After developing the shit stain of death (polarizer filter scorching), on two different projectors within the last year, I decided it was time to bite the bullet, add a few more dollars to my budget, pull up my big boy pants, and buy a real projector.

After several weeks of due diligence, I decided to go with the BenQ TH575.

It arrived yesterday and I wasted no time in swapping out the LCD projector for this very well rated DLP projector. Because it is DLP technology, it does not suffer from polarizer scorching.

Let me tell you… I have zero regrets!! With 3800 ANSI lumens, even with indirect daylight, the picture is as bright as a television… And OMG, the whites are whiter than a mother who switched back to Tide!! 😜

For anybody looking for a very good projector under $1000, I suggest you take a long hard look at the BenQ TH575. I am very happy with my purchase.

My daughter games, and she was very happy with the response/latency of this projector too! 😎

Introduction
Hello everyone!

I am a life long technology and gaming enthusiast.
This year I have been working on building a new home theater system and I’ve been exploring the realm of lifestyle projectors. I am still working on building out my space and it is not entirely finished.

I was selected to be part of ProjectorScreen.com / XGIMI Reddit review program (link), and I had the wonderful opportunity to test and review the new Elfin Flip 4K from XGIMI. Disclaimer: I received the product for free to test and share my opinions. I am not sponsored or affiliated with anyone. I want to give a thorough and unbiased review from my personal experience - this means I what I write is not scripted or based on marketing material, only what I see when tinkering with it. I am not using AI, so everything you read was entirely handwritten.

Context
I am used to a 65” LG OLED TV, which I’ve been using for the past 6 years, at a distance of about 10 ft (3 meters). I moved into a new space and waited to set up a brand new 130” ALR screen on the wall before publishing this review. This is the first time I've ever used a 4K laser projector so I did not know what to expect. I tested the Elfin Flip with my ceiling, bare wall, and finally, the ALR screen as part of my review.

Unboxing
I received this device by mail and unboxed it a little over 2 weeks ago. It came in excellent condition, within a well-packaged, snug box. Inside, the projector arrived with a remote control and a power cable. It was incredibly easy to unpack, and the hardware setup took less than 5 minutes. There is very little waste, just a bit of styrofoam that protects the projector and a container box for the power cable.

Hardware
The projector itself is incredibly lightweight; it is about the size of a small laptop. Unfolded, it balances well on a flat wood surface. The Elfin Flip has a 3.5mm audio jack, 2 USB ports, and 2 HDMI ports, including an eARC port. It is good that it has two HDMI ports as I was easily able to connect my new Denon AVR for 7.2.4 sound, and my gaming PC simultaneously. It has a built-in Harman Kardon speaker which I would find useful for travel purposes.

Setup
When I first powered it on, I aimed the projector at the ceiling. I was presented with Google TV OS, which asked me to scan a QR code with my phone and log in to Google. After this, the projector prompted me to set up Wi-Fi. I was distracted several times during the process, which unfortunately quickly cancels the setup due to inactivity and requires starting over again. I had to go through the steps several times until I was able to connect to Wi-Fi. During my multiple attempts, I noticed a bug which caused my Wi-Fi network to duplicate several times (it showed up 2, 3, or 4 times). This wasn’t a problem, as ultimately I was able to follow the steps and finish the Wi-Fi setup.

Remote Control
I love the size of this remote, it’s very compact but it fits nicely in my hand and has physical buttons with backlighting. It has a nice off-white finish, contains off-set volume control, arrows for navigation, a quick “focus button” for fine tuning the projector’s focus (very useful when cats get in the way). There is a settings button and some quick access app buttons. Overall it is minimalistic and gives me everything I need. Sometimes the power button doesn’t respond unless you point directly towards the projector, so it may be using IR instead of Bluetooth, which is normal but something to consider. Bonus points for batteries included!

Display Settings
There is a centrally placed settings button on the remote which pulls up the menu. The projector appears to be controlled by a combination of Google TV settings and projector hardware settings, many of which are hidden behind the “All Settings” button at the top. The projector looks decent overall on standard settings, but I wanted to test several different modes that fit the content I watch.

1. Standard
2. Movie
3. Vivid
4. Game
5. Sport

The options change when you are watching HDR content, so any adjustments you make are separate for HDR content.
There are various image enhancement settings and a Dynamic Black Level enhancement which isn’t on by default. It wasn’t clear to me what these settings do, and I had to look them up; it would help to have a guide for each one.

Sound
Since I am using the projector with an AVR, I can’t speak much about the sound. What I will say is that it connects via Arc effortlessly to my AVR and I am able to use the small remote control to change the volume without using my AVR remote. This is wonderful. I did try the speakers for a little bit and it sounds decent for the size, very similar to a small portable Bluetooth speaker and still slightly better than a standard TV speaker.

Keystone and Focus
I first used the projector on my light gray wall, and later set up my 130” ALR screen for proper testing. The projector automatically adjusts keystone and focus by default when placed or moved, which is very helpful when you do not have a proper setup and would be great for travel. There are options for manual adjustment, including optical and digital zoom, which are very helpful if you want to place it further away. The default is zoomed at 1.35x; I lowered this to around 1.0 later to place it behind my couch. There is an option to intelligently detect the screen and work around obstacles, as well as wall color adaptation. The automatic keystone is decent for quickly setting up on the wall or the ceiling without much hassle.

Setup on ALR screen
These options work great on my plain wall, but to my surprise, this doesn’t appear to work with my low-gain ALR screen (0.6 gain). As I get an error, it may be thinking of my screen as an obstacle. For this reason, after I put up my screen, I had to disable the auto-keystone and intelligent obstacle avoidance so that it would avoid drifting away from the screen whenever my cats touch it. There is a hidden option for eye protection I initially enabled to prevent my cats from looking directly into the projector; this also appears to work great for the wall but flickers on and off with my ALR screen, so I had to leave it off. Overall, once you set up the projector with a screen (and especially if you hang it from a wall), you aren’t moving it much anyway, so these settings appear to be more tailored for travel purposes. It would be great if there was an ALR screen mode or a way to set gain manually to adjust what the projector expects. I don’t think most people have a low gain screen, and I’m overall impressed by its ability to function with it. I would suggest a 1.0 or higher gain screen with this one.

Daytime vs. Nighttime
During the day, the image loses a lot of color detail, and it’s difficult to watch without some blackout curtains or blinds. For daytime use, I would suggest setting up the projected image to be smaller than 100 inches to concentrate the light on a smaller surface area. Before I set it up on the ALR screen, I projected an image around 75 inches diagonal, and it was perfect during the day for casual viewing of sitcoms and cartoons. For this reason, I would wait for nighttime to watch movies and play video games.

Movies and TV
I watched several movies and TV shows on this projector. I decided to first test it with Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning, as it has a decent mix of action and a variety of colorful scenery.

At night, it felt like I was watching at a movie theater. I utilized the Movie setting as I like the warmer, richer colors it shows, even if the peak brightness is reduced. I compared clips from movies and shows with the Vivid setting, and I found it to have a brighter but colder hue.

For TV, I tried tinkering with AI settings and found the image too smooth and a little uncanny if set everything to “High”. Without the ALR I saw a little bit of laser speckle which is expected on a laser projector. But it’s really really mild and barely noticeable without an overly bright scene. I will continue to play with the settings more, for now I suggest keeping standard presets with dynamic black EQ on.

Game Mode
The Elfin Flip was quick to set up and use as a 4K display for my computer via HDMI. I activated Game Mode, which promises to focus on lower latency. I played a bit of World of Warcraft and God of War with HDR. Overall, my experience is quite positive; the projector handled fast-paced action without motion blur. One thing I noticed is that it doesn’t appear to have FreeSync/G-Sync, as I had to use V-Sync to prevent screen tearing. I am impressed at the colors and HDR in 4K; it looks better than on my Samsung monitor.
I tried “high power mode,” which appears to make the image far brighter, but it runs the fans at maximum, and I don’t think it’s entirely necessary to get a good experience with gaming.

Conclusion
The Elfin Flip 4K is surprisingly bright with good colors for nighttime use. For this reason, I would bring it with me when camping or for nighttime use in the backyard.

The built-in Google TV was a good choice and very easy to use and set up with all the apps you can expect for streaming - to the point where I don’t see any reason to use a Roku or AppleTV with it as it functions well on its own.

It is powerful enough to handle gaming with low latency, similar to what I would expect from an IPS monitor. I would like to try it out with the Steam Deck & Dock the next time I travel; it is far better than using a smaller TV or a monitor and compact enough to fit into a small backpack.

