The Valerion VisionMaster Pro 2 Projector throws visuals so hypnotic you can almost feel the lasers

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A contemporary home cinema isn’t just about high-end picture quality and rich visuals; it should also have the type of connectivity that makes it easy to hop into a game or stream your way through a Scavenger’s Reign rewatch. The Valerion VisionMaster Pro 2 is a lifestyle smart projector that brings the big screen home, whether you’re playing cinema or blitzing through FPS games. It connects traditionally via an HDMI cable, or plays content via Google TV OS, streaming from your WiFi connection or playing video cast straight from your iPad or other device. With highlights picked out by lasers, vibrant darks, extreme contrast ratios, and full sound, this 4K projector looks excellent.

We did have a couple of qualms: We weren’t able to validate Valerion’s more outstanding frame rate specs; additionally, while the projector is beautiful, its exhaust isn’t. It has a strong plastic smell while running — though this has started to go away with continued use. Besides these issues, the projector really feels special. Its image quality is so rich it borders on hypnotic, its sound is dynamic and powerful, and the device’s design is comment-worthy.

The image looks fantastic

One of the first videos I watched on this projector was a nature film about coral reefs. Full of kaleidoscopic shots of sea anemones, jellyfish, and cephalopods, it looked incredible on the VisionMaster Pro 2. The Valerion’s use of lasers to create highlights is palpable — the image’s brights peak in a way that can be dazzling, creating effects you couldn’t replicate on even the best TVs. 

Playing cinematic cutscenes from Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, highlights on armor bounced luminously off the wall. Just as the highlights are dazzling, the darks are rich and complex. 

Even in the daytime with the windows wide open, the VisionMaster Pro 2 is bright enough to enjoy.

The projector can emit up to 2,500 to 3,000 ISO Lumens, depending on the mode. It has ravishing HDR10+, a 15,000:1 contrast ratio, and displays 110 percent Rec. 2020 color gamut, which is much wider than the DCI-P3 color space. It throws picture sizes from 40 inches to 300 inches.

If you’re looking to experience classic films at home in a way you haven’t been able to before, the IMAX mode will appeal. Enable it to experience films in IMAX 1.9:1 or 1.43:1 aspect ratios.

While the image looks quite good right out of the box, it gives you a tool belt for calibration. The device also has a number of image modes. We tried it with different settings; two standouts were Vivid Mode, which creates extreme highlights, and Filmmaker Mode, which we settled on as our standard.

It achieves game-ready refresh times with glorious graphics

At 120Hz, in-game motion is seamless.
Credit: Gabriel Morgan / Mashable

I tested the Valerion’s capacity for gaming using an HDMI cable connected to my laptop. I ran Warhammer 40,000: Darktide on it, playing with a controller. The visuals were hypnotic. True to its name, Darktide’s palette leans dark, with hits of neon and high contrast chroma adding detail to a shadowy, ruined city. 

In cutscenes, the image looked exquisite and far more dynamic than it did on my laptop screen. In-game, the graphics kept up with my character’s motion. 

I was unable to verify the high refresh rates that Valerion advertises on its website. Valerion advertises speeds of up to 240Hz at 1080p. This 240Hz mode achieves a zippy 4ms input lag. When sending a 1080p image, the best rate I could achieve was 120Hz. The max refresh rate I could get with 4K was 30Hz. However, this is likely due to my HDMI cable. If you’re planning to buy the Valerion for gaming, we recommend that you invest in an HDMI cable designed for high-resolution content, like the Kelink 48Gbps Ultra High Speed Black Braided 8K HDMI 2.1 Cable. 

120Hz is still extremely fast, and at this rate, the motion felt seamless. 120Hz refresh rates are competitive with many gaming laptops. Even at this rate, this projector is a good pick for gameplay.

The device itself looks great

With these types of aesthetics, this projector is more than just a machine. 
Credit: Gabriel Morgan / Mashable

The Valerion VisionMaster Pro 2 projector is a supremely beautiful object. It manages to look entirely high tech while simultaneously invoking the elegance of another era. You could imagine this projector straight into the world of Adolfo Bioy Casares’ 1940 novel The Invention of Morel, a work of science fiction in which projectors eternally recreate a cast of revelers on a forgotten island. 

The projector features chrome, electroplated metal ridges around its rectangular frame, with recessed vents between the ridges. The lens emerges from the flat of its front profile. A hatch folds down on the projector’s rear, exposing its sockets. A small stand on the bottom props it up at an angle.

The tripod stand worked well

Turn the tripod’s top piece to lock the projector in place.
Credit: Mashable

The projector can be mounted with three different systems: a tripod stand, a desktop gimbal stand, and a ceiling mount.

We tried the Valerion Walnut Tripod Stand, which perfectly matches the aesthetic of the device. It has attractive, molded metal components and faux wood tripod legs. The tripod looks beautiful and works quite well, standing sturdily and allowing for smooth positioning.

It has optical zoom

You might need to go looking for it in the menu, but this projector has high-end mechanical zoom built in.
Credit: Gabriel Morgan / Mashable

Attach this to a ceiling mount without fear. With true optical zoom built in, it will adjust image size based on your needs, enabling you to zoom in or out to set up your projector and position the image appropriately on your screen, even from various throw positions. Optical zoom does this mechanically with a lens, much the way that a DSLR camera enables you to zoom in and out optically. Because it uses a lens, this means that the image doesn’t sacrifice pixel richness to achieve different sizes.

This higher-end feature isn’t available in many lower-cost projectors. Some cheap projectors will instead advertise digital zoom. Digital zoom can change the size of the image, but loses pixel richness to achieve this. 

