Look for the DWYM seal for products that are the best in a category. The projector can be used with just about any device, including a camera, cell phone, gaming console, television or laptop. portable projector projectors shopping pico mobile digital throw lamp short tv light Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. thewirecutter projector p300 pico aaxa brightest battery powered For true portability, look for models with big batteries that will last as long as you need them to. PVO Remote Multi-Interface Mini Projector, 2. We don't recommend anyone buy it. But if you don't mind having to connect a computer, Blu-ray player, media streamer, or thumb drive in order to watch content, the Mars Lite offers surprisingly good image quality and long battery life at a much lower price than our other picks. at With some mini projectors, youll be able to link up to a smartphone or tablet, which means you can conduct a presentation or show a movie directly from the device you have with you. If you plan on using your projector at night, brightness wont be as big of a factor, but its something to consider if youre going to use it to replace your TV in a well-lit room. They are not bright enough, and their black-level performance and color accuracy are not up to home theater standards. Battery life:Portable projectors are a battery power balancing act: brightness, speaker size, weight, and resolution all play a part in how much time youll get to use them per charge. But the image wasn't as bright or clear as that of the original P300, sporting a contrast ratio under half that of the AAXA P300, and we couldn't get the keystone correction to work. The Nebula Mars II has a limited selection of ports: only one USB and 1 HDMI port, but it makes up for this in a couple of ways. In addition, the P300 doesn't have auto focus or keystone, which makes producing a clear image harder. You can attempt to use the remote anyway to perform very basic navigation, but you'll find it doesn't allow you to select specific episodes or adjust settings as well as the smartphone controller app. That said, if you're interested in lugging the Mars II only in between rooms or out to the backyard, this shouldn't be a big deal. Look for the DWYM seal for products that are the best in their category. You'll have no trouble understanding dialogue and hearing sound effects, although you might lose some of the details within an underlying orchestral score. $279.99. All Rights Reserved. The result is a ranking of the best . What We Liked: Enhance your home viewing experience with this mini projector. . We then selected the leading and most popular products for our team to review. What made the Mars II (and all of the Nebula projectors) stand out was how easy it is to set up that image. In previous years, we tested and dismissed these projectors: AAXA P300 Neo: This projector looked like a newer, smaller, cheaper version of the AAXA P300. Some of the internal apps are optimized for use specifically with the mobile app controller and don't quite work as expected when you use the remote. Buy: On one side, theres the growing popularity of streaming services and, on the other, the affordability of home entertainment products. Its important to look at compatibility if youre choosing a projector to work with your existing mobile device, especially if you dont have iOS or Android operating systems. Vivitek Qumi Q6: This projector has dual HDMI inputs and supports 3D, but it exhibits video processing bugs that reduce the image quality. This projector has a native resolution of 854 x 400, and can throw a maximum screen size of 80 inches from 6.43 feet away. One thing to consider as you shop for a projector is mobile connectivity. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commission. The Mars is not as user-friendly as the Mars II. For the best picture quality, look to our guide to the best home theater projector. Until recently, the idea that you could bring a projector anywhere you go was a work of science fiction, or at the very least technology for people with a lot of cash to burn. All of the projectors on our list weigh less than five pounds, and will fit in a backpack, but this is definitely a factor to consider if youre planning on carrying your projector around a lot. She is an ISF Level II Certified Calibrator, so she's aware of what makes for a good image and how to get that out of a projector. Its internal speaker is decent enough that you shouldn't need to hook up external speakers for a casual movie night, although you can easily connect speakers directly or through Bluetooth. But whether youre buying a projector for personal or professional use, a smaller, more portable version can open up opportunities. Anker Nebula Capsule Tripod Mini Projector, 18. It also charges over USB-C, has a more powerful speaker, and includes Google Assistant. Anker is dominating the category right now. First, it runs a full operating system (Android 7.1), so you can download popular streaming apps like Hulu and Netflix directly onto the projector. Because the projector lacks internal apps and the ability to connect to Wi-Fi, this model's portability is limited because you'll never be able to leave your computer and HDMI cable at home. VANKYO LEISURE 3 Adaptable Mini Projector, 8. SCRIPPS CO., ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. However, the older Mars doesn't support the iOS/Android app, which makes it difficult to use some of the updated versions of the internal Android apps, like Netflix. Optomas LV 130 Mini lives up to its name: It weighs under one pound (0.8 pounds to be exact), but that extreme portability means making some sacrifices. They usually have more inputs and more video adjustments to produce a more accurate