- Included accessories
- Presentation
- Key specifications
- Installing the Formovie Theater Premium
- Our impressions of the Formovie Theater Premium
- Formovie Theater Premium compared with the Hisense PX3 Pro
- Who is Formovie Theater Premium for?
- User rating and review
- Frequently asked questions about the Formovie Theater Premium UST projector
What we liked
- How easy it was to install
- The cinematographic picture
- The precise image
- The natural, nuanced colors
- The clear sound
We would have liked
- HDR10+ support
- An IMAX Enhanced certification
- A subwoofer output
- A rechargeable remote control with backlighting
Our expert’s opinion
The Formovie Theater Premium is an excellent choice for discerning movie buffs. Its sleek, minimalist design blends discreetly into any interior, while its triple-laser projection technology delivers superb 4K HDR pictures while retaining the smoothness of movie theater images. Colors are rich and nuanced, with good contrast, especially in the dark.
Its ultra-short throw ratio also makes it easy to install, even in tight spaces. The Bowers & Wilkins audio system, although limited mainly to front effects in terms of spatialization, delivers dynamic sound and convincing bass. Google TV integration with Netflix, and all other streaming services, also proves particularly valuable, offering a complete multimedia experience.
Although slightly less bright than some competitors, and lacking a Filmmaker mode, the Formovie Theater Premium nonetheless excels in reproducing an authentic cinematographic image. Perfect for a living room, it's also an ideal candidate for a private home theater. With a price tag of less than €3,000, it's a very attractive option for creating a real cinema space at home.
The Formovie Theater Premium is a connected UHD 4K projector that combines an elegant design, cutting-edge technologies and an ultra-short throw ratio to project a very large image very close to the screen. With its support for 4K HDR content as well as its Dolby Atmos and DTS:X-compatible Bowers & Wilkins audio system, it looks perfect for enjoying an immersive home theater experience in your living room. Priced at under €3,000, can this high-end ultra short throw projector compete with the excellent Hisense PX3-Pro?
Included accessories
The Formovie Theater Premium projector comes complete with a power cable and a compact Google TV-style remote control. The latter features a number of welcome shortcut keys, such as user profile selection, Google Assistant, access to projector settings, volume, as well as direct access to Netflix and YouTube. Unfortunately, it lacks key backlighting, and you’ll need to purchase two AAA batteries to be able to use it.
Presentation
Streamlined design
The Formovie Theater Premium keeps the elegant, minimalist design of its predecessor, in a slightly darker finish. It’s the ideal color for any home theater space.
The rectangular chassis, measuring 550 x 349.2 x 107.5mm and weighing 9.8kg, rests on three feet to ensure perfect stability. The two front feet are height-adjustable by means of a side-mounted knob.
Fabric grilles on the front and sides conceal the drivers, while adding a touch of refinement. At the center of the front panel is the Formovie logo, topped by the words “Sound by Bowers & Wilkins”.
The included remote control, equipped with a microphone, allows voice control via Google Assistant, for even more intuitive operation. Those who want to can install this projector on the ceiling, upside down, as it features four mounting points under the chassis.
Flexible installation
The Formovie Theater Premium features an ultra-short throw ratio of 0.21:1, one of the lowest on the market. This enables it to project an image measuring 2m across at only 7.4cm from the screen. The maximum projected image size can reach 3.8m in diagonal when the projector is placed 40cm from the screen.
For easy, precise adjustment of image geometry and sharpness, this projector features motorized focus and 8-point keystone correction. All these features make it easy to install and adapt to different spaces, and configuration is quick and simple.
Large 4K HDR image
The Formovie Theater Premium UST projector uses DLP projection technology with 4K XPR emulation, renowned for its precision and level of detail. This is combined with a triple-laser light source (ALPD RGB+ 4.0 from Appotronics) that covers a wide color space and boasts a brightness of up to 2,200 ISO lumens. We can therefore expect rich, nuanced colors, with pictures that are bright enough for daytime use on an ALR projection screen, or in the dark on a white canvas.
