Art visited the Dell Booth at InfoComm 2019, where he came upon a unit he reviewed before – the Dell S718QL. This ultra short throw projector was displayed in a custom cabinet where it was inset into the credenza itself. There are several manufacturers of custom cabinetry for ultra short throw projectors (Salamander Designs is one, and they were present at InfoComm this year) and some that specialize in specific manufacturers.
In the Dell Booth, the S718QL was up against some serious ambient light. Trade shows are known for rather pervasive lighting, and many manufacturers will put up walls or makeshift ceilings above their projector displays to protect the projected image against ambient light. Not Dell, though. This projector had the whole of the trade show lighting experience raining down on the projector screen. The screen looked to be an Ambient Light Rejecting screen especially designed for ultra short throw projectors, but even still, the S718QL performed admirably.
When Art published his review of the Dell S718QL in March of 2018, the first line dubs the projector as “pretty impressive!” This is a laser projector that can be used in both business/education applications, and home entertainment. It has 4K UHD resolution (2716x1528 x2), and is a pixel shifter. It’s nicely bright, with a 5,000 lumen claim, and features that ultra short throw design. It’s a DLP projector that can project up to 124” diagonal, and has an MSRP of $5,999, with a current street price of around $1,000 less.
The Dell S718QL has a media player that works with Microsoft Office. It also has Split Screen, Portrait Mode, and PC-Free Presenting. These features make it well suited for business and education applications. It has Bluetooth audio, so you can sync your external Bluetooth speakers if you want more than the built-in speaker (6-watt stereo), which works in both business/education and home entertainment environments.
You’ll notice I say “home entertainment” rather than “home theater.” That is because, simply put, this is not a dedicated home theater projector. For the price point, you can find one much better suited to that purpose. In Art’s review, he talks about the color of the Dell S718QL:
“The brightest mode, as usual, leaves a lot to be desired. All the others are different, but are pretty good. None, however, would make for really good home theater use, out of the box with no adjustments – the modes are just not accurate enough. Calibrated though… it can be a bright, 4K UHD home entertainment projector, although still not as good as most dedicated home theater projectors.”
We understand that the sheer amount of possibilities can be overwhelming when projector shopping, which is why we go to trade shows like InfoComm and CES. Whether you’re interested in home theater projectors, or those geared toward the business and education markets, we want to keep up to date on the best of the best so that we can make sure you know all of your options when projector buying. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to be the first to know when a new video goes live!