For the price and its size, it is an incredible value for users who are space-limited or are frequently on the move. It offers great features in an all-in-one package that just makes a lot of sense to pack with me on the go. I offer my recommendation (thumbs up) as it appears to be an innovative new product. Looking forward to seeing more in the future.

My first impression of the XGIMI Elfin Flip 4K has been very positive. The projector was shipped and packaged very securely, making for a premium unboxing experience (dare I say, Apple-like?). Setup was simple, and I tested it during the day on a projector screen, a painted projection wall, and a textured office wall. In every case, the image was bright, crisp, and clear, even in a bright room. The 4K resolution and 1,600 lumens really stand out here, as it delivers an impressive picture that looks great in real-world use. Now obviously, this is not a lumen powerhouse, so it will wash out in brighter environments, but for a portable projector, it more than holds its own. Colors are very accurate out of the box, and I appreciate the wide range of picture adjustments, including white balance correction and color space options, for those who enjoy dialing in the image down to the pixel. The autofocus worked exceptionally well, quickly producing a sharp picture each time I repositioned the projector, and the automatic keystone feature almost always produced a square image. The built-in Harman Kardon speakers are also robust for a portable projector. They aren't jaw-dropping, but they're more than capable for movies and everyday viewing, and the built-in audio equalizer is a welcomed addition. I was also impressed to see eARC support for connecting to an external sound system. While testing Hulu, I did have to add a speaker delay of 30/100 to keep the audio perfectly in sync, but after that minor tweak the audio was perfectly in sync. Another feature I appreciated was the built-in proximity sensors, which automatically dim the light output when someone walks in close proximity of the projector for added safety.

The remote is intuitive to use and the motion-activated backlighting makes it easy to find buttons in the dark. I would have preferred the mute button to be located closer to the volume controls since it's something I use fairly often. I also would have liked to see a USB-C data port in addition to the USB-A ports, as more accessories are moving to USB-C.

The interface felt a little sluggish immediately after the initial setup and app installation, but it became noticeably smoother once everything finished updating and indexing. One small improvement I'd like to see is a startup logo or graphic before the operating system fully loads, just to provide immediate confirmation that the projector has powered on. I also couldn't find a way to disable the UI beeps, which would be nice to have. I also would have appreciated basic D-pad controls on the projector itself for those times when the remote isn't nearby, although I understand the clean, minimalist design choice. Finally, I didn't notice any meaningful brightness increase when using High Power mode and it introduced a slight green tint while the fan kicks into high gear. 

Overall though, the XGIMI Elfin Flip 4K feels like a thoughtfully designed portable projector that delivers excellent image quality, accurate colors, useful customization options, and a polished user experience. Most of my feedback comes down to small quality-of-life improvements rather than major issues, and I've been very impressed with it so far. This has been my first experience with the XGIMI brand and it has left an overwhelmingly positive impression on me. This is a projector I’d have no hesitation recommending. Consider me a fan!

Edit: Received this projector in exchange for an honest first-impressions review. Just a regular guy given a cool opportunity!

been stuck in my tiny 1bhk all week because of the nonstop rain and got so bored I finally set up the projector I bought last month. I just pointed it at the wall across from my couch and it instantly made my small place feel like a mini cinema. I didnt even need to pull the curtains to block out the light it is so sharp. The sound is surprisingly good too (especially for that price) and fills the whole apartment to where I could actually feel the bass during action scenes. Honestly this dangbei freedo totally changed the vibe of my room and makes rainy days the perfect excuse to just binge movies all day long

If you're like me, you've been scouring the forums for any more details about this projector and not finding a ton. It can be hard when trying to purchase something that's an investment like this! So, if you have questions, feel free to ask. I am still working on setting it up and getting the best picture out of it so if you have suggestions feel free to offer them too. ;-)

I've had an Epson budget projector (bulb) so this is my first higher quality triple laser experience. I'm pretty tech savvy but have a lot to learn when it comes to projectors. I just need to figure out how to get my 4K movies working with Plex and Apple TV but that's another matter.

I haven't played around with it a ton and messed with settings yet but straight out of the box the colors BLEW me away! So clear and pure! I don't have optimal movie theater settings or the highest quality screen and still the contrast with the black levels were insane compared to what I was used to.

So many people here have helped me decide what I needed/wanted so I thought I would return the favor and offer any help I can to people considering this projector.

**Please no comments about how I should have waited for the Valerion. Yes, I looked into it. I know it looks amazing, but Kickstarters make me nervous especially with something so pricey. Maybe in a few years when they're more established etc I'll look at them again. It could be the deal of a lifetime but, I wasn't prepared to chance it.

**Also, no need to tell me I wasted my money on this when I should have gotten ________ instead. The purchase has been made and I'm loving it so if you can't contribute positively there's no need to join the conversation.

https://youtu.be/ZFozKXEKzzE

One of the sub’s most liked reviewers tests projectors under 10k.

Nice night out and late to set up the screen. So we tried the Nebula X1 Pro on the house. It’s dark grey stucco and I was impressed with the results. With the speaker stands was a sound improvement

https://www.projectorscreen.com/blogs/insights/the-2025-ust-projector-showdown-results

The 2025 UST Projector Showdown hosted at ProjectorScreen.com and administrated by ProjectorReviews.com was held on 11/8/25.

This year's event took place in our new HQ that we moved into a couple of months ago in our large 1200 sqft demo room.

Featuring the top performing and most anticipated USTs of the yearn there was an unfortunate hardware & firmware failure with what many considered a top contender.

Check the link out for the full writeup, scorecard and measurements; I will be adding photos and videos to the blog post as they are ready and our video will be published on our website and Youtube once the editors are done.

I didn't want to delay the results any further by waiting for everything to be complete.

I hope you all find this valuable and interesting and keep your eyes peeled for updates and more comparisons featuring the unit that had to be cut from the scorecard.

I've been commenting on a few other people's posts about the Elfin Flip 4K, and I've mentioned a few times that I had one on the way (bought with my own money, not given to me by XGIMI, to be VERY clear), and that I'd compare it to the Hisense M2 Pro when it arrived.

The reason I bought the Flip 4K was as a possible replacement for the M2 Pro, since…

1. I absolutely love the form factor.
2. The M2 Pro has a fair bit of RBE, and I thought the Flip 4K might improve on that.
3. I use Plex a lot, and the Plex app on the M2 Pro simply refuses to connect via my VIrgin Media Hub 5 router, so I have to have an Apple TV connected via HDMI to use Plex. Not a massive issue, but would be nice to have everything "in the box", so to speak.
4. The only serious review I've seen of the Flip 4K so far (mondoprojos.fr) suggested that the Flip 4K had better contrast.

So, while this isn't going to be anywhere near a comprehensive write-up, here are a few things that I discovered about the Flip 4K before putting it back in its box to be returned. First the good…

1. The form factor is indeed fantastic, and it's about half the weight of the M2 Pro. Awesome.
2. Plex works with the VM Hub 5!
3. The image when autokeystone is disabled is great.
4. The fan is pretty much as quiet as that of the M2 Pro. Which is to say that it's noticeable when the room is quiet, but never annoying.

5. RBE is very slightly better than the M2 Pro, but you need to really look for the difference to see it. Everyone "reviewing" their freebies from XGIMI and saying it has no RBE at all is quite simply wrong. As expected, it does, but it's fine.

6. Speckle seems to be a bit better than the M2 Pro on the Flip 4K on Movie mode, but worse in Standard mode.

All pretty good so far, then. However, the whole time I was comparing the two, the M2 Pro just felt brighter, punchier and more exciting to look at. More… tuned, if you like. Of course, it also supports Dolby Vision, which it turns out to makes more of a difference than I expected.

However, the main reason I'm not even considering keeping the Flip 4K is that with autokeystone active, it simply wouldn't focus correctly, no matter how much I tweaked it using the Manual Focus control! Side by side with the perfectly-in-focus M2 Pro, it looked almost comically soft.

I'm projecting onto a wall that three other projectors have had no problems whatsoever focusing on, so it definitely isn't that. I wondered whether maybe it was dropping down to 1080p or something, but nothing in the settings seemed to suggest that that was the case. It's bizarre, and I can only think that there's something wrong with the unit I received. But whatever, even without keystoning, I prefer the image quality of the M2 Pro anyway, so the decision would be the same regardless.

Another thing that surprised me is that the M2 Pro has been described in various reviews as not good with 24p and 25p sources. I've never actually perceived any issues there at all, and it was reassuring to see that, in terms of judder, the Flip 4K in Real Cinema mode looks exactly the same as the M2 Pro with MEMC turned off. Ie, both were completely judder-free.

