Like it or not, every piece of tech is the result of compromise. Designers are faced with a million decisions on how it will operate, from resolution to connectivity.
This can be felt particularly in the world of projectors, especially as the market is growing. No projector is suited to every need because the design team has to focus on some aspects over others. We can’t have it all, eh? Unless…
I’ve been mulling over what would make the perfect projector for a while now, after testing a range of products on the market. And, don’t worry, I am well aware that most of my wishes are near impossible to create in the real world in just one projector. But where is the fun in realism?
Plus, you never know what the future could bring in terms of home cinema advancements. Below you will find my very subjective list of what would be my dream projector…
Long battery life
One of the perks of my job is that I get access to some of the best home cinema tech, and am sometimes able to take it home with me for a little bit. That means I’m in the prime position to provide a great home cinema experience for my friends when we meet for movie nights.
As the days are finally getting longer and warmer, it’s also quite a treat to be able to set up a projector and watch in the garden as the sun slowly sets.
To do that, however, I need a decent amount of battery life. While projectors such as the Anker Nebula Mars 3 Air come close to a solid amount of life at a claimed maximum of two-and-a-half hours, this can of course differ depending on how loud you have the sound and how high you set the brightness.
Still, it would be ideal to have more than three hours of entertainment without having to plug the projector into the mains. With some projectors, you do have the option of using a battery pack to extend their life, but I’m not faffing around with plugs and sockets in my wildest projector fantasies.
Portable body
On that subject, if I’m taking my dream projector around to other people’s houses, I need it to be light.
True portability is somewhat of a rarity in the land of projectors, as they often have a wireless design but are quite a chore to cart around.
One projector that caught my eye on this front is the Epson EF-12, which we called “smart, small and seriously punchy” in our review. It weighs 2.1kg – ideal to pop in a bag and hop on a bus with. Sadly, it does not have a built-in battery so it does not quite qualify for my personal perfect projector category.
Full bodied sound and top-notch picture
OK, now I really am asking for the moon.
Of course we have seen both of these features in a range of different projectors. The BenQ X3100i, for example, offers up a vibrant picture as well as better sound quality than most projectors at its hefty price of £2099 / $2399 / AU$3599. But as it weighs in at 6kg, this is a much beefier projector than the product of my dreams, which makes sense.
Being able to fit in the right speakers and tech to get brilliant sound and picture is a near-impossible task if you are trying to get it into a light and portable design.
The soon-to-be-released Nebula X1 poses an intriguing design in terms of sound, as you can buy the 4K projector in a bundle with two wireless satellite speakers to upgrade the audio performance. That way, you do not have to worry about compromising the sound for a portable design quite as much.
I guess what I am asking for is a beautiful Frankenstein’s monster projector, taking all the best bits from our favourite models and making something impossibly perfect.
Even though I almost certainly will not see a model like this hit the shelves, I’m excited to see what the future of projector technology could look like.
MORE:
Here are the best projectors we recommend
Check out our first impressions of the Nebula X1
And these are the best outdoor projectors right now