This projector is also compatible with Dolby Vision and HDR10 content, which benefits from a high level of detail in the brightest and darkest parts of the image. Unfortunately, the HDR10+ format found on certain programs available on Prime Video and YouTube is not natively decoded, but displayed only in HDR10. The absence of Filmmaker mode and an IMAX Enhanced certification is also unfortunate.
Multimedia experience
Unlike the Formovie Theater, which featured Android TV but no Netflix certification, the Formovie Theater Premium takes advantage of Google TV and Netflix, as well as many other popular streaming apps such as Disney+, Apple TV+, Prime Video and YouTube.
It also features Google Assistant for voice control and search, as well as Chromecast to wirelessly stream content from other devices.
Bowers & Wilkins cinema sound
The renowned hi-fi brand Bowers & Wilkins designed the audio system for this Formovie projector. Dolby Atmos and DTS-X compatible, it boasts 2 x 15 watts of power to virtually diffuse sound horizontally and vertically.
HDMI eARC, S/PDIF and line-out connectors also enable easy integration with external audio systems.
Wide range of connectors
With three HDMI 2.1 ports, one of which is eARC-compatible, plus two USB ports for multimedia content playback, the Formovie Theater Premium ultra short throw projector connects easily to all devices, whether it’s game consoles, Blu-ray players, media players or soundbars. It also features WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0, ensuring a fast, stable wireless connection.
Key specifications
- ALPD RGB+ 4.0 triple laser technology
- UHD 4K emulation
- Ultra-short throw ratio
- HDR10 and Dolby Vision
- Soundbar by Bowers & Wilkins
- Dolby Atmos and DTS:X
- Google TV with Netflix
- WiFi 6, Bluetooth and HDMI 2.1 eARC
Installing the Formovie Theater Premium
The Formovie Theater Premium was tested in the 4K TV and UST projector area of the Son-Vidéo.com store in Nantes, France. The projector was installed on a NorStone Esse TV stand, at the foot of an ALR Lumene Movie Palace UHD 4K Extra Bright UST screen. A Sony UBP-X800M2 4K Blu-ray player, connected to the projector with an Audioquest Forest 48 HDMI cable, played Blu-ray and UHD 4K Blu-ray movies. We also connected the projector to the Internet with an Ethernet SVD Pro Cat 6a double-shielded cable, to enjoy streaming services in the best possible conditions.
Once the projector had been placed on the cabinet, it only took a few minutes to position the image within the limits of the screen. After taking care to set the projector horizontally by adjusting the height of its front feet, we moved it back to the optimum distance. We then had to fine-tune the image geometry to match the edges of the screen, before adjusting the focus.
Our impressions of the Formovie Theater Premium
Discreet elegance
From the moment we unpacked it, the Formovie Theater Premium made a very good impression. Once out of its protective cover, the quality of the materials and the precision of the assembly were impressive.
The Formovie’s design, predominantly anthracite in hue, contrasts with that of the Samsung The Premiere and Xgimi Aura 2, which are white and cream respectively. Its minimalist look also sets it apart from the metallic finish of Hisense PX3-PRO and Leica Cine 1 projectors, for example.
It’s a matter of taste, but for our part, we liked the fact that the device is discreet and doesn’t necessarily catch the eye. This discretion also manifests itself in operation, with ventilation that is quiet enough to be almost inaudible when watching a film or series.
All the features of Google TV
Thanks to the integration of Google TV, all the most popular streaming services are accessible from the Formovie Theater Premium’s home menu. Navigating through the menus of apps such as Netflix, YouTube and Prime Video is intuitive and responsive.
It is also possible to play audio and video content shared on the local network thanks to support for the DLNA protocol, using the VLC app or the PLEX service, for example. The USB ports can be used to play any audio or video content on the projector. Last but not least, the Chromecast function enables wireless streaming of content from a compatible smartphone, tablet or computer onto the big screen.
Is an ALR screen absolutely essential?
If you believe the marketing tactics of ultra-short-throw projector manufacturers, it’s perfectly possible to project onto a white wall or screen during the day. But you may be disappointed if you do this, as it often results in a dull image with anemic contrast and washed-out colors.