picture. Photo: Sarah Kobos, The Mars II connection panel includes HDMI and USB inputs, plus a 3.5 mm audio output to connect an external speaker. It produces a large image without a long throw distance, but it delivers just 90 lumens at 480p, which is far too dim and small for a movie screening at home. Anker Nebula Capsule: A scaled-down version of the Nebula Mars that's around the size of a tall soda can. There are posterization artifacts with moving objects, especially on faces, which makes it a worse choice for movies. Social Media presence with over 10,000 subscribers, Member of a forum, community, video blog, or blog with over 10,000 members or 10,000 monthly unique visitors (Moderator or Owner preferred), Member of a community with over 100 posts in the community or authorized reviewer, Post a quick review with descriptions within 10 days of receipt of product, Post at least 1 link to our website and/or Amazon. Perhaps more important, the Mars Lite has the same auto focus and keystone system as the Mars and Mars II, which makes the Lite's crisp image just as easy to attain without much extra effort. Its four-watt stereo speaker system (two watts per speaker) is also impressive. You can even use some projectors as a Bluetooth speaker to listen to your favorite music. Weight:The biggest upside to having a portable projector is its portability, so its important to factor in weight. Since the device is able to connect wirelessly, you wont even need to use an adapter. The internal Wi-Fi lets multiple people connect and project content for presentations, but this doesn't make up for its other issues. All things considered, if youre looking for a high resolution projector, or plan on using it in conditions with a lot of light, this is a great choice. $309.99. Some projectors have Android built-in, which means you can plug in a USB drive or download apps through the projector itself. When testing TVs, we've found that the Android interface can be laggy and unresponsive. Its ports are also limited to one HDMI, one USB, and a headphone jack. Its easily portable and a great choice for a family movie indoors or a movie night outdoors with a few friends. It has to be closer to the wall than the Anker Mars II to produce the same size image. Theyre small enough to not take up a lot of space in your room, but portable enough to take with you to someone elses place too. In fact, the thin handle on the top actually makes this easier. Its internal speaker also sounds betteryou'll be able to understand the dialogue from movies and TV, but you might not be able to make out the score. The unit supports 1080P full HD and can project as far out as 150 inches. For use in extremely dark rooms, though, youll probably find models focused on movie and video projection to be better. AAXA P6: The P6 is brighter and more color-accurate than its predecessor, the P300. AAXA M6: This projector is extremely bright, more than twice as bright as the Anker Nebula Mars II. We began our evaluation by testing each projector's objective performance. In addition to our expert reviews, we also incorporate feedback and analysis of some of the most respected sources including: We also incorporate user reviews from the leading retailers including. The Anker Nebula Mars II delivers the best combination of features, performance, and ease of use of any mini projector we tested. Magnasonic Plug & Play Mini Projector, Kick-Start Every Morning With Coffee Maker. In our tests, the projector's battery lasted about three hours, 45 minutes while continually streaming video from Netflixas long as it was in battery mode, which decreases the brightness of the projector slightly to conserve battery life. In order to use it, you must connect an external device to its HDMI or USB port. Now a novelist and professional writer, her writings on electronics have been published on top tech sites. Its automatic focus and keystoning, well-laid-out remote, and intuitive mobile remote app make the Mars II the easiest projector to set up and use, and its almost-four-hour battery life was the best of the bunch. At one time, in-home projectors were reserved for the ultra-wealthy, with professionals installing the equipment as part of a full-scale home theater. Chris called it "by far the worst display device I've ever tested, with a grayscale that is excessively blue and colors that are not accurate at all, with very low HDTV gamut coverage." Buy: Plus, its battery life is a little bit shorter than that of the Mars II, and this model costs more. 
Along with our own experts, DWYM analyzes the top expert reviews of the leading products and generates a score you can actually trust. We'll consider testing the Capsule II once it is released. The further away the projector is from the wall, the larger the image will be. For the category, we analyzed 36 of the most popular reviews including reviews from and more. But its 854480 resolution is just too low for streaming movies. What We Liked: This mini projector is constructed using technology that keeps the unit running cool, while also remaining virtually noise-free. Screenshot: Sarah Kobos, With no built-in streaming services, the Mars Lite relies on HDMI and USB for sources. Despite being portable, some projectors dont run on battery power, so youll have to consistently find somewhere to plug in your adaptor. The picture quality of the Mars, however, is better than that of the Mars II by every metric. The brighter the projector, the more its able to overcome light pollution. Considering that other projectors we tested from AAXA and LG sounded compressed and actively unpleasant, we don't think the shortcomings of the Mars II are a big dealespecially since you can easily connect external speakers via a 3.5 mm input or Bluetooth. 