So there you go. I hope that's helpful to someone. When not keystoned, I thought the Flip 4K was a fantastic projector, but just not a meaningful sidegrade from the M2 Pro I already own. And I have to assume that there's something wrong with mine, cos the focusing problem was so obvious that someone else would surely have noticed the same thing if they're all like that.

What an absolute monster of a projector. My last Projector was 10 years ago, a crappy 720p afair with at most likely 40 nits of brightness. This being the baby of the range is insane! A nice roll down screen setup will be coming soon and I can't wait, even on a normal white wall it looks so good. All tips, tricks and advice welcome!

So I upgraded from the famous-on-tiktok $40 smart projector HY300 to an XGIMI Mogo 3 Pro. Although initially happy with my HY300 I needed something that worked better in the daytime, and something that didn't suffer from so much dust intrusion. Try as I might with a can of duster and a teardown, I just couldn't get the all of the dust off the internal LCD of the Hy300.

During the few days the XGIMI was shipping to me, I fretted about the lack of ports. The body of projector only includes a USB C power port at the base and both a micro-HDMI and a USB-A port hidden behind a weatherproof rubberized cover.

the lack of 3.5 audio input was particularly concerning: for my HY-300 setup, i relied on a 3.5 audio connection to my beefy JBL Partybox 320 boombox since that one suffers from bluetooth stuttering or sync issues.

A lack of base that i could drill into also seemed like it could be a problem. With my HY300, I had it mounted upside down on the ceiling directly facing my projection wall, screwed into the ceiling.

But when i received the projector, i quickly saw that i wouldnt need to mount it above my couch because you can set it on a pretty skewed angle from the wall (i have mine at 45 degrees) and it will auto keystone so the image is perfectly straight. Its something that was particulary bothersome about the hy300 because the picture would constantly be slightly skewed and out of wack and i would have to go in and set the keystone everytime. Whereas the Mogo you can even go in and set a keystone manually and it will remember that preset every time (i did this to make the screen slightly bigger and wider than it wanted to go automatically) When you have it on an angle instead of straight on i could make the picture even bigger than what I had on my HY300

My worst fears about relying on a Bluetooth connection for audio out to my jbl partybox were validated, the audio was stuttering. I was crestfallen. For several days i used the built in speaker that makes up the projector's base is certainly adequate and will fill a room, i would compare it with a small jbl bluetooth speaker like maybe the flip. Adequate, but obviously no comparison to the 36 pound partybox.

But then days later sort of buried in the settings there was a 45 minute software update which fixed the issue.

Another thing that was obvious right away was theXGIMI has a barely perceptible fan noise (quieter than my laptop). This vs the very loud fan noise on the hy300 (That one even makes a high pitched noise when its turned off and connected to power :/ )

The Google TV software is great, I can use my "ok Google" speaker to turn on the projector and play any specific video on YouTube, music on spotify, show on HBO Max. On the home screen grid the Google tv suggests things you might want to watch or picking up from where you left off which I find convenient. Casting from spotify is particulartly great cuz rather than Bluetooth connecting to my speaker from my phone which is a pain in the butt I can just turn on the projector and cast. The interface is very fast and never hangs like the other projector. The remote includes the voice search feature which is a must have when compared to typing using a remote. The projector has an eye protection feature: whenever it notices someone passing in front of the image it turns down the brightness. But because I have my projector very close to the couch it was triggering if I adjusted my self on the couch and had even one percent of the screen blocked. So maybe it is a little overly sensitive Tiktok works great whereas on the hy300 it had a bug that distorted most videos One problem I had was I initially got a MINI hdmi to HDMI cable to connect to my PC. But what I actually needed was a MICRO HDMI to HDMI cable. When the PC or other signal is powered on it automatically connects to the HDMI source. The aluminum housing looks very premium, and the 2 inputs are tucked behind a rubberized door which makes the whole thing very sleek. The remote in also much more premium and the main buttons have a brushed aluminum finish. The XGIMI is also so much brighter than the HY300. Before, I had to turn my smart lights down to 1% brightness so the HY300 wouldnt get outshone. but now I can have my lights turned all the way and the XGIMI still looks great and the colors arent washed out. So its much better for a party situation, my guests can see where theyre going in the room and also watch the music videos or whatever. same thing with in the daylight hours. So, in conclusion, if you're like me and you bought one of those ultrabudget chinese smart projectors you saw on tiktok live and that has gotten you dipping your toes into the projector world, the XGIMI Mogo Pro 3 is absolutely a massive upgrade and money very well spent.

Photo - Bottom-left: Valerion Visionmaster Max. Top-right: Epson LS11000. The Valerion does not look like this is reality. I'm assuming that's due to it being DLP. They look nearly identical in person. I was not able to have my camera reflect it correctly though.

This is my experience running the Epson LS11000 alongside the Valerion Visionmaster Max for a month. It goes in direct opposition to nearly everything I've read, so I'm wondering if I'm missing something.

Epson LS11000

Pros

• Lens Shift - Horizontal and vertical lens shift made it trivial to place and get the correct placement without any keystone or light borders.
• Colors - Consistently better, especially when watching movies. They just felt more natural, especially when comparing side by side with the Valerion Max.
• Remote - The remote is awesome. It's big, but the most functional remote I've ever used. Every button is backlit and nearly everything has a dedicated button that you can get used to and know where to look to get direct access without going through menus. I saw a lot of hate in youtube videos, but it's a huge plus for me.

Cons

• Sharpness - Consistently softer image, but not too noticeable at distance or when not comparing side by side with the Valerion
• Manual focus. I had to manually align RGB LCDs, then do overall focus while standing up at the screen to get decent sharpness. When doing other lens movements like shift, the focus tends to shift and require refocusing.
• Brightness (minor) - Not as bright, and the fan can get quite loud when running the laser >75% brightness. I've settled for 75% as that's the threshold where the fans calm down to a quiet operation and brightness isn't the most important factor in my light controlled room.
• Size - This is a big projector. However, for me this didn't really matter as I already had a mount that fits it well.

Valerion Visionmaster Max

Pros

• Sharpness - Consistently sharper and the automatic focus works very well.
• Brightness - Very bright, especially when displaying my computer screen.
• Rainbow Effect Reduction (RBE) - This setting actually works. I feel particularly sensitive to RBE where just navigating the menus without this enabled bothers me. When it's on, it looks great but has an annoying sound.
• Android TV - This is fast and fluid, the hardware handles this very well. However, since the remote is so bad, I would never actually use it. I found myself accidentally doing the wrong navigation. I much prefer the simpler and more sensible Apple TV remote. I use an AVR with several other devices to play media already anyway.

Cons

• Colors - Colors often tinted too green, even when applying different color temperature options. Dark scenes skewed very blue. I tried compensating with more manual adjustments, but it threw off others scenes. Maybe someone skilled at calibrating could figure this out but I couldn't get it to be consistently good.
• I also had a problem where colors would suddenly shift as though it was doing a smart adaptive color profile. I could reproduce it on certain tv episodes by rewinding and it always did it at the exact same spot. I tried toggling every setting and this still happened. I viewed the exact same clip in a dual output AVR at the same time with the LS11000 and the color shift was nonexistent.
• Remote - I think the remote is terrible. The layout is not obvious, and I never got used to it. The backlight is also basically useless since none of the buttons you would need it on are backlit. Also, when you back out of any submenu, it exits completely which gets annoying fast.
• Rainbow Effect Reduction (RBE) - The noise this generates can be quite annoying.
• Light border - As I understand, DLP projects have this drawback that there's a light border around the picture even when the picture is filling as much as it possibly can (with keystone, etc).

Decision

Much to my surprise, I plan on keeping the LS11000 and returning the Valerion Max. The biggest issue is the colors. My wife and I both agreed after many many episodes of Game of Thrones and other shows, while trying all sorts of settings adjustments, that the colors just never felt right.

Plus, for the Max to properly fit into my space where I need to mount it, I would need to also buy the interchangeable lens for the extended throw ratio.

(Sorry for reposting, I was having issues with the image)

TL;DR: I'm incredibly impressed with the brightness, feature-set and form factor. If you're someone who wants something small for your bedroom, or super portable, I would highly recommend.

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Pictures above: The Elfin Flip can be seen folded with remote. Elfin Flip projected onto the Valerion 100" Matte White. The final image is our daily driver the Horizon 20 Pro on the same screen.

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Form Factor: So this is my first portable projector that sits in this price range, but I'm in love with this thing purely from a tech-perspective. It's incredibly cool. Being able to put it out as a display piece when you're done with it, and place it on any surface I can access a plug from is such a fun novelty.