That’s why we always recommend using an ALR screen with a UST projector. This accentuates the dynamic range of the image, even with ambient lighting, making the colors more vivid. For daylight projection, it is absolutely essential, as can be seen in the following images.
However, even with an ALR screen, it’s in the dark that the image really comes into its own. The result is greater depth and a much richer colorimetric palette, adding intensity and realism to the scenes viewed.
A precise, realistic, high-contrast image
Once our Spears & Munsil Ultra HD Benchmark Blu-ray had been inserted into the player, we couldn’t help but marvel at the image projected by the Formovie Theater Premium. The various elements of the test video were delineated with surgical precision across the entire surface of the screen. Shots were superimposed without any overlap, giving the image superb depth.
The hues were so realistic that flowers and butterflies, filmed in close-up, seemed to literally spring from the screen. The Formovie made full use of the capabilities of its ALPD triple-laser lamp, deploying an incredibly rich color palette. The different shades were expressed in all their complexity and intensity, while retaining their softness.
For night-time urban scenes, the projector offered an excellent level of contrast, making it possible to fully appreciate the images shot with a wide dynamic range. The various lighting effects at building windows were finely reproduced, as were the reflections and shadows.
A real movie theater in the living room
With the first installment of The Hobbit in cinema mode, the Formovie graced us with a precise, detailed image. Close-ups of the various protagonists revealed all the emotions on the actors’ faces and in their gazes. The landscapes that Gandalf and the group traveled through were magnificent, with numerous details displayed on the screen. Thanks to the projector’s triple ALPD laser, which covers a wide color space, skin tones were accurate and colors intense. Despite the absence of a Filmmaker mode, this projector delivers a superb image in Cinema mode.
Night scenes boasted excellent contrast, giving them depth and intensity. Despite a few dark areas of the image that could have done with a little more clarity, we enjoyed the benefits of an extended dynamic range.
As for 1080p HD to 4K UHD upscaling, the Formovie Theater Premium proved effective. On both the animated film Dragon 2 and the IMAX sequences of Batman: The Dark Knight, the process respected the original image, bringing greater detail and precision, without generating artifacts or exaggerating contours.
The manufacturer has not forgotten the sound, essential for offering spectators total immersion. The renewed partnership with Bowers & Wilkins is a success: we enjoyed true sound spatialization, both in width and height. Admittedly, the soundstage unfolded mainly in front of the viewers, with lateral and rear effects that were rather timid. However, the drivers delivered a dynamic soundstage with convincing bass, enabling even the most epic movie soundtracks to be appreciated. The most discerning movie lovers may, however, regret the absence of a pre-amplified output for connecting a subwoofer, which is unfortunately also the case with the majority of competing models.
Formovie Theater Premium compared with the Hisense PX3 Pro
Aesthetically, two different approaches are evident: an industrial design with a metallic front panel for the flashier Hisense PX3-PRO, and a matte finish and anthracite fabric cover for the more ubnderstated Formovie. It’s a matter of personal taste.
On the screen, the same trend can be seen: the Hisense delivers a brighter, more TV-like image, while the Formovie’s picture is softer, similar to the image projected in a movie theater.
As a result, the PX3-PRO offers better daytime legibility thanks to its superior brightness. Dynamic range is also enhanced, with greater nuance and detail in both highlights and lowlights. Colors are also more vivid, and contrast higher. With these arguments, it’s an ideal replacement for a living room TV.
However, even though the Formovie projector offers a slightly less intense image, it still has a very cinematic character. It’s very similar to the image obtained with a classic projector, which cinema lovers will appreciate in their living room, or even in a private home theater. What’s more, its dark, matte finish allows it to blend discreetly into the room, without generating annoying reflections when viewing in the dark. Last but not least, the Formovie UST projector requires less set-back for the same screen size, which proves invaluable for small spaces or installation on shallow furniture.
Who is Formovie Theater Premium for?
The Formovie Theater Premium is primarily aimed at movie buffs and home theater enthusiasts looking for an immersive experience in their living room. Its triple-laser projection technology projects a large image with rich, nuanced colors that have a cinematographic look. It will appeal to fans of elegant, minimalist designs, who will also be won over by its highly effective Bowers & Wilkins audio system.
