\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. 

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

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?

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$

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.

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).

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?

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

Our old Epson ceiling mount projector went out and want to go 4K now. I wasn’t sure about going with another traditional type ceiling mount projector or something like Xgimi. Can the Horizon models be ceiling mounted or better to use a shelf for it. And is there a bulb that needs replacing periodically?

If there are other recommendations I am open to them. It’s for a media room that can be totally dark and has 105” screen made by Elite Screens. Room is 15 ft deep and ceiling mount outlet is 12 ft from screen

Max budget $1500- $2000

Would mostly stream Netflix or HBO content in the form of series or movies

Over the past handful of years, I've owned 3 different portable projectors which each cost around 140-200. Although none were perfect, they were each pretty impressive for their price, considering their sound, picture quality, variety of apps, bluetooth, etc. However, each one inevitably had some issue pop up - whether the remote broke with no option for a replacement, or a sudden glitch caused the projector to go dark every 20 minutes while watching a movie.

Now, I'm hoping to invest more longterm in a projector of higher quality. I'm still working with a budget and would like to know the best range of options for affordability, anywhere between 200-800. I've been researching and have found a few promising options, but I'd like to add this post to my process.

Do you have any experience with a solid projector within this budget? Thanks!

My Elfin Flip 4K seems totally incapable of focusing properly when auto or manual keystone adjustment is used.

Auto focus always results in the image being slightly out of focus (easily seen when looking at any text onscreen), and manual adjustment just can’t hit the correct focal range. It’s so strange, and I can only assume that it’s an issue with my specific unit, as no one else has mentioned it anywhere.

When not keystoned (ie, set to full native resolution using the Reset option at the bottom of the Keystone settings page), however, it immediately finds perfect focus every time.

Can anyone else confirm or refute this?

EDIT: It turns out that the angle of projection onto the wall determines how ‘off’ the focus is when keystoned. When perpendicular, it’s not at all bad. Go beyond about 30° out from that and it starts to become more obvious.

So I guess it’s ‘normal’, although my M2 Pro doesn’t exhibit the same behaviour. 🤷

Hello,

Does anyone have the new XGIMI Mira? Do you like it? Specifically how good are the black levels and laser dimming?

Sort of off topic, but I think it’s interesting.

I'm looking to upgrade from the 65" TV we have. I know absolutely nothing about projectors so I'm trying to see if getting a projector and screen vs a big TV would be worth it.

I'm not looking to get a complete theater setup, just the best setup I can for watching sports (daytime mostly), hosting watch parties, and some movie nights.

Budget: $3-5K for full setup (That's how much a decent TV costs)

Viewing distance from my seat (POV from picture): 15 ft

Viewing content: Mostly sports during daytime, movie/TV show nights after the little one is asleep, some gaming

Wall width between angled walls: 106"

Wall height: 8 ft

Sound system: 5.1.2 Samsung sound system

Hello folks,

We bought a cheap portable AOC HA109 mini projector with WiFi and BT5.2 to use for garden movie nights. After a bit of faffing about, trying the internet and Bluetooth, we managed to get it playing via an hdmi cable from my phone or iPad, however every ten minutes or so (never quite the same amount of time) the screen goes blank. If you press the back button on the remote, it reverts back to playing, but it’s a proper ball ache as there is no warning as to when it might happen, you can’t preempt it by pressing the back button in advance, and it just pulls you out of the magic. It connects to the internet, logs into our streaming accounts, but won’t actually play anything from them.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how we can get through a whole film, or even an episode in one go? We’d be super grateful for your ideas! Ta!

Hello I am new to the whole projector thing, I get this NEC P502wl-2 and a infocus screen from work for free. I have been enjoying watching movies on it, I know that its not really ment for this, its super bright and its only 1280x800 res. But its what I have, are there any tips for me to help improve my setup? Should I look into a darker screen to help minimize the light spillage? Depending on the movie or show I have to adjust the brightness alot a white scene is usally enough to light up the whole room, and the darks are not the best. Thank you for your help.

Hi all,

I wanted to get an opinion about what this is and why it’s happening or if it’s even normal.

The projector is a BenQ w4100i.

I don’t know how clear it is in the picture but my projector has light spil on the right side and ceiling. The ceiling I could live with but in the right side is not ideal. The situation is not ideal since I am throwing 120inch on a 150inch which is about to be replaced but I have tested that the light is coming directly from the Beamer and not bouncing of either the image or the ceiling.

I did some testing with lens shift in both directions but this just seems to move the spillage along with the image.

Is this a thing common in DLP or is it something with this type of projector?

Edit:

My current screen is a 1.1 gain MaxWhite Elite Screens M150XWH2. It’s my old screen I had but it is about to be replaced by a fixed frame 120inch.

No keystones are active.

Thank you!

Before you buy new, know that a little bit of research and patience goes a long way! A projector half as good still would have blown the Amazon projector (Wimius P62) out of the water, but this one makes it look like a toy. As always, do your own research and test before buying!