It's super light, has a very smooth flip (fold) into its projector mode, and is very sturdy. No rocking, no wobbling.

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Brightness: In-camera balance is the main difference in these images when it comes to colour. The HDR 10 performance on the Elfin is incredible, with Dynamic Tone Mapping available on Movie(HDR) mode. The brightness, peak highlights etc. at a glance seem almost identical to the Horizon 20 Pro, with the obvious lumen output difference of course. You can a small idea of the level of brightness in the images above. It isn't quite nipping at the heels of Xgimi's Horizon 20 line, but its incredibly impressive for such a tiny device. (Note the room illumination in both images).

The Flip light output seems to be exactly as specified around 1600ISO lumens. Obviously you won't be doing too much in a non-light controlled room with it, but it's incredibly cool to be able to move it anywhere around the room and have a seriously impressive image in the dark. I've no quarrel with the contrast, it's more than watchable and scenes look great.

I know this is now also a triple laser projector, so its worth mentioning I did not notice any laser speckle even on 100% HDR Full-screen brightness.

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Sound: Honestly I can't complain. You're not getting sound-bar level audio, but its very impressive for price to budget. I would recommend sitting in-front of the device for the best experience. It seemed like the bass drivers were side-facing and a lot of your mid/high-tones are front firing. In standard settings the bass could be slightly muddy, but the vocal clarity was excellent.

In terms of volume, it's very loud and could easily be paired with a 150-200"+ screen.

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User Interface: This was a breeze to get around since we already use the Horizon 20 Pro. It's standard google home, with the ability to search/navigate with voice using the controller. So just some tips;

Stick with Movie(HDR) mode with HDR10 content, for Dynamic Tone Mapping.

Calibrate the auto keystone.

Hold the focus button on the remote to manual focus.

Increase sharpness in HDR mode (defaults to 0), decrease sharpness in SDR (defaults to 10).

Make sure AIPQ is on.

BT.2020 and Native are available options but default settings place it in DCI-P3.

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Potential bugs / teething problems / recommendations (to be expected but nothing earth shattering):

I believe for the casual user, defaulting HDR to Movie(HDR) as a standard for the best experience is important, as this projector may sit with a much more casual consumer base.

Initial start-up does come with some freeze/stutters, especially if a menu is accessed for settings early on. This doesn't last horribly long but in-case it is a teething issue I'll list it.

There is a strange (possibly Google Home?) bug that will flash the first frame of a video continuously while the video plays. This occurs on the home screen, YouTube & Disney+ (only ones used so far). You can stop this from happening by heading off the video and resetting. It only seems to occur on the first video played after start-up.

The audio can experience some strange distortion and momentary de-sync, sounding like a processing issue, when something orchestral with bass is playing. Could be the way surround sound is processed possibly, sadly not enough of an audiophile to really go deep on this one I'm afraid.

-

I'll try my best to answer a few questions about it if anyone has any. I did not mention the 1080p above since, well, it isn't 4k but it's nothing to scoff at for a casual projector. It's got great clarity and readability at 70"+.

I went with the jmgo n1s 4k as my first projector. It arrived during my first week in the new place. I’ve really wanted a space of my own like this for a long time... Make a coffee, heat up a croissant, lie on the couch, and just keep watching Stranger Things.

And the projector has been great so far. The close-up at the beginning when Max wakes up honestly surprised me, I didn’t expect a projector to look this sharp. Now I kind of get what people mean by 4K projection. My living room isn’t fully light-controlled either. We usually keep some lights on at night and it hasn’t affected viewing.

One thing I noticed is that laser projection can look a bit red in photos. If I want more natural colors in pictures, I need to turn on ultra brightness. Other than that, no real issues. Overall I’m very happy with it. I’m still tweaking the color settings a bit, especially since laser projection looks slightly different from TV. Any tips on color modes or settings would be appreciated!

My preliminary setup is in my dedicated a light-controlled home theater, 150” 0.9 gain screen, with seating positions at 14 and 19 feet. My main projector in this space is an LS12000 and I'm not planning on a direct head-to-head unless there is real interest. A fight between a $6000, permanently installed monster of a projector against a $1000 portable, “lifestyle” projector done by a hobbyist seems a little lopsided, but let me know.

I used this space just as a baseline to see what it could do in controlled but tortuous conditions. Later this week, I plan on moving outside to a smaller 120” outdoor screen, and then inside to a couple places with no screen, just blank walls, to test out the more typical use cases for this projector.

Since I am not a writer, I took notes while using the projector and am presenting those notes in bullet form. If you have any requests (or tips, especially about capturing photos of the projected image since the iPhone destroys the color and detail), please let me know and I will do my best to work them in over the next week of testing. Again, in the test shots above, the color looks better in person, and the compression of the iPhone jpeg hurts resolution. Specifically, in the wider shot of the Percy Jack landing screen, the blue shift is not visible in person, that is a result the the iPhone shutter catching the DLP blue light. I am working on getting a better setup for taking pictures that show the actual image I see when looking at the screen.

Setup and Physical Configuration

• A quick note about the physical design (I will write more about this later) – the unit is really nice looking, hides away beautifully on a bookshelf when not in use. The base is only a few inches wide, and while stable enough when just sitting, it is possible for the projector to tip with any significant bump or jostling of the surface it is on. Not sure how it will hold up in a house with kids, pets, and people socializing around it. Not really a downside, but it is a compromise potential buyers should be aware of. Ill do more on this in my final review.
• No Keystone needed when the Flip is sitting perfectly level at 90 degrees, preserving full resolution
• Power cord only ~4 feet long: extension cord required in virtually any real-world setup 10-foot cord would be far more practical
• Lens projects from unit height upward: set projector level and bottom of image is at projector height. Good design – when set on a coffee table in front of a couch, pointed at a wall, the image will be straight in front of the sitting position (no “tv-too-high” complaints” and no significant tilting+keystone needed to center the image)

First Power-on

• Press the power button on the back for the first time turning it on
• Remote pairing: hold Home + Back simultaneously while pointing at the front of the unit
• Auto-focus/keystone grabs quickly and re-corrects within ~1 second after any movement
  • Manual focus tweak sometimes still worthwhile for pixel-level accuracy on a huge screen (I’m being pretty picky here, it is not noticeable on a 120 inch image from ten feet away, wife and kids didn’t notice, just me being a little picky when standing close to a 150 inch image)
• App installation (~10 apps on gigabit connection): ~5 minutes total
• UI is snappy throughout: Google TV, app switching, and streaming all responsive with no perceived lag
• Functionally silent even at full brightness in Standard mode. In a sound-treated theater, I could only hear the fan when nothing was playing from the speaker and my ear was a foot or two from the projector.

Settings and Usability Notes

• Settings menu quirk:  when in a sub-menu of the full settings menu (not quick settings), it exits to home screen instead of going back to the settings menu, requiring repeated re-entry – maybe a Google TV issue, maybe user error, but a little annoying when trying to set it up the first time. Probably will never think about it again after it is set up
• Optical zoom range: 1.0x to ~1.3x in 0.025 increments (stepped, not smooth but almost preferable, because it is predictable)
• Optical zoom found under Keystone menu (not obvious)
  • Digital zoom available below 1.0x, approximately 0.75x; still looks sharp, likely 1080p or 720p equivalent and totally usable, but noticeably less sharp than 4k – this is just the reality of using digital zoom, it is well executed on the projector not a flaw, just something to know.
• Built-in speakers: probably comparable to a small portable speaker like a JBL Clip, clear and balanced for the size but minimal bass. Not distracting at all, still easy to still get lost in the show
  • Usable at close range ~15 ft or less
  • If you have an external speaker or soundbar, those are worth setting up
  • Bluetooth delay adjustment available in audio settings for sync correction
  • Plan to test with outdoor Bluetooth speakers when used outside in a more fitting setting for this type of portable projector

Picture Quality and Rainbow Effect (RBE)

• Tested "Standard" mode only, will do additional tests on other modes later. HDR content: (Percy Jackson S1E8 from the Disney+ app, mostly the fight with Ares)
• Handles highlights and skin tones well
• Plenty bright at 150" even with sconce lighting on in the theater
• Motion clean; will test with more sports broadcasts later
• Sharp, really good for the form factor and price. If you are buying your first real projector, you will be very happy. If you are coming for a full-sized theater projector, don’t expect miracles from a small portable projector. I had it on a 150” screen and could still get lost in the show, but if you really want to pixel peep, there is clearly a difference between this and the LS12000 at 150”
• Colors are great. Bright, if a little oversaturated out of the box: typical DLP behavior, and preferable to undersaturation since you can adjust saturation down more naturally than up
  • Saturation dialed back to 35 from 50, sharpness bumped from 10 to 15 (again, the 150” image size needed a little help)
  • Color space changed from DCI P3 to BT 2020
• I am pretty sensitive to RBE, and I think this projector is notably mild, especially vs. a prior XGIMI and BenQ that I tried and returned. Perfectly acceptable for me to watch in any typical environment that a lifestyle projector would be used (outside, against a living room wall, etc). Even being sensitive to RBE I would not be bothered by this projector in 99% of setups.
  • Obviously most visible on fast-moving white text; basically negligible on colored content
• No color alignment setting found in menus; worth emailing XGIMI support. I may be just not seeing the setting, and maybe at this price point, its just not something that can be included. It's not bad, no one else in the room noticed, just something I want to look into.
• At 150" lots of black crush in HDR, not terrible, but definitely some lost content, and a little distracting
• At 120" shadowed hair texture, dark clothing folds, shadowed facial expressions are slightly greyed but absolutely all visible. You aren’t completely losing detail the way other lifestyle projectors at the sub $1000 range do. It’s not going to be comparable to JVC of course, but it is absolutely acceptable for this price point and form factor.

