The summer is in full swing, which makes it the perfect time to invest in one of the best outdoor projectors. Please don't buy any old thing, though. We've tested more than we can easily count and have only found a limited number that are actually any good.
One such product is the BenQ GV31, which is now on sale at Richer Sounds for £499. For the money, you'll get a solid projector with reasonable sound, and the best thing of all is that it's super quick and easy to get set up.
The GV31 offers a unique tilting cradle which lets you project onto the ceiling. We appreciate that's not particularly useful for outdoor projection, but there's no reason why you can't use this inside.
We also know you'll love the excellent built-in speakers and long-lasting battery.
Our BenQ GV31 review gives the projector a solid four out of five stars. There's only one five-star awardee in our best outdoor projectors guide, so don't go away thinking four stars is bad!
The projector features an LED lamp system that is capable of lasting 20,000 hours (or 30,000 hours if you use its Eco picture setting, which you shouldn't as it looks terrible, based on our testing).
This is obviously the advertised rating rather than a tried and tested number. We haven't gone to the trouble of leaving this running for 416 to see what happens next.
The maximum brightness is only 300 ANSI Lumens though, which casts doubt on BenQ’s suggestion that the GV31 is capable of delivering a maximum 120-inch image size.
Experience suggests that something between 60 and, at a push, 80 inches would usually be about the furthest to which you could stretch a 300 ANSI Lumens projected image before it started to become too dark for comfortable viewing.
As long as you stick within its limits, the GV31 is capable of delivering a sharp picture.
The only other serious compromise is that it can't project in 4K. Despite this, the picture delivers decent black levels and colours that are relatively punchy and natural-looking.
Sound is crisp, clean and unexpectedly loud, with a subwoofer chamber that delivers good bass heft for something so small.
The GV31 runs Android TV via a supplied dongle, which lacks support for some of the big-name UK streaming apps, but there’s also Airplay and Google Cast, plus HDMI and USB if you want to connect wired sources.
It certainly has its shortcomings, but at under £500 at Richer Sounds you'll be hard pressed to find anything better.
MORE:
Read our BenQ GV31 review
And these are the best portable projectors you can currently buy
You might also want one of the best soundbars to go with it
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