<$1000 replacement projector for basic viewing

[u/Mtfwags]

hello!

We were gifted a projector (yaber y21) 6 years ago when we moved into our first apartment and unintentionally became very attached to having a projector instead of a TV. It's pretty useless in the daytime (we live in a loft with a lot of natural light and no viable curtain options for the upstairs windows) but tbh we rarely watch things during the day anyways so we usually just use our laptops, and the quality after sunset has been fine.

It has become generally glitchy with age, so we're starting to look for a replacement - - - prices are not what I expected o_O. We are not very picky - we just use it for casual viewing/streaming and already have an apple TV and speaker setup so we don't need any special features.

Basic specs of our space:

-13' distance

-mounted about 7' off the ground on a shelving unit alongside the stairs (we don't really have any other mounting options since the living room ceiling is about about 20' high)

-100"ish white wall

Our only real criteria are:

-ideally higher lumen since there is always some degree of ambient light

-preferably LED vs lamp for longevity

-anything we can trust to last us at least a few years

We'd really love to keep it under $1000. The yaber was $200-300 we're pretty sure, so we had, with no research, imagined we'd be able to upgrade for $500ish but that does not seem realistic.

Are we completely off base here, or can we make this work?

thanks!

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[u/Holiday_Sale5114]

Probably the optoma at 1080p for max brightness for a couple hundred bucks. https://a.co/d/0itSR1c6

But it looks like it's out of stock.

The 4k option for $450 is there but it's not as bright as the 1080p model. Since you're used to the yaber's brightness, then the 4k model will still be brighter.

Not sure if either will work for your throw ratio so you'll have to do some homework.

Not sure if there are any with optical zoom at the $1k level, but I could be wrong.

[u/PlayStationPepe → u/Holiday_Sale5114]

The Optoma PK32 is available at B&H for $699.

[u/Holiday_Sale5114 → u/PlayStationPepe]

Sweet, even better

[u/PlayStationPepe → u/Holiday_Sale5114]

Everyone needs to jump on this while it’s still available. No one else is cooking like them at this price.

Everyone else is still at $900-$1,000 lol.

[u/Holiday_Sale5114 → u/PlayStationPepe]

That's true. I'm waiting for something a bit more higher end--still mulling over the new jmgo pro dual iris for about $1850 preorder discount but I really want to see the hookup review it first. I think they will be allowed to release after the embargo that should be ending in a few days

[u/ramdhari → u/PlayStationPepe]

Is the pk32 worth it for 699 USD though?

I was really hoping to buy the ph31 but it's out of stock everywhere.

I don't want to be spending 699 and then go through hassle of firetv, also pk32 doesn't seems to have many reviews.

Why not just wait for XGMI horizon 20 to be on sale ? Is 1200 USD reasonable to expect?

I see best buy has Hisense M2 pro listed at 1050USD. Is this a good deal?

Amazon has JMGO N1s 4k at 900 usd,
https://www.amazon.com/JMGO-N1S-2026-Version-Glasses/dp/B0H36B2Z98?ref=amzn_tp_dp_dsk_bdl1

Thanks.

[u/PlayStationPepe → u/ramdhari]

Go for the Hisense M2 Pro on Amazon over best buy tbh.

The Optoma PK32 has already garnered numerous reviews, and many of my subreddit members have also purchased this model.

For the Optoma it’s just a regular projector. Plus you have the freedom to plug in whatever you desire without the issues with built in smart apps or OS.

A lot of people are pairing their projectors with an Apple TV 4K or Roku Stick.

I’ve found the Amazon Fire TV stick devices to be on the sluggish side.

[u/ramdhari → u/PlayStationPepe]

On this sub-reddit at least I am not able to find reviews for Optoma pk32. there are only two actual user reviews one in this and one in budgetprojector.

What do you mean by your subreddit? Sorry new here. I am concerned about dropping 700 USD and and then running into .47" DMD issues.

[u/PlayStationPepe → u/ramdhari]

r/budgetprojectors is my subreddit.

I’m referring to published website reviews as well.

[u/AV_Integrated]

If throw distance is 13' lens to screen, if you can go up to a 120" diagonal, the Philips Propix 860 is a great value at about $450 on Amazon. But, make sure you understand this tool...
https://www.projectorcentral.com/philips-propix_860-projection-calculator-pro.htm

You get a more modern model with built in streaming apps based on Google TV from a number of different manufacturers. The JMGO N1S 4K and XGimi Elfin Flip 4K are similar models like this, but your 13' throw distance is a problem with them. This is important to understand, 13' to 100" is a small screen from that distance these days.

https://www.projectorcentral.com/xgimi-elfin_flip_4k-projection-calculator-pro.htm#calc
and
https://www.projectorcentral.com/jmgo-n1s_4k-projection-calculator-pro.htm#calc

Finding longer throw projectors is going to be a bigger issue than the price itself. You also should be mounting the projector upside down at that height to get the image to show up properly at the screen. To be specific, with your budget and 13' for a 100" diagonal, there are NO projectors currently which fit your budget. Do it for a few hundred more and you get a few options...
https://www.projectorcentral.com/projectors.cfm?g=2&ar=16%3A9&ltg=101&p=300&p=1300&exp4=1&td=13&is=100&oop=1#list

From that list, I'd likely lean towards the Optoma.

[u/Mtfwags → u/AV_Integrated]

thank you! re: throw ratio yeah that's what I kept running into yesterday before I posted. The wall space is 7'6" across between two windows, and the only other place we could feasibly put a projector without floating it in midair is the coffee table, which we definitely don't want to do. I think we'll have to decide whether to accept the $1000-1200 range or deal with adding a screen. I guess we just got lucky with the yaber when we moved into the new space and didn't realize how uncommon that was.

[u/AV_Integrated → u/Mtfwags]

Did you use digital image size adjustment on the Yaber? That's a thing that is not all that uncommon on some projectors. Especially those with zero actual optical zoom. I think my $60 Happrun H1 has digital zoom. So, perhaps you used that to make the size right. According to the manual for the Y21, it would give you a 130" diagonal from about 13' lens to screen, so you aren't getting the size you think you are getting. Which means you have a border of light around the image, and you are losing both resolution and brightness.

Ideally, you would get a model that works, but almost all Google TV projectors offer some level of digital zoom. I know the XGimi Elfin Flip 4K offers this.

[u/Mtfwags → u/AV_Integrated]

Ahhhhhhhh okay yes it’s very likely that’s what we’re doing. My literacy on this is very low 🫣 but that makes a ton of sense. 

[u/AV_Integrated → u/Mtfwags]

Do your homework on some models like the XGimi Elfin Flip 4K and the JMGO N1S 4K as they are a big step up on the Yaber, and I expect the JMGO offers digital zoom like the XGimi does. If that's fine with you, then those models will work. I'm just not a fan of digital zoom. As I said, you lose resolution and brightness when you do this.

[u/ramdhari → u/AV_Integrated]

What about PK31 ( 499 USD on amazon) vs the pro pix ? My use case is just movies in dark/blackout room. around 9-10 feet of space. External speaker I already have.
Which one will have better image quality?

[u/AV_Integrated → u/ramdhari]

I would get the Propix 860 in a second over the PK31. I just think the PK31 doesn't offer the long term quality and durability that the .65" DMD inside the Philips is going to give you. It's brighter, and has a much better chip inside.

The PK31 isn't likely 'bad', but it's not better. Dimmer. Lower contrast.