The home projector field is competitive, so a new contender offering a 120″ display, 4K resolution with HDR support, and lighting-fast refresh rates makes for an alluring prospect. That Philips is promising all that for under $1000—and almost half that on pre-order—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 ultra-short throw Screeneo laser projectors. The GamePix 900 is something new, emphasizing improved gaming performance even at gigantic scale. It boasts latencies as rapid as six 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 240Hz, and 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 360Hz refresh rate but a sub-4K display resolution of 2560 x 1440.
Getting Lit
Achieving all that, and at this price, is where those few sacrifices come in, as the GamePix 900 is undeniably barebones in almost every other respect. Its design is basic, a svelte but uninspiring matte black cuboid (219 x 219 x 119mm, weighing in at 2kg), and only has one adjustable leg to tinker with its physical orientation and throw angle.
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Photograph: Matt Kamen
The GamePix 900 finds itself doing some crafty number-wrangling to justify its lofty specs. While the projector is indeed capable of hitting those buttery-smooth 240Hz refresh rates and nigh-imperceptible 6ms latencies, it only does so at a 1080p resolution. If you want to play anything in actual 4K—3840 x 2160p—then the refresh rate and latency drop accordingly.
The trade-off is more than worth it. Playing the likes of Marvel Rivals blown-up to wall-size, at competitive speed with essentially no noticeable lag is a fantastic experience, even if “only” in 1080p HD.
Still, few owners are likely to use a projector purely for gaming, and overall picture quality proves to be a bit of a secret weapon for the GamePix 900. Both 4K Blu-rays and 4K streamed content from Netflix and Disney+ (all played through a connected PS5) look crystal clear, even at that maximum 120″ projection.
