@therealjrn What I wonder about is why they didn’t mention the wireless (bluetooth?) connectivity of the projector, because the only connection in that picture is the power cable.
Things I’ve learned with my “cheap” projector experiments:
99.9% of the time when the listing says 1080p they are referring to the INPUT, not the projectors NATIVE RESOLUTION.
If it doesn’t list a NATIVE resolution it is 320x240 or less.
If it is an LCD type the device will be bigger since they put a screen in there and aim it with mirrors.
If it is a DLP type it will be smaller but might flicker for some people (depending on the person and the quality of the projector build).
The LUMENS listings are split between multiple standards… LUMENS, ANSI LUMENS, ISO (Chinese) LUMENS AND MARKETING LUMENS… the only real one is the ANSI LUMENS… and that will likely be a lie on any sub $400 projectors.
Most of these use LED light sources which is good for longevity (they don’t burn out like the older style projectors requiring a new $90 bulb for example)… and they do run cooler in general… but… that also means the actual brightness is usually much lower than a incandescent or other more traditional bulb type at this point… eventually the good led sources should make their way into the cheapo projectors.
The fans will always be loud… part of the cost cutting to get these devices so cheap seems to be poor heat management solved by putting the smallest loudest fan they have in there.
All that said I have picked up some pretty decent projectors for < $200 over the years… lcd and dlp… all of the ones I have still running.
If you are wanting a nice one that works in full light… there are plenty of good ones these days for under $1000… even in these models I would suggest you consider going with LED based light sources… for the longevity and cooler operation (and no need to keep spare hundred dollar bulbs on hand).
all that said… meh, this should be a 2 fer at this price, or maybe 1 for $25?
@ruouttaurmind Reviews suggest that it’s pretty low. I’d venture a guess and say it’s probably 800 x 480. For this price, I think even that high a resolution is a stretch, though.
@thismyusername 320x240 could still be acceptable I suppose. I seriously doubt my niece can tell the difference between that and 4K when she’s watching My Little Pony ‘toons.
@ruouttaurmind you would think, but unless you are just projecting solid colors the 320x240 is very noticeable even on video… when looking for a projector the very minimum you want to consider is 640x480 and even that will make text a mess but video is tolerable (but still jagged). I mean 320x240 on an 1 inch screen might be ok… but these are projectors, you really notice stuff once you get to the 20+ inch size.
unless you are just projecting solid colors the 320x240 is very noticeable even on video
Well, she is legally blind and doesn’t really have the visual acuity to discern much detail. Colours and shapes and limited detail. Like she can tell the difference between My Little Pony and Care Bears (she can identify the various characters by colour as well). But at some point additional resolution is wasted.
I have gotten some wallet-friendly projectors from Craigslist for free, all they needed was a new projection bulb. Half the time a business will just offer up their ~5 year old projector and buy a newer one instead of hunting down bulb replacements (or they don’t know any better, and just think it’s “broken.”)
Yes, it’s a little bit of a gamble, but I’ve gotten some decent business-grade DLP projectors for the price of a bulb.
I mostly use them for outdoor movie night, and Halloween, and they are all better quality (resolution and brightness) than these “budget” projectors.
Powered by included DC adapter or microUSB power bank (not included)
Doesn’t bode well for the actual brightness of this thing.
A 15” LCD monitor uses 8-12W of power. Max power over microUSB is 12W without stuff like QC. And you’re spreading that energy over an 7 ft screen instead of 15 inches.
@cajunbob well the original retail is $70, so by Meh Logic, it should be a real deal since the discount is usually only small if the product is great. But seeing how you’d expect a $70 projector to be awful, one bundled with two speakers and a screen must be terrible. Good deal for those thinking about buying a full price 70$ crappy projector.
@xio I have one of these yellow/white units (along with about 20 other projectors of varying quality, but mostly “budget” models) and the quality is pretty horrible.
One “good” use for the crappy projectors is for a Halloween prop. My budget projectors are in the graveyard projecting effects onto gravestones as well as a couple hidden in the shrubs projecting spiders on a wall or thick webs. Lower quality works better in those darker/smaller applications, and I use the higher end projectors for the ghost/skeleton holograms in the windows and on a large mosquito netting wall hidden behind the graveyard.
