A big image from twenty centimeters, and a screen that must match · review
Epson Lifestudio Grand Plus EH-LS970W ultra short throw laser projector review
The most expensive projector in this catalog, and the most complete: a 3LCD laser ultra short throw with Bose audio, Google TV and 4,000 lumens rated to ISO and IDMS standards.
A television replacement rather than a projector purchase: three-panel imaging, a laser, Bose audio, Google TV and brightness rated to ISO and IDMS standards — at $3,208 on Amazon.com on October 25, 2026, with no warranty term in the listing. Key figures: Ultra short throw laser · 4K · 4,000 lumens stated · 3LCD · Bose 2.1 audio · Google TV · 150-inch image · three HDMI with ALLM. Amazon.com had an offer at $3,208 on October 25, 2026, sold there as the Epson Lifestudio Grand Plus (V11HB83120). Our score: 8.8/10, specification-checked.
What you are actually buying
A complete appliance. Laser light source, three-panel 3LCD imaging with Epson 4K Display Technology, Google TV, a Bose sound system and an ultra short throw lens, in one chassis that sits on furniture under the screen. Nothing else needs to be plugged in, mounted or run across the room.
The three-panel argument
3LCD sends light through one panel per primary color. There is no color wheel, so white and colored light leave the lens at the same rate — the distinction that lets Epson publish equal white and color brightness figures on other models, and the reason rainbow artefacts do not occur.
What is stated, and how
4,000 lumens of white brightness, ISO rated, and 4,000 of color brightness, IDMS rated — the Amazon.com listing gives both, with the standard each is measured to. That makes it the brightest machine on this shelf on a comparable scale.
The audio, which is unusual enough to note
A Bose system in the chassis, described as a custom-designed 2.1 stereo system. On an ordinary projector, built-in sound is an afterthought in a box designed around a lens and a fan. Here the chassis is large and it sits where a soundbar would — which makes skipping the bar a real option — as it is on the other ultra short throw machines here with built-in audio, such as the Hisense PT1.
The screen, again
Not included. Every ultra short throw projector is at its best on a rigid, ceiling-light-rejecting screen in a lit room, and at this price that purchase is small in proportion and essential in effect.
Buying it in the United States
Amazon.com lists this model (ASIN B0GJ8GQJHW) and had an offer at $3,208 on October 25, 2026. The price box on this page is refreshed live and takes precedence over that figure.
This page describes the European reference. In the United States the same design is sold as the Epson Lifestudio Grand Plus (V11HB83120); that is the Amazon.com listing the button opens, and the one to check the specifications against before buying.
In its favor, and against it
Strengths
Three-panel imaging, so white and color brightness do not diverge as they can on single-chip designs
Brightness rated to standards — 4,000 lumens white to ISO and 4,000 color to IDMS — so white and color can be compared with other rated machines
Bose audio on board, which on an ultra short throw machine sitting under the screen is a genuine speaker position
Laser source with no lamp to replace, and Google TV so nothing else needs plugging in
Compromises
The most expensive machine here by a wide margin, and the screen is still a separate purchase
No warranty term is stated in the Amazon.com listing; check it with Epson before buying at this price
No native contrast figure published
Specifications
Throw and light source
Ultra short throw, laser — stated
Imaging
3LCD, three panels — stated
Resolution
4K HDR10 through Epson 4K Display Technology, 8.29 million pixels on screen — stated
Brightness
4,000 lumens white (ISO rated) and 4,000 lumens color (IDMS rated) — stated
Audio
Sound by Bose, a custom-designed 2.1 stereo system — stated
Operating system
Google TV — stated
Image size
Up to 150 inches — stated
Gaming
Three HDMI ports, ALLM and high-frame-rate support — stated
Amazon.com reference
B0GJ8GQJHW, sold as the Lifestudio Grand Plus (V11HB83120)
What gets asked most
Is the built-in Bose audio enough to skip a soundbar?
On an ultra short throw machine it is a far better proposition than on an ordinary projector, because the chassis is large and it sits under the screen where a bar would go. Epson describes it as a custom-designed 2.1 stereo system. Whether it replaces a dedicated system depends on the room, and on an ultra short throw machine the question is genuinely open.
How bright is 4,000 lumens here?
Epson rates both figures to published standards: 4,000 lumens of white brightness to ISO and 4,000 of color brightness to IDMS. That puts it ahead of the BenQ TK705STi (3,000 ANSI lumens) and the AWOL VISION (2,600 ISO lumens) on paper, and its three LCD panels keep color as bright as white.
Our score
8.8/ 10
A television replacement rather than a projector purchase: three-panel imaging, a laser, Bose audio, Google TV and brightness rated to ISO and IDMS standards — at $3,208 on Amazon.com on October 25, 2026, with no warranty term in the listing.
Against the short and ultra short throw projectors in the same bracket
Between short and ultra short throw projectors at a nearby price. Shown: what they all state. A half-filled column says nothing.
Model
Price
Brightness
Epson Lifestudio Grand Plus EH-LS970W ultra short throw laser projector
$3208
4,000 lumens white (ISO rated) and 4,000 lumens color (IDMS rated) — stated
2,500 lumens — stated by the maker in this form, not qualified as ANSI
What these short and ultra short throw projectors do not share
If price decides: Hisense Laser Cinema PT1 ultra short throw laser projector, at $1400.
Who should pick this one, among short and ultra short throw projectors
A living room where this is the television — with the Hisense PT1, one of the two machines here sold and specified as a replacement for one.
Sources
Specifications: the manufacturer sheet and the matching Amazon product page. Prices and availability: Keepa. Every figure on this page names its source.
Ultra short throw · 4K · 2,600 ISO lumens · 6,000:1 NATIVE contrast · Dolby Vision · 1 ms input lag · up to 200 inches
The only machine in this catalog that publishes a native contrast ratio — 6,000:1 — alongside a measured brightness figure, which is what makes it comparable rather than merely impressive.
Best for: Someone who reads specifications and wants an ultra short throw machine whose figures can be checked against another that publishes the same ones.
Short throw · 4K HDR · 3,000 ANSI lumens · Google TV built in
The 4K version of the short-throw idea, with Google TV on board — a self-contained machine that sits close to the wall and needs nothing else plugged into it.
Best for: A room too small for a long throw projector where the picture still has to be 4K, and where one object is preferable to three.
Ultra short throw · 4K · laser · 2,500 lumens stated · 80–150 inch image · Dolby Vision and Atmos · HDR10+ · 240 Hz · screen not included
A laser television in the literal sense: an ultra short throw machine that sits under the screen, decodes Dolby Vision and Atmos, and is sold without the screen it needs.
Best for: A living room that cannot take a ceiling mount, where the projector has to look like furniture and work as a television.
