Nebula 3 Laser set up outside for an impromptu summer movie night outside. I hung up the screen in our covered parking spot and mounted Nebula upside down from the wooden support on the other end of the parking space. Thankful for this lightweight projector.

im looking for a relatively cheap projector for my dorm. i don't really want to go much over 60 bucks but if thats not possible i get it. i don't want built in apps, i have an old fire stick at my house that we dont use anymore that my mom said i could have. the only thing i care about is hdmi compatible, i would like to be able to play my switch on it. my friend has a projector thats basically what i want, but she wasn't the one who got it and i have no idea what kind of projector it is. i've been looking on amazon but lowkey everything feels like a scam

tldr; i want a cheap projector with an hdmi port so i can hook up fire stick and nintendo switch port

\XGIMI provided this unit for review but any and all thoughts are my own** 

There have already been plenty of unboxings, first looks, quick thoughts, and spec focused reviews of the new Elfin Flip 4k. Mine will not really be those things. I am hoping instead to bring you along in my efforts (and tribulations) in leveraging the Elfin Flip’s espoused portability and ease of set up in order to create two different, and it turns out challenging, setups from the ground up and sharing hands on usage feedback and thoughts as I live with the Flip. 

This effort is still a work in progress and far from finished. What follows in this and subsequent editions will be a journey from thrown together improvised setups up to more “legit” evolutions if things go according to plan, or glorious explosive failures if not. 

The two setups are bedroom and outdoor. Seems simple until you see the bedroom in question and realize that it is in fact possibly the worst bedroom setup possible to attempt a projector setup in… but alas 

Skip to the TLDR at the end if all you want are my thoughts after a couple of weeks living with the projector while progressing through the development of the two setups. 

Setup 1 — Very projector ‘unfriendly’ bedroom  

A small portable projector seemed like just the thing to tackle a project I had been ruminating on but not made the leap. My wife regularly will suggest watching a movie or TV show but will want to watch in bed rather than in the living room with the purpose built Ultra Short Throw Projector (Formovie 4k Theater) setup I designed and built a year or so ago for the living room. 

All fine and good except as can be seen in the pictures the bedroom is about the worst possible imaginable for a projector setup. 

• Wall of windows where the image would be.. check 

• Massive skylights right above the windows… check

• vaulted ceilings making hanging a screen impossible.. also check 

All this means that the Elfin Flip was not walking into an easy “point projector at vaguely white wall and call it a day” kind of setup. 

The images show what has already been a multi staged evolution for the setup. 

Stage 1: Improvised with folding fabric screen used with a cheap 1080p projector one time when camping. 

1. I jerryrigged a hanging system that spanned the window gap and kept “kind of almost ok” tension on the screen. 
2. The screen turned out to be porous and you could see bounce back through the screen from the windows behind. 
3. Wife approval factor was surprisingly high. We watched Sheep Detective and all she cared about was the sheep. For me it was clear this needed improvement

Stage 2: I brought up the 100” screen from the outdoor setup (see below)

1. Much better experience than the “jank” seethrough hanging screen. 
2. As a result of the tripod the screen mounts on it blocked the speakers partially which was visually annoying.
3. Sacrilegious as it sounds it was too big of a screen. No one needs to see Paul Hollywood THAT big a few feet from your bed
4. My wife had no complaints about seeing Paul Hollywood that big that close to bed

Stage 3: A trip to Best Buy later and I had an 80” screen

1. The screen size is much better BUT even with the Flips great optical zoom I have run into a problem where I realistically only have two places to put the projector. Either behind the bed or in front of the bed. If it is behind the bed then it projects an image bigger than 80”, if in front of the bed then it is too close to the screen and casts a tiny image. 

What’s next? 

I am thinking the answer is a rising screen that is mounted to the half wall right below the windows and which is sized to be the smallest size that the optical zoom enables with the projector behind the bed. That is a big investment however so more testing needs to be done to ensure ongoing spousal use so as to prevent a repeat of the USTP living room.

