Review: We test the ultimate home cinema projector and screen combination

It's no secret that to really immerse yourself in a cinema-like experience in your own home, you need a projector, and a decent screen.

While it's possible to buy a basic projector for around £100, and a fabric screen can cost as little as £50, the sky really is the limit when it comes to the premium end of the market.

The setup I've been testing, using the latest tech from Awol Vision, is definitely premium. In fact, it's nearly £6,000 worth of kit.

I've tested projectors costing £100, and projectors costing £1,000 - but how much better is a £3,000 projector? And is it worth shelling out hundreds or even thousands of pounds on a screen?

There's only one way to find out.

Awol LTV-3000 Pro Ultra Short Throw Projector

Price: £2,999 (including a £700 discount voucher)

At the heart of any home cinema setup is the projector. And technology has come a long way since we sat at school watching presentations in a dimly-lit room.

Laser projection, ultra-short throw technology, Dolby Vision, 4K, and even 3D are quite common features nowadays.

And Awol's mid-range LTV-3000 Pro has got the lot. It's one of three projectors in the line-up, with the LTV-2500 starting the range off at £2,499, and the LTV-3500 Pro topping it at £4,899.

They're all physically similar, but the power they possess, and the features they offer, ramps up with the price.

The LTV-3000 Pro seemed to be the most sensible model for testing, and it's the model Awol Vision say is the best all-rounder, so that's what I've been living with a while.

I won't beat about the bush here, it's an astonishing bit of kit.

Ultra-short throw projectors have been around for a while now, and they've transformed the way we can set up our home cinemas.

Rather than project the beam from the other side of the room, or perhaps even from the ceiling, a short throw, or ultra short throw, can sit pretty much against the screen, and project a beam directly upwards. This means it's possible to sit it on a floor directly in front of the screen, or on a stand.

Remarkably, thanks to its triple-laser system, it can project an image of up to 150 inches across the diagonal. And that's absolutely enormous in a living room, let me assure you.

It features 4K Ultra HD, Dolby Vision, Active 3D, and HDR 10+, so it ticks all the boxes you'd want from a high-quality visual display system.

Cinema geeks will also love the 24 frames per second Native Motion, and the eight-point focus keystoning, but what's most impressive, to us mere mortals, is the light it gives out.

A common complaint among projector sceptics is that they perform best in a dark room. And that's still true of the LTV-3000, but it's staggering how well it works in daylight.

The definition is definitely hampered, but it's certainly possible to watch and enjoy a movie in the middle of the day with the light streaming in. It's just so much better when it darkens down a bit.

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And the picture with the ambient light dimmed is nothing short of amazing. I've only been projecting out to 120 inches, because that's basically all I can physically fit in my conservatory, but I've been bowled over by the image it projects. Deep blacks, vibrant colours, and crisp detail, all create a genuinely immersive experience. Exactly what you'd want from a home cinema.

The main unit is quite large, but that means it has space for some fairly beefy speakers. It has Dolby Atmos, so it sounds every bit as good as a quality soundbar, but true audio aficionados will no doubt want to link it up to a proper sound system, which is easy to do.

It doesn't have any smart tech built in. You'll need to use a Fire Stick, and thankfully a top-end 4K Max fire stick is included in the package. It slots into a dedicated housing on the back of the projector and, while it means you have to have two remotes with you, it gives you access to the latest operating system and all the apps you could want.

The only thing I didn't really get to grips with was the Active 3D system. You have to wear rechargeable glasses, sold separately, and it works incredibly well once it's all set up, but you try to find some 3D content in the UK. It's nigh-on impossible. None of the major platforms host any.

It didn't detract from the user experience though. Movie nights take on a whole new meaning when you're sat in front of a quality projector. And this absolutely is a quality projector.

It's easy to set up, easy to use, and although it's a bit bulky and obviously quite expensive, it's an absolutely phenomenal machine.

Awol Vision 120" motorised floor-rising projector screen

Price: £2,699

While it's certainly possible to content if it's projected on to a white wall, or even a basic fabric sheet, to really do your projector justice, you need a decent screen.

And Awol doesn't just make projectors. Its range of floor-rising screens are the absolute top-end way to enjoy projected content.

There are two sizes, a 120" screen, and a 100" screen. The 100" currently costs £1,999 while the 120" costs £2,699.

I know that sounds like a huge amount of money, and it is, but you'll understand why when you hit a button on the gorgeous silver remote it comes with.

Because out of a long metal base gently rises the screen. Silently and gracefully, it carries on rising until it reaches your set height, and you're confronted with a frankly awesome black sheet, which has been designed to get the very best out of your projection.

It sounds odd to be projecting on to a black screen, but it's all part of the ALR technology. It stands for Ambient Light Rejecting, and it's a very clever rippled surface that capitalises on the light being beamed up from the projector while blocking off environment light.

Awol Vision says this incredibly clever optical material rejects up to 95% of ambient light, and it quickly dawns on you that this is how the incredibly bright laser in the LTV-3000 Pro projector can still be enjoyed in the daytime.

The most important thing to say about the screen is that it's huge. It'll sit neatly at the bottom of a wall while it's all retracted, but it still takes up a bit of floor space. And it's obviously very long. Getting on for two metres in fact.

But there's nothing quite as theatrical and dramatic as watching it rise up from the floor, while your projector powers up and the image starts to appear.

ALR screens from Awol Vision that don't have this wonderful retracting tech still cost around £1,600, and you'd be looking at a few hundred pounds at least for a non-ALR screen.

But if you're spending so much on a projector, it would be silly not to make the most of it and ensure you're getting the best possible viewing experience.

Conclusion

Spending £5,000 on a home cinema system might sound like a huge mental leap. It's certainly more than I can afford, and it's only part of the story.

A decent audio setup can cost at least the same again, and that's before you've invested in some appropriately lavish furniture and perhaps some sound deadening.

But if you just want a genuinely immersive cinema experience at home and, crucially, if you can afford it, you will be absolutely blown away by what the Awol Vision setup I've tested has to offer.

I've absolutely loved my time with it. I've rewatched countless movies, spent far too long devouring YouTube content, and gaming has taken on a whole new dimension.

Yes, it's an indulgence, but it's an indulgence many people are lucky enough to have the funds (and space) to enjoy.

Dipping my toe into the world of genuinely premium home cinema has been unforgettable, and it's got me wondering if I should start saving the pennies. I might need to buy a bigger house first, though.