As the summer heat has become borderline unbearable in London this last week, I have found myself retreating to the relative cool of my bedroom to watch movies on a mid-range portable projector.
Myself and my What Hi-Fi? colleagues tested the Xgimi MoGo 4 recently, and it immediately appealed as an option for my bedroom due to its dinky design and easy setup. You just twist the body to transform its can-shaped design into a projector with a cool-looking stand.
There’s also a built-in battery, although that can only run the projector for up to 2.5 hours of viewing time before needing to be charged. So you would need a mid-movie break watching Lord of The Rings if relying on battery alone.
Priced at £509 / $499, the Xgimi impressed the AV test team for the calibre of its punchy picture quality, which is by no means a given for portable designs at this relatively modest price.
When watching Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery on Netflix, for example, we found the projector “manages to portray a nicely balanced picture, with the branches of trees in the background appearing crisp,” to borrow a quote from our MoGo 4 review.
There’s no 4K content support or top-notch Dolby Atmos sound. But having this projector has reminded me of a crucial fact that can often be forgotten: home cinema is really fun!
This was really hammered home to me when I decided to watch the full animated How To Train Your Dragon trilogy back to back.
The story of a young Viking who befriends a dragon may not be the first film you think of when it comes to great test discs, but the enjoyment I got from watching is up there with the likes of more classic test material such as Mad Max: Fury Road or Bladerunner 2049.
During the scene where our protagonist Hiccup embarks on his first flight with the adorable dragon Toothless, the outline of the two against the bright blue sky makes for a breath-taking visual experience.
Animated films aren’t typically go-tos when it comes to testing, as it can almost be too ‘easy’ for it to look ‘good’ on a home cinema screen.
They are often teeming with vibrant colours and clear contrasts, making it easier for a system to present a more pleasing overall image compared to live-action movies, where things are, well, real.
It also becomes a little trickier to tell whether colours look natural. After all, what exact shade should a black dragon be? You’ll be the first to know when I find a real one flying overhead.
But this trilogy is a perfect example of how, sometimes, the finer technically important details aren’t everything in a viewing experience – especially when you’re watching on a screen triple the size of your typical telly.
The Xgimi projector can go up to 200 inches in size, and even at 100 inches the moment when Toothless’ wings fully open feels like it is expanding all the way along my bedroom wall.
Being able to plonk it down almost anywhere has its perks, too, as the auto-keystone correction kicks in almost instantly to square up the image on any wall.
This portable projector may not have the contrast, colours and detail of a top LCD or OLED TV, nor does its charge stretch to the length of the full trilogy without being plugged in.
However, the basic elements of picture quality are all there as well as the ability to offer an immersive size and enjoyable overall experience.
It’s easy to become jaded about such things when you’re in the critical testing mindset, but the combination of an easy-going projector and a top-tier film series has truly reminded me that having fun is the most important part of having your own home cinema setup.
MORE:
These are the best Dolby Atmos scenes to test your home cinema setup
Here is our full review of the Xgimi MoGo 4
And check out the best portable projectors
