One does not think about it, to buy a projector to keep at home: then he sees it at a friend's house and suddenly enters his cone of potential purchases. Do you know it's not bad ?, one thinks, to see big things like this? And stay on your sofa. It is something that can also be done with a big TV, of course, but the big TV costs more: you can also see better, with the big TV, of course, but the big TV costs more. And let's face it, no TV can be that big.
The Post has been talking for years about organizing an editorial film forum – with some fear of the Kotiomkin Battleship effect – since we spend a lot of time talking about films and TV series. But, you know, there is the newspaper business crisis. And with projectors it's like with many things: the best ones cost a lot of money. We then did some research online to understand what kind of projector we needed (we were interested that it was also good for the football fanatic part of the editorial team, to see the matches without a pub around) among those that we can afford and we tried some, and we share this point.
The question of price
The first thing we discovered is that between an inexpensive and unpretentious projector and a “high-end” projector there is precisely a huge difference in price. The more serious ones are expensive items: you don't need to spend 18,000 euros, but according to Wirecutter, the reputable New York Times review site, at least 1,300 or, if compromises are made, at least 500-700. However, a short search on Amazon is enough to see that there are many much cheaper projector models, even from less than 100 euros: are they solos or are they good for us willing to compromise? Don't let Wirecutter know, but we tried some cheap projectors to see if they could be a rewarding solution to meet certain needs (including the Post film club).
In all, we tested six projectors: four very cheap with lots of reviews on Amazon and two a little more expensive, but still under 500 euros. We watched the Inter-Milan derby live, the Spotlight film and an episode of Friends. Among the two most expensive, one is a “mini” projector: that is, very small in size and weight, designed to be carried around if desired. It is the one recommended by Wirecutter, among laptops. The other more expensive one is from Epson, the only famous brand we have dealt with: it produces many different projectors, we have chosen one from “home cinema”, the cheapest among the models released recently.
Some technical things to know about projectors
Before describing the projectors we tested with their pros and cons, we need to say something technical about their operation: then see if you are interested or if you want to skip this whole paragraph. The projectors are divided between those with LCD technology, that is with Liquid Crystal Display, those LCoS, from Liquid Crystal on Silicon, and those DLP, Digital Light Processing. Without going into details on how they work, it is enough to know that LCD projectors are better for light intensity, color saturation and contrast, while DLP ones stand out for the resolution of moving images and for the best vision of 3D images. DLPs (the cheap ones) also have the problem that some people see a “rainbow effect” in them: they see colored trails left by the brighter images.
In choosing a projector, therefore, these differences must be taken into account, as well as image quality, resolution, brightness, contrast ratio and the accuracy with which colors are reproduced. The brightness in particular is measured in lumens and in the case of projectors in ANSI lumen, that is always in lumens but respecting the standards of the American National Standards Institute. The greater the brightness of the environment in which you want to use a projector, the greater the brightness of the projector must be: so if you want to use it in a basement in the evening, a brightness of 2000 ANSI lumens will be fine, while if you want to use it in a living room in daylight you will need about 3,000 of them. For this reason projectors suitable for presentations in conference rooms need to be larger and brighter than those used for watching movies. Inexpensive projectors are generally less bright because they work with small LED lamps instead of halogen lamps.
Then there is the “contrast ratio”, another feature of projectors you may be unfamiliar with, which expresses the difference between the darkest and the brightest parts of the image. In short, the higher the better for image quality, so 2000: 1 is better than 1000: 1.
Other parameters to consider before buying a projector are the distance at which it must be placed to have a good projection, and the keystone correction (which interests you depending on where you will place the projector) in addition to the lamp life. Finally, depending on your needs, you have to consider weight and dimensions, and the noise level, which for some could be a big nuisance.
The projectors tested by the Post, in order of price
We tested them 3.5 meters away from the wall on which we used them (yes, a wall : we're saving, remember?), a distance that was fine for almost all models. Installation and start-up was very simple for everyone, although adjusting the Epson is more complicated because it has a menu similar to that of a television in number of tools and variables. Another feature common to all except Epson: they are sold with remote controls that work with AAA batteries not included.
1. YAUFEY projector (50 euros)
At the moment the cheapest of the projectors we tested costs 50 euros on Amazon: “at the moment” because all four of the cheapest projectors also oscillate much in price depending on discounts and variations. This, for example, cost 25 euros more in mid-September.
Price aside, the Yaufey is a projector with a LED lamp with a brightness of 1800 lumens: therefore to be used in a dark room. It has a contrast ratio of 2200: 1 and a resolution of 800 × 480 pixels. According to the manufacturer, the lamp lasts 30,000 hours, a little more than three years of actual use, a statement whose validity we have not had time to verify so far.
How do you see it? How to have spent 50 euros: for that amount, it's still worth it. The quality is definitely so and so, but not unwatchable: you find yourself with an object that makes you see big things, albeit with a very moderate brightness. It has a built-in speaker (not all projectors we've tested have it), but the maximum volume isn't enough to watch something with many friends or even alone but in a large room. But speakers aside, it is the projector that has convinced us the most among the cheaper ones, both for the resolution (also important for reading subtitles) and for the color rendering. In the box there is also the power supply, which is quite large, an HDMI cable and an AV cable.
