of the ports are on the back but the back of the unit also contains the only button which is the power button. It has an optical audio output, USB port, 3 HDMI 2.0 ports with eARC on HDMI1, an Ethernet port, and EX-Link (RS-232) port, and a coax input since it has a built in tv tuner.
With a price tag of $6500 what are the specs?
- 4K UHD Native Resolution (3840x2160) (Pixel-Shifting) (0.66” DLP Chip)
- 3-Laser Light Source (Red+Green+Blue Laser)
- 20,000 Hour Lamp Life
- 2800 ANSI Lumens
- 106% BT.2020 Color Accuracy
- HDR10+, HDR10, HLG, HGiG Support
- MEMC (Frame Interpolation)
- 3x HDMI 2.0 Ports - HDMI-CEC Support
- eARC Support (Lossless Dolby Atmos)
- Built-In ATSC/ClearQAM TV Tuner
- 0.189:1 Throw Ratio (100” Screen from 4.5”)
- Eye Protection Sensors
- Samsung Tizen OS (Wifi, Bixby, Alexa, Google Assistant)
- Voice Remote
- 40W 4.2 Channel Speakers with Acoustic Beam Technology
- Supported Screen Sizes: 100-130”
Installation
When it comes to installation the LSP9T has the best throw ratio out there producing a 100” screen from just 4.5” away. The only other Laser TV that comes close to this throw ratio is the LG HU85LA. This makes it much easer to put it on whatever TV stand you have without needing to pull the stand farther away from the wall like you have to do with pretty much every other ultra short throw including the LSP7T. If you want to max the LSP9T with a 130” screen it needs to sit about 9.5 inches away from the screen which is still really good.
As I’ve mentioned in other Laser TV reviews it's important to read the manual and make sure your calculations are accurate since you'll have to check that your ceilings are high enough since there will be a gap between the top of the projector and the bottom of the screen. With a 100” screen the gap is just under 9 inches so keep that in mind.
“If you’re paying $6500 I would absolutely recommend factoring a screen into your budget.”
There are several settings to help you get the image aligned on the screen including an electronic focus and 15 point keystone correction. There are also two adjustable feet on bottom that help you get it aligned on the screen but I do have to say that it would have been helpful if they had adjustable feet near the back as well as the front since I needed the projector to sit a little higher overall.
Even though it sits really close to the wall Samsung was nice enough to include eye protection sensors that will dim the lasers if it senses something too close.
Samsung claims that you can use the Premiere without a screen but if you're paying $6500 (or anywhere close to that price) for one of these I would absolutely recommend investing in a screen. The cost of ALR screens has dropped significantly over the years and a screen built specifically for an Ultra Shrot Throw Projector allows the projector to look it's best, especially in a bright room.
Operating System / Interface
Samsung has been making Smart TVs for a long time now and Tizen OS is one of the more mature smart TV platforms. Tizen works great on the Premiere. You get access to all of the popular streaming apps including Disney Plus, Netflix, Apple tv, Amazon Prime, HBO Max, Hulu (etc.) and they all work perfectly as long as you have a solid internet connection. If you're into voice assistants Samsung let's you choose between their own Bixby Assistant, Amazon Alexa, or The Google Assistant which is pretty cool. It also has Apple Airplay support.
Another thing worth mentioning is that HDMI-CEC worked flawless with this projector. I was able to seamlessly use the Samsung smart remote to control my Nvidia Shield and Denon home theater receiver and I was also able to use the Shield remote to power on and control the projector and receiver. I have to say that when it comes to laser TVs, I think Samsung and LG have the best smart interface since they make these projectors feel like TVs and the operating systems integrate well.
Even though it's super simple, Samsung's smart voice remote works great. It controls the projector via RF so you don't have to aim it at the projector. Although there aren’t many buttons, the buttons are multi-function, and it has a nice overall feel to it. The only thing I don't like about the remote is that it's not backlit which is kind of a bummer especially at this price-point.
Picture Modes
Aside form a great operating system another one of the benefits of buying a Laser TV from a major TV manufacturer is that their picture modes are great and easy to use. Dynamic mode works great for daytime viewing as it boosts the brightness and color saturation which can be helpful when fighting with ambient light. Standard mode is the most versatile and works the best for most situations as it tones down some of the saturation for a more accurate image that looks good during the day and at night. Movie mode looked okay but it adds a yellow tinge to the image that I don't personally find appealing. Filmmaker mode is supposed to give you an image that looks closest to what a movie directory would expect you to see. I found that it looks identical to movie mode with the exception of one of two settings.
I found myself mostly using standard mode with the picture clarity settings like frame interpolation turned off. The Contrast Enhancer setting is helpful since the “medium” and “high” settings do a great job increasing the contrast which can make the image pop a little more during the day or you can lower it bring out more detail by flattening the image at night.
Image Quality
When it comes to image quality the LSP9T is fantastic. If you've only ever seen the less expensive single or dual laser TVs then you'll notice an immediate improvement with the 3 laser system on this projector. Colors are vibrant and the image is nice and bright. Aside from vivid color and high brightness another benefit of a 3-laser system is that it doesn't use a color wheel which great reduces rainbow effect and I didn’t notice any rainbows even when trying to force myself to see them. There is a small amount of chromatic aberration but I could only see it when standing less than 5ft from the screen.
This projector has some of the best tone mapping I've seen which appears to give images more range. Even with SDR content I was able to see shadow and highlight detail that I've not been able to see on other Laser TVs. Aside from contrast and brightness this projector also has great sharpness and focus uniformity. With older laser TVs it was pretty common to see very soft focus in the upper corners of the screen. Although there is a very very slight softness to the overall image when the focus is dialed in the overall focus uniformity was great.
