Optoma UHZ58LV Review

Price

The Optoma UHZ58LV sells for £1,999 in the UK, and is positioned below the brand’s flagship UHZ68LV model. It’s an attractive price point for what is ostensibly an upper-class 4K HDR model.

In the US, the UHZ58LV sells for $2,299, while in Australia it trades for AUD $5,279.

By way of comparison, its more expensive stablemate has greater brightness (5000 lumens), although the UHZ58LV claims marginally better contrast (3,000,000:1 compared to 2,800,000:1). There’s not a great deal between them.

Design

• Modest footprint
• 12v trigger

Overall build quality is reassuringly solid.

With a modest footprint, just 274 x 219 x 108mm, and a weight of 3.5kg, the UHZ68LV is notably easier to accommodate than many laser luminaries. I’d describe its design as functional and a tad stylish, with ventilation sensibly placed to the side and no unnecessary flourishes, beyond an outboard power brick.

Installation flexibility is a strong point. A 1.6x manual zoom, vertical lens shift and four-corner correction ensures a fair amount of freedom when it comes to placement – as long as your room is large enough.

Maximum screen size is around 200-inches, but you’ll need in excess of 6m to cast that size image. For a 120-inch picture, the projector needs a distance of at least 3.7m. The throw ratio is 1.4:1 ~ 2.24:1.

Connectivity is good. To the rear are three HDMI inputs; one is v2.1, while another offers eARC. There’s RJ45 Ethernet for network support, plus an RS232 control option and a 12V trigger connection for easy integration with an automatic projection screen.

I consider the provision of the latter as a key differentiator between mid-range models and their high-end brethren. If you can’t sync a drop-down screen and projector then you’re really not taking the home cinema game seriously enough.

Two USB ports support connected gizmos, while a third is reserved for service duties. An optical digital audio output and 3.5mm jack handle audio. Sound comes via a single built-in 15W monophonic speaker.

The projector ships with a generic, button-heavy remote control, albeit one that’s nicely back-lit in blue, illuminating whenever you touch a key.

Features

• Dual laser light engine
• PureEngine Ultra processing
• HDR10+ support
• WiSA SoundSend

Key to the UHZ58LV’s appeal is its dual-laser light engine. By using two laser diodes rather than one, the projector lays claim to improved colour accuracy, covering up to 95 per cent of the DCI-P3 colour space.

Unlike old school lamp-based projectors that dim over time and require occasional replacements, laser diodes offer a stable output for many years. Optoma quotes up to 30,000 hours of use before brightness drops noticeably. That’s a lot of box sets.

Processing is handled by Optoma’s PureEngine Ultra suite, which dynamically manages contrast, sharpness and motion. Fast action, be it sports, quick cinematic pans, or games, avoids trailing or blur-smearing.

HDR, as handled by projectors, is always something of a misnomer, but compliance is always welcome. Here HDR10+ support implies scene-by-scene tone mapping, helping the projector better manage highlights and shadow detail. There’s no Dolby Vision compatibility on offer.

When it comes to gaming, the UHZ58LV has Auto Low Latency (ALLM) and a dedicated Game mode. There’s no support for 4K 120Hz high frame rate gaming, although latency feels low (Optoma quotes 8.5ms).

Helpfully, the brand has embraced the trend toward wireless audio by certifying the UHZ58LV for WiSA SoundSend. This allows the projector to transmit low-latency audio wirelessly to compatible speaker systems from multiple manufacturers. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any to hand, so this feature went untested.

I found operating noise to be surprisingly low, even in HDR mode. It’s certainly not intrusive from a home theatre point of view. Engage Low Latency mode, and ALLM, and the projector steps up its fan noise. Optoma quotes 28dB to 32dB depending on projection mode, but for the most part I found it entirely polite.

There’s no built-in smart platform. That’s something you’ll have to supply yourself.

Picture Quality

• DLP single chip
• 3,000 lumens output
• HDR10+ support

A quick blast of Fallout Season 2 and I was sold. Bright, sharp and colour rich, the UHZ58LV is a perfect match for Amazon’s radioactive sci-fi show, which eschews typical grey wastelands for a livid colour palette. 

Thanks to its dual-laser light source, the projector is definitely usable in high levels of ambient light, a trait which should broaden its everyday appeal, although there is the obvious loss in contrast and colours. With 3000 lumens on tap, the UHZ58LV can function convincingly in lounges, media rooms, entertainment spaces – rooms that are not fully light-controlled. Dim the lights though, and evening film sessions benefit from the projector’s pronounced colour depth and clarity.

In a fully dark room, I’d describe its pictures as punchy and pleasing.

Linear HD TV looks fine, but native 4K material has the edge. UHD detail is crisp without appearing artificially sharpened. The UHZ58LV’s clever use of pixel-shifting to achieve a full UHD (3840×2160) image pays dividends when it comes to presenting granular detail. Fabric texture, skin tones, architectural detail all look pin sharp.

I felt I could look right inside The Ghoul’s eye sockets.

Picture presets include Vivid, HLG, Cinema, Game, Reference, WCG and Bright. The Cinema mode is the winner here, striking an excellent balance in turns of colour saturation, contrast and tonality.

Filmmaker Mode is selectable via the remote; it toggles between Filmmaker Mode and whatever picture preset has been engaged.

Black levels are respectable rather than class-leading, which is typical of single-chip DLP models; the projector does a respectable job preserving shadow detail without crushing darker scenes.

The opening of Last Samurai Standing, in 4K HDR on Netflix (streamed from a connected Netgem Pleio puck), proves a tough test, with scenes of desaturated colour, grey smoke and monochromatic contrast – but the Optoma does a cracking job keeping the image cinematic and deep.

There’s no overt colour fringing on this single chip DLP device, either.

Textural detail, as seen in Samrai robes and weapons is high. But there are caveats.

Godzilla Minus One (4K HDR10+, Netflix) confirms letterbox bars are more dark grey than inky black.

Scenes of a flattened 1945 Tokyo still maintain cinematic depth and contrast, but the image pumps when white subtitles appear on the screen. These cause the entire frame to sporadically brighten and then subside. It’s a little disconcerting. 

If you watch a lot of subtitled content you might want to bear this in mind.

Sound Quality

• 15W mono speaker
• HDMI eARC
• Stopgap performance

While the UHZ58LV impresses visually, audio is a little more prosaic. The built-in 15W mono speaker is best viewed as a convenience feature. I found it clear enough for casual viewing or a temporary setup, but it lacks the weight and scale needed for films or games.

Dialogue is intelligible, but bass is limited and dynamics are compressed. In short, it does the job in a pinch.

This is, of course, entirely intentional. Optoma is well aware that this projector is going to run as part of a more comprehensibly specified home theatre system. I suspect most users will actually mute the audio completely.

Should you buy it?