Hands-on laser projector: the VisionMaster Max is a gaming highlight

"Only four milliseconds!" I gasp in amazement. Andy Zhao, CEO of AWOL Vision and Valerion, is explaining to me just how low the input lag of his new projector is when gaming. It is pitch black around us; we are sitting in an improvised cinema in the middle of the IFA tech fair in Berlin. The VisionMaster Max - the projector in question - is playing a scene from "Aquaman" in razor-sharp 4K resolution on a 210-inch screen.

Andy keeps talking. But I don't understand a word. It's too loud for me amidst the brute noise of the action scene. But what I see leaves me deeply impressed. When we finally leave the room, I can feel the enthusiasm of the company founder, who is still talking, in every single sentence.

No wonder: the VisionMaster Max is without question one of the best projectors to be seen at the trade fair - especially for gamers.

Design meets technology: I like the unusual look

One thing becomes immediately clear to me when talking to Andy Zhao: the VisionMaster Max doesn't just want to make a statement in terms of hardware, but also visually. The side grooves and ribs in particular, together with the elegant housing, give the projector the look of a modern high-end gaming PC. Andy doesn't directly answer my question as to whether the metal grooves are a form of heat dissipation, similar to a graphics card. Instead, he has me sit next to a VisionMaster Max on display.

"Yep, you can really feel the warm wind," I think to myself.

The gaming projector uses a triple laser system as its light source. In other words, unlike older laser projectors, it does not use a single laser whose light is then coloured via a colour wheel. Instead, there is a dedicated laser beam for each basic colour red, green and blue (RGB).

This is high-end technology. This is the only way for the VisionMaster Max to achieve outstanding colour space coverage. In figures: 110 per cent of the Rec.2020 colour space. That is significantly more than I have ever measured in any of my TV tests. In addition, the colour fidelity in ISF certified picture mode is said to be particularly high

The flexible iris system, which is installed in front of the lenses in the projector, also sounds exciting. Similar to the iris in the human eye, it adjusts the diameter of its opening to the brightness; in dark scenes, it lets less light through to enable deep black levels. In bright scenes, it lets more light onto the screen to achieve high peak brightness. Andy speaks of a whopping 3000 ISO lumens - and a contrast ratio of 15,000:1, without any dynamic software frills. Powerful.

This is complemented by the ability to move the image up or down by 100% without moving the projector itself, as well as the equally powerful 0.9 to 1.5x optical zoom. This is important if you need more flexibility when setting up the projector.

Without going too deeply into the matter: The focal length of 0.9 to 1.5 means that you can place the projector both quite close to the wall and quite far away without having to accept a deterioration in resolution when zooming in or out. Reader schnellchecker has already correctly noted this in this article:

The VisionMaster Max is perfect for watching films and series. Also because it displays a picture from 100 to 300 inches in 4K and supports HDR formats such as Dolby Vision, IMAX Enhanced, HDR10+ and HLG.

You can stream via Google TV. This gives you access to the most popular streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, Apple TV+ and YouTube. Thanks to Apple AirPlay 2 and integrated Chromecast, you can also stream directly from your smartphone to the projector. And: the VisionMaster Max communicates with Google Home as well as Apple Home and Alexa.

"Andy, what can't the projector do?" I ask the company founder at one point. He smiles sheepishly without answering.

Very good gaming performance thanks to impressively low input lag

At the end, I come back to gaming. I could barely understand a word in the cinema before. Andy is patient. He seems particularly proud of the MT-9618 processor installed in the projector. It is not only supposed to ensure good upscaling and keep the entire operating system running smoothly. It should also ensure the low input lag of four milliseconds. At least with a FullHD resolution at 240 frames per second. However, with 4K content at 60 frames per second, the VisionMaster Max still achieves an excellent input lag of 15 milliseconds - I have already tested TVs that were worse at this.

You connect the PC or game console via one of the two HDMI 2.1 inputs, which automatically recognise when you start a game thanks to ALLM and switch to game mode accordingly. If you have a soundbar, there is also a third HDMI 2.0 input with eARC. Otherwise, the VisionMaster Max has two 10-watt speakers that support both Dolby Digital and DTS Virtual:X.

Kickstarter for the launch

It will be a while before the VisionMaster Max hits the shops; the device will not be available until March 2025. First, a Kickstarter campaign will be launched at the end of September, allowing you to secure a particularly good price for the device. Simply click on this link and then on "Pay Deposit".

In case you're wondering why it's called "Deposit": Until the campaign starts at the end of September, you can pay a deposit of 50 dollars to secure a voucher of 200 dollars, which will later be deducted from the purchase price of the VisionMaster Max. So if you pay the deposit and take part in the Kickstarter campaign, you can get the projector at a pretty fair price of around 1799 dollars. Comparable projectors are more expensive. Some of them even much more expensive.

"One thing is already clear," I say to Andy Zhao, "as soon as one of these is available for testing, I want to be informed!"