After testing seven models this year, we think the Anker Nebula Mars II is the best portable mini projector for the occasional movie night or Netflix marathon. Ports let you connect computers, game consoles, phones, or tablets to the projector, so the more ports the better. That said, the speakers are generally smaller, and less powerful because of space restraints, and can add to power consumption. Here we're running HDMI from a laptop. Along with user reviews from Amazon. But those projectors lack some usability features that we think are more important to the overall experience. The Anker Nebula Mars projectors are the biggest mini projectors we tested. Unfortunately, not only does this projector lack internal apps, but it also cannot keystone its image. In terms of measurements, the Mars Lite emitted a slightly dimmer image with a lower contrast ratio than the Mars II, but its image was more color-accurate (it earned the second best score of the seven projectors we tested). If youre looking for a projector thats mostly for office presentations, and occasionally for outdoor movie nights, this is your best bet. It does have a built-in carrying strap, but the Nebula Mars II will still be the most difficult to carry. This should be more than enough power to last through an entire movie. The Mars Lite's speaker is comparatively a little worse than that of the Mars II. COPYRIGHT THE E.W. Ports:Portable projectors are smaller than the ones used in home theater systems, which means they dont have as much room for ports. Vamvo Multi-Screen Sharing Mini Projector, 10. Those projectors use standard metal halide lamps, rather than the little LED lamps inside these mini projectorsso they can be five to 10 times brighter and can easily create images 100 to 120 inches in size. You are on your honor to post your review within 10 days of receiving the projector. Unfortunately, not all projectors come with good speakers, and youll probably find that applies to miniature projectors, as well. On the audio side, its speaker was one of the best that we tested. To determine which projectors to test for our latest update, we considered the following elements: With these parameters in mind, we narrowed the list to six projectors to test against our previous pick, the AAXA P300. Asus ZenBeam E1: This projector produces a tiny 854480 picture at 150 lumens. What We Liked: Youll love how quietly this mini projector runs, as it means youll be able to concentrate on the movie playing before you. When you open these apps, a pop-up appears on the screen telling you to use the control app. Unfortunately, the brighter the projector, the lower the battery life. But given the intended use case for this type of product, we think that light output and contrast ratio are the most important parameters, so here are the numbers we got in those areas: After these measurements were complete, Adrienne sent the projectors to Daniel in New York for real-world testing. They are small enough to carry from room to room and can show a 50-inch-plus image on a wall or screen. The Anker Nebula Mars Lite lacks some of the features that make the Mars II so easy to use in a variety of environments, including internal applications like Netflix and support for the smartphone control app. If you plan to use it in daylight for activities, like presentations in office conference rooms, focus on a projector that has clear and crisp text projection. It has a native resolution of 1280 x 720 (720p), 500 Lumens of brightness, dual 10w speakers, and gets three hours of battery life. In addition to its ports, the PF50KA supports LGs SmartTV platform and ScreenShare, so you can access content wirelessly. This projectors biggest problem is its size: at 3.94 pounds its significantly heavier than the other projectors were recommending. at On the upside, this projector gets better-than-average battery life: 4.5 hours, and its portability shouldnt be overlooked. If you want to enjoy the occasional impromptu movie night but don't necessarily want a big-screen TV taking up space in your home, a portable mini projector lets you easily display video on a wall anywhere. Many of these models are battery powered and have apps like Netflix built in, so you don't need to lug around power cords and source deviceswhich makes them great to take with you to a friend's house or on vacation. 
