The best portable projectors October 2020

Whether for business needs or just for fun, a projector can prove to be a tool as useful as it is fascinating. The reason lies in the size of the image, thanks to which not only can you turn to a large audience, but you can have fun in recreating the experience of a cinema, giving a completely different aspect to what is "the usual "home corner dedicated to TV.

Orienting yourself on the market, however, is far from simple and in fact the purchasing options are so numerous that they leave, all too often, disoriented. A dogma that applies to the "regular" market of common indoor bulbs normally bulky and suitable for very large spaces or professional needs; and which becomes even more thorny if we talk about the so-called "portable" projectors, at the entrance of which the buyer opens up a vast and - often - contradictory world. What are, in fact, the characteristics that define a "portable" projector? Its weight? Its resolution? The presence of an internal battery?

Read also: Projectors | The best of May 2020 Let's say that there is no certainty on the market and that's why, as far as we are concerned, we simply limited ourselves to a question of size, meaning "portable" any projector that can be moved easily for reasons of entertainment or work, whether for an evening in the garden or an evening screening at the campsite. So, as you will understand, in this list we will offer you the best projectors to take with you, regardless of whether or not they have an internal battery, but all united by a weight and size that do not force you to struggle for each shift. We have chosen 4, with a guarantee that many others will be added in the coming months. Are you ready to pop some popcorn? These are the best portable projectors according to the Tom’s team!

The best portable projectors

Anker Nebula Mars II Pro | the best, without compromise

Compact, high-performance, easy-to-use , the mini projector Anker Nebula Mars II Pro is perhaps the best choice currently being offered by the market for portable projectors. It is one of the few to offer a large number of types of connections available, as well as an Android operating system that allows you to use in an integrated way, some of the major streaming services, like Amazon Prime Video and Netflix . Including auto-focus, and an efficient system of keystoning , offers clean images, sharp and perfectly rectangular, and thanks to the connected app allows an interaction easy and straightforward, with settings of easy access and tuning. Including a battery enough for 3 hours of continuous projection, Anker Nebula Mars II Pro is a more unique than rare in the world of mini projectors and is perhaps the only product on the market that can really compete with the experience of more bulky projectors traditional.

" Click here to buy Anker Nebula Mars II Pro

the Epson EB-U05 | Excellent projection surface

Although it's not the best in terms of portability, the projector Epson EB-U05 is an ideal choice for anyone looking for a compact projector, but by the quality of the images, relying on a size of the projection up to 300 inches c on resolution in Full HD! Almost an anomaly for the industry, which is usually more accustomed to the classic HD resolution. Great in the rendering of colours and brightness, achieves a brightness of 3,400 lumens and a contrast ratio of 15,000:1 thanks to its lamp, Epson is designed to last up to 15 years! Equipped with 2 HDMI outputs and a composite input and a RCA, is in the lack of output specific sound that sees its main and only flaw. Net of this, is a high-level product and is highly recommended!

" Click here to buy Epson EB-U05

Optoma DU400 | Excellent, but without internal battery

mid-way between a laptop projector and a traditional one, the Optoma DU400 is certainly an article to the top of its market, where, moreover, afraid of the challenge, very few its like, all of which are easily annihilated by those that have the performance of a projector is nothing short of exceptional! With a bright lamp from 4000 ANSI lumens and a native resolution of WUXGA 1920 x 1200 pixels, Optoma DU400 have a large number of types of inputs (USB, HDMI, VGA, RS-232, and even ethernet), and is the ideal choice for those who want a projector to be moved between home and work and that functions well both in terms of professional (think, for example, technical presentations, with graphs tables and numbers), that of mere entertainment. Good the contrast ratio (15000:1), lacks some of the functions that we have, however, appreciated with the Anker Nebula Mars II Pro, on a system of keystoning, and especially an internal battery. True that Optoma DU400 configure it, as said, as a middle way between projectors traditional and non-traditional and, therefore, justifies in part the absence of a power supply system stand-alone. It's not cheap, but still really helpful!

