Projector used to be a luxury item for home use and I really couldn’t believe I can buy a projector anytime soon. However, a lot of manufacturers from China have joined the market and this helps reduce their prices dramatically. Now, we can buy a decent projector for just $100.
Today, we’re checking out the best-selling budget projector on Amazon US, DBPOWER T21.
Unboxing Video
Design & Features
The product comes in a very small box and I couldn’t imagine there is a projector inside. Besides, you can also find a remote control, an HDMI cable, and an AV cable. All buttons are placed on top of the projector but using the remote control is a lot easier, so I hardly need to touch the projector.
Setting up the DBPOWER T21 is easy; You’ll just need to power it on, adjust focus and keystone rings, and it’s ready to use.
The UI is pretty simple and I need no time to get used to it. You can connect your devices like a laptop, an external hard drive, or even a smartphone directly to the projector, then you will be able to see your content on the big screen.
This is a mini projector, so it won’t take up much space. I also appreciate that the fan is not too loud and the built-in speaker is good enough.
It comes with impressive specs like 1,800 lumens, 1000:1 contrast ratio, and the screen size from 32 to 176 inches. However, the performance in real-life usage is more important than the numbers.
Image Quality
I expected a lot from the projector since it has received rave reviews from Amazon customers. However, the image quality is kind of disappointing and there are a lot of problems during my test.
The projector has a native resolution of 800×480 pixels, so the image looks terribly pixelated. In fact, the manufacturer warned that the product is not suitable for presentation because the text is very difficult to read.
Besides, to have an acceptable quality, you will need to place the projector in a totally dark room. The size of the screen is also very small since I have to place the projector closer to avoid blurry corners. The screen should be around 40 inches or smaller; And even at the small size, the image is still not really sharp, lack a lot of details, and the colors are not vibrant at all.
Conclusion
Pros
- Low price
- Compact design
- Allows connecting to a smartphone with just a USB cable
Cons
- Bad image quality
Overall, I can’t recommend the product if you are looking for a beautiful image. This is a budget product, so it has a lot of shortcomings. However, many people love it because it is cheap and they just need an acceptable image quality for movie nights.
Amel says
Ich bin überrascht, dass man solch einen Beamer bereits für vergleichsweise so wenig Geld erhalten kann.
Über den HDMI-Anschluss lassen sich so gut wie alle Geräte am Beamer anschließen – von Handy bis Computer. VGA und Soundanschlüsse, vervollständigen die Anschlussmöglichkeiten.
Die Inbetriebnahme ist eigentlich selbst erklärend. Trotzdem liegen Anleitungen und Kontaktadressen des Händlers (bei Fragen) bei. Neben der Fernbedienung, sind zusätzlich auch noch Sound- und Videokabel dabei.
Ich habe einen Filmabend mit dem Beamer hinter mir und 2 Fotos der Beamerqualität gemacht (Bildbreite: 2 Meter). In dunklen Räumen sind die Farben kräftig und für die Auflösung auch ziemlich scharf.
Der Lüfter macht natürlich Geräusche, aber ich finde sie für die Bauweise des Beamers angemessen.