User rating and review
I bought this projector to try out home theater, but also to replace my TV. What a success. The picture quality is very good and the audio is sufficient for my ears. I find that accessing the video and sound settings is tedious, as is adjusting the manual keystone. The operating noise is imperceptible. What is more annoying is the noise the device makes when in standby mode: you have to turn it off completely. I regularly play around with the picture size depending on the situation: TV or cinema. A positioning aid or built-in zoom would make this easier. In TV mode (80 inches), I don’t close the shutters and the image quality is fine. In cinema mode (150 inches), the image quality is fantastic. The laser beam projection is crucial.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 – Review published August 18, 2025 on Son-Vidéo.com by Juan
Frequently asked questions about the Formovie Theater Premium UST projector
The Formovie Theater Premium projector uses ALPD RGB+ 4.0 triple laser technology, offers UHD 4K resolution via XPR emulation and has a brightness of 2,200 ISO lumens.
The Formovie Theater Premium projects a cinematographic picture of up to 150 inches, unlike a TV, which remains limited in size.
No, you only need a distance of 7.4cm for a 2m image thanks to its ultra short ratio of 0.21:1.
Yes, it supports Dolby Vision and HDR10, but not HDR10+.
It has a brightness of 2,200 ISO lumens, which is enough for use in a dim room or in bright daylight with an ALR screen.
It features a 2x15W Bowers & Wilkins system that is Dolby Atmos and DTS:X compatible.
Yes, the Formovie Theater Premium features Google TV with Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and more.
Yes, thanks to its ultra short throw, adjustable feet and 8 point keystone correction.
No, it doesn’t have a dedicated subwoofer output, like most competing models.
It features three HDMI 2.1 ports (one eARC), two USB ports, an S/PDIF port, a line output, as well as WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0.
Any plans to post some calibration tips?
This really is a difficult decision – the FMTP or the PX3-PROTUK? Will I like the softer image?
Will I miss HDR+ and IMAX?
Will the difference in lag really make a difference when I am playing open world RPGs?
Hi Chris !
For the best cinematic rendering, I’d recommend Formovie Theater Premium.
Here’s why:
– The Formovie Theater Premium offers a softer, more “cinematic”, less digital image than the Hisense PX3-Pro. This feature is particularly appreciated for an authentic cinema experience.
– It features a second-generation Bowers & Wilkins audio system, which enhances sound immersion and completes the cinematic experience.
– The Formovie Theater Premium supports Dolby Vision, including a new Dolby Vision Vivid mode, enabling better contrast and color management for compatible content.
– While the Hisense PX3-Pro has certain technical advantages, such as HDR10+ support, the Formovie Theater Premium is described as offering greater pure cinematic enjoyment.
It’s important to note that both projectors are excellent, but for optimum cinema rendering, the Formovie Theater Premium seems to have a slight edge in terms of visual and aural experience.
For video games, especially open-world RPGs, the Formovie Theater Premium and Hisense PX3-PRO both offer good performance, but with some notable differences:
Formovie Theater Premium
– Input lag: 18.5 ms in game mode on a 60 Hz UHD signal. This value is excellent for open-world RPG games, offering satisfactory responsiveness.
– ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) function automatically activates gaming mode when a console is detected.
– 4K UHD resolution with HDR10+ support, offering detailed graphics and vibrant colors.
– Screen size up to 150 inches, ideal for an immersive open-world experience.
Hisense PX3-PRO
– Input lag: 21 ms at 4K/60Hz. Slightly higher than the Formovie, but still very good for open-world RPGs.
– Also supports ALLM for automatic game mode activation.
– Offers specific game modes with high brightness levels (2562-2616 ANSI lumens in PC/Game and HDR Game modes).
Both projectors are well suited to open-world RPGs, offering low latency and a large, immersive image. The Formovie Theater Premium has a slight advantage in terms of input lag, while the Hisense PX3-PRO could offer a brighter image in game mode.
For open-world RPGs, where extreme responsiveness is less crucial than in competitive games, both projectors will offer a satisfying gaming experience. The choice may depend on your preferences in terms of color rendering and brightness.