Formovie used its CES 2026 booth to spotlight something more foundational than a single new model: a shift in how compact projectors manage heat. The centerpiece was liquid-cooling technology, shown for the first time in finished product form inside the Xming Chapter One smart projector, a single-LCD model from Formovie’s Xming sub-brand.
Why Liquid Cooling Matters in a Small Projector
Compact projectors have long faced a tradeoff: push brightness higher, and fan noise and heat go up with it, since more light output means more heat that has to be moved away from the light source and optics. Traditional air cooling in small chassis often means audible fan noise becomes the limiting factor long before the light engine itself does.
Liquid cooling addresses this more directly by circulating fluid to pull heat away from the core components, allowing a smaller fan (or less aggressive fan speeds) to do the same cooling job quietly. Formovie isn’t the only brand exploring this — Hisense’s XR10 also uses an industry-first liquid water-cooling system — but Formovie’s demonstration in the Xming Chapter One shows the approach moving down into single-LCD, more affordable projector categories rather than staying exclusive to flagship laser models.
Xming Chapter One: What We Know
- Display type: Single-LCD optical engine
- Brightness: Approximately 2,000 ISO lumens
- Cooling: Liquid-cooling system for reduced fan noise
- Light source technology: Formovie also showcased its ALPD (Advanced Laser Phosphor Display) Triple Color Laser Technology alongside the liquid-cooling demo, part of the same CES 2026 showcase
Formovie’s CES 2026 presence spanned LCD projectors, laser projectors, and broader system experience improvements, with the liquid-cooling debut positioned as exploring “the future of high-brightness LCD projectors” rather than a single flagship reveal. You can follow Formovie’s official product announcements directly on the Formovie official website.
How This Fits Into a Busy Year for Compact Projectors
2026 has been an unusually active year for the budget and mid-range compact projector segment. JMGO expanded its own portable lineup earlier this July, and multiple brands have been racing to push brightness higher in smaller chassis without the fan-noise penalty that’s traditionally come with it. Formovie’s liquid-cooling demonstration is part of that same broader trend, just approached from a cooling-hardware angle rather than a purely optical one.
What This Signals for the Category
If liquid cooling continues moving down from flagship laser TVs into more affordable single-LCD models, it could meaningfully change what buyers expect from budget and mid-range compact projectors — specifically, higher brightness without the fan noise that’s traditionally accompanied it in this price bracket. It’s a trend worth watching rather than an immediate buying decision, since Formovie has not yet confirmed a Xming Chapter One release date or price.