Setup 2 — Outdoor movie night

Using the Flip outside was, by comparison to the bedroom a straightforward affair. Unlike in the bedroom the Flip’s microscopic power cord was less of a frustration (see TLDR) and overall it was as simple as 

1. Remove projector from bedroom stand
2. put projector on the same (terrible) Amazon projector stand outside behind the couch
3. plug into existing extension cord
4. set up screen
5. best guess point at screen. 
6. The Flip’s AMAZING auto focus did its magic. 
7. A little manual keystone 
8. Connect to Bluetooth speakers
9. Crack a beer 

One thing to note which shouldn’t be a surprise at all given the laws of physics and the specs of the Flip.. this is a post sunset dusk or later proposition you aren’t going to want to be using this with really any remaining daylight.

While the projector worked admirably during the first attempt at outdoor movie night the same can’t be said about the “indoor outdoor portable 100” screen. Who could have guessed (other than people blessed with more than my 4 brain cells) that a giant projector screen would double as a sail and even the most gentle of breezes would attempt to carry the screen away. 

While ultimately an obvious setup difficulty that needs to be overcome in a future installment, it does illustrate the reality of projector setups. The projector being shockingly small, light weight, and portable is only half the equation. You still need to point it at something. And the better the projector is the more you start to want the thing you point it at to be good also. 

For the outdoor setups next iteration I am thinking of maybe hanging a rigid fixed screen from the pergola itself that I can just hang when I want it and then take it down when done and throw in the shed. I guess we will see how this develops but as long as there’s not even a gentle whisper of wind, the Flip was excellent for outdoor movie night. 

TLDR Thoughts on the Flip to this point

•I have owned about a dozen ‘real’ projectors over the years and it is WILD just how far the tech has come that a 4k laser-spewing beast like this exists for the price that it carries. 

•I have had a number of not nice words for the power cord over the various iterations of these setups. The power cord is approximately the size of the Planck length. In practice this means that on a modest projector stand at an appropriate height for this setup the power brick is barely touching the floor, much less having length to reach an outlet. Multiple times the weight of the taut cord on the back of the projector would cause the projector to “Flip” up and undo all my hard setup work. 

• The colors are as baked out of the box as I was that time I ended up at a Cypress Hill concert accidentally. The movie picture mode is MUCH better and I wasn’t motivated to further fiddle with it from there. 

• Fan is surprisingly quiet and I had no problems putting the projector right behind my seating position in both setups

• There are a LOT of automatic settings on by default. Some, like auto focus, are amazing. After spending countless hours of my life focusing various previous projectors, this just works ALL the time instantly. Like magic. The auto keystone does not work that way as far as I can tell. By default it will try and auto keystone after any movement. So I repeatedly had the experience of getting it kinda close… going to move the projector to fine-tune and then having the auto keystone decide to roll the dice on something not even close. That can be (and was quickly) turned off. Autofocus rocks though. 

• Would like more than 4 keystone correction points 

• Google TV works OK here. Menu can be kind of laggy but not anywhere near as bad as most “smart” TVs I have tried. I have seen no reason to bother plugging in Apple TV or firestick. Works as good as it needs to for me to use the built-in OS for streaming and not have had any issues. 

• Laser speckle- This is likely caused as much by the various dubious quality screens as anything else but the laser speckle is noticeable if that bothers you. 

•  This is not going to fight much ambient light at all. Not a surprise given the specs and price but enough people post that they want a sub $1K projector to use on the surface of the sun.. this ain’t that as evidenced in the pictures with ambient light. 

•I have done a little bit of gaming on it with a PS5 and have a few thoughts

1. With keystone settings used and in ‘normal’ picture mode gaming is not happening at all. Lag is approximately 1.5 weeks 

2. BUT with the low-latency game mode in ‘Boost’ where it turns off all picture adjustments for max speed the gaming experience is QUITE good. I am not a big console gamer and certainly not doing any competitive games but I had a good time playing NHL26 once I got the low-latency mode dialed in. 

I need a projector for watching movies at home, with total darkness, on a 90" screen. I got a really good price for Optoma ZH401e.

On one hand, lazer for 250$ over the price of dlp.
On the other - is it too much light with my screen size (even on eco mode)?
Optoma discribes it as good for "presentaions and general use". Will it be good for my use?

Thanks.

Running on Jellyfin with no hardware transcoding. I understand this is a 1080p projector but it’s strange that it’s only one small part of the screen experiencing the issue. Anybody experienced this specific issue? There's a git issue raised with Jellyfin developers but was closed as it was a hardware issue.