DWYM is your trusted roduct review source. It some options even come preloaded with Amazon Video and Netflix. To see the current recommendation, please go here. at To be truly portable, youll need your mini projector to be able to run on batteries. Photo: Sarah Kobos, The Mars Lite lacks the Android TV OS and built-in apps of its more expensive siblings, so the user interface is very basic. This was so much easier than with the other projectors that require you to fiddle with a dial to focus (like the LG PF50KA) or trapezoidal buttons on the remote to keystone (like the AAXA P300)and the resulting image looked more crisp and clear than what I was able to dial in manually with some of the other models. These projectors cast theater-quality images onto any wall or screen, all from portable, notebook-sized packages. Adrienne cast a 55-inch image from each model on a 1.1-gain Elite Screens matte white screen. This is the absolute smallest portable projector we tested, so if you need an ultralight, compact projector in a pinch, you might check it out. Anker Nebula Mars Lite Portable Projector, 19. Optoma LV130 Mini Projector Buy: That said, it has the same usability issues. Adrienne Maxwell has reviewed projectors and home theater equipment for over a decade. Read the full portable mini projector guide here. Adrienne Maxwell used SpectraCal's CalMAN software with a DVDO iScan Duo test-pattern generator and an i1Pro 2 spectrophotometer to measure each projector's light output, contrast ratio, and color accuracy. HOMPOW Easy Adjust Quiet Mini Projector, 3. The image is notably brighter (336 lumens compared with 252 lumens for the Mars II), and this projector has a higher measured contrast ratio than any projector we tested for this round. Plus, its image is much dimmer than that of the Anker Nebula Mars II and noticeably bluer than it should be. Its internal speaker sounds similar to that of the Mars II, and you can use your own speakers, either by plugging them into the 3.5 mm input or through Bluetooth. The pictures are both clear and bright, leaving you feeling like youre in a real movie theater. If approved we will email you at the selected venue, blog, forum, etc. If youre going to be streaming, youll need to make sure you can connect to wireless where youll be using it. Our experts reviewed the top 20 and also dug through the reviews from 36 of the most popular review sites including and more. The projector is easily portable and offers compatibility with everything from a PS4 to a USB. Fits on Any TabletopThe lamp in this mini projector is designed to last for up to 500,000 hours. But it's just not bright enough. The projector can be used with just about any device, including a camera, cell phone, gaming console, television or laptop. This mini projector connects easily to a whole host of devices, including DVD players, smartphones, laptops and even PS4s.
Along with our own experts, DWYM analyzes the top expert reviews of the leading products and generates a score you can actually trust. We'll consider testing the Capsule II once it is released. The further away the projector is from the wall, the larger the image will be. For the category, we analyzed 36 of the most popular reviews including reviews from and more. But its 854480 resolution is just too low for streaming movies. What We Liked: This mini projector is constructed using technology that keeps the unit running cool, while also remaining virtually noise-free. Screenshot: Sarah Kobos, With no built-in streaming services, the Mars Lite relies on HDMI and USB for sources. Despite being portable, some projectors dont run on battery power, so youll have to consistently find somewhere to plug in your adaptor. The picture quality of the Mars, however, is better than that of the Mars II by every metric. The brighter the projector, the more its able to overcome light pollution. Considering that other projectors we tested from AAXA and LG sounded compressed and actively unpleasant, we don't think the shortcomings of the Mars II are a big dealespecially since you can easily connect external speakers via a 3.5 mm input or Bluetooth. After testing seven models this year, we think the Anker Nebula Mars II is the best portable mini projector for the occasional movie night or Netflix marathon. Ports let you connect computers, game consoles, phones, or tablets to the projector, so the more ports the better. That said, the speakers are generally smaller, and less powerful because of space restraints, and can add to power consumption. Here we're running HDMI from a laptop. Along with user reviews from Amazon. But those projectors lack some usability features that we think are more important to the overall experience. The Anker Nebula Mars projectors are the biggest mini projectors we tested. Unfortunately, not only does this projector lack internal apps, but it also cannot keystone its image. In terms of measurements, the Mars Lite emitted a slightly dimmer image with a lower contrast ratio than the Mars II, but its image was more color-accurate (it earned the second best score of the seven projectors we tested). If youre looking for a projector thats mostly for office presentations, and occasionally for outdoor movie nights, this is your best bet. It does have a built-in carrying strap, but the Nebula Mars II will still be the most difficult to carry. This should be more than enough power to last through an entire movie. The Mars Lite's speaker is comparatively a little worse than that of the Mars II. COPYRIGHT THE E.W. Ports:Portable projectors are smaller than the ones used in home theater systems, which means they dont have as much room for ports. Vamvo Multi-Screen Sharing