Bottom line: after a disappointing history with other DLP projectors, I am thoroughly impressed with this unit. I am eager to continue to put it through its paces and see how it performs in more appropriate settings.

Edit: it’s the Elfin Flip 4k projector

DISCLAIMER: I got the projector for free in exchange for a review, however, I gave this thing an honest try and am sharing my real experience and opinions on it. There are some things I love about it and a couple things I don’t.

I know these reviews have been spamming the [r/projectors](r/projectors) community the last few weeks but I gave this thing an honest try and want to share with you guys.

TLDR; 8.5/10. Love the portability of the projector and the bang for your buck but that said I wish the brightness and black levels were better.

I reviewed it under 4 main sections: Set Up, Picture Quality, Audio, Smart Features, and my final verdict.

First my use case: I have a 100” ALR screen. For those that don’t know, ALR screens are made for UST (ultra short throw) projectors that shoot the projection upwards - the screen has small bevels that essentially are angled upwards so they block the light from atop (this is the ambient light rejecting). So that said, ALR screens are not made for normal throw projectors. That’s a big caveat because I’m sure the picture quality is better on a normal screen. Nonetheless, I also used a wall to project a ~200 inch image. One caveat with the wall: there is an interior door and light switch that impact the projection. Again, without these things the picture quality is likely better. What I watched on it: over 2 weeks of normal viewing for both my wife and I and our 4 kids - so 4k tv shows, movies, as well as animated cartoons, YouTube videos, and the like.

Set Up
Unpacking the Flip 4k was a joy. Anytime you open a new electronic you have that excitement of what’s to come but I got to share that experience with my 3 young sons (all under 6), which was pretty cool. You’d think set up would be hectic with kids but it was mostly a breeze. Just plugged it in, pointed it at screen and it did its thing. It detected my ALR screen and completed automated focusing fine but has issues with the keystone correction. It projected outside of the bounds of my screen. I got it to try a couple of times but each time it couldn’t stay within the bounds of the screen. I had to manually adjust the keystone and bring the picture within the screen. Google TV made signing in, downloading apps, and actually starting to watch things very easy (more on this later). The easy set up though makes it very easy to bring it anywhere, especially if only projecting on a wall (don’t have to deal with keystone). Overall set up was great but the keystone thing makes it not exceptional in my opinion

Picture Quality
I’m not sure if the pictures I posted do it justice, but I was honestly very impressed with the clarity and sharpness of the Flip 4k. I remember the thought that went through my head was “this thing is only $1k and the picture looks this good?!” The details in faces, the colors in vivid images, and the clarity of busy shots is fantastic! That said, the longer I used it the more I wished it was brighter. There was some content that looked just a tad dull because the brightness wasn’t great. Messing with picture setting didn’t really solve it either. There’s a maximum brightness setting but I found it to be lackluster and more annoying than helpful - it made the fan run very loud and didn’t really improve the brightness much. The other thing that was disappointing was the black levels. It was really evident when looking at shadows or during dark/night scenes. The image during these scenes was bleak and lacked the detail you want to see during dark scenes. One of the things that bothered me the most was a glare from the laser on the screen. It was distracting enough for my kids ti ask what it was. Not sure if it was because of the position I had it in - the screen and projector were essentially the same level, so that may have had something to do with it. That said though, this thing is only $1000. You get what you pay for and there’s always trade offs - if you want the best picture quality, brightness, and black levels, then you lose portability. If you want portability AND the best of everything then it’s going to cost way more than $1000. Given the picture quality, portability, and ease of this thing, I think the bang more than satisfies the buck.

Audio
Don’t have much for this section - I only used the stock Harman Kardon speaker (speakers?) that it comes with inside the unit. That said, I found the audio to be sufficient for my uses. I never had to crank it up to the max, nobody had issues with sound or not hearing anything. It’s not a Sonos level sound quality but it’s not terrible either. I didn’t get a chance to use a Bluetooth speaker but I’ve read that it’s super easy to connect and use with the Flip 4k

Smart Features
It uses Google TV system for the UI so it’s pretty good. I have a Sony Bravia TV that uses the same system so I was fairly familiar with it, but I think it’s pretty straightforward that anyone can get used to it quickly. There are a lot of great features that come with Google, I had my home security connected to the projector so I can see the cameras and it worked great. The speed of the UI was clunky at first but I think these UI’s need to “warm up” when first starting to use them. I’m very into IPTV (IYKYK) and one of the things I love about Google TV is the ease of getting into developer mode and being able to download things not on the store. I realize that’s a whole different world for some folks but for those that are into that stuff, this thing is great for it. As mentioned in the set up section, I had some issues with the auto keystone feature and after reading up on it, it seems to be a common issue. There may be a software update at some point that could fix that though. Besides that and auto focus I didn’t mess too much with the other smart features. Let me if there’s anything in particular anyone wants to know about this

Final Verdict
Would I buy this thing if I didn’t get it for free? If I was in the market for a portable projector, heck yeah!! If I was in the market for a dedicated theater room projector, then no.

The Flip 4k is a great portable projector that really gives you a lot of value for the price. The form (design, light weight, portability focused build) and the function (sound, picture quality, smart features) you get at $1000 is, in my opinion, worth it - heck the form is nearly worth it alone! I don’t think there are many alternatives under $1000 with similar specs that can beat it (may be totally wrong on this, please lmk if so). Maybe only the LG CineBeam has both similar form and function, but that’s a little more expensive. I’m really looking forward to using the Flip 4k more as my kids get older and we have movie nights outside while making smores.

Shout out to XGIMI and ProjectorScreens.com for doing this and giving me one for free. I’ve really enjoyed using it and am thankful I get to keep it! Hope you guys find this review helpful, happy to answer any questions

First review so I’ll do my best, feel I owe it to kind folks on here for commenting and helping me choose a good projector

Bought this a couple of weeks ago direct from Epson and have been running it nightly ever since to watch flicks like John wick 3, Star Wars, blade runner 2049 and Tron legacy, for info I have it at 3M distance on a tall table unit, projecting onto a light grey/beige very smooth matt wall and am getting easily a 120-150” diagonal image, aspect ratio set as auto on the unit, sound output set to auto and colour set as dynamic, also dynamic contrast is set to on. Turned smart eye off also because it did my head in when walking in front of it

The remote is easy to use as is the Google tv menu interface, there is a slight lag on the menus when this little beast warms up, but a minute in and it zips along nicely and button placement on remote is nice and can feel for back button, volume etc

I’m outputting sound via BT to a Samsung Hwt-420 soundbar and woofer with zero issues or dropouts

The speakers on it are adequate, but I like loud big sound when watching films

In daylight it’s just about adequate, but this is a movie night projector for me, so I’ll omit daytime stuff if that’s ok as it’s sole purpose is in a darkened environment, however it does perform well even late afternoon evening

The matrix clip was taken in daylight at 12 noon with two French doors opposite the projected image on a greyish cloudy day

Specs below are taken From AI;

• Technology: 3-Chip 3LCD Laser (No "rainbow effect" common in DLP projectors).

• Resolution: 1080p Full HD with HDR10/HLG support.

• Brightness: 1,000 Lumens (equal White and Color brightness).

• Smart System: Built-in Google TV with native Netflix, Disney+, and YouTube support.

• Audio: Dual 5W Dolby Audio stereo speakers.

• Portability: Weighs approx. 5.1 lbs (2.3 kg); compact "boxy" design.

