Even in 2025, there’s something magical about watching movies in the Cinema. The massive screen, the dark room, the surround sound all make for a memorable experience. And while you can get massive TV’s of up to 100-inches these days, the cost and sheer fiddliness of it all is quite a turn off. That’s where projectors like the Hisense TriChroma Laser Cinema Series PX3 come in.
Packed with TriChroma laser technology, this chonky, futuristic looking VHS player lookalike is a 4K, ultra-short throw (UST) projector designed to give you a massive 150-inch viewing experience on any wall in or outside your house. Oh and it’s also certified for Xbox thanks to a 120Hz refresh rate and low latency. All this without fussing over a 100kg TV that is impossible to move upstairs into your bedroom.
Here’s the kicker though — The PX3 will cost you $3,995 here in Australia which is still cheaper than even 80-inch TV’s. Let’s not even talk about 100-inch TV’s which easily cost over $12,000. So already, the PX3 looks like a tasty steal. I have traditionally hated projectors for their multiple limitations let alone the shenanigans about mounting them and the cable mess involved. However, after living with the PX3 for a couple of weeks over the Christmas holidays, I definitively say, I am a believer!
Design & Build: Sleek, Minimalist, and Practical
The PX3 continues Hisense’s signature aesthetic: clean lines, a low-profile body, and a premium feel. The chassis is compact enough to blend into most entertainment setups, and the understated dark finish gives it a modern, sophisticated look. The smooth edges and minimalist design ensure it doesn’t draw unnecessary attention, allowing it to complement both contemporary and classic home decor. The PX3’s build quality feels premium, with a solid construction that exudes durability. It’s got adjustable feet to change the height and tilt of the projector to suit your needs. Hisense also managed to keep fan noise at a minimum, which is always a plus for a home theatre device, ensuring immersive viewing without distractions.
It’s a UST projector, which means you don’t need to ceiling-mount it or place it halfway across the room. Just set it up inches from a wall or projector screen, and you’re good to go. Obviously, the closer you are the smaller the image. I will say that positioning is critical and you will need to adjust your TV stand or even get rid of it altogether. In my little space, I was only able to have a picture about 80 inches but the PX3 is capable of projecting up to 150 inches if placed just 46cm away from the wall.
On the front, it’s hard to miss the dot grilled speaker which is a 50W Dolby Atmos system, tuned by Harman Kardon. It sounds powerful, detailed and cinematic for what it is. I generally never used it above 20/100 volume so, yeah! For casual viewing, the audio is more than sufficient, offering clear dialogue and a respectable soundstage. However, the bass isn’t as substantial which makes movies and games seem somewhat thin and less impactful. No doubt that you should pair the PX3 with a dedicated sound bar or home theater system to really complete the experience.
And connecting your devices to the PX3 isn’t a problem thank to a good selection of ports on the back. There’s three HDMI 2.1 ports, which is a huge plus for gamers and home theater enthusiasts. HDMI 2.1 supports higher bandwidth (48Gbps), allowing for 4K at 120Hz gaming, variable refresh rate (VRR), and auto low latency mode (ALLM)—all essential for a smooth, tear-free gaming experience. One of the ports is eARC (enhanced Audio Return Channel) which ensures high-quality audio passthrough, enabling full-resolution Dolby Atmos and DTS:X sound when connected to a compatible sound system.
You also get a USB port, 3.5mm headphone jack, Optical out and an Ethernet port for hardwired internet. Of course, you don’t need to use cabled internet as the PX3 supports Wi-Fi 6E for fast wireless connectivity and even Bluetooth for integrating your favourite devices. I had no complaints with connectivity and streaming content on the PX3 was smooth and lag free.
Picture Quality: Bright, Vibrant, and Stunningly Sharp
The PX3 uses Hisense’s patented Trichroma Laser Tech to beam a ridiculously bright, colourful and contrasty 4K image on your wall. The ability to cover 107% of the BT.2020 colour gamut ensures vivid, true-to-life colours that elevate any content. And it has a 3000:1 contrast ratio which means the separation between dark and light areas is very good. The PX3 is one of the brighter ultra-short throw projectors available, boasting 2,800 ANSI lumens but, like most projectors, its performance is highly influenced by room lighting conditions.
In a dark room, the PX3 truly shines. It delivers deep blacks, rich colours, and striking contrast, creating an immersive experience that makes movies and games look phenomenal. High dynamic range (HDR10 and Dolby Vision) support ensures bright highlights and detailed shadows, making every scene feel more lifelike. It’s quite shocking how good the image looks especially when you consider its blasting on my completely untreated white wall.
My family and I did both Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter marathons, both of which have a lot of very dark scenes and bright magical highlights and the PX3 delivered a stunning experience after hours. Even in games like Hellblade 2: Senuas Saga, the dark environments had so much detail and bright highlights from Senua’s torch really popped.
On the other hand though, like any other projector, the PX3 struggles in a well-lit room or during the daytime without blackout curtains. The picture loses a lot of its contrast, and blacks appear more washed out, taking on a greyish hue. Plenty of scenes in Harry Potter were so washed out during daytime watch sessions that it was hard to make out a lot of what was going on.