Keystone has you covered; lens shift is available in the upgrade

When you need to alter the dimensions of your image, the Valerion also has an auto keystone feature built in. This is broadly effective. In a large room, I believe that it would do a good job of matching the image to the wall. 

When the auto keystone doesn’t land right, the device prompts you to enter manual keystone adjustment mode. This is simple to navigate to from settings.

Keystone generally isn’t the best way to alter the positioning of an image. It works by altering how much of the projection displays the image and remapping the dimensions within the projection. This can reduce brightness and create artifacts.

This was apparent. In our tests, we played with this and created a rectangular image on the wall, with the natural borders of the image extending as a bright rectangle far beyond it. A good screen would have omitted this border, but on the wall, it was visible.

The upgraded version of the unit we tested, the VisionMaster Max, is the only Valerion model with vertical lens shift. As with optical zoom, this feature isn’t available on most lower-cost projectors. Lens shift allows you to mechanically reposition the lens and move the image up and down.

Lens shift accurately moves the image without reducing its quality. VisionMax’s vertical lens shift, paired with its optical zoom, means that most users should be able to fit the image to their needs without reducing quality.

Connectivity is simple to achieve

This projector will connect to your whole tech arsenal.
Credit: Gabriel Morgan / Mashable

The Valerion is compatible with most standard connections. With multiple HDMI ports, an eArc port, Apple AirPlay, Windows Screen Casting, and Google OS organizing your WiFi accessible apps, there are ample ways to connect to this unit. It also comes with a handy remote.

We tested it with an HDMI cable, AirPlay, Windows Casting, and WiFi. Windows Casting from Windows 10 was the only method with a drop in quality, and we’re inclined to blame Windows 10 for this, rather than Valerion. 

With an HDMI jack, Valerion defaulted to 30Hz screen refresh times, however, I was able to alter this in the options window on my laptop. I could change the output on my computer to up to 120Hz.

AirPlaying a Youtube video from my iPad Air is simple and fluid. It defaulted to 1920×1080 at 60Hz. When I navigated to Youtube via WiFi inside the Valerion interface, the quality also defaulted to 1080p at 60Hz. 

Can it really hit those impressive refresh times in 4K? Not in our tests.

We couldn’t get a 4K connection faster than 30.000Hz with any connection we tried.
Credit: Screenshot: Windows

We wanted the VisionMaster Pro 2 to be the exceptional gaming device it’s advertised to be, and it’s very good. However, we weren’t able to verify the numbers Valerion cites regarding its refresh rate. Specifically, the website advertises that the model can achieve input lag latency of 4ms at 1080p at 240Hz, 8ms at 1080p at 120Hz, and 15ms at 4K at 60Hz.

Confusingly, in one place, the website claims that the “VisionMaster Google TV Platform” can hit a max frame rate of 4K 144Hz, while elsewhere the website claims the 60Hz frame rate that the rep confirmed.

None of the connection methods we tried could reach refresh rates above 120Hz. Worse, we couldn’t get any 4K videos to play above 30Hz with any of the methods we tried, and at 30Hz, they feel a bit laggy and slow.

The device does not come with an HDMI cable. To test it, we grabbed the one we already have. Using my HDMI cable, the projector’s max refresh rates were 120Hz at 1080p and 30Hz at 4K. 

We asked Valerion about the issue, and they instructed us to disable Motion Enhancement Mode and to enable High Refresh Rate Mode in the game bar. Neither of these fixed our issue with the configuration we have. 

We tried to validate these numbers using methods other than HDMI. We tried a few methods to play 4K content from YouTube and Vimeo, and each time we did, the machine dropped the frame rate to around 30Hz or below, or ceased to play. When we connected via AirPlay and scaled the quality up from the default 1080p, videos ceased playback in 4K. 

When we pulled up the same 4K video on the VisionMaster Pro 2’s browser or through the YouTube or Freeplay apps, the videos sometimes played in 4K, but the quality again dropped to 25Hz or 30Hz. 

We were frustrated to find that we couldn’t run 4K video from the projector above 30Hz in any of the formats we had available. 

Likely, it should be able to achieve 4K video at 60Hz with the right hardware and HDMI cable. Still, it’s something to watch out for. If you’re looking for maximum performance in 4K and 1080p performance above 120Hz, you may need to do some fiddling.

It’s quite smelly when running

Generally, smell isn’t a factor that weighs on the quality of a device like a projector. However, it is a factor here. The VisionMaster Pro 2 vents from its side, expelling hot air between the ribs that surround it. This hot air smells very strongly of plastics and glues. 

This smell will almost definitely go away with time. However, it’s very distracting at the beginning. I made sure to open my windows and run my air purifier while I watched. Because of this, we recommend using this projector in a well-ventilated space at first.

Is the Valerion VisionMaster Pro 2 worth it?

The VisionMaster Pro 2 is finished in beautiful reflective plating.
Credit: Gabriel Morgan / Mashable

If the Valerion VisionMaster Pro 2 4K Projector is in your price range, then it’s a true treat. This projector provides extremely lush visuals accented by lasers, simple Google OS smart TV features, and many of the capabilities you expect from a projector at this price, including optical zoom. It has the high-end specs to appeal to projector nerds, yet its Google OS makes it intuitive enough to replace your TV.

While the VisionMaster Pro 2 provides excellent response times and lavish 4K visuals, it didn’t achieve the specs the website claims with the gear we have. That doesn’t mean it can’t, it just means it might take some fiddling, depending on the way you use it.

This projector provides incredible image quality in a package that’s simple to use. Pair it with the right connections, cables, and media, and it will be a true stunner.