Like most DLP Laser TVs, the LSP9T does lack a bit on black levels but the black levels appeared to be slightly better than the Hisense L9G (with the Hisense at full brightness). Considering the use case for these Laser TVs they're meant to prioritize brightness and color vibrancy over black levels since they're meant to be used as Large TV replacements in rooms with ambient light so you have to go in knowing this. That being said, I think the black levels from the LSP9T about about average for a bright laser TV.
HDR Performance
When it comes to HDR I have to say that I was very impressed with the detail from this projector. As I mentioned earlier I immediately noticed far more detail in the highlights and shadows from this projector compared to others. This makes for a great HDR experience with a bright image that doesn't crush detail in the highlights. Even though the black levels from this projector arent' great you still get great shadow detail and tweaking the settings allows you to adjust the contrast if you prefer an image that's less flat. It's interesting to see how every laser TV produces a different HDR image and one almost never looks like the other. I have found that HDR is subjective. Some people like more contrast and some like less but I like that the image settings on this projector allow you to adjust it to your personal liking. And on top of HDR10 and HLG the LSP9t also supports HDR10+. Now I don't have any HDR10+ content but this works similarly to Dolby Vision which allows the projector to do dynamic tone mapping which can change from scene to scene and allow even more detail in dark or bright scenes.
Gaming Performance
What about gaming? Well, the gaming performance from the Premiere was good. I measured the input lag around 47ms with both 1080p and 4K which is a bit too high for hardcore gamers but okay for most people. I will say that the brightness and HDR performance does make for great gameplay which is especially helpful in games with a lot of dark scenes that benefit from shadow detail. And since it has HDR10 as well as HGiG support it allows for dynamic tone mapping from games that support it.
Speakers & Fan Noise
So what are these 4.2 channel speakers all about? Well the LSP9T is equipped with 40W speakers that come with Samsung’s Acoustic Beam technology which is supposed to give it a larger soundstage. Although I was a bit skeptical about this, in my testing I found that the built in speakers sound pretty good and add a good amount of height to the sound which is helpful for a large screen. The sound is loud and clear even though it does start producing distortion once you start to go over volume level 80. I did find myself wanting the soundstage to be a bit wider at times but I would say they sound slightly above average compared to most laser TV speakers. If you're not picky about sound quality they would work fine for TV shows and occasional movies but I would definitely recommend a separate sound system.
The fan noise was actually pretty quiet from this projector. I did notice a very faint laser whine when booting up but it faded away after a few seconds. Most times I could barely tell it was powered on even in bright scenes.
What Could Be Improved?
So the LSP9T appears to be one of the best Laser TVs in terms of image quality but what are the caveats? Well with this being the most expensive Laser TV I've reviewed so far I do feel the need to be thorough and critical. So what could be better on this projector?
Well the first thing is black levels. Even though the black levels are slightly better than the Hisense L9G, they could still be better. As I said earlier I think the blacks are about average for a bright DLP but there were times where I wanted to see deeper blacks on dark scenes.
The next thing is something that I saw a lot of people mention online and that's laser speckle. I honestly never heard of this term until now and it's a little hard to explain but the best way to describe it is that the lasers produce a glittery effect on the screen that can be distracting, especially if you're sitting close to the screen. I didn't notice it at first but after watching TV for a few minutes I couldn't un-see it unless I was sitting at least 8 or 9 feet away. The effect looks very similar to the effect that's produced from certain high gain screens. I haven't seen this effect from any of the other ultra short throws on this screen so it appears to be specific to this projector. I wouldn't necessarily say it's a deal breaker but it can be a bit distracting with bright scenes.
The next thing is color accuracy. Even though the LSP9T has really high color accuracy, I found it difficult to get the colors to look accurate to my eyes. I'm not super picky about color but I do quickly notice when colors are a little off and I never really got the colors quite to my liking. Skin tones and certain yellow hues seemed a little off which was more noticeable with SDR content. Considering the laser system is capable of producing the colors far beyond REC.709 I'm sure if I spent more time going deep into the settings I could get it perfect but with the limited time I was working with I couldn't get the color dialed in.
The last thing I wanna mention is that even though the projector has eARC, I wasn't able to get Dolby Atmos or other lossless audio formats to my home theater receiver from some of the apps. I couldn't get Atmos from Plex or Disney+ even though it did work in the Netflix app. I suppose it's possible that this is a bug that Samsung could fix. The receiver did show that it was receiving a Dolby Surround signal but not Atmos or DTS-HD. This isn't a huge deal but this is literally the whole purpose of eARC so I figured it was worth mentioning.
Final Thoughts & Competition
Even with the minor drawbacks I still think the LSP9T is among the best Laser TVs. Last week I reviewed the Hisense L9G which I suspected might be the best Laser TV and after spending more time with the Samsung I would say it's REALLY close. The Hisense is brighter, has more features, and has better out of box color which makes it a better option for daytime viewing. The Samsung has better black levels and better tone mapping which produces better shadows and highlights in HDR. Compared to the LG HU85LA I would say both the Samsung and the Hisense look better overall even though the LG does have better black levels. If you're tossed between the LSP9T and the L9G I'd say it comes down to what you'll be using it for. If you’re a gamer or you find the laser speckle to be too distracting then the Hisense would be the better option. If you want the flexibility of adjusting to any screen size between 100” and 130” or you need a better throw ratio the the Samsung would be the better option. There are other 3-laser Ultra Short Throw projectors out there but I’ve found that none of them come close to the performance of the Samsung LSP9T or the Hisense L9G with maybe the exception of the Sony VPL-VZ1000ES which retails for over $20,000.