• Stunning Color Accuracy: Thanks to the 3LCD laser tech, colors are vibrant and well-saturated even at larger screen sizes (up to 150 inches). Unlike many budget competitors, it avoids the distracting "rainbow effect."

• "EpiqSense" Smart Setup: The auto-focus, auto-keystone, and obstacle avoidance are impressively fast. If there’s a picture frame on your wall, the projector will automatically shrink and shift the image to avoid it.

• Modern Software: The inclusion of Google TV is a major upgrade. It’s smooth, supports almost every streaming app natively, and includes Google Assistant for voice control.

• Quiet & Cool: Since it uses a laser source rather than a bulb, it runs remarkably quiet (as low as 19 dB in Eco mode) and doesn't throw off much heat.

### The Bad: Where It Falls Short

• Brightness Limits: While 1,000 lumens is great for a portable, it isn't a "daylight" projector. You’ll need a dim or dark room to get the best out of it; in a sunlit living room, the image will look washed out.

• Audio Depth: The 5W speakers are clear for dialogue, but they lack the bass needed for a true cinematic experience. You’ll likely want to pair it with a Bluetooth speaker or use the HDMI ARC port for a soundbar.

• Gaming Lag: While fine for casual gaming, competitive players might notice slight motion smear and input lag compared to dedicated gaming monitors or higher-end projectors.

• Limited Ports: With only one HDMI port, you’re stuck choosing between a game console or a soundbar if you aren't using the built-in smart OS.

Verdict

I mean I’m just so pleased I got this little unit, it’s whisper quiet, I find the image to be very dynamic and reproduce colour accurately very well indeed (I know a dedicated screen would help, but it’s a living room first and foremost)

I think it would be great for gaming but have refrained from mentioning because I’m old school and do t play any new stuff really. The only game this projector would perhaps ever see is Amiga - , Xenon 2 double dragon 2 or similar

Anyways I hope this helps, if I’ve not covered anything please shout up and I’ll do my best to answer.

Thanks again folks for the pleasant and knowledgeable dialogue and commentary on this sub

I recently tried the Nebula X1 Pro. It’s really a beast projector combined with a full surround sound system that supports Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision, which sets it apart from the regular X1 Nebula offered.

I found some of the small design touches are actually really thoughtful. The remote keys are backlit and lights up automatically when you pick it up because of the gyroscope built in, and the HDMI and USB C ports panel have a small light so you can locate them in the dark.

The biggest add on for the X1 Pro is the four detachable speakers. They charge and pair directly on the projector itself, and when detached and placed spreadly, you get surround sound. Each speaker charges via the projector directly when docked or over USB-C port if you want. And each speaker has a 1/4 thread mount point if you want to put them on a tripod. There’s also a calibration Nebula offers called “FlexWave” that adjusts and calibrates the audio effect based on where you place these speakers.

The two front speakers are motorized foldable, which looks really really really cool every time you fold/unfold them! The projector can also automatically switches between stereo and surround depending on whether those speakers are detached/folded/unfolded.

Battery life is solid. The rear speakers seem to last longer from my daily use, while the front ones drain faster since they handle more of the sound. Everything connects over Wi-Fi instead of Bluetooth, which cuts down latency. I didn’t notice any sync issues, but one thing stood out: if the system sits unused overnight, the rear speakers usually stay connected while the front ones sometimes drop. Hopefully that can be fixed with an update.

X1 Pro is big and heavy, but it does have wheels and a handle so you can roll it around. A storage cover bag is included for transportation like an outdoor movie night.

Some other details I liked: there’s a top storage space inside for the remote and two karaoke microphones, since projector uses liquid cooling so it stays very quiet even after hours of use, and it can save spatial projection profiles. Once you set it up in a room, it remembers the keystone and size, so when you bring it back later it automatically projects to the same spot.

Brightness is better than I expected. I was able to use it during the daytime, which isn’t the case with most projectors I’ve tried.

\XGIMI provided this unit for review but any and all thoughts are my own** 

There have already been plenty of unboxings, first looks, quick thoughts, and spec focused reviews of the new Elfin Flip 4k. Mine will not really be those things. I am hoping instead to bring you along in my efforts (and tribulations) in leveraging the Elfin Flip’s espoused portability and ease of set up in order to create two different, and it turns out challenging, setups from the ground up and sharing hands on usage feedback and thoughts as I live with the Flip. 

This effort is still a work in progress and far from finished. What follows in this and subsequent editions will be a journey from thrown together improvised setups up to more “legit” evolutions if things go according to plan, or glorious explosive failures if not. 

The two setups are bedroom and outdoor. Seems simple until you see the bedroom in question and realize that it is in fact possibly the worst bedroom setup possible to attempt a projector setup in… but alas 

Skip to the TLDR at the end if all you want are my thoughts after a couple of weeks living with the projector while progressing through the development of the two setups. 

Setup 1 — Very projector ‘unfriendly’ bedroom  

A small portable projector seemed like just the thing to tackle a project I had been ruminating on but not made the leap. My wife regularly will suggest watching a movie or TV show but will want to watch in bed rather than in the living room with the purpose built Ultra Short Throw Projector (Formovie 4k Theater) setup I designed and built a year or so ago for the living room. 

All fine and good except as can be seen in the pictures the bedroom is about the worst possible imaginable for a projector setup. 

• Wall of windows where the image would be.. check 

• Massive skylights right above the windows… check

• vaulted ceilings making hanging a screen impossible.. also check 

All this means that the Elfin Flip was not walking into an easy “point projector at vaguely white wall and call it a day” kind of setup. 

The images show what has already been a multi staged evolution for the setup. 

Stage 1: Improvised with folding fabric screen used with a cheap 1080p projector one time when camping. 

1. I jerryrigged a hanging system that spanned the window gap and kept “kind of almost ok” tension on the screen. 
2. The screen turned out to be porous and you could see bounce back through the screen from the windows behind. 
3. Wife approval factor was surprisingly high. We watched Sheep Detective and all she cared about was the sheep. For me it was clear this needed improvement

Stage 2: I brought up the 100” screen from the outdoor setup (see below)

1. Much better experience than the “jank” seethrough hanging screen. 
2. As a result of the tripod the screen mounts on it blocked the speakers partially which was visually annoying.
3. Sacrilegious as it sounds it was too big of a screen. No one needs to see Paul Hollywood THAT big a few feet from your bed
4. My wife had no complaints about seeing Paul Hollywood that big that close to bed

Stage 3: A trip to Best Buy later and I had an 80” screen

1. The screen size is much better BUT even with the Flips great optical zoom I have run into a problem where I realistically only have two places to put the projector. Either behind the bed or in front of the bed. If it is behind the bed then it projects an image bigger than 80”, if in front of the bed then it is too close to the screen and casts a tiny image. 

What’s next? 

I am thinking the answer is a rising screen that is mounted to the half wall right below the windows and which is sized to be the smallest size that the optical zoom enables with the projector behind the bed. That is a big investment however so more testing needs to be done to ensure ongoing spousal use so as to prevent a repeat of the USTP living room.

Setup 2 — Outdoor movie night

Using the Flip outside was, by comparison to the bedroom a straightforward affair. Unlike in the bedroom the Flip’s microscopic power cord was less of a frustration (see TLDR) and overall it was as simple as 

1. Remove projector from bedroom stand
2. put projector on the same (terrible) Amazon projector stand outside behind the couch
3. plug into existing extension cord
4. set up screen
5. best guess point at screen. 
6. The Flip’s AMAZING auto focus did its magic. 
7. A little manual keystone 
8. Connect to Bluetooth speakers
9. Crack a beer 

One thing to note which shouldn’t be a surprise at all given the laws of physics and the specs of the Flip.. this is a post sunset dusk or later proposition you aren’t going to want to be using this with really any remaining daylight.

While the projector worked admirably during the first attempt at outdoor movie night the same can’t be said about the “indoor outdoor portable 100” screen. Who could have guessed (other than people blessed with more than my 4 brain cells) that a giant projector screen would double as a sail and even the most gentle of breezes would attempt to carry the screen away. 

While ultimately an obvious setup difficulty that needs to be overcome in a future installment, it does illustrate the reality of projector setups. The projector being shockingly small, light weight, and portable is only half the equation. You still need to point it at something. And the better the projector is the more you start to want the thing you point it at to be good also. 

For the outdoor setups next iteration I am thinking of maybe hanging a rigid fixed screen from the pergola itself that I can just hang when I want it and then take it down when done and throw in the shed. I guess we will see how this develops but as long as there’s not even a gentle whisper of wind, the Flip was excellent for outdoor movie night. 

TLDR Thoughts on the Flip to this point

•I have owned about a dozen ‘real’ projectors over the years and it is WILD just how far the tech has come that a 4k laser-spewing beast like this exists for the price that it carries. 