Nothing shown about the display technology. It’s DEFINITELY not DLP (the superior projection technology, both front and rear!), and for that price it’d be hard to believe it’s LCD, either. Resolution also not listed, so probably less than 640x480, and possibly emulates widescreen rather than displaying natively.
I also find it amusing that the description on the homepage alludes to powering it off a built-in power bank (you mean an internal battery??), but the one on this page says ‘power bank not included’.
@medz This verbiage is basically calling the internal rechargeable battery a ‘power bank’, is what I mean. Unless it’s removable and usable separately, I wouldn’t be calling it a power bank…and the other description implies there isn’t a battery inside the projector at all.
@thismyusername I wouldn’t call a technology inferior if a small portion of the populace cannot perceive it properly. Technically speaking, DLP does not suffer from convergence issues or image retention/burn, has a faster refresh rate, and is able to display more colors and better contrast. Additionally, fully modern DLP engines don’t use rotating color wheels and instead employ LEDs for color, which completely eliminates the ‘rainbow effect’. My 2008 Samsung 61" DLP HDTV uses an LED engine.
@RiotDemon If I email support, would they allow a late cancel if I bought before the correction? Or Perhaps compensating me with a $25 coupon or partial refund for my trouble?
@rawhite37 . Doubtful. First, the resolution would be rather low, so the maps shouldn’t too detailed. Second, I doubt that this thing is very bright. So, in a dimly-lit room it would be a definite maybe. For a bright-lit room, no.
@narfcake Picture quality likely equally terrible. What makes this one “worthwhile” between the two is the input options. This one offers several input methods which is quite convenient versus the single RGB input offered by the Crappiest Projector.
@metageist keep an eye on amazon daily deals, I have seen more and more 720p dlp devices showing up near the $80 mark … and even saw an anker nebula full 1080p for $150 the other day… it promptly went back to $229 but I suspect it will return to the lower price when they notice extra crates of them.
Eh, with VMP free shipping and a $5 off coupon I had to use, I’ll spend 40ish bucks. Should be good enough for a late night movie outside with the kids.
@mehmef for the same price u get a bundle of joyfull of crapness cheers on i mean where the movie go fells like iam watching a 10” tv just to get the clearness of it
@mellowirishgent - It’s got HDMI, USB, RCA, and MicroSD ports - we have a higher end projector in the living room and have a Fire TV plugged in a USB port and a DVR in an HDMI, so you’ve got a choice of streaming or disc.
@RiotDemon Oh, I see the confusion. I replied “I did.” to your question of. “Did you buy it?” But you had commented about contacting support in between. Sorry about that.
Boy is this awful. Did anyone get it to work with the speakers? Was anyone successful with connecting to different speakers? I’m not holding out a ton of hope for this…
Whoah! Roger is certainly enjoying the movie!
@therealjrn Purple does that to some people.
@therealjrn Holy crap! To answer the ages old question “where’s the beef?” It appears to be in Roger’s britches!
@therealjrn Glad I’m not the only one who noticed that
@PooltoyWolf @therealjrn Glad I didn’t notice that until it was pointed out…!
@PooltoyWolf Notice it? Hell it nearly put my eye out!
@heartny @therealjrn Absolutely does, right @Barney?
@shahnm @therealjrn Hahaha!
@therealjrn What I wonder about is why they didn’t mention the wireless (bluetooth?) connectivity of the projector, because the only connection in that picture is the power cable.
Bonus credit for this one!
Model: PR0J3CT-URS3LF-B4-U-WR3CK-URS3LF
Things I’ve learned with my “cheap” projector experiments:
99.9% of the time when the listing says 1080p they are referring to the INPUT, not the projectors NATIVE RESOLUTION.
If it doesn’t list a NATIVE resolution it is 320x240 or less.
If it is an LCD type the device will be bigger since they put a screen in there and aim it with mirrors.
If it is a DLP type it will be smaller but might flicker for some people (depending on the person and the quality of the projector build).
The LUMENS listings are split between multiple standards… LUMENS, ANSI LUMENS, ISO (Chinese) LUMENS AND MARKETING LUMENS… the only real one is the ANSI LUMENS… and that will likely be a lie on any sub $400 projectors.
