This All-in-One Projector Is an Affordable TV Alternative

Projectors have by no means actually been an inexpensive various to a giant TV, as a result of if you happen to’re not keen to spend properly north of $1,000 for one, you’ll wrestle to get an honest movie show expertise at residence. But XGIMI’s follow-up to its glorious 4K Horizon Pro projector is a extra inexpensive technique to flip an empty wall right into a supersized HDTV—even when there are some trade-offs that include its $650 price ticket.

There’s no regulation that claims you have to spend so much on a projector, however if you happen to’re spending significantly lower than $1,000 you’re usually going to be sacrificing brightness—limiting when and the place you may really use it—and picture high quality. A number of months in the past I reviewed the Anker Nebula Capsule II, and whereas at $700 it wasn’t essentially going to interrupt the financial institution, making an attempt to fill a big wall with an equally massive projection was problematic as a result of the projector simply wasn’t very brilliant. With its new Elfin, XGIMI has made some extra strategic function trade-offs. It lacks options like a built-in battery, but additionally affords an honest 800 lumens (the Anker mustered simply 200) and full HD decision (the Anker topped out at 720p) for a really aggressive $650.

Light and Portable, however Bring a Tripod

The Elfin isn’t XGIMI’s first try and make a light-weight projector that’s simple to maneuver from room to room and even tackle a weekend glamping journey, but it surely does function a brand new horizontal design that appears like the corporate took its bigger Horizon Pro and sliced it up right into a stack of smaller projectors.

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The Elfin is way lighter than the Horizon Pro, too, weighing in at simply two kilos, so it’s a lot simpler to hold round and journey with. But a part of what retains the burden down is a barely chunky exterior energy brick that you just’ll have to carry all over the place the projector goes.

I’m not precisely positive when an extending leg stopped being an ordinary function for projectors, however just like the pricier Horizon Pro, the XGIMI Elfin has no technique to prop itself up so it may be positioned at a really perfect angle. You’ll both have to stack some books beneath the entrance of it, or make the most of the tripod mount on the underside. Thanks to the projector’s minimal weight, you don’t want an particularly massive or costly tripod to help it, however I’d positively contemplate one essential accent if you happen to don’t plan to completely mount the projector someplace.

Don’t Lose That Remote

Both the XGIMI Horizon Pro and the Anker Nebula Capsule II embrace redundant handbook controls on the highest of the projectors themselves, however the prime of the Elfin is as clean and naked as a child’s butt—or at the least a child that’s been branded with the XGIMI brand and upgraded with a single white energy standing LED.

The Elfin’s included distant isn’t fairly as fancy because the one included with the XGIMI Horizon Pro. It’s a smaller, all plastic affair, and there’s positively some rattle once you transfer it round due to a free battery cowl. It’s additionally missing the devoted button for triggering auto and handbook focus just like the Horizon Pro’s controller, however in any other case it contains all of the buttons you’ll have to navigate Google TV. You’ll study to love it, if solely as a result of it’s your solely technique to do something.

Don’t Expect Movie Theater Sound

Like the Horizon Pro, the XGIMI Elfin is an impressively quiet projector. Yes, there’s a fan, but it surely’s paired with massive vents on the again and underside of the projector so it by no means must roar to life like a jet engine to maintain the LEDs cool. If you stand up shut you may hear it, however when you begin taking part in one thing it turns into imperceptible white noise.

Where the Elfin is perhaps more difficult to make use of as an all-in-one answer is the built-in audio system. The Horizon Pro utilized a pair of 8-watt Harman Kardon audio system inside to successfully fill a room with sound with out distorting when the quantity was cranked, and it managed to drag off some first rate bass efficiency so results like explosions sounded surprisingly satisfying with no need a separate woofer. The XGIMI Elfin as a substitute includes a pair of ahead pointing 3-watt audio system and you’ll very a lot hear the distinction between the 2.

