Shitty mini projectors

March 28, 2021 6:04 AM

I really want a tiny projector for very little money. I accept that it's likely gonna be pretty crap, but am unsure which type of crap. If it comes down to a choice between contrast and lumens, which should I pick.

Looking at these sub $100 led projectors. Use case would be to have a portable 40" tv with me, for example for karaoke or a little outdoor movie projected against a wall or whatever. I will almost never be projecting at a proper screen. I will unlikely be in really pitch-dark conditions as where I live the warmer it gets to be outdoors the later the sun stays up.

Most of the ones I am looking at have between 500:1 and 1000:1 contrast described. I know that with the crap I am looking at those numbers may have no basis in reality. How much of a difference is there between, for example 800:1 and 1000:1, is it bigger or smaller than the difference from 600:1 to 800:1?

The lumen question seems even more ridiculous with everything from 70 (?) to 7000 (!?) on offer.
Might the power-usage rating give me a better idea of how much light it will put out?

Any help in how to balance cheap, bright, sharp, small would be good. Also, if you've one you know is damned good let me know, I might even imagine going a little over for a reputable one.

posted by Iteki to Technology (12 answers total)

Lumens, 100%. The more light they throw the more the more usable they'll be in lighter conditions. That said, a sub-$100 device throwing 7000 lumens seems suspect, to me.
posted by mhoye at 6:45 AM on March 28, 2021 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Always lumens: contrast doesn't matter if it's too dim to see.

And the only thing that cheap and that bright is "fire."
posted by wenestvedt at 6:57 AM on March 28, 2021 [9 favorites]

I bought a Vankyo 470 in December (so I haven't tried it outside yet). Amazon doesn't list the lumens, which at $99 today doesn't surprise me. But I find it Good Enough for a living room with black-out curtains.

I have a hunch they are all similar in this price class, so find one with free returns and try it: the published specs are presumably fiction, and first hand experience will be the best guide.
posted by wenestvedt at 7:02 AM on March 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

You can compensate for lumens by lowering ambient light, which improves the contrast, so it's all the same problem. But the problem is most of the lumens measurements are completely fiction, much like the ads for LED flashlights. The raw LED may be capable of that much, but it depends on the power used to drive it, how much obstruction (i.e. display) in front of it, as well as the lens, etc.
posted by kschang at 7:18 AM on March 28, 2021 [2 favorites]

lumens, and honestly you're probably not gonna get good results until the sun's gone down, I use a larger projector instead of a TV and I really can't use it during the day without closing all the curtains. I moved a couple years ago and haven't gotten around to getting curtains for the room full of bright tropical sunlight that it's now in and it's pretty much useless until after dark.
posted by egypturnash at 7:18 AM on March 28, 2021 [2 favorites]

I have a $600 projector that I only use inside, and it is still literally unusable during the day without blackout curtains. I don’t think a $100 projector that will work outside in the sunlight exists. I’m not saying “it won’t be perfectly optimal,” I’m saying “you will not be able to see anything whatsoever.”
posted by showbiz_liz at 7:22 AM on March 28, 2021 [11 favorites]

However inexact lumen claims may be, that's your best guide.

Although, like mhoye, I find the claim of a 7k lumen projector under $100 highly suspicious.

And nthing that you're really not going to beat the sun - I've used 5000 and 14,000 lumen projectors for outside movies on actual screens and "late dusk" is the earliest I can realistically start a movie. If you can get a cheap screen (or a white bedsheet or something), and hang it in a garage or cover it with a cheap "pop up shelter/tent" (like this one), then you might have a shot at seeing something before 8 or 9 pm in the summer months.
posted by soundguy99 at 7:32 AM on March 28, 2021 [3 favorites]

Would using an old roll-up projector screen , which is totally opaque and has that sparkly stuff, help in this case?
posted by wenestvedt at 7:50 AM on March 28, 2021

Would using an old roll-up projector screen , which is totally opaque and has that sparkly stuff, help in this case?

Can't hurt. It might buy you 15 or 20 minutes - totally depends on where the sun is setting in relation to the screen. Setting behind the screen is good, otherwise it's trial and error.
posted by soundguy99 at 7:57 AM on March 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

Best answer: There’s some Miroir projectors on eBay. I have had great experience with that particular brand, and with buying used projectors on EBay generally. Ymmv, but have a look and cross reference the reviews on projectorcentral.com?
posted by wowenthusiast at 8:03 AM on March 28, 2021

Although, like mhoye, I find the claim of a 7k lumen projector under $100 highly suspicious.

I just went to check, and you're definitely going to spend more than $100 on a flashlight that throws more than a fifth of that many lumens, much less a projector.
posted by mhoye at 8:45 AM on March 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

Best answer: The power supply spec will infer lumens. Rule of thumb is 60 lumens / watt.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 10:13 AM on March 28, 2021 [4 favorites]