Anyone Use a Cheap Small Projector for Night Usage? Experiences, Quality, Feedback?

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  boomramada on 22/09/2017 - 09:07

  Cheap + Quality = Cheap Quality aka shitttt :)

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    AlienC on 22/09/2017 - 22:55

    What I mean is say what would be the xiaomi of small to medium sized projectors. Not over the top expensive and premium quality but also not total trash. The budget sweetspot, every category has their sweetspot for example for a budget laptop it might be the Lenovo ThinkPad E570p, for an android tablet a nvidia shield tab or Huawei Mediapad M3 or Asus Zenpad 3S and for tv's its either Kogan, Bauhn, TEAC, Soniq or Changhong etc.

    Every category has their budget sweet spots what is the projector for a small rooms one and if it doesn't really exist then what's the cheapest you would buy before diminishing returns on quality.

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  Neilzy on 22/09/2017 - 10:37

  Ive this Dell Mini projector for home use. it projects at a rated 720p.

  Does the job for occasional use for stuff hosting sporting event viewings etc. I set it up about 3-4m from a painted white wall and get about a 70"ish projection @ 720p-ish, but quality diminishes the larger the projection as you would expect but thats fine.

  As per one of the Amazon user reviews, because its small it gets overpowered by the cables attached to and is unstable. so i used a spare tripod. also the fan is pretty loud when its on. but other than that, pretty happy with it

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    AlienC on 22/09/2017 - 22:58

    Cheers thanks. I almost forgot about Amazon checking the US site now.

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  eug on 22/09/2017 - 11:17

  Projectors will never be as good as a TV …. unless you watch it in a dark room. If you look at a wall or projector screen with the lights on, the wall is white or grey. That is as black as black will ever be in a projected image. If you look at a TV screen when it's off, black is actually black.

  For travelling, I bought the Yoga Tab 3 Pro with a built-in projector (it was $280ish during an awesome sale earlier this year). You can just put it next to you in bed and project onto the hotel room ceiling, and control it all with a Bluetooth mouse. It's not very bright, but does the job!

  You should have a look at some used projectors. I bought a 2,300 lumen DLP projector with 60 hours bulb usage from cash converters for about $60-70 from memory. I made a small wooden stand for it so it can project on the ceiling at home. It works, but it was a bit loud. The other problem is, if you want a non-distorted image, it has to be mounted behind your head pointing up. If you put it next to you, it'll be off to the side. You also probably don't want to fall asleep with it running as it'll eat up your bulb hours. It was too much hassle in the end so I sold it.

  Projectors only exist because TVs of the same size cost too much. I'd go for a TV any day. :)

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    AlienC on 22/09/2017 - 22:49

    Main reason for this kind of project is because I haven't figure out yet where I could put a 55" TV. My room already feels so awkward and what not so I was deciding maybe trying using the ceiling or some corners of it since my room is pitch black at night (no street lamps or neighborhood lighting entering).

    Ultimately I will get a tv somewhere once I figure out some good positioning and logistics of the whole thing to my power socket but for now I really want to try or at least see how a projector might handle things.

    If it is not that great and too gimmicky then yeah I'll probably stop pursuing this project.

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  Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 22/09/2017 - 12:12

  What's your budget?

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    AlienC on 22/09/2017 - 22:44

    Anything cheaper than a large budget 4k TV so like maximum $300-400.

    Basically meant to be a low usage kind of quality toy since I will be only be able to utilise it at night really for my circumstances.

    Resolution is probably most important. Not so much size as I don't have for example a 140" space to work with maybe 80-90" max.

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  BrewstersBargains on 22/09/2017 - 13:17

  +2

  Hey OP,

  I have been through a few LED Chinese projectors.

  I wrote this while taking IT help desk calls so its a bit rough.

  I bought a Tronfy GM50 first - its shoe box size very portable has HDMI and USB to play movies - it also had a micro usb port that you can power it with power bank making it very handy for camping cost is about $60 - $70 on ebay - Nat Res is 320P - 80 lumens must be dark room

  second I pickup up a Tronfy GM60 - Same shoe box size - has USB and HDMI - this one does not run on power bank but does have 5v USB out for mobile charging or chromecast power - this projector was very impressive for the $58 auction price i bought it for 2 years ago - Nat Res 480P - 1000 lumens its decently bright for its size - both these two projectors can be mounted to normal camera mount or gopro action mount is what i use from Big W it has sticky pad on the bottum and thread on top and can flex left right up down. Also to note Tronfy brought out the GM60A which has wifi screen cast capabilities might cost you an other $30

  Current projector is a GP90 - bought for about $200 - has 2 HDMI and 2 USB - this is a larger size projector with a solid looking semi pro plastic casing - Res is 720P - 3000 lumens - I can see the screen in daylight with light peering through curtains - excellent sound including surround sound - this is one of the most reviewed Chinese projectors on youtube

  Chinese projectors are awesome for the price I now have a 140" white wall which makes my tv for $200 with a $70 Logitech surround and chromecast for netflix

  enjoy