With summer finally on the horizon, outdoor movie nights are becoming increasingly tempting as the days get longer. And that calls for a portable projector that delivers a cinematic picture and has a built-in battery to watch movies and TV shows wherever you want.
The latest model in this market is the Xgimi Vibe One, a budget portable projector that is the cheapest we have had in our test room, with a price tag of £219 / $269 / AU$599.
Article continues belowDetailed, natural-looking picture for the money
When we first got the budget projector into our test room, it is fair to say that our expectations were not sky high. But the Vibe One outperforms its affordable price tag.
After adjusting the contrast and sharpness levels on the projector's Movie mode, we are greeted with a balanced, easy-to-watch picture. Playing Civil War on Blu-ray, the projector digs up the smaller details in our protagonists’ faces despite the dark interior. We also say in our review: “Skin tones also appear balanced and natural, without fading into the background or looking over-vibrant.”
Surrounding the lead characters is a circle of trees, and the green of the leaves looks striking yet still balanced.
On top of that, motion looks smooth yet convincing with minimal judder, which lends scenes a sense of realism.
When watching as a xenomorph fossil drifts towards the camera in Alien: Romulus, the Vibe One also portrays a solid sense of three dimensionality thanks to the contrast between the black of the fossil and the ship’s interior.
All of that results in an enjoyable viewing experience that is a surprising delight considering its cost.
Goes surprisingly dark
It also delivers impressively dark blacks considering the money, which is particularly prevalent as we continue to test with Alien: Romulus, where an abandoned ship floats through the abyss of space.
There is a fair amount of subtlety in the different shades of black etched into the dark sky, and it captures that sense of a vast expanse, which is surprising for such a cheap model.
It can’t quite differentiate the darkest elements of the scene (the point at which the ship ends and space begins, for example), but it does well with such a challenging scene considering its price.
Of course, most people will not be using the projector in a windowless dark room, so we turned on the lights in our test room to see how it copes. Understandably, quite a bit of dark detail is lost but the bright colours still manage to punch through. This means it should be fine for a spot of sunny sport – just maybe steer clear of Christopher Nolan's back catalogue.
Compact build
One of the most important aspects of a portable projector is that its design is actually portable. And that is certainly the case with the Vibe One's light, easy-to-carry build.
It resembles a camping lantern more than a projector, with a sturdy carry handle on the top. Weighing just 1.4kg, the small model is about the same weight as a pineapple, and it should easily fit in a backpack if you are looking to take it on the road.
If you turn the projector on while the lamp is facing downwards, it transforms into a Bluetooth speaker. The base also illuminates in its ambient mode with eight colour options, which is a neat touch.
The model offers easy setup, too, with auto-keystone and auto focus both easily available through the settings menu. Plus, with Google TV built-in, you don't need to worry about taking an extra kit to watch movies or TV shows.
But there is one rather big fly in the ointment that we can't ignore...
Disappointing battery life
As we mentioned, the Vibe One claims to offer a maximum of 1.2 hours of battery life. And that number is attainable only if you are using the projector in the Eco mode.
In Standard mode, the battery gave us just less than an hour of AV action, which is barely enough for three episodes of The Simpsons, and will only give you one half of a World Cup match without being plugged into the mains.
This wouldn’t be too much of an issue if you were able to connect a battery pack, but there is no support for USB charging. Unfortunately, that makes the the Vibe One not as portable, in practice, as you would think at first glance.
If you can run a wire from the mains to your space then it won't be an issue, of course, but it's worth keeping in mind.
Tinny, localised sound quality
While the Vibe One surprises with its picture performance, the same cannot be said for its audio quality. The two built-in speakers, driven by 3 watts of amplification, don't manage to push sound much further than the projector's body, which results in a localised performance.
There is also a lack of bass to give exciting action scenes that much-needed injection of energy. We note in our review, for instance: “When watching Civil War, for example, the lack of punchy bass makes a landing helicopter sound more like a knife on a chopping board than a pounding piece of military hardware.”
Voices get lost in the mix at some points, too, so some dialogue is hard to make out. In Alien: Romulus, as the android Andy and his human sister Rain rush through the bustling mining colony, their conversation gets muddled with radio chatter in the background.
And that’s in a quiet test room; it would be even more difficult to hear in a busier setting.
This disappointing sound performance, along with the low battery life, means the Vibe One does not quite score five stars in our review. But its natural-looking picture and compact build achieve an admirable four stars overall, making it one of the best portable budget projectors we have tested.
If Xgimi can improve the audio and battery life in its next iteration, we could have a real winner on our hands.
MORE:
Here is our review of the Xgimi Vibe One
Check out the best projectors
And here is our review of the Xgimi MoGo 4
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