The home projector field is competitive, so a new contender offering a 120-inch display, 4K resolution with HDR support, and lighting-fast refresh rates makes for an alluring prospect. That Philips is promising all that for under $1,000—and almost half that on preorder—almost sounds too good to be true.
Philips hasn't been quite as big a player in the projection game as some of its rivals, with its range focused on the broadly entry-level NeoPix models and the ultrashort-throw Screeneo laser projectors. The GamePix 900 is something new, emphasizing improved gaming performance even at gigantic scale. It boasts latencies as rapid as 6 milliseconds—essential for fast-paced gameplay where you want as little input lag from controller-to-screen as possible—and refresh rates as high as 240 Hz, and it comes with three dedicated display presets: Action Gaming, Adventure Gaming, and Sports Gaming, each tailored for best results in such genres.
Anyone who pays attention to the gaming market will likely know that a consistent high frame rate at 4K (or higher) resolution is a bit of a holy grail, something even some of the best monitors struggle to deliver without breaking the bank. Even then, the console or PC running the game needs to be powerful enough to push out ultra high-res frames quickly enough to take advantage of a fast screen. Typically, you'll end up in a middle ground, such as the Samsung Odyssey G6 OLED, which offers an insanely fast 360-Hz refresh rate but a sub-4K display resolution of 2,560 x 1,440.
Getting Lit
Achieving all that, and at this price, is where those few sacrifices come in, as the GamePix 900 is undeniably bare-bones in almost every other respect. Its design is basic, a svelte but uninspiring matte black cuboid (8.6 x 8.6 x 4.7 inches, weighing in at 4.4 pounds), and it has only one adjustable leg to tinker with its physical orientation and throw angle.
Photograph: Matt Kamen
