Portable projectors for about £60

1978

Morning all.

I'm looking at getting a cheap portable projector and there are a few on Amazon for around the £60 mark - Elephas, GooDee are examples of the brands.

It seems like an easy way to watch films/video files pretty much anywhere. Pop a USB in and beam it against a surface and there is a built in speaker.

Reviews on amazon seem favourable but fake spotting sites suggest some fake reviews. YouTube reviews are mixed, but I don't know if that's down to expectations of specifications.

I'm not familiar with specs and numbers, I'm just looking for a simple way to be watching output easily and keeping the family entertained for an hour or two on occasion and don't want this to be a complete waste.

Any advice or experiences appreciated! Thanks.

AndyPix

For £60 it will be terrible.


They usually state they are HD when in reallity they have an 800x600 (If you're lucky) resolution and a very underpowered lamp.


If you want a projector that is watchable, your going to have to dig a bit (a lot) deeper

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

Pay peanuts


get Monkeys!

Bigphil1474

OP, my projector story - I've got an Optima HD141 (something like that). Had it 2 years. There is a newer model out I think. I got it from Amazon Warehouse so paid about £320. We use it for cinema nights on the big screen in the living room. Full HD and active 3d - second best purchase I've ever made from Amazon - first was the electrically controlled 180" screen we watch movies on, for about £80. Anyway, if you want a good quality projector you won't get one for £60. If you're going to watch it a few times a month, especially movies, you'll need full HD as the size of the picture does show up the lack of quality. I really notice it if I watch DVD's rather than blu rays. Mine has a built in speaker, but I use the soundbar from the telly anyway. I wouldn't describe mine as portable as such, but it's not permanently set up - sits in a box when not in use. When I was looking to buy mine, I looked at portable ones, but I found them to be not worth it for me, and it would have been a waste as I went off the idea of portability. The surface you project on also makes a big difference to the viewing experience - a proper screen makes a huge difference.


Like everything else in life, work out a realistic budget and get the best you can - the more you'll use it, the more you'll benefit form a bigger budget, go to somewhere like Richer Sounds for advice, or to Currys to see what they look like, then try Amazon Warehouse for probably the cheapest price. Mine came with a damaged box, but everything inside was mint - saved me about £85.
Also have a look at replacement bulb costs - cheap projector with expensive bulbs might be a bad idea. Not all projectors will take a USB stick directly. Not sure if mine does, but I've only used it via HD cable, but presumably portable ones would.

John_Gray

Have a look at Amazon's list of 'personal' projectors. Not much worth buying under £150.

We had a Philips Pico PPX 4010 (second-hand). Quite good - but it had too many limitations.

Johnmcl7

My sister bought one of the £60 projectors and although I'd say she's not that fussy with display quality, she found it useless as it was dim and the resolution was extremely low. Unsurprisingly a total waste of money and she sent it back, you don't need to spend an astronomical amount on a projector as there's decent ones for a few hundred these days.

John

Debbie_Savard

I have an Elphas one, use it to project from Amazon TV Stick in HDMI socket onto pulled-down blind in conservatory.

You need to be in complete darkness to get a good image, the bulb in these cheap items is no brighter than a torch.

The native resolution is 800x600, so HD is scaled and you can see the pixels.

There is minimal keystone correction, so the projector has to be very close to height of screen

Build in speaker is nothing special.

I use it to project music videos when there's some peeps around and it's OK for that.