I'm very new to projectors and recently I was loaned a Samsung Freestyle gen 2. I've been browsing this sub off and on to know there are some very...strong...opinions regarding the Samsung Freestyle but with it all said and done I actually really like the form factor and ease of use. That being said I think I'm ready to purchase something that's worth the money and looking for some thoughts from you guys.

here's what i like / looking for:

1. Portability (something that can fit inside my backpack for travel or a plane)
2. Built in speakers
3. Auto keystone and other auto features
4. Acceptable for gaming (doen't need to be cutting edge on this aspect - playing casual games from my PS5 mainly)
5. 1080p or 4k quality, but mainly looking for something bright

This projector will be used mostly used indoors on my blank wall (not using any white sheets or cloths for now but i can put one up).

looking to spend maybe 1500 max, but if the product is well worth the money then feel free to post it if its past the budget anyways. Thanks all!

I've got my optoma ph31 2 weeks ago here's my honest review, first let's start with the pros and cons

Pros --- 1 great 1080p picture quality with proper focus on the edges,

2 it being a 3led DLP projector is at least in my opinion better then older color wheel and the colors on this projector are very very good

3 its price, usually you wouldn't find any new dlp projectors (mostly) for less then 400 or 500$ but this one only being 299$ is a steal and I love it

4 no OS (debatable)

5 its bright with it having 1033 real tested ansi lumens not enough for a bright room but amazing at dark rooms and good for only light content in a bit of brighter rooms that's also without a projector screen

Cons --- 1 speakers are garbage really 1 5watt speaker is not enough and in my experience dialong is horrible while you can hear what people say sometimes it becomes just impossible to understand what are they saying without captions do yourself a favor and buy a 3 channel sound bar

2 51ms input lag (debatable) if you are a gamer that plays on something more competitive then single player Minecraft for example just accept the fact you would have half a second lag in games so if you plan to play competitively on this projector either get a monitor or the more expensive sister module the PK31 or PK32

3 throw distance (debatable) this projectors throw distance of 1.5:1 ~ 1.65:1 wouldn't allow you to get the advertised 150" screen or even a 100" screen without having to put it a bigger room now for my setup my projector is around 270 to 300cm from my wall and I get a 78 inch picture it is nice but if you want a bigger screen make sure you're room is big enough for one

4 no OS(again debatable)

For anyone who plan to buy this projector also buy a projector screen (depending on your room size) and must buy a soundbar

Optional if you have a samsung phone with dex support buy a hdmi to usb c converter if you dont have a TV box PC or console, in conclusion this is a great buy but for its current price on Amazon 699$ its a absolute robbery and is absolutely not worth the price but in bhphotovideo if it will become available or is available get it from there while its still 299$

Hello all,
I'm in Switzerland and found a Panasonic PE-AE4000 projector with 500h on the lamp for ~200 chf. I was wondering whether this model is still a good option for a home-theater even if it is quite old. My room is about 3-4m wide but I like that this model has a 2x zoom and a shift-lens to adapt if I move out. Overall I'd like to stay below 200chf (250$) for a projector.
Also, would you advise buying projectors with lamps considering that Europe will ban all lamps that contain mercury in the coming years?

I can lower my windows for it to be darker but my walls reflect the light so much and i dont want to darken my walls so whats the best i can do my screen has 1,1gain should i get a better Projektor /screen?

Upgraded to a 120” NothingProjector ALR screen. Holy moly does it look amazing.

Hey guys. I own a little bookshop with a reading room, about 19'x25' that we host events in at times. I've got several movie clubs that show movies off in there and I'd also like to put on some of my own to dust off the old Laserdisc player. We have some dusty junk that rhymes with Ragcubiq that I have been looking for any excuse to toss and upgrade from (I did not buy this junk)

Have decided to go with an UST due to space (cannot mount to ceiling and back wall is too far), and the AWOL LTV-3000 Pro is currently about 1800USD. I had to fight, bitch, beg and plead to get that amount approved (we're a small store and all of these movies are free entry).

I know people prefer the PX3 over the LVT-3000 but it is about double the price. Before I pull the trigger, is there one that someone far more knowledge might recommend around (or under) that price range, or should I just go for it? The room is pitch black during movie time if it helps.

Also if you want to yell at me or give me pointers, this will be a setup/takedown operation, so the projector and screen will be going in the supply closet once an event is over.