The Elfin’s audio system aren’t essentially quiet, and you may nonetheless fill a room with sound, however they lack the flexibility to essentially push lower-end frequencies. If you’re hoping for a real residence theater expertise, you’ll most likely need to pair this projector with some bigger exterior audio system, however if you happen to’re simply going to observe TV with it, the built-in audio system ought to be greater than satisfactory.

Better Suited for Movie Night

If you’re fascinated by shopping for a projector, the one function it is best to give attention to most, even over decision, is its brightness or lumens ranking. Because projectors work by bouncing gentle off a floor, as a substitute of projecting it instantly towards viewers like a TV does, they are often simply washed out by exterior gentle sources. XGIMI’s Horizon Pro boasted 2,200 lumens ,which meant it may very well be used to create a big projection even in the course of the day (for comparability, the projector in a movie show may be rated as excessive as 60,000 lumens), however the 800 lumens of the Elfin does restrict the place and when you should utilize it.

At night time, in a really darkish room with no lights on, I used to be ready to make use of the Elfin to mission a picture roughly 10 toes in dimension on a wall with enough brightness and distinction to be akin to what I’d anticipate from a TV. In the center of the day, nonetheless, with pure gentle pouring right into a room, I may at most muster a five-foot picture utilizing a brightly coloured online game as my supply, however I needed to make the picture even smaller for a film with darker, moodier scenes. Your mileage could differ, and what you contemplate an honest viewable picture will definitely be totally different than what I do, however I positively wouldn’t contemplate completely swapping a big TV for the XGIMI Elfin until you used blackout curtains all through your own home all day lengthy. The 2,200-lumen Horizon Pro is a extra believable TV alternative, however the 800-lumen Elfin is healthier fitted to watching motion pictures at midnight.

What XGIMI hasn’t sacrificed with the Elfin is the Horizon Pro’s glorious auto-focus and auto-keystone correction options. They may be triggered to activate at any time when the projector is moved, and do a very good job at providing you with a pointy, straight picture—assuming your projection angle isn’t too excessive. One function I’d perhaps flip off, nonetheless, is the projector’s skill to resize the picture in order that it avoids obstacles on the wall like gentle switches. It often means you’re going to finish up with a really small picture—it very a lot overcompensates—so simply be sure to be additional cautious with the place you place the projector and also you’ll be high quality.

Netflix Remains an Issue

Like the Horizon Pro, the brand new XGIMI Elfin isn’t an authorised Netflix gadget, which implies that although the projector runs Google TV and you’ll obtain the Netflix app, you gained’t really be capable to stream any Netflix content material with out an error message.

There are workarounds to the difficulty, however the best answer is to simply pair the Elfin with an inexpensive streaming dongle like a $50 Chromecast with Google TV, which performs Netflix simply high quality.

But utilizing a streaming dongle with the Elfin means you’re utilizing up the projector’s single HDMI port. So in contrast to the XGIMI Horizon Pro, which contains two HDMI inputs, if you happen to plan to make use of the Elfin with a tool like a sport console, you’ll both need to do some cable swapping repeatedly, or add an HDMI switcher to the combo, which provides to the projector’s inexpensive price ticket.

A Fun Upgrade for Movie Night, however No TV Replacement

Although 800 lumens is extra brightness than you’ll get with equally sized and priced projectors, it’s merely not sufficient illumination to successfully use the XGIMI Elfin as a TV alternative within the day time. You’re positively higher off spending $650 on a 55-inch 4K TV you should utilize day and night time with out concern. The XGIMI Elfin is as a substitute a extra inexpensive technique to sometimes create the big-screen movie show expertise at residence, so long as you may adequately dim the lights.

And whereas opponents’ merchandise just like the Anker Nebula Capsule II function built-in rechargeable batteries for improved portability (what number of occasions has your campsite had an influence outlet?), I believe the elevated decision and brightness of the brand new XGIMI Elfin makes it a extra compelling various to be used away from residence. You’re not going to discover a 120-inch TV for $650, and if you happen to do, you’re positively going to have a heck of a time squeezing it right into a backpack.