Mini Projector, 10. Those projectors use standard metal halide lamps, rather than the little LED lamps inside these mini projectorsso they can be five to 10 times brighter and can easily create images 100 to 120 inches in size. You are on your honor to post your review within 10 days of receiving the projector. Unfortunately, not all projectors come with good speakers, and youll probably find that applies to miniature projectors, as well. On the audio side, its speaker was one of the best that we tested. To determine which projectors to test for our latest update, we considered the following elements: With these parameters in mind, we narrowed the list to six projectors to test against our previous pick, the AAXA P300. Asus ZenBeam E1: This projector produces a tiny 854480 picture at 150 lumens. What We Liked: Youll love how quietly this mini projector runs, as it means youll be able to concentrate on the movie playing before you. When you open these apps, a pop-up appears on the screen telling you to use the control app. Unfortunately, the brighter the projector, the lower the battery life. But given the intended use case for this type of product, we think that light output and contrast ratio are the most important parameters, so here are the numbers we got in those areas: After these measurements were complete, Adrienne sent the projectors to Daniel in New York for real-world testing. They are small enough to carry from room to room and can show a 50-inch-plus image on a wall or screen. The Anker Nebula Mars Lite lacks some of the features that make the Mars II so easy to use in a variety of environments, including internal applications like Netflix and support for the smartphone control app. If you plan to use it in daylight for activities, like presentations in office conference rooms, focus on a projector that has clear and crisp text projection. It has a native resolution of 1280 x 720 (720p), 500 Lumens of brightness, dual 10w speakers, and gets three hours of battery life. In addition to its ports, the PF50KA supports LGs SmartTV platform and ScreenShare, so you can access content wirelessly. This projectors biggest problem is its size: at 3.94 pounds its significantly heavier than the other projectors were recommending. at On the upside, this projector gets better-than-average battery life: 4.5 hours, and its portability shouldnt be overlooked. If you want to enjoy the occasional impromptu movie night but don't necessarily want a big-screen TV taking up space in your home, a portable mini projector lets you easily display video on a wall anywhere. Many of these models are battery powered and have apps like Netflix built in, so you don't need to lug around power cords and source deviceswhich makes them great to take with you to a friend's house or on vacation. DWYM is your trusted roduct review source. It some options even come preloaded with Amazon Video and Netflix. To see the current recommendation, please go here. at To be truly portable, youll need your mini projector to be able to run on batteries. Photo: Sarah Kobos, The Mars Lite lacks the Android TV OS and built-in apps of its more expensive siblings, so the user interface is very basic. This was so much easier than with the other projectors that require you to fiddle with a dial to focus (like the LG PF50KA) or trapezoidal buttons on the remote to keystone (like the AAXA P300)and the resulting image looked more crisp and clear than what I was able to dial in manually with some of the other models. These projectors cast theater-quality images onto any wall or screen, all from portable, notebook-sized packages. Adrienne cast a 55-inch image from each model on a 1.1-gain Elite Screens matte white screen. This is the absolute smallest portable projector we tested, so if you need an ultralight, compact projector in a pinch, you might check it out. Anker Nebula Mars Lite Portable Projector, 19. Optoma LV130 Mini Projector Buy: That said, it has the same usability issues. Adrienne Maxwell has reviewed projectors and home theater equipment for over a decade. Read the full portable mini projector guide here. Adrienne Maxwell used SpectraCal's CalMAN software with a DVDO iScan Duo test-pattern generator and an i1Pro 2 spectrophotometer to measure each projector's light output, contrast ratio, and color accuracy. HOMPOW Easy Adjust Quiet Mini Projector, 3. The image is notably brighter (336 lumens compared with 252 lumens for the Mars II), and this projector has a higher measured contrast ratio than any projector we tested for this round. Plus, its image is much dimmer than that of the Anker Nebula Mars II and noticeably bluer than it should be. Its internal speaker sounds similar to that of the Mars II, and you can use your own speakers, either by plugging them into the 3.5 mm input or through Bluetooth. The pictures are both clear and bright, leaving you feeling like youre in a real movie theater. If approved we will email you at the selected venue, blog, forum, etc. If youre going to be streaming, youll need to make sure you can connect to wireless where youll be using it. Our experts reviewed the top 20 and also dug through the reviews from 36 of the most popular review sites including and more. The projector is easily portable and offers compatibility with everything from a PS4 to a USB. Fits on Any TabletopThe lamp in this mini projector is designed to last for up to 500,000 hours. But it's just not bright enough. The projector can be used with just about any device, including a camera, cell phone, gaming console, television or laptop. This mini projector connects easily to a whole host of devices, including DVD players, smartphones, laptops and even PS4s.
