I love watching stuff on giant movie screens. I’ve gone to the theater at least once a week since I was in high school, and I’m still mystified by just how big the screens are. You know that cringy intro every movie has where Nicole Kidman talks about the dazzling lights on a bright silver screen? I don’t care how dumb it sounds, she’s one hundred percent correct. Heartbreak does feel good in a place like this.
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When I was in film school, we had a screening room that anyone could rent out for the afternoon, and I took advantage of it frequently. I’d screen Indonesian martial arts films and Humphrey Bogart detective movies every week and invite my entire class to watch my favorites on a 50-foot screen. I loved it, but it wasn’t until I discovered how easy it was to plug my PS3 into the projector that I became totally obsessed. I played through Bioshock Infinite from start to finish on a movie theater screen and it was such a mind-blowing experience that I’m not sure I’ve enjoyed playing any game that much since.
Awol Brings The Movie Theater Experience Home
I’ve wanted my own projector for years, but it never seemed like a feasible option. Rich people with theater rooms in their mansions have projectors, and people like me are supposed to have the discounted floor models of last year’s 42” Insignia, sans the remote. I don’t have the space, the funds, or the technical know-how to properly install a gaming projector.
I gave up on the idea for many years until Awol reached out with an opportunity to review the LTV-3500 Pro, a 4K laser projector built for gaming. I had no idea how I was going to make it work in my two bedroom condo, but I couldn’t say no. Not only has this projector made my home theater dream come true, but after playing Monster Hunter on it, I don’t think I can ever play games any other way.
It turns out I had a lot of misconceptions about projectors. I always thought they were complicated and delicate machines that needed to be ceiling mounted the perfect distance away from your screen, but setting up the LTV-3500 was the easiest thing ever. The monstrous machine comes right out of the box ready to go, and there’s no need to mount it anywhere; it can project straight up onto your screen from the floor.
It wasn’t the projector itself I was worried about though, it was the screen. Awol sent me one of its 100” ALR screens, and until it got here I had no idea where I was going to install it. Once again, I was surprised to learn there’s no installation necessary. The motorized floor rising screen is contained within a long rectangular box that sits on the floor. When I turn the projector on, the screen automatically rises up out of the box, ready to go. I put the whole set up on the floor in front of my office closet, so it’s only blocking the doors when I’m watching something, but when I turn the projector off, it isn’t really in the way at all.
The only part of the setup that became a little frustrating was aligning the projector perfectly with the screen. The projector doesn’t like when you get near it or touch it, which makes all the necessary micro-adjustments pretty frustrating to do. When you approach the projector it displays a message warning you to keep a safe distance, and when you touch it turns itself off. It took me a half hour of turning the thing back on and waiting for the screen to rise up over and over to dial in the perfect position for it. Even with it in position, it will sometimes give me the warning when my cats walk too close to it.
The projector has a manual key tone feature, so I found the easiest way to adjust it is to pull it back so that the image is bigger than the screen, then shrink the edges down to fit on the screen in the settings.
You’ve Never Seen Your Games Like This Before
Another misconception I had about projectors is that they don’t work very well during the day, but the LTV-3500 has proven otherwise. With 3000 ISO Lumens and whatever magical material the screen is made out of (it’s black until you shine light on it), the image looks almost as bright and crisp with the lights on and the blinds open as it does in perfect darkness. I’ve had no problem watching movies or playing games during the day, and unlike my OLED TV, I don’t have any problems with glare either.
The projector itself isn’t smart-enabled, but it comes with a Amazon Fire Stick 4K, and it has a little compartment on the back where you can plug the stick in and hide it with a cover. It has both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth so that you can receive updates and pair it with wireless headphones. It also supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+, so you’re going to get the best picture quality possible. Compared to my 55” LG OLED TV, I find the projector has just as good, if not better, color precision.
Playing games on it is even better than watching movies because it’s such a novel experience. My home theaters can never compete with seeing a premiere on an AMC Dolby Cinema screen, but I feel like I’m gaming in the 31st century every time I fire up the PS5. Playing something like Astro Bot at 4K 60fps on a 100” screen is truly awe-inspiring, and the fact that I didn’t have to make any compromises in picture quality is unbelievable.
Note: Input lag is 15ms 4K at 60Hz, the projector has a Turbo Mode for gaming that reduces the delay further down to 8ms 1080p at 120Hz. My vision isn’t precise enough to detect the differences of 7ms, but the option is there if you absolutely need the least amount of lag possible.
Keeping 3D Alive
The projector also comes with active 3D glasses, so I did a bit of a deep dive into 3D content to see what’s out there. It’s technology that’s been largely abandoned by TV manufacturers and distributors over the last decade, so there really isn’t that much anymore. You’ll need a 3D enabled source and 3D content to take advantage of 3D on the projector, and unfortunately, even the Fire Stick that comes with the projector doesn’t support 3D.
I found that the PS4 is 3D capable (but not the PS5) so I dug out my old Batman: Arkham Knight edition PS4 and popped in the only 3D Blu-Ray I own, Alita: Battle Angel. The setup was just a matter of toggling 3D on in the project settings, and it worked flawlessly. It’s incredibly novel to watch 3D movies on this projector, but consider this a nice bonus rather than a selling point, considering the lack of 3D content out there. I’ll be using it for my monthly Avatar rewatch, and not much else.
You’ll Never Go Back To Regular Screens
My only real critique is that the audio quality isn’t amazing. It gets plenty loud, but dialogue always sounds a little hollow coming from it. I’d say the same about every TV I’ve ever owned though, and if you’re going to spring for a setup like this you should definitely invest in a surround sound system too. Even a simple sound bar will elevate the experience immensely.
I’m blown away by the LTV-3500. It’s everything I’ve always wanted from a projector and even better than what I had imagined. Its projection size ranges from 80-150 inches, so no matter what kind of space you have you’ll be able to enjoy projecting movies and games at home. Set up is a breeze, and best off all, non-permanent, which is perfect for a renter like me. I can’t recommend it enough, but be careful: once you play games on this projector, you may never want to play games any other way.
Check out Awol’s website to see all the different projector and screen bundles they have available. The LTV-3500 Pro is also available on Amazon.
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