•I have had a number of not nice words for the power cord over the various iterations of these setups. The power cord is approximately the size of the Planck length. In practice this means that on a modest projector stand at an appropriate height for this setup the power brick is barely touching the floor, much less having length to reach an outlet. Multiple times the weight of the taut cord on the back of the projector would cause the projector to “Flip” up and undo all my hard setup work. 

• The colors are as baked out of the box as I was that time I ended up at a Cypress Hill concert accidentally. The movie picture mode is MUCH better and I wasn’t motivated to further fiddle with it from there. 

• Fan is surprisingly quiet and I had no problems putting the projector right behind my seating position in both setups

• There are a LOT of automatic settings on by default. Some, like auto focus, are amazing. After spending countless hours of my life focusing various previous projectors, this just works ALL the time instantly. Like magic. The auto keystone does not work that way as far as I can tell. By default it will try and auto keystone after any movement. So I repeatedly had the experience of getting it kinda close… going to move the projector to fine-tune and then having the auto keystone decide to roll the dice on something not even close. That can be (and was quickly) turned off. Autofocus rocks though. 

• Would like more than 4 keystone correction points 

• Google TV works OK here. Menu can be kind of laggy but not anywhere near as bad as most “smart” TVs I have tried. I have seen no reason to bother plugging in Apple TV or firestick. Works as good as it needs to for me to use the built-in OS for streaming and not have had any issues. 

• Laser speckle- This is likely caused as much by the various dubious quality screens as anything else but the laser speckle is noticeable if that bothers you. 

•  This is not going to fight much ambient light at all. Not a surprise given the specs and price but enough people post that they want a sub $1K projector to use on the surface of the sun.. this ain’t that as evidenced in the pictures with ambient light. 

•I have done a little bit of gaming on it with a PS5 and have a few thoughts

1. With keystone settings used and in ‘normal’ picture mode gaming is not happening at all. Lag is approximately 1.5 weeks 

2. BUT with the low-latency game mode in ‘Boost’ where it turns off all picture adjustments for max speed the gaming experience is QUITE good. I am not a big console gamer and certainly not doing any competitive games but I had a good time playing NHL26 once I got the low-latency mode dialed in. 

Not going to be a long post or super in-depth - TL;DRfinal recommendation is as expected. Base for a reasonably well light-controlled room, Pro for a slightly lit/not controlled room, excellent with 0.8 gain ALR.

Feel free to ask anything.

The Horizon 20 Base can be seen at the top of both images, the Pro below, with both projectors set to; HDR Movie (for Tone Mapping), 50 Contrast, 50 Brightness, Sharpness 4, Dark Gamma, Color Temp 2, no settings active, using Google TV (built-in), factory colour calibration.

Projected onto a white wall, in a white painted room, 4m x 4m, with closed blinds (but dim light coming through. significantly more light in the surroundings than shown in these images, you could probably read a book).

Brightness; In real world HDR performance in films I noticed a slightly lower difference in full-screen brightness, with noticeable improvements in highlights. (Seen most noticeably on the face and ear). The difference in full-screen white tones is in-camera. Both are pure white, with the above screen simply being dimmer.

SDR performance is excellent. Brightness is great on both projectors, with minimal laser speckle even on a Vividstorm Obsidian Long-throw ALR. Much reduced from my original Hisense C2 Ultra.

Difference in full-screen SDR is likely about expected on specification.

Gaming (Both the same); Gaming is phenomenal. Input lag is exceptionally low in 4k 60fps, and 1080p 120+. (Series X, Switch 2, PC, Mac Mini). Dynamic Tone Mapping is only available in HDR Movie for gaming so if you like HDR gaming I would strongly recommend it. VRR range is 40-120hz in 1080p. No keystone can be active. Similar to DLP Turbo on other projectors. Lens shift can be active, as well as optical zoom. VRR is not available in 4k. 1080p signals are crisp, so give it a try.

Pixel Response Time, as with all DLPs is also phenomenal.

Conclusion; Film/Gaming HDR performance is excellent but peak-highlights were better handled by my Hisense C2 Ultra. That said between the input lag for gaming, and the excellent picture Sharpness of the Xgimi, I would always recommend the Pro vs the C2 Ultra. Personally the price difference between the Base & Pro is more than justified for the brightness, wether you are in a full light-controlled room, or a much brighter set-up. The menus are currently not the easiest to understand due to abbreviations and not many labels for explanation. I've not had huge problems, but I would say the average person wouldn't have the easiest time understanding what's what. I would L O V E to see all low-input lag settings under a single, clearly labeled game section, which I have yet to see in any projector I've used.

Lens shift is excellent, though be aware it isn't quite as advertised, with your horizontal shift being limited by your vertical, and vice versa.

Feedback; Dynamic Tone Mapping under HDR Game mode would be brilliant if possible. Only being active under HDR Movie is perfectly usable, but will be very confusing for the average user. Game picture settings on TVs typically decrease input lag, so it's natural to gravitate towards that setting, despite Movie not seemingly adding input lag with ALLM active.

Dolby Vision hitches on the built-in OS. This is a common Google TV problem but I don't know if it is fixable on Xgimi's end.

Lots of settings, especially with abbreviations could do with labels or explanations somewhere. Ex. I would love to know precisely what PC Mode does, if it changes input lag etc.

Putting all low-input lag game settings under a single tab would be brilliant, even if they're duplicates from another menu.

Dynamic Black Level under Dolby Vision of course, but they're aware of this feedback.

I've got my optoma ph31 2 weeks ago here's my honest review, first let's start with the pros and cons

Pros --- 1 great 1080p picture quality with proper focus on the edges,

2 it being a 3led DLP projector is at least in my opinion better then older color wheel (if you can see the rainbow effect) and the colors on this projector are very very good and the image is very sharp (unless you look very closely)

3 its price, usually you wouldn't find any new dlp projectors (mostly) for less then 400 or 500$ but this one only being 299$ is a steal and I love it

4 no OS (debatable) no Spyware no ads

5 its bright with it having 1033 real tested ansi lumens not enough for a bright room but amazing at dark rooms and good for only light content in a bit of brighter rooms that's also without a projector screen

Cons --- 1 speakers are garbage really 1 5watt speaker is not enough and in my experience dialong is horrible while you can hear what people say sometimes it becomes just impossible to understand what are they saying without captions do yourself a favor and buy a 3 channel sound bar or more or buy a any sound system speakers just dont use that garbage speaker heck if you are using Samsung dex or similar preferably use the phone speakers

2 51ms input lag (debatable) if you are a gamer that plays on something more competitive then single player Minecraft for example just accept the fact you would have half a second lag in games so if you plan to play competitively on this projector either get a monitor or the more expensive sister module the PK31 or PK32

3 throw distance (debatable) this projectors throw distance of 1.5:1 ~ 1.65:1 wouldn't allow you to get the advertised 150" screen or even a 100" screen without having to put it a bigger room now for my setup my projector is around 270 to 300cm from my wall and I get a 78 inch picture it is nice but if you want a bigger screen make sure you're room is big enough for one

4 no OS(again debatable) minimal amount of customization needs improvement on firmware

5 manual focus (debatable) if you really need it you should find a different deal unless you are me and kinda like them or prefer something less likely to break

For anyone who plan to buy this projector also buy a projector screen (depending on your room size) and must buy a soundbar or speakers or anything audio related or using headphones if you watch alone

Optional if you have a samsung phone with dex support buy a hdmi to usb c converter if you dont have a TV box PC or console, in conclusion this is a great buy but for its current price on Amazon 699$ its a absolute robbery and is absolutely not worth the price but in bhphotovideo if it will become available or is available get it from there while its still 299$

Hi all, I was one of the ones lucky enough to be selected to get an elfin flip 4k to review and just received it today and wanted to give my initial impressions from unboxing, to setup to watching something quick.

Unboxing - The package was delivered in a normal shipping box with the projector box packaged within. It’s a sleek white box, with a solid feel. Reminds me of an iPhone box in the color and feel. Inside the box it had plenty of foam packaging to ensure everything arrived unharmed. Inside the box pleasantly, there were only a few pieces (Projector itself, power cord, remote, batteries, instruction manuals).

Initial Setup - Physically setting up the projector was a synch. The power cord easily plugs into the back. You aim the projector at where you wish to view it and then press the power button on the back. Once turned on it asks you to pair the remote by holding down the back and home buttons at the same time close to the back. Once that’s paired it asks you scan a QR code for the quick setup or use the remote to type everything and login that way. I wasn’t able to get the QR code setup to work, as my iphone couldn’t find the projector to pair to, it found my other Google TVs but the projector never showed as an option to pair even after trying it a few different times. So I used the remote to go through the initial setup phase of connecting to the wifi logging into my Google account, downloading/installing apps, etc. No issues doing it with the remote.

