Posted on April 14, 2017 By Nikki Zelinger
The Acer H7550ST is a powerful little short throw, single chip DLP home entertainment projector. Claiming 3,000 lumens, it is a pretty decent bright room projector, though it did not reach its claim. Before my new screen was installed, we had a bit of fun at my house with this projector, seeing how big we could get the image to be on the wall. We managed to fill the entire wall, and it was awesome. The projected image can reach 300 inches diagonally, but that’s theoretical, and would require a pitch-black room.
When I first began playing with the H7550ST, the screen I had installed was for a review of Elite Screen’s CineGrey 3D material, which rejects 65% of off-angle ambient light. As a short throw, the Acer H7550ST is not supposed to be compatible with that kind of screen technology. For the few days that these two reviews overlapped, I experimented with pairing the Acer and the CineGrey 3D screen. After a bit of fiddling with the placement of the projector and its settings, I managed to get a reasonably clear and color-rich picture, with no noticeable vignetting (when the room was darkened), despite the incompatibility of these two devices. That’s a win for the Acer.
Though not the brightest of all bright room projectors at this price point, 3,000 lumens is plenty for most living rooms, conference rooms or classrooms with a considerable amount of ambient light. I mentioned above that the projector fell short of that 3,000 lumen claim, but the brightness was sufficient for my living room, which has horizontal blinds that allow for extra light to bleed in around the perimeter of the window. I still found this projector was able to serve me as an “HDTV” during the day. Crisp, clear, and bright, this Acer can compete with other projectors at this price point.
The Acer H7550ST is well equipped with several extras, such as two 3D glasses and a soft carrying case. Included with the projector are those two items, as well as a remote control (complete with batteries), VGA cable, AC power cord, a security card, the User’s Guide on CD, and the Quick Start Guide. I found the same 3D glasses on eBay for about $40, but there are off-brand options on Amazon that come in a lot cheaper if you’re looking to get glasses for the whole family. You’ll want DLP Link Active Shutter 3D glasses.
The projector has a typical amount of placement flexibility for a short throw. It can be mounted on the ceiling, in front of the screen or behind. This, combined with the manual 1.1:1 zoom lens, provides some wiggle room as to where the projector can live. For instance, I had the Acer placed in front of my couch approximately 4.5 feet back on a small, square table. The projector can easily be used on a coffee table or similar setup. The small amount of zoom buys you the ability to fine-tune placement, as it translates to about 6 inches front to back when projecting a 100” image.
There is a button on the front of the projector that releases a small foot to angle the lens upward for a higher-placed screen. I have been spoiled by getting to work with higher end models (such as the Epson 6040UB and the Sony HW45ES) while filming our review videos. Both of those have excellent lens shift capabilities. I definitely noted the lack of lens shift on this projector and missed having the feature. But then, you just don’t often find lens shift on projectors of this price range. The foot does work well – after a few minutes of fiddling and adjusting, the image filled my 92” screen beautifully with Keystone Correction. Of course, when ceiling mounted, you won’t be using the feet at all.
The Standard, Movie and Dark Cinema modes are the Acer H7550ST’s best modes, giving the projected image brilliant color, decent black levels, and realistic skin tones – even during the day. The Game mode provides a bright picture and indeed works best for gaming. The input lag is acceptable at 38.2 milliseconds and was unnoticeable as I played several RPG and FPS games.
Overall, I would consider this projector to be a pretty good value for the price, especially since the street price is about $100 less than MSRP. Despite the absence of lens shift, I found the Acer H7550ST to be user-friendly, with good picture quality for both HDTV and BluRay movies. It has been one of the best gaming experiences I’ve ever had – the size and clarity of the picture made it easier to spot enemies, aim and conquer. This is a good entry-level projector for newer enthusiasts and those who want quality on a budget.
Here’s a few features we consider to be the H7550ST’s highlights, which only begin to touch on the whole scope of its capabilities.
Next, we’ll take a closer look at some of these features.
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