Most of these use LED light sources which is good for longevity (they don’t burn out like the older style projectors requiring a new $90 bulb for example)… and they do run cooler in general… but… that also means the actual brightness is usually much lower than a incandescent or other more traditional bulb type at this point… eventually the good led sources should make their way into the cheapo projectors.
The fans will always be loud… part of the cost cutting to get these devices so cheap seems to be poor heat management solved by putting the smallest loudest fan they have in there.
All that said I have picked up some pretty decent projectors for < $200 over the years… lcd and dlp… all of the ones I have still running.
If you are wanting a nice one that works in full light… there are plenty of good ones these days for under $1000… even in these models I would suggest you consider going with LED based light sources… for the longevity and cooler operation (and no need to keep spare hundred dollar bulbs on hand).
all that said… meh, this should be a 2 fer at this price, or maybe 1 for $25?
Any idea what the native resolution is?
Also, from the Academy Sports listing:
Oh ya? How’s that working out?
And this little pearl:
So if the light is ambient, I’m good?
@ruouttaurmind I think it is 1 x 2.
@ruouttaurmind I can’t find it after looking at this model on over 5 websites leading me to believe were looking at 320x240
@ruouttaurmind Reviews suggest that it’s pretty low. I’d venture a guess and say it’s probably 800 x 480. For this price, I think even that high a resolution is a stretch, though.
@thismyusername 320x240 could still be acceptable I suppose. I seriously doubt my niece can tell the difference between that and 4K when she’s watching My Little Pony ‘toons.
@ruouttaurmind I think a resolution would be “Don’t buy a projector that doesn’t have a stated resolution.”
@ruouttaurmind you would think, but unless you are just projecting solid colors the 320x240 is very noticeable even on video… when looking for a projector the very minimum you want to consider is 640x480 and even that will make text a mess but video is tolerable (but still jagged). I mean 320x240 on an 1 inch screen might be ok… but these are projectors, you really notice stuff once you get to the 20+ inch size.
@thismyusername
Well, she is legally blind and doesn’t really have the visual acuity to discern much detail. Colours and shapes and limited detail. Like she can tell the difference between My Little Pony and Care Bears (she can identify the various characters by colour as well). But at some point additional resolution is wasted.
Pretty sure my phone screen puts out more than 500 lumens. But meh, when life gives you lumens…
@imnotthatmeh Its equivalent to a 40 watt bulb. Just have to make sure you’re in a very very very dark room.
@imnotthatmeh So can you put this in a citrus press to squeeze out all the lumens?
@mehcuda67 Well that might help get you more luminescence.
Looks like https://solfemarket.com/products/mini-portable-lcd-led-projector-full-hd-1080p
320x240
@paulmakepeace that price is much more in line as well
@paulmakepeace 320x240? That’s not even good enough to play back Baby Shark!
@akumax @paulmakepeace Then that is this device’s best feature!
I have gotten some wallet-friendly projectors from Craigslist for free, all they needed was a new projection bulb. Half the time a business will just offer up their ~5 year old projector and buy a newer one instead of hunting down bulb replacements (or they don’t know any better, and just think it’s “broken.”)
Yes, it’s a little bit of a gamble, but I’ve gotten some decent business-grade DLP projectors for the price of a bulb.
I mostly use them for outdoor movie night, and Halloween, and they are all better quality (resolution and brightness) than these “budget” projectors.
@dragoncmndr Good idea! Here’s one that’s just $35!
@dragoncmndr Seriously, that is a good idea : )
@therealjrn That plays 8mm tapes, right?
/image 8mm tape
/image 8mm film
Doesn’t bode well for the actual brightness of this thing.
A 15” LCD monitor uses 8-12W of power. Max power over microUSB is 12W without stuff like QC. And you’re spreading that energy over an 7 ft screen instead of 15 inches.
This is garbage, right?
@cajunbob well the original retail is $70, so by Meh Logic, it should be a real deal since the discount is usually only small if the product is great. But seeing how you’d expect a $70 projector to be awful, one bundled with two speakers and a screen must be terrible. Good deal for those thinking about buying a full price 70$ crappy projector.