" Click here to buy Optoma DU400

Artlii Pocket | The cheapest

will Not be the projector that we would choose for a business meeting or for a training course, but the Artlii Pocket is not designed for this. With its dimensions “-like smartphone”, and its maximum resolution of 320 x 240 pixels, this tiny projector is designed, more than anything, for entertainment and for the entertainment of children , who will be able to take it with him to see, every where, their movies and favorite cartoons. With different types of inputs , including USB, HDMI and even an SD card slot , the projector can be connected even to your smartphone, tablet and console, regardless of operating system. It is not a projector that should be rewarded purely for the video quality, but its being within the reach of any pocket (in all senses), or makes it more than worthy of our ranking of the recommended products.

" Click here to buy Artlii Pocket

Apeman NM4 | The best choice to keep in your pocket

With its dimensions of just 10 x 10 x 2 cm and a resolution of 850 x 480 pixels, the Apeman NM4 is an ideal choice for those who want the portability without sacrificing the video quality . Of course, as often happens for this type of products the ultra-compact, you can not expect a resolution (and screen size) worthy of who knows what movie theater, but given its size, this small projector, and defends very well, providing about 2 hours of projection continued, and the images clean and crisp. Certificate for approximately 45,000 hours of projection, the NM4 is compatible with laptop, TV box, DVD, tablets, cameras and console, and it supports Full HD 1080P video with a contrast of 1000: 1.

" Click here to buy Apeman NM4

How to choose a portable projector

Portability

As we mentioned in the opening, a factor undoubtedly important in the choice of this type of product is the portability, in particular the size and weight. Of course, finding your way around is difficult , also because we have to consider that in the context of portable projectors there are products whose dimensions and weight are slightly lower than with the apparatus of the “classics”, why even make a selection a sensible proved to be perilous. What is worth to highlight, is that there are two basic types of projectors that can be carried around: the ones with and without the battery. The first are generally very small, and allow you to project, even from the palm of your hand (literally). The seconds require a source of external power and are, in fact, a little less bulky compared to a projector classic. This feature is the first and fundamental discriminating factor in the choice of product and will lead, naturally, as it were, towards the selection of a product that is best suited to your needs. Before I go any further val's worth pointing out that, in terms of size and weight, the more a projector is small, the smaller the lens, the more it will be limited in the maximum resolution of the projection and the relative maximum brightness.

Lamp

Not being able to count on the space for the insertion of a common lamp projections, all projectors are portable, are they the size of a hand or more, count on a lighting system. The point is to understand what it is , since there is no a real standard for all these devices. If the projectors the most common, offer a system of lighting similar to that at the bulb (using the so-called lamps (UHP), the projectors are smaller, they rely generally on the LED lights. The difference is not so much in consumption as performance: although it is true that a traditional lamp UHP has the heating times and an average life lower, it is true that they manage to emit a brightness up to 4,000 ANSI , unlike LED lamps that never exceed 1,000 ANSI . Of course, the LEDS consume about one-tenth of the common bulbs UHP, but can only be used in dark environments, unlike the UHP that can project in environments slightly illuminated. The differences, in short, there are but is unlikely to be a real obstacle because, as mentioned above, the portable projectors do not have the space for the bulbs UHP, which are similar to the old bulbs to the bulb, also in terms of fragility, which means that to carry them around is always a gamble. In essence: the advantage of mini projectors is their portability , and the fact that they are always “ready to use”, but the limits imposed by the lamps, in terms of brightness and contrast, and of itself is a big discriminating factor in the choice of these products, which also makes them totally unsuitable for professional use, or academic.

video Quality and resolution

Size and resolution are, of course, two of the main features that determine the purchase of a projector. They basically depend on 2 things: the lens and the lamp which in pairs define not only these characteristics, but also the goodness of the definition and, especially, the minimum and maximum distance at which it is possible to project the image. Clarified this, as we shall see, already only to the constraint of the LED lamp, a mini projector is capable to offer images that are very exciting, especially in terms of resolution, it is difficult to go beyond the HD format 16:9 (1280 x 720 p), even if the projectors smaller, or pocket, coming out only WVGA resolution in 16:9 (854 x 480 p). Also in the case of the projection distance, the difference is in the whole of the lamp, such that a greater number of lumens is also a projection distance is increased. Even in this context, therefore, mini projectors are not considered to be the ideal choice for those who does not have the ability to arrange them at a distance quite close from the panel, the projection, as the minimum recommended distance is around – generally – around the metro, with a maximum of about 5 metres.