Hisense C1 Laser 4K Mini Projector Review

The Hisense C1 is a relatively new device from the brand. Be sure not to confuse this laser projector with Hisense’s Laser TV products because, while they both rely on a projector to output the image, this C1 device is an actual projector that relies on distance to shoot its image onto the screen or wall. At the same time, laser TV products are ultra-short-throw projectors that can be positioned under specific displays to shoot their image.

Watch the Hisense C1 Laser 4K Mini Projector Review

The Hisense C1 Laser 4K Mini Projector comes with quite a list of features. One could argue the device is gunning for the Samsung Freestyle but the C1 is a much more premium projector whereas the Freestyle compromises on a number of features for its portability. The C1 costs R39,999 making it a higher-end projector too. It is also a 4K projector that can go from 65 inches all the way to 300 inches if you have the space for it.

The 4K output also comes with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support. The Atmos is backed up by a JBL speaker system  There’s also HDR HLG which offers a few advantages over the standard HDR 10 found on most TVs. But before we get into the technical stuff, let’s go over the design of this sleek-looking projector.

Hisense C1 Laser 4K Mini Projector Design

Hisense has packed the C1 in a stylish box that slides open to reveal the project, the control, the power cable and some paper manuals. There’s also an HDMI extension adapter included in the box

The box is quite lavish in comparison to other display products I have reviewed from Hisense in the past and I kinda wanted to keep it on display for the sake of things.

The C1 itself is almost a cube. It looks cube-ish but in fact, its dimensions are slightly off from making it a perfect square. The product measures 18cm in height by 24cm in length and is 21cm in diameter. It only weighs 4.5 kg.

On the front of the C1, you’ll find the projector laser and various sensors which are used to automatically calibrate the unit. The sensor on the right is a CMOS image sensor module. Used in tandem with the other sensor on the left, the Time of Flight sensor, these two calibrate the focus and picture by shooting out signals and measuring how long they take to return to the sensor.

The time is then calculated to tell the processor how far the wall is and what the focus should be on the unit. The Time of Flight sensor is also used in the device’s eye protection. It measures when someone is nearby and turns off the laser projector as a safety feature.

At the bottom of the front, there’s also a sizable grille where the JBL speaker system is found. There’s also a JBL logo on the bottom right-hand side.

Both the right and left sides of the cube feature perforated holes that help with cooling. On the left, I spotted two large fans and on the right, there’s the laser housing unit. The back houses all the ports. There’s a DC in port, digital audio out, LAN port, audio out, USB 2.0 port, 2 HDMI ports and a USB 3.0 port. There’s also the infrared sensor for the remote.

The top of the cube then includes the manual operating buttons. There is a play/pause button, volume rocker and power button. Lastly, there’s an LED light which acts as the power indicator.

I think the Hisense C1 Laser 4K Mini Projector looks quite nice. The front looks super-premium with the silver ring around the laser, even though it is just plastic. The plastic face also has these cool rings shooting off the laser hole and it looks like brushed steel. Again, it is just plastic but still adds some design flair to it. Overall, I enjoy the C1’s look.

The unit is also practical to move around and place in different positions depending on your set-up. I personally think the whole idea of a mini-projector is to have it around when you need it for movies and game nights. It makes sense this model is lightweight and can be easily configured to your environment.

Hisense C1 Laser 4K Mini Projector Performance

The Hisense C1 is incredibly easy to set up and get going. The device boasts a number of auto features that utilize all the sensors on the unit to automatically calibrate the screen size and sharpening. The sensors are constantly at work shooting light to a surface to adjust the image to your screen. Once you’ve set it up once, moving it around and even packing it away for another day is a lot easier due to the fact that you can take it out again, let it automatically calibrate for you and set itself up.

There’s also a robust list of settings on the Hisense C1 which gave me full control over the device’s lens. I could finely tune the projector size and manually sharpen the image too. So if for some reason the automatic calibration doesn’t go your way, these settings are available and are quite easy to fiddle around with.