@cajunbob The hottest of garbage.
these and fog banks are a really cruel thing to use when your friends are on mushrooms.
If anyone trusts the Dept. of Energy, I found this link which relates an incandescent 40 watt bulb to 450 lumens: https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/save-electricity-and-fuel/lighting-choices-save-you-money/lumens-and-lighting-facts. I realize not a perfect comparison to 500 lumens, but I found it to be a helpful reference.
Basically this: https://www.amazon.com/DeepLee-Projector-Portable-Theater-Entertainment/dp/B0727W3SBT
320x240
@xio I have one of these yellow/white units (along with about 20 other projectors of varying quality, but mostly “budget” models) and the quality is pretty horrible.
One “good” use for the crappy projectors is for a Halloween prop. My budget projectors are in the graveyard projecting effects onto gravestones as well as a couple hidden in the shrubs projecting spiders on a wall or thick webs. Lower quality works better in those darker/smaller applications, and I use the higher end projectors for the ghost/skeleton holograms in the windows and on a large mosquito netting wall hidden behind the graveyard.
@Mescolito I came here to say this. They are good for Halloween displays but not much more.
@Mescolito @xio
So what you’re saying is, if you don’t do the Halloween thing, then this might work as a security light.
I need a screen for my VCR. And I will go to BlockBuster for the latest releases.
Nothing shown about the display technology. It’s DEFINITELY not DLP (the superior projection technology, both front and rear!), and for that price it’d be hard to believe it’s LCD, either. Resolution also not listed, so probably less than 640x480, and possibly emulates widescreen rather than displaying natively.
I also find it amusing that the description on the homepage alludes to powering it off a built-in power bank (you mean an internal battery??), but the one on this page says ‘power bank not included’.
@PooltoyWolf no… Not internal battery, one of those portable USB charger things everyone has.
@PooltoyWolf while I like dlp many can’t deal with the flicker from the color wheel, so “superior” might be an opinion
@medz This verbiage is basically calling the internal rechargeable battery a ‘power bank’, is what I mean. Unless it’s removable and usable separately, I wouldn’t be calling it a power bank…and the other description implies there isn’t a battery inside the projector at all.
@thismyusername I wouldn’t call a technology inferior if a small portion of the populace cannot perceive it properly. Technically speaking, DLP does not suffer from convergence issues or image retention/burn, has a faster refresh rate, and is able to display more colors and better contrast. Additionally, fully modern DLP engines don’t use rotating color wheels and instead employ LEDs for color, which completely eliminates the ‘rainbow effect’. My 2008 Samsung 61" DLP HDTV uses an LED engine.
@PooltoyWolf
You are not gonna find a premium dlp on meh for a few years
@thismyusername Well no, of course not. X3 Sure would be sweet if the tech made a comeback for TVs, though!
@PooltoyWolf Looks like they changed the description to exclude “built-in”.
@medz @PooltoyWolf yep. Meh checked and fixed it. Sorry about that.
@RiotDemon If I email support, would they allow a late cancel if I bought before the correction? Or Perhaps compensating me with a $25 coupon or partial refund for my trouble?
@medz did you buy it?
@medz if you write into support, today, they will cancel. If you bought it.
@RiotDemon I did. I made sure to use a coupon from the last time meh did me wrong.
@medz they’ll obviously refund your coupon again.
@medz @RiotDemon Oh hey, hooray for consistency!
@medz @PooltoyWolf @RiotDemon I heard they are sending out valuable CaH expansion packs instead of refunds.
@PooltoyWolf @RiotDemon @therealjrn
/giphy oh boy
Would this be any good for projecting Dungeons and Dragons maps onto a gaming table?
@rawhite37 maybe?
@rawhite37 . Doubtful. First, the resolution would be rather low, so the maps shouldn’t too detailed. Second, I doubt that this thing is very bright. So, in a dimly-lit room it would be a definite maybe. For a bright-lit room, no.
@rawhite37 This was my thought, too. I decided to hit Meh. I’ll just keep saving for a decent TV to lay down on the table instead.
@rawhite37 I decided to get it for D&D maps. I’ll let you know after I play around with it.
