Premium lens proprietor Leica has unveiled its latest smart projector, which will join the Cine 1 UST in the company's blossoming home cinema lineup. The Cine Play 1 joins the likes of the Xgimi Horizon Ultra, Hisense C1 and the recently announced BenQ GP520 in the increasingly popular "home cinema in a box" market.
Leica is distinguishing its offering from the crowd with a stylish aluminium and glass enclosure. Having seen it in the flesh we have to admit that it's the most premium-looking in its class and are sure it will appeal to home decor aficionados. The projector comes bundled with an equally premium metal remote, and Leica is also offering a metal floor stand as an optional bonus with built-in cable management. If you plan on setting this projector on your coffee table instead, then the included rotating stand should suffice, and the built-in automatic picture calibration system means the Cine Play 1 will "play" nice with a variety of different walls and surfaces.
It features an "innovative triple RBG laser" light system which will deliver a claimed 25,000 hours of big screen entertainment. It's also billed as an exceptionally bright projector, with a claimed luminance of 3000 ANSI lumens; that's nearly double of what the Hisense C1 offers. Furthermore, the Cine Play 1 supports the full roster of current HDR formats, with HDR10, Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and HLG all on board.
Considering Leica's pedigree when it comes to high-performance lenses, it should come as no surprise that the Play 1 is equipped with its Summicron zoom lens. For reference, this series of lenses costs thousands of pounds/dollars if you're looking to kit your camera out with one. It allows for a 4K image to be projected from 65- to a whopping 300 inches, which is in line with its competitors.
Leica also applies its in-house developed image processing to enhance picture performance. The Leica Image Optimisation engine (LIO) reportedly "employs special image optimisation algorithms to ensure particularly natural colour rendition, finely nuanced colour gradation and an outstanding contrast ratio".
It's not just picture performance that's getting all of the love from Leica here though. The dual 10W speaker system has been tuned to deliver clear sound and rich bass, with support for DTS Virtual:X immersive sound format too.
Connectivity also appears to be solid with HDMI, USB and LAN wired ports, alongside wireless connectivity in the form of Apple AirPlay, Bluetooth and wi-fi. Internet connectivity is an integral aspect thanks to the built-in Vidaa smart system which means you can stream directly from the projector without the need for an external media streamer – that includes the likes of Netflix, Disney Plus and Amazon Prime Video.
A high-end projector made from premium materials such as this has an expectedly high price tag. The Leica Cine Play 1 costs £2950 / $3795 (around AU$5800) and is available to order now, with the matching stand retailing for £335 / $495 (AU$775).
MORE:
Read our full Hisense C1 review
And our Xgimi Horizon Ultra review
Check out our picks for the best projectors