The whole idea of this Hisense C1 Laser 4K Mini Projector is to provide a large-scale image at 4K while also delivering HDR and Dolby Vision quality. In the right environment, this projector excels in that regard. It is able to produce bright images with a large colour gamut all the way from 65 inches up to 300 inches.

Of course, the result all depends on how bright your room is. In pure dark rooms, this projector is brilliant but it also delivers a decent image in semi-bright rooms too. You’ll struggle if the room is filled with windows and curtains that don’t have any black-out. Be aware of that.

Testing general movies and TV shows provided a surprisingly excellent picture experience on this unit. HDR colours were vibrant across all content. The same goes for dark images where the deep contrast levels still held up for a projector. For example, in dark content, the projector does a great job distinguishing the difference between bright objects amongst darker ones.

This is further elevated across Dolby Vision and HDR content where specular highlights deliver punchy and bright detail among black backgrounds. Keep in mind that the dark areas were also rich in detail. This is an achievement given that a bulb is processing the image. There’s very little sign of a light bulb at work here.

The Hisense C1 peaks at 1,600 lumens which is quite impressive for a mini projector. Of course, if you’re looking at a brighter image, you can look at say, a Hisense Laser TV as those units go up to 2,700 lumens. 1,600 lumens is definitely a decent brightness for a mini projector of this price tag and the device holds up across all content in a dim to dark environment.

Add that to the device’s 151% DCI-P3 space and 110% BT.2020 colour gamut and you’re getting a very capable mini projector here.

Gaming on this unit was also good. I measured 50ms of latency which is a lot higher than TVs and even laser TV units. It might hinder the experience if you’re playing competitive games and titles that require precise timing. On DOOM, for example, there was a clear lag between my finger movements on the camera and the camera movement in the game. However, I doubt users will replace their TVs and gaming monitors with this projector. So the latency is bearable for the limited time you’ll play games on it.

Games looked just as punchy as other content I must add. In the right environment, this Hisense C1 Laser 4K Mini Projector could be a fantastic gaming unit. Especially if you’re having friends over for some large-scale couch co-op sessions. Playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe at 100-inches, for example, provided an experience you can’t often find elsewhere.

When it comes to the speakers on the Hisense C1 Laser 4K Mini Projector, they also hold up quite well. The JBL speaker system provides a decent stereo experience even on a low volume. The speakers also filled the room and I could hear the sound clearly even in larger rooms. Keep in mind that the fan on the C1 is quite loud but the speakers managed to push past that to deliver clear audio. This speaker system means you don’t need any extra hardware to use this projector thanks to these loud JBL drivers.

The system doesn’t produce any decent Dolby Atmos features to write home about. I could always tell where the sound was coming from and there’s no real surround sound immersion here at all. However, they are capable of delivering sound with enough kick and volume to suit the projector. That alone was impressive.

Lastly, the C1 uses VIDAA which comes with the usual app experience we know from the platform. That means it comes with a large library of apps but also some of the common issues such as missing apps. There’s no Spotify and some of the streaming apps, like Disney+ only run at 1080p which ruins the whole 4K experience on this projector. Pointless having a movie night with a 4K projector only to watch Avatar in 1080p.

However, the C1’s app library is robust and it packs mostly everything you’ll look for on a system. This includes Showmax, DSTV Stream and Netflix. All apps come pre-installed too so you don’t need to download anything extra. Other competitor brands often don’t include an operating system on their projector let alone a full app library.

Overall, the Hisense C1 Laser 4K Mini Projector is quite an impressive piece of tech. Its 4K image quality shines in the right conditions and the HDR colours pop bringing content to life on a large-scale screen. I could only imagine how a 300-inch movie would look on this unit.

Considering the price tag here, this Hisense C1 Laser 4K Mini Projector is great value for money and more. You’re getting a robust entertainment system with excellent image quality. Sure, I wouldn’t say get this instead of a TV or laser TV unit. This is more of a product that is cool to have when you need it. But when you do use it, you’ll be in for a treat.

This Hisense C1 Laser 4K Mini Projector review is based on a unit sent to us by Hisense. The product was tested using a 100-inch Hisense Anti-Life Reflection Screen. Find out more about the Hisense C1 here.