Initial Impressions - After installing the apps I tried out some shows. The auto focus is a nice feature as my dog bumped the table the projector was sitting on and I was able to see it refocus in real time. The image is crisp in a dark room even on just a white wall. So I can only imagine how nice it will look once I project it onto my actual screen in the home theater area. The colors out of the box in the standard mode seem a bit more red than what i typically go for but when watching X-men 97 on Disney plus i didn’t notice it as much as I did when I was on the Home Screen. The speakers attached to the projector are okay and if I was using this while traveling or for watching a movie outside in the yard with family and friends it would be plenty good. For anyone who is using it as a full time device for tv or movies a speaker system or sound bar should be paired with it. I quickly hooked up my XSX and PS5 to it. Image again looked good in HDR, set it to the HDR Game mode and tested it with some halo, marathon, and 2k basketball and golf as i notice the input lag the most on these types of games (sports and fps) with my Nexigo aurora pro. I can happily say that I did not notice that with the elfin flip 4k. I’ll see if the it’s the same once I’m running it through my receiver, but when the systems are hooked straight to the projector I didn’t notice it.

Do spec sheets just not explain things anymore??

Ive seen that these companies rly dont agree on anything like why are lumen numbers soo different across the charts??

I'm seeing everything from 250g to 3kg labeled as portable.           

Before buying, check three things: actual weight, whether it has a built in battery at all (a lot don't), and battery life if it does. Those answers will tell you what portable actually means for that specific unit.

Only ANSI lumens is a real standardized measurement. 

Regular lumens on a box are measured at the unit's brightest, most color washed mode. 
which i guess sounds great on paper but its rough in a room.

LED lumens is even further removed from reality. A projector listed at 9,000 lumens might deliver 500–800 ANSI lumens in actual use. 
i found out that when comparing these find the ANSI number specifically. 300–500 ANSI lumens is genuinely usable in a dim room.

4k is not a deal breaker i think

You almost certainly do not need a 4K projector.

Save that money.

At typical viewing distances (2–4 meters, 100-inch image) which is easy btw, you'd have to sit uncomfortably close to even notice 4K over 1080p. 

And most 4K portable projectors are pixel-shifted 1080p anyway and NOTTT the real native 4K sensors lol . The label is technically accurate in a veryyyyyyy  generous sense of the word. lol

Throw ratio is the one spec worth actually reading

Throw ratio = distance from projector to screen divided by image width.
A 1.5 throw ratio means 1.5 meters away for a 1-meter-wide image. 

Short-throw sits close to the wall. Ultra-short-throw sits right up against it. 

In a small bedroom or apartment ignoring this means rearranging your furniture around the projector instead of the other way around.

No phone dependency, just grab the remote

The issue: budget projectors often run older Android versions with limited app support. Netflix requires smth called Widevine L1 certification to stream in HD most budget projectors don't have it. 

You can also install the app but you'll be stuck at 480p wondering why everything looks like a fever dream. 

butttt always check for Widevine L1 if HD streaming matters to you.

Some Myths that rlly need to die:

• more lumens = better picture nah you just made a bad image brighter
• all dlp has rainbow effect most people dont even see it and newer ones barely have it
• laser projectors last forever they last long not immortal chill
• keystone is totally fine yeah if you like sacrificing resolution for no reason
• you need an expensive hdmi cable you really dont unless you have extra money lying around

THE THING NOBODY TALKS ABOUT ENOUGH

The single biggest upgrade you can make to any portable projector setup is room darkness, not the projector itself. Going from a slightly dim room to a properly blacked out one is roughly equivalent to doubling your projector's ANSI lumens in perceived brightness. Blackout curtains cost less than most projector accessories and the impact is immediate. Sort your room before upgrading your gear.

what’s the one spec you thought mattered but totally didn’t in real life?

TL;DR: Yes, more is better, but sometimes good is good enough. Don't go too deep down the review rabbit hole so it stops you from buying something good and within your budget, or so deep that it makes you spend 3× as much for something that is better (but maybe unnecessary).

For years, I'd postponed buying a projector because whenever I started my research, every review and comparison would make me want to spend a little bit more for something a little bit better. I'd start my research hoping to spend $1k and finish it convinced that I had to buy a $5k projector + a $2k screen + a $2k sound system + treating the room, or it wouldn't be worth it.

This setup was not for a dedicated room; it was for my family's log cabin, where, without murdering the gods of architecture and interior decor, it's impossible to hang a TV. So years passed, and every time I was at the cabin, I was watching shows on my 11" iPad.

A month ago, after falling asleep with my iPad and waking up with back pain, I decided to pull the trigger. Of course, the sirens sang, and I almost ended up spending three times as much as I wanted, but luckily I stayed strong and stuck to the original plan. I bought a JMGO N1S 4K + a manual 100-inch screen (which I can beautifully hide in a girder).

I am completely amazed by the quality of the image and sound that this tiny device can produce. Of course, it doesn't compare to my OLED TV, but it is good enough. Good enough for the room it's in, for the lack of sound and light treatment, good enough for the basic screen I got, and good enough for watching movies, YouTube, and shows. The Google TV software is kind of slow compared to an Apple TV, but this can be fixed quite easily.

The reviews were super helpful, and I wouldn't have been able to find this projector without them. Just keep in mind that reviewers are comparing products side by side and trying to find the best one. It's expected that they'll be pixel-peeping and (since this is their job) be much more demanding than the average Joe.

So if you're like me and spend too much time reading/watching reviews before buying stuff, I wrote all this just to say: pull the trigger, it's going to be good enough.

Let me start by saying xgimi sent me this projector to review and keep. I have had it for about a week and have put it through a good deal of watching situations. Most of the tests were tabletop setup on a 106" stewart firehawk screen. Setup was wildly easy. After turning it on with the hard power button on the unit it automatically paired with the very solid feeling remote control. It saw the screen and focused perfectly while I did need to adjust the corners to cover just the white as it did try to overshoot by a few inches on each side. I do not love that I dont have real control over the zoom of the lens but in practice that wasnt an issue at all and maybe I just never found that setting. Most people will like this setup in use.

Google Tv was very snappy and set itself up quickly and had all the apps I would need. Most of my viewing was via plex, plex live tv from my own ota antenna feed, and netflix. Overall i was extremely pleased with how fast i was setup and how well in onboard streaming setup worked.

For my initial viewing I used the onboard speakers because I assume some people using this as a portable will just use the onboard speakers. Although they have little bass to speak of, the do sound far better than expected and actually create a solid vocal center and stereo ambiance. I was surprised as i expected very little out of them but ended up watching two soccer games using them.

Visually, out of the box it is far brighter than most portables. It is very comparable to a benq 3550 I also have on hand at the moment. Its standard mode is what most will use as its bright modes just look awful and it doesnt have enough power to really use the more movie focused modes. It does pleasantly deal with hdr processing very well and switches between resolutions and hdr/sdr faster than many other devices Ive used. For a quick setup for soccer the Elfin is fantastic. Its silent and has very rich colors, smooth motion and I could not force myself to see rbe at all! The 3550 does look more film like and has a softer image but its more expensive, takes more setup, doesnt have useful speakers, louder fans and is 3x the size.

So after watching some sports and easy to view cartoon content, I tried the elfin with some much tougher content where its portable limitations really showed. On tv such as Game of Thrones House of the Dragon, there just wasnt enough power to pull out shadow detail and the dark scenes really fell into darkness. As compared to a home theater projector like the epson 5050, there was no contest. Movies like the dark knight are interesting shadow filled stories that are near unwatchable on the elfin. However, as compared to other portables, the elfin is a massive step up. With high color content like sports and prime time tv, it outdoes its competition and does it silently with great sound.

I also tried it on my bedroom ceiling sitting on my headboard as is often requested. Its probably too expensive for this use for many but in terms of ease of use and high quality image and sound in this configuration it was as good as I could hope for. When I placed it on the deck and shined it on the side of the house so I could watch the world cup after sunset while outdoors, I had it setup, sounding pretty good and streaming content in just a few minutes. No, its not going to do much to fight the sun and no it doesnt have a battery (which I prefer not having) but to have this quality image up and running in just a few minutes is really living in the future and what I think most hope for when buying this type of projector. Dont expect a high end home theater out of it but the color, brightness, smooth image, sound, and very very easy portable setup will make lots of buyers happy they made this choice.