How does this compare to the World’s Crappiest Projector?
@narfcake Picture quality likely equally terrible. What makes this one “worthwhile” between the two is the input options. This one offers several input methods which is quite convenient versus the single RGB input offered by the Crappiest Projector.
@dragoncmndr Good to know that 10 years later, @snapster does it again!
(The WCP was sold at Woot back in 2009.)
Those two are sitting way to close to the screen, they will ruin their eyesight…
I really want a mini projector for camping but meh
@metageist keep an eye on amazon daily deals, I have seen more and more 720p dlp devices showing up near the $80 mark … and even saw an anker nebula full 1080p for $150 the other day… it promptly went back to $229 but I suspect it will return to the lower price when they notice extra crates of them.
@metageist if you have projectors at your job I hear you can borrow those and almost never get caught… … …
@ddbelyea hah, first you have to have a job
It’s crap. Like a 1985 TV resolution
@bugger The Cosby and Simon & Simon era.
@bugger I suspect it is lower… 1985 would have been NTSC transmission so around 486 × ~440… I doubt this thing breaks 320 x 240.
I project that sales on this will not light the night sky.
Eh, with VMP free shipping and a $5 off coupon I had to use, I’ll spend 40ish bucks. Should be good enough for a late night movie outside with the kids.
/giphy scarlet-bland-feather
@jdude727 Only if you enjoy getting your kids’ hopes up, and then crushing them with the bitter truth of reality. 320x200’ll do that…
Great project set. Love this.
I’ve looked at the specs for several of these low end projectors. Most have a native resolution 320 x 240 pixels but can display at 1080i or 1080p. The aspect ratio is 4:3 or 16:9. Here is a very similar one:
https://www.amazon.com/Projector-Meer-Portable-Entertainment-Interfaces/dp/B01HRFBOWI/ref=pd_cp_229_2?pd_rd_w=k4VNT&pf_rd_p=ef4dc990-a9ca-4945-ae0b-f8d549198ed6&pf_rd_r=1CQYR81XAWW4R6HTS2M1&pd_rd_r=c4dd56d4-925b-11e9-b2b9-957ca6e38bcc&pd_rd_wg=64RSr&pd_rd_i=B01HRFBOWI&psc=1&refRID=1CQYR81XAWW4R6HTS2M1
@mehmef for the same price u get a bundle of joyfull of crapness
cheers on i mean where the movie go fells like iam watching a 10” tv just to get the clearness of it
What is the frequency response range of the speakers?
@medz Somewhere between that of good set of JBLs and a paper cup and a string.
Specs
What’s in the Box?
1x Projector
1x 84" Screen
1x Remote Control
1x Speaker set
1x Power cable
1x RCA adapter
Price Comparison
$69.99 at Academy
Warranty
90 days
Estimated Delivery
Monday, July 13th - Thursday, July 16th
Worthy? Junk?
@Stallion Roger certainly isn’t ashamed of his junk.
@Stallion No resolution listed = Junk.
/giphy “massive junk”
Is it indoors here & outdoors at that other place?
Academy? Ebay - 58.95
Would be good for a dorm room I guess.
Where do you get the movies for these
@mellowirishgent - It’s got HDMI, USB, RCA, and MicroSD ports - we have a higher end projector in the living room and have a Fire TV plugged in a USB port and a DVR in an HDMI, so you’ve got a choice of streaming or disc.
I don’t have 84” of wall space in the house. Oh, wait, I can hang it over the big smart TV. Oh wait, I can project from my phone to the TV.
@pskemp2 good luck lugging your big smart TV outside for the block party.
Mehbe this is only good for projecting thoughts and desires onto inanimate objects and pets?
I received this item. Now what?
@medz
@medz I thought you wrote in to cancel?
@RiotDemon no, that’s silly
@medz
ಠ_ಠ
@RiotDemon Oh, I see the confusion. I replied “I did.” to your question of. “Did you buy it?” But you had commented about contacting support in between. Sorry about that.
So… I only just now opened this up to set up…
Boy is this awful. Did anyone get it to work with the speakers? Was anyone successful with connecting to different speakers? I’m not holding out a ton of hope for this…