UST laser TV~$3,499

Epson

Epson EpiqVision Ultra LS800

Name: Epson EpiqVision Ultra LS800
Brand: Epson
Price: 3499 USD
Availability: InStock

The brightest three-chip ultra-short-throw in the catalog, and the one with the shortest throw of any of them: a 0.16 throw ratio puts a 100-inch image on the wall with the cabinet almost touching it. 4,000 ISO lumens of equal white and color brightness is what makes a UST work as a daytime television.

Approx. price

~$3,499

snapshot, not a live price

Brightness

4,000

ISO 21118

100-inch screen at

14 in–15 in

lens to screen, estimated from the throw ratio

Input lag

17 ms

fastest published mode

Light source

Laser-phosphor

20,000 h rated

Best for: A living room where the projector has to replace the TV and the room never gets dark

Specifications

Type: UST laser TV
Imaging tech: 3LCD
Native resolution: 4K pixel-shift
Max signal: 4K60
Max refresh: 60 Hz
Light source: Laser-phosphor
Light source life: 20,000 hours
Throw ratio: 0.16–0.17:1
Zoom: Fixed lens
Dynamic contrast: 2,500,000:1
Input lag (4K/60): 17 ms
HDR formats: HDR10, HLG
Built-in streaming: Android TV
Speakers: 10 W total
HDMI: 3 × HDMI 2.0
Fan noise: 32 dB
Weight: 27.6 lb
Released: 2022

Features

0.16 throw ratio — 100 inches from under 14 inches
Yamaha 2.1 audio with virtual surround
Android TV with Google Assistant
Three HDMI inputs with ARC
17 ms input lag
20,000-hour laser

What it does well

4,000 ISO lumens with equal color brightness is the brightest genuinely standardized figure among the ultra-short-throws here
A 0.16 throw ratio is shorter than any rival, so the cabinet can sit tight against the wall
17 ms input lag is unusually good for a laser TV and makes console gaming viable
Three HDMI inputs and ARC means the console, the streamer and the cable box all live behind the cabinet
A Yamaha-tuned 2.1 speaker system rather than the single token driver most projectors ship with

What it gives up

Single-laser phosphor, so the color gamut is narrower than the tri-laser USTs at this price
1080p panels with pixel shift rather than a native 4K device
60 Hz only, and no HDR10+ or Dolby Vision
27.6 lb of cabinet that has to be aligned to the wall precisely, then left alone
No wired network port — Wi-Fi only, unless a USB ethernet adapter is added

The two lists above are read off manufacturer specifications and published measurements, not from owner reports. Where owner discussion has been collected it appears separately below, so the two are never mistaken for each other.

What owners say

Owner discussion of this projector is almost entirely a comparison with the tri-laser laser TVs at a similar price, and the split is consistent: owners in bright living rooms and owners who game choose the Epson, and owners with a room they can darken choose the tri-laser rival. Both camps agree on why. The Epson is brighter and much faster to respond; the rivals have better black levels and wider colour.

The practical points owners raise most are the throw ratio and the screen. The cabinet sits closer to the wall than almost anything else in the category, which owners treat as a real furniture advantage. The screen is the other half of the purchase and owners are blunt about it: a matched ambient-light-rejecting screen is not optional, and at 120 inches and above it is a major line item.

The complaints are about the software and the ports rather than the picture. The built-in streaming apps get routinely bypassed with an external box, and the absence of HDMI 2.1 and of a wired network jack both come up as avoidable omissions.

What owners like

Owners pick it over rival laser TVs specifically for gaming — the roughly 16 ms input lag is about half what several competitors measure, and owners playing fast shooters name it as the deciding factor
The extremely short throw ratio gets repeated praise: owners describe the cabinet sitting almost against the wall, which matters when furniture depth is the constraint
Brightness is the other reason owners choose it, and they describe it as the right call specifically for rooms with ambient light rather than dark theatre rooms
Owners report Epson's warranty and service record as a reason to choose it over less-established laser TV brands
Several owners say the built-in Yamaha sound system is good enough that they postponed or cancelled a separate soundbar purchase

Common complaints

Owners who have seen it beside tri-laser rivals say black level and colour gamut are visibly behind, and that the brightness advantage is smaller in practice than the lumen figures suggest
The built-in streaming platform draws consistent complaints; several owners route everything through an external streaming box instead
There is no HDMI 2.1, which owners note rules out 4K at 120 Hz — a repeated regret among those who also considered a standard-throw laser projector
Owners are emphatic that a matched ambient-light-rejecting screen is effectively required, and that a large one can cost as much as the projector
No wired network port; owners work around it with a USB ethernet adapter, which several describe as an annoyance at this price

Questions owners ask about the Epson EpiqVision Ultra LS800

How does it compare to a tri-laser laser TV at the same price?

Owners who have seen both describe the tri-laser rivals as better for film in a controlled room — deeper blacks, wider colour — and the Epson as the better choice for a bright living room and for gaming. Owners also caution that the brightness gap feels smaller in practice than the specification difference suggests.

Do I really need an ambient-light-rejecting screen?

Owners are near-unanimous that you do if the room has light. Several report that a plain white surface works in a genuinely dark basement, but that the picture in a normal living room is transformed by the matched screen. Budget for it separately: at 120 inches and up it can approach the cost of the projector.

Is it good enough for gaming?

It is the ultra-short-throw owners recommend for gaming, at roughly 16 ms input lag against 30 to 40 ms for several rivals. The caveat is the 60 Hz ceiling — there is no HDMI 2.1 and no 4K/120 path.

Is the built-in Android TV usable?

Owners generally say no and use an external streaming box instead. The common workaround for the missing wired network port is a USB ethernet adapter, which owners report works.

How large a screen will it drive?

Owners report running it at 135 to 150 inches successfully. At the top of that range they stress the matched screen matters more than the projector, and note that a 150-inch ultra-short-throw screen is a significant purchase on its own.

How far from the wall does the cabinet sit?

Very close — this has among the shortest throw ratios of any laser TV, and owners describe the back of the cabinet nearly touching the wall for a 100-inch image. It is the reason several chose it over rivals with otherwise better pictures.

Throw calculator

Worked from this projector’s published throw ratio of 0.16–0.17:1. Estimates: a real install loses a little to lens offset, and zoom ranges are quoted at the extremes of the lens.

Lens to screen

feet

16:9 diagonal

810–860 in

Throw at a glance

Screen at 8 ft: 648–688 in
Screen at 10 ft: 810–860 in
Screen at 14 ft: 1134–1205 in
100-inch screen at: 14 in–15 in
120-inch screen at: 17 in–18 in

16:9 diagonals, estimated from the published throw ratio: image width = distance ÷ throw ratio, diagonal = width ÷ 0.8716. The maths.

Where these specs come from

https://www.projectorcentral.com/epson-epiqvision_ultra_ls800b.htm
https://www.projectorcentral.com/Epson-EpiqVision-Ultra-LS800-UST-Projector-Review.htm

The brightness figure is measured to a nine-point screen standard and is comparable with the rest of the catalog.