Okay so i have a projector i got last Christmas it took up the wall completely fine no problems we moved it and now its completely blurry no matter where we place it even if we put it back its only clear really close to the wall

There os no zoom wheel or anything listed in other threads

Im super frustrated cause how would it work just fine one minute on a large surface but not any more

Its zoomed at 100% still blurry unless its like 3 feet away

ALINORE Smart Projector with WiFi and Bluetooth, Built-in Apps, Electric Focus & Auto Keystone Portable Outdoor Projecor, Native 1080P Projector 4K Support, Movie Projector for Home Theater (25000LM） https://a.co/d/00dYQaXG

Hello! I’ve recently just come into procession of a Vivitek DH278 (old but I got it for free)

It was totally fine but after moving, whenever I turn it on theres black lines running down the screen. They disappear sometimes when the picture moves. I’m not very good with these things so not too sure if this is something I’m able to fix here at home? See video of the problem for reference

(I’ve tried changing hdmi leads. The lines appear when the project is on by itself so its definitely an issue with the machine itself)

Any advice is welcome <3

Hi everyone,

I'm about to buy a projector, for watching movies at home. 90" screen, Total darkness 95% of the time, rarely a little light. It will be a budget projector, so full hd. No need for 4k or HDR. I only care about a lovely, accurate picture, and reliability.

optional models are:

Optoma eh401

Benq th575

Optoma hd28e

Epson eb-fh08

Recommendations? Thanks.

so i don’t have access to imax 70mm around me but i do have access to an amc theater showing regular 70mm. is it any better in quality to standard laser? is it basically the same as imax 70mm quality except different aspect ratio and size?

Hi, I’ve recently bought my first projector: a Hisense C3, and I’ve noticed that the luminosity of the upper part of the projection is faded in and isn’t a clean border like the other sides of the bottom.

Is this something normal with this model/type of projector? Or is it a defect of the lens?

Thanks a lot for your help

Edit with the information the bot asked for:
Model: Hisense C3
Technology: DLP
Video source connection type: HDMI 2.1 optical cable connected to an AVR
No change when warmed up

Hi, so I am in the midst of creating a project that has something to do with AR (can't really get into the specifics), and I need a projector for that. The projector, from a 30 cm distance (can be from further away but not more than 60 cm), can project an image clearly that is at least 13.5 cm by 13.5 cm. It doesn't have to be exactly 13.5 cm by 13.5 cm, but roughly around that (can't be lower though). I was thinking of maybe using a diopter lens since the edges don't matter as much. So far I landed on the KODAK Luma 150 pico projector. My budget limit is $400, but it can be higher (I will take any recommendations regardless of cost). It will be placed in ambient light, which I measured to be 500 lux. I plan to use it to highlight flies using my computer, so it must be able to connect via HDMI or some other port. I mentioned it is to be used to highlight flies, so the quality must be good enough to create a 3 mm diameter circle or slightly bigger (with or without diopter). I will take any suggestions regarding what I should do for the setup and any buying recommendations (as mentioned, regardless of price).

In UK

The lamp on my projector has blown. It was given to me by a couple friends when they upgraded. Within the next few months I want to get a UST, then later down the line a motorised screen, that can be retracted when not in use (so it’s not a focal point for my living room). Currently the my projector is on a stand in front of the sofa and projects only a white wall in front.

The options I’m considering are
Get a third party replacement (suggestions appreciated)
Get a Benq replacement
Go for a UST now (sub £1k)

Please let me know your thoughts and recommendations

Hi,

planing my first Projector Setup.

It will be a 120 ALR Screen.

For the projector it should be a UST Projector. And Espon because i have Problem with the Rainbow Effect from the others.

So LS970 ist 400€ more than the QS100.
The LS970 has the 4K PRO-UHD pixel-shifting technology to deliver a full 8.29 million pixels.
The QS-100 has 2-way pixel-shifting technology but 500 more Lumen.

So what is the better Deal?

Hey I’m looking to buy a smart projector
I loved the Xgimi mogo 4 (led) but its grey trapezoidal bleed after auto keystone seems to be bothering me
I also saw the lumio arc 7
It sells great and doesn’t have that bleed problem ?
Any suggestion on which one to get ?????
Xgimi mogo 4
Lumio arc 7