2. Deeplee DP400 projector (60 euros)
The Deeplee DP400 currently costs 60 euros on Amazon, but it also happens to find it for 50. In turn, it works with an LED lamp, has a brightness of 1500 lumens, lower than that of the Yaufey, a resolution of 800 × 480 pixels and a contrast ratio of 1000: 1. It has USB, AV, SD, VGA, HDMI inputs in addition to that to be connected to a speaker.
Let's admit it didn't thrill us: while we were rehearsing it by watching the seventh episode of the first season of Friends, which takes place all during a blackout, we concluded that it was not the right episode: someone pointed out that we could not “recommend a projector. to watch only films set during the day »(although an interesting list could come out). The color rendition in particular leaves something to be desired.
In case you still care at this point: it has no speakers. On the plus side: it's not noisy at all, in fact, it's perhaps the quietest we've tested. According to the manufacturer, the lamp should always last 30 thousand hours.
3. LESHP BL80 projector (61 euros)
We had decided to try this projector, another with LED lamp, on sale on Amazon for 61 euros, because in a guide by Salvatore Aranzulla – legend of the online technology council – it was defined “a very particular and interesting product” as it “implements the Android 4.4 operating system and has a small computer inside with 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of ROM”. Moreover, the director of the Post Luca Sofri, then, taking it out of the box, judged it the most “cool” from the design point of view: but otherwise he did not convince us very much. Perhaps less than all the others.
It has a brightness of 1300 lumens, therefore lower than that of the other two projectors we have talked about so far, and a contrast ratio of 1000: 1. According to the information given by the manufacturer, the lamp should last up to 20 thousand hours. We didn't like it because it is very noisy and in our test it lost focus between one area of the image and the other. At the same price with the others we have, the others are better: unless you like to keep it off.
4. QKK projector (90 euros)
The 2400 lumen QKK projector, currently on sale on Amazon for 90 euros, has a contrast ratio of 2000: 1: on paper so it is better than the Yaufey for brightness and worse for contrast ratio. Like the Yaufey, it also has an integrated speaker, which also works better: at maximum volume it was heard satisfactorily. To finish the comparison between the two projectors, according to the manufacturer, the LED lamp of the QKK should last 40 thousand hours, 10 thousand more than that of the Yaufey (which then, how do they calculate it?). For some of us it seemed generally better than the Yaufey, for others it didn't: we concluded however that it is not suitable for watching the good BBC animal documentaries – the resolution is too low to fully appreciate the quality of the images – while it is better for slightly dated movies and TV series.
Other useful information: The QKK projector has HDMI, AV, VGA and USB inputs and can also display the contents of an SD card. The cooling fan is audible, but it is not too loud.
5. Aaaxa P300 projector (390 euros)
All the projectors we have talked about so far are defined as “mini” by their manufacturers, and in fact they are small and easy to move: all high between the 5 and 10 centimeters, with a base more or less than 20 x 15, but the one we are talking about now is much smaller: 15 x 9.7 x 3.8 centimeters. We tested it because Wirecutter rated it the best among 38 mini projectors, for those who want to watch movies occasionally, use it for small presentations at work and think that very small size and weight are an added value.
On Amazon it costs 390 euros: the difference with the previous ones is noticeable. The ones mentioned so far are cheap ways to see a film projected, this is a discreet way to see a film projected. It is a DLP projector (one of us perceived the rainbow effect, which in the others, all LCDs, there is) with a brightness of 300 lumens and a contrast ratio of 2000: 1. Since it is meant to be carried around it has its own speaker and also a self-contained battery: it lasts up to an hour. Compared to the cheaper projectors we tested we were able to see quite well even with the light on, and for this reason it can also be good for seeing a presentation in an office. According to Wirecutter's measurements, its true brightness is 240 lumens: the comparison with the other projectors made us suspect that their declared brightnesses were not the real ones. The color rendering is not very faithful, but the resolution is good: 1280 x 800 pixels.
The design is perhaps not up to the € 390 and the controls to adjust it are a bit counterintuitive. The most inconvenient thing is that to change the characteristics of the image, such as saturation, you have to go for experiments because you do not see the preview image at the same time. Finally the output for the cable with which it is connected to the computer is not stable ima.
6. Epson EH-TW650 projector (490 euros)
We knew from the beginning that this LCD projector belongs to another category. On Amazon you can find it at 490 euros, on ePrice at 517 euros, even if the price indicated on Epson's website is 710 euros and 65. It has a brightness of 3100 lumens, a Full HD resolution and a contrast ratio of 15000: 1. It is not in the category of the best projectors around a thousand euros, but for this price and “normal” needs it has excellent quality: even the images of documentaries on animals can be seen well, even with the light on. It is silent, and to put it briefly in the words of a guinea pig from the Post “it's like a TV.” Like a TV, however, it has the settings menu and the remote control full of buttons: that is, many precious options but also obviously less simple to manage.
It has its own speaker that works very well: but if you want this level of quality also on the audio you can think of connecting it to external speakers. In terms of dimensions it is definitely larger than the other projectors we tested: 25.2 x 30.2 x 9.2 centimeters. According to Epson, his lamp should last 11 years watching a movie a day. We feel in 2029.
Disclaimer: on some of the sites linked in the articles of the Consumerism section, the Post has an affiliation and gets a small fee of revenues, without price changes. But you can also google for the same things.
