Hisense C2 Pro review: Taking one-box home cinema to a whole new level

Hisense has wowed us with ultra-short-throw laser projectors (or ‘Laser TVs’ as it describes them) in the past but is taking things up a notch with the Hisense C2 Pro.

The PX1 Pro and PL1 delivered spectacular image quality when I tested them and both could realistically replace your TV, as long as you aren’t expecting to watch much during the day with the curtains open. Earlier this year it launched the C1: a cute, cubic projector capable of producing some punchy 4K pictures with enjoyable HDR.

Now, the brand is pushing forward with the C2 series. This new trio of one-box home cinema projectors have higher levels of brightness, along with Hisense’s premium Tri-Chroma triple laser engine, not to mention IMAX Enhanced certification and support for Dolby Vision and HDR10+.

The C2 Pro sits in the middle of the range with 2,600 ANSI lumens of brightness, an optical zoom and a built-in JBL 2.0 speaker system, and based on my time with it, is the best home cinema projector in its class.

Hisense C2 Pro review: Price and competition

The Hisense C2 Pro costs £2,199. Like most 4K projectors at this price point, it has a native resolution of 1080p but uses pixel shifting at 240Hz to upscale to a 4K image. The effect is extremely convincing and, in isolation, you wouldn’t know you weren’t seeing ‘true’ 4K.

Meanwhile, the throw ratio of 0.9-1.5:1 gives you an image size of up to 300in, though you will need nearly 6m of space to get it. For a more sensible, though still pretty big, screen size of 80 to 100in, you’re only looking at between 1.6m and 3.3m.

Similarly specified options include the XGIMI Horizon Ultra and the BenQ W4000i. The former has been for around a while now and will set you back £1,649. Brightness is stated at 2,300 ISO lumens so it’s not quite as bright as the C2 Pro and it has a longer throw ratio at 1.2-1.5:1. The BenQ option, meanwhile, is more expensive at £2,698 and has the edge in terms of brightness, with a stated luminance of 3,200 ANSI lumens. Again, however, its throw ratio is a little longer at 1.15-1.5:1.

The Samsung Premiere 9 is another blazingly bright option. Its triple-laser light source can generate up to 3,450 ANSI lumens, while the in-built Tizen operating system and excellent audio quality make it a superb but very pricey all-rounder at £5,299. For similar money, you can pick up a native 4K projector in the form of the Sony VPL-XW5000ES. This costs £4,999, if you can find it, and delivers phenomenal picture quality from its stylish chassis but it lacks an HDMI 2.1 port and manual lens controls make for a less user-friendly experience.

Hisense C2 Pro review: Design, connections and control

I’m a big fan of the C2 Pro’s design, which circumvents a lot of the issues we’ve seen with other similar semi-portable projectors. Yes, by the standards of the category, this unit is fairly big – measuring 245 x 216 x 266mm (WDH) – and heavy – at 5.7kg – however, it sits on its own rotating stand, which allows it to be turned left or right and tilted up or down. As a result, it will work in a wide range of positions without having to be propped up on any kind of ad hoc support. I’ve had it on the floor and a coffee table, and have not had any issues using it on either.

There are no controls on the projector, bar the power button on the base, but Hisense provides a TV-style remote control that boasts an integrated mic for voice control via Hisense’s VIDAA Voice and Alexa, as well as shortcut buttons for Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Netflix and YouTube. It’s fairly easy to use but has no backlighting, which would have been useful for using a projector in the dark.

Hisense C2 Pro review: Setup and operation

I’ve perhaps been a little spoiled by a recent run of projectors that have been based on Google TV software, but my experience with VIDAA isn’t markedly inferior. It’s still easy to connect to a network, sign in to a VIDAA profile and install the streaming apps.

Oddly, the pre-installed version of VIDAA on this projector features all the usual suspects – Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, Now, Paramount+ and Disney+ – but, at least at the time of testing, doesn’t include BBC iPlayer, Channel 4, ITVX or the other UK catch-up apps. This hasn’t been an issue with previous projectors from Hisense, and Hisense has informed me that UK channels are expected with the launch of Freely support on the projector early next year.

A quick dive into the settings reveals plenty of control, with a decent range of picture modes – including Cinema, HDR, Game and Filmmaker modes – plus detailed options for brightness and contrast, motion smoothing and the choice of colour space. This Hisense projector also has some interesting options that seem to use some form of AI to analyse your content and adjust the brightness, contrast and colour to match. However, I found these often led to annoying shifts in brightness and tone while watching video, which cancelled out any benefits.

Another sign of Hisense’s experience with TV is that you can still see roughly half the picture while you’re making any adjustments, which certainly makes it a lot easier to switch between modes or tweak colour settings than using a blind suck-it-and-see approach.

Highlights are dazzling, neon colours pop, and the C2 Pro even copes well with movies like The Northman or The Green Knight, where dark scenes can often look dull and muddy. Again, this is a top-notch performance.

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Hisense C2 Pro review: Gaming

The C2 Pro has a dedicated gaming mode which kicks in automatically when connected to a console. It has its own UI, with shortcuts to the brightness settings and a useful ‘Dark Detail’ enhancement feature, along with an optional fps counter.

Thankfully, with minimal lag, rich colours, good shadow detail and noticeable HDR effects, this is a great projector for gaming. You’ll struggle to have a more immersive experience playing through the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 campaign or Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. What’s more, it will even support 120fps refresh rates at 1080p, which comes in handy if you’re happy to compromise resolution for a super-smooth gaming experience.

Hisense C2 Pro review: Sound quality

The C2 Pro might not have the built-in bass speaker of the C2 Ultra, but there’s still plenty of boom and bang in the 2.0 audio system. At the lowest volume levels, it can be tricky to make out some dialogue, but it’s brilliant from 15% to 50% volume.

Unfortunately, despite DTS Virtual:X support, there’s no really convincing simulation of surround sound on offer, but you do get a surprisingly wide soundstage. Effects are well-articulated and have plenty of impact, and big orchestral scores sound particularly impressive.

All the same, Hisense might have been a bit too ambitious with the maximum volume levels. The C2 Pro can go insanely loud but, if you push it much above 50%, the bass gets thumpy and the frequencies start to muddy. Still, just limit it to a vaguely sensible level and you’ll not need to connect a full surround system unless you want the complete home cinema experience.

Hisense C2 Pro review: Verdict

For my money, this is the best projector in its class right now, delivering better image quality than the XGIMI Horizon Ultra and beating the more conventional BenQ W4000i in many respects.

To see any significant improvement on this, you’d have to step up to serious 4K home cinema projectors, like the Sony VPL-XW5000ES or the Samsung Premiere 9, either of which are going to cost you more than twice as much.

The audio isn’t quite at the same level, but it’s still more than good enough for an average Saturday movie night, and what minor issues I have with the streaming app selection could easily be fixed with a £50 streaming stick. When the performance is this good for the money, you’d need a better reason not to buy.