Projectors with Android in 2014

Comparison and features

With the advent of new technologies in 2014, like high resolution TFT LCD displays, bright long-lasting LED lamps, and powerful systems-on-a-chip running Android 4.2 (or similar), reasonably-priced home theater projectors have finally arrived. Five or more years ago good projectors were very loud, expensive (thousands of euros), had lower resolutions (~800x600), but pretty bright light bulbs. In the mean time a series of ultra-cheap mobile mini-projectors appeared that had terribly low resolution (~320x240) and even lower brightness (~20 lumens).

Broad range of offers and features might confuse buyers and result in purchasing an over-priced and less-suitable projector for their needs. Below we will list the most important features to watch for when buying a new cheap projector with Android 4.2 and a list of examples in online shops.

Target usage scenario is watching movies and reading papers on a projection screen or ceiling in a partially dark room. For this a high enough resolution with high uniformity and a bright lamp is needed. A big issue when watching movies is also the fan noise from projectors, so it has to be minimized. One essential way of using the projector is by connecting it to a computer (or other multimedia devices) using HDMI or VGA cables. On the other hand the built-in powerful mini-computer with Android enables streaming of movies or similar content directly from USB storage devices, NAS servers, or even the internet (like YouTube, PopcornTime). To avoid wireless network performance issues it is a good idea to connect the projector with an Ethernet cable or have support for larger SD cards or USB disks to temporary store content.

Important features

Minimal projector features to watch for:

  • Native resolution: 1280x768
  • Lamp: 200 W LED lamp (with 50000 hours life span)
  • Brightness: 4500 ANSI lumens
  • Contrast ratio: 4000:1 (dynamic)
  • Uniformity: 90%
  • Noise: 30 dB (low noise)

Minimal system features to watch for:

  • OS: Android 4.2
  • CPU: ARM Cortex A9 dual-core 1.5 GHz
  • RAM: 1 GB
  • Internal storage: 4 GB

Interfaces:

  • 2x USB port
  • 2x HDMI port
  • VGA port
  • Audio L/R out
  • SD card slot (up to 32 GB)
  • RJ45 port (Ethernet)
  • WiFi 802.11 b/g/n

Other:

  • DLNA/UPnP support
  • Remote controller
  • Projection distance: 1.5m-5.5m
  • Projection methods: front, rear, ceiling, rear ceiling
  • Power consumption: 200 W

Online shops

Quick comparison of cheap home theater projectors with good price-performance ratio available in online shops. Only missing or noteworthy things are exposed, although it is questionable how to evaluate misleading specifications on similar products.

Seem good:

Seem poor:

  • ATCO CT03H2 New
  • DroidBeam
  • EJL EPW58D
  • Oley H2
    • unknown uniformity, noise?
    • brightness only 3000 lumens, contrast 2000:1
    • only Android 4.1
    • no RJ45 port
    • price: US$ 440.12 at DX
  • RuiQ SV-128
    • unknown uniformity, noise?
    • unknown CPU, RAM, internal storage?
    • brightness only 2600 lumens, contrast 1000:1
    • only Android 4.0
    • no WiFi
    • price: US$ 383.71 at DX