u/Soccerstar12498

Hi! So I went ahead and got the N3 Ultimate last week, and now I have both machines side by side for a first-time comparison. This is my first proper side-by-side projector comparison, so just sharing my impressions.

First, in terms of image angle, both projectors perform really well. Some scenes do show slightly different colors, but overall the difference is not that big. Color, brightness, and contrast all look equally good. Only my phone tends to make the pictures look a bit reddish. Noise and heat performance are also similar, I didn’t hear any noticeable noise. Both run Google TV, so the interface layout and app icons are the same. Sometimes when using them just by looking at the screen, I can’t even tell which is which.

The N3 has a more high-tech design, while the Horizon feels more suited to a home environment. As a lifestyle projector, the N3 is noticeably heavy. Both remotes have backlit keys that work well in a dark room, but I prefer the Horizon’s remote. It feels less plastic, has touch-sensitive lights, and a more premium in-hand feel.

As I mentioned in the last post, due to layout limitations, I was curious about how lens shift range affects practical use. The N3 has a larger lens shift range, which allows for bigger offset with minimal visible white borders. I still don’t understand why using lens shift on the Horizon disables smart features like auto focus and object avoidance, requiring manual restore to re-enable them. I wonder if it’s a difference in the algorithm, because the N3 doesn’t have this limitation.

Another difference I didn’t expect is optical zoom. I set both projectors at the same 9.6 ft throw distance and maxed out optical zoom. The N3 produces a much larger image, you can see it in the fifth pic.

Overall, both projectors are pretty solid, but with the Horizon, the inability to have both lens shift and auto-correction active at the same time does make setup a bit annoying. It took me quite a while just to get some comparison shots right. I’m probably going to consider giving it to my parents. Since I can’t really change the room layout rn, I’m leaning more toward the one with the wider optical zoom. Just sharing my experience, hope it helps!

So, here’s the situation. I’ve been using the horizon 20 Max for a little while now. Overall experience is pretty good so far. Image quality, setup, better than my old TV - absolutely. But the one thing I’m really concerned about is the Keystone? Using it in the bedroom works perfectly, but in my living room it’s a different story. Because of the layout, I have to put the projector on the side cabinet.

Even with the lens shift pushed to the limit, the image still isn’t perfectly centered on my 120-inch screen. It is off by about 15 to 20 centimeters. To fill the gap, I end up using digital keystone correction which creates a slightly annoying white border around the screen. I feel like this wastes some of the 4K potential of the machine. I’m not planning on ceiling mounting anytime soon, so I’m looking for a projector with a wider lens shift range. I noticed that the N3 Ultimate has a slightly larger horizontal shift with vertical 130 % and horizontal 53%. I’m wondering if that extra 8 percent adjustment would actually cover the 20 centimeter offset in real use.

The other thing that’s confusing me is that once I use the lens shift function, almost all smart features such as auto keystone and auto focus seem to stop working. To enable them again, I have to manually restore the lens shift first. Moving the projector between rooms becomes a big hassle because I have to redo all the adjustments every time. Does anyone know why this happens? Is it a limitation of the underlying algorithm or am I doing something wrong?

Since I’m still within the return window for the Horizon, I’m torn on whether to try the N3 Ultimate.

Thanks for any advice!