Obviously it depends on the content with some things still being surprisingly watchable like saturated cartoons or animations but darker movies not so much. I suspect using a dedicated Ambient Light Rejecting (ALR) screen would significantly improve vibrancy and depth, making it a worthwhile investment for those in brighter spaces. Even just projecting on my wall, the wall itself would reflect a lot of those 3000 lumens which made it so hard to photograph the projector in action. I do wish Hisense included one in the price of the PX3 as that would be go a long way at improving the overall experience.
Motion handling is another strong point, thanks to MEMC (Motion Estimation, Motion Compensation) technology. This results in smoother, more fluid movement, particularly in fast-paced action scenes and sports broadcasts, where motion blur can be a distraction. Of course there’s a ton of support for various picture modes including Filmmaker mode, IMAX Enhanced as well as support for multiple HDR formats like HLG, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision.
Whether you’re watching a movie, playing a game, or streaming your favourite series, the PX3 consistently delivers an impressive visual experience that rivals even Mini-LED televisions like the Hisense U8ANU that I reviewed last year.
Gaming Performance: Xbox Certified
Projectors aren’t always known for their gaming prowess, but the PX3 holds its own remarkably well. So much so it comes branded as a the worlds first Xbox Certified projector. The PX3 supports 4K at a 120Hz refresh rate and with a relatively low input lag of about 30ms in Game Mode. That’s still about double what an OLED TV can do but I honestly couldn’t feel the latency while playing CoD Black Ops 6. The PX3 delivers a responsive experience that makes fast-paced games feel smooth and immersive.
Playing Call of Duty on this projector was a blast. The combination of a ridiculously large display, high refresh rates and decent input response means quick reflex shots and fast movements feel surprisingly snappy. It’s funny playing an FPS game at what is literally life size but you obviously need to sit far back enough to keep track of all the elements.
In saying that, where the PX3 really shines is in games with rich cinematic visuals. Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II looks absolutely stunning, with its deep blacks, vibrant colours, and HDR highlights pulling you into its atmospheric world. The projector’s ability to reproduce a wide colour gamut ensures that every detail—from torch-lit caves to sweeping landscapes—feels lifelike and immersive. It looks so good that I can’t believe this is coming from a projector just using my wall.
The built-in speakers also add to the experience, delivering solid audio performance with clear dialogue and decent spatial effects. I could easily hear footsteps in CoD though not necessarily pinpoint their direction. Voices of the Furies in Senua were still haunting and lifelike though and overall, the PX3 onboard audio is surprisingly capable for casual gaming sessions. Serious gamers would likely be using a headset or a dedicated speakers but you can get away without using those too.
Projectors aren’t always known for their gaming prowess, but the PX3 really impressed me. I do think it’s still better suited to cinematic gaming and even some couch co-op games as the sheer size is a bit too much for competitive games. Not gonna lie but for the first time in my life, I can seriously consider a “home cinema” setup built around this projector.
Smart Features & VIDAA OS
For all intents and purposes, the PX3 is a Smart TV and here in Australia comes equipped with Hisense VIDAA OS. It’s….fine and gives you all the essentials; a streamlined, easy-to-navigate interface with access to a solid selection of streaming apps like Netflix, YouTube, and Disney+ without requiring an external streaming device. Still, in the US and UK, the PX3 runs off Google TV which I think is a much more robust and well equipped TV OS with a good ecosystem of apps and compatibility.
VIDAA is still capable though with all the major apps you might want and a mobile app support to more easily control your TV. Honestly, I find all this just unnecessary fluff and I don’t think most people care what OS is on their TV let alone that it integrates with their washing machine. However, I was disappointed that there is no Xbox Cloud or Nvidia GeForce Now app support which would have been great for cloud gaming.
The PX3 comes with a dandy, solar-powered remote to help you navigate VIDAA and all the TV’s menus. The remote is pretty stylish though still familiar. It has a top row with major streaming apps and a large bottom where the solar panel lives. You can aslo recharge it via a USB-C port on the base. I particularly like how the buttons are backlit and will light up in dark environments to help you see what you’re doing. Love it.
Verdict: Should You Buy It?
If you’re looking for a truly cinema-like experience at home with stunning picture quality, vibrant colours, and next-gen gaming support, the Hisense PX3 is absolutely worth considering. It’s not cheap, but when compared to large OLED or Mini-LED TVs, it offers a truly massive screen size with outstanding image performance for the price. And gaming on such a huge screen is still wild to me but the PX3 makes that an easy reality that won’t any but the most hardcore gamers.
And yes, you will need to really control the lights in your cinema room and possibly invest in a ACR screen to get the best out of the PX3. Despite its 2,800 lumens, this projector thrives in a dark room with a proper screen. If your space has a lot of ambient light, you may struggle to get the best contrast and colour performance. But it could also be a way to force you to limit your screen time, something that worked wonders with my kids.
At the end of the day, I will be really sad to let the Hisense PX3 return to it’s owners. The idea of going back to a regular TV seems antiquated now. I am a believer and I can’t wait to see the PX4.
Hisense Australia kindly loaned the PX3 to PowerUp for the purpose of this review
