Acer's launching two gaming projectors with variable refresh rates

jsilva

Posts: 325   +2
In brief: We often see gaming monitors and TVs with gaming-oriented features like variable refresh rate, but gaming projectors aren't that common. However, Acer is changing that, launching two 4K gaming projectors with native support for new consoles, allowing users to play at 1080p with a 120Hz refresh rate on PS5/Xbox Series X|S.

The two new gaming projectors from Acer are the GM712 and GD711. The former is a lamp-based projector that delivers a 4K resolution output to watch high-resolution content or a 1080p resolution at 240Hz suitable for fast-paced games. Thanks to the variable refresh rate mode, users can also play games on their consoles at 1080p with a 120Hz refresh rate smoothly without image tearing.

The display can extend up to 300 inches diagonally, but Acer recommends 75 inches at 2m for the best experience. Moreover, the projector has a maximum brightness of 3,600 ANSI lumens, support for HDR10, a 10,000:1 contrast ratio and DynamicBlack technology to preserve details in darker scenes.

Like many other gaming displays, the GM712 has multiple game modes (color profiles) that users may choose from. The device also includes the Aptoide TV app store, an antimicrobial remote, a built-in 10W speaker and wireless connectivity to easily pair with other devices. This projector is ready for 24/7 use with a lamp life of up to 15,000 hours when enabling eco pro mode, which dims the lamp down by 30 percent.

As for the GD711, this LED-based gaming projector shares a lot with the GM712. For example, it features a variable refresh rate mode and the Aptoide TV app store, and displays video at up to 4K resolutions or 1080p at 240Hz on PC and 120Hz on current-gen consoles. This projector also supports HDR10 content, 24/7 use and wireless connectivity, has multiple color profiles to choose from and comes with a built-in 10W speaker and an antimicrobial remote.

Despite being capable of displaying a 300-inch image, Acer recommends you to use the projector 2m away from a wall to display a 74-inch screen. The maximum brightness is rated at 1,450 ANSI lumens, which is far inferior to the GM712, but that's likely because it's an LED projector. For this same reason, however, this projector has a longer life span, reaching up to 30,000 hours with eco mode enabled.

The contrast ratio of the GD711 is rated at 2,000,000:1 (dynamic), allowing this model to cover up to 95 percent of the REC. 709 color gamut. For connectivity, the GD711 has 2x HDMI 2.0 ports, an audio-out port, and 3x USB-A ports.

The GM712 will come out in January for €1,399, and the GD711 will launch in December for €1,499. Acer didn't reveal when the US region will have these projectors available.

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The display can extend up to 300 inches diagonally, but Acer recommends 75 inches at 2m for the best experience
I'm betting this means going over 75" produces bad quality imaging. And the price is higher than for a superior 4K 75" TV panel. The latter can be found aplenty at around $1,000, and even much lower at a sell-off.

I bet you will have no problem to snap a really good 75" 4K TV for around $700 during the upcoming Black Friday.
 
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I'm betting this means going over 75" produces bad quality imaging. And the price is higher than for a superior 4K 75" TV panel. The latter can be found aplenty at around $1,000, and even much lower at a sell-off.

I bet you will have no problem to snap a really good 75" 4K TV for around $700 during the upcoming Black Friday.
I use what was at the time, a very expensive 65" 4k Samsung as a monitor. It works great in everything but fast pace games. Note, it also only supports 4k60 input (120"motion enhance") and doesn't have variable refresh rate, but that was par for the course at the time. Anyway, input lag is definitely a thing even on expensive TVs. There are gaming TV's, but even they have input lag compared to monitors. I'm saying this because you should 100% NOT go down to walmart and pick up a cheap TV if you want to use it for gaming.

I'm very much a TV PC user and I've been doing tons of research on this subject looking for the perfect TV to use as a monitor for literal YEARS. We are still a few years away from good gaming TVs. In game mode picture quality is poor and if you set them to their quality settings then input lag is so bad you will want to vomit. On top of that, gaming TVs have a pretty poor image quality even on their "quality" setting. This is because they are edge lit and very rarely use high quality panels like IPS to make up for input lag.

I don't do fast pace gaming, I play MMOs, RTS's and RPGs so the input lag is easily ignored and doesn't have much of an impact on gameplay. However, whenever I play on my friends CoD4 server I have to switch over to a monitor.

We just aren't there yet. The moment we are I'm ready to drop ~$3000 on a high quality, variable refresh rate gaming TV(true 4k120) but we just aren't their yet. That said, I don't think these gaming projectors are the answer but I'm certainly interested in seeing the reviews. As a general rule of thumb, projectors are a no-no for me
 
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The couple of friends that are serious gamers (8+ hours per day) have projectors. They use them for awhile but never for serious stuff (competition, I think). Apparently the big gripe is that even the new ones aren't all that bright. Don't know, at $1,200 I can get a couple of really nice monitors from LG and not worry about burning out a bulb ..... LOL
 
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