(upbeat music)
- I've always dreamed of owning a projector,
but the idea of losing my TV is kind of scary.
But now with pocket projectors and their quality image,
their small size and portability,
maybe it's time for me to actually buy one.
(upbeat music)
I live in a cramped New York City apartment
and I don't want to dedicate thousands of dollars
to a massive home theater setup,
but with a pocket projector, I could put it anywhere
in my house and adjust the image size,
so it would make it big or small.
I could also bring it anywhere with me,
so I could even take it up to my roof.
Okay, so if you don't know, pico projectors are smaller
and more affordable than what you usually
think of as a home theater projector.
A good one should have decent battery life
or at least enough to last a two-hour movie,
quality image, and acceptable sound
so you don't have to use external speakers.
Also, you should be able to play content
off your phone or laptop without much hassle.
I tested the five best projectors under $600 and the winner
I found to be the Anker Nebula Capsule for $350.
(upbeat music)
Unlike all the other projectors, the Capsule runs Android,
so it has apps built in, including YouTube and Netflix.
And you can connect to your home WiFi,
or your phone hotspot if you're outside.
It also supports AirPlay, yes, AirPlay,
so I mirrored content from my phone on the projector.
I'm actually connected to a home media server, so I was able
to watch content from my phone on the projector.
It also supports Android devices
because it supports Mirror Cast.
It has an HDMI port as well, so if you want to connect to
your laptop, Chromecast or fire stick you can do that too.
The Capsule projects at an 854 by 480 resolution
with a 16 by 9 aspect ratio.
It supposedly reaches up to a hundred lumens of brightness,
but it really didn't seem that bright
and definitely looks best in a dark room.
Anker says its batteries should last up to four hours,
and I'm not sure if it'll go that long,
but I can say I watched Captain America: Civil War,
which is two and a half hours long,
and it handled it just fine.
I wish it charged over USB-C like some of its competition,
but the micro-USB does the job.
(upbeat music)
Other than its Android apps,
I also appreciated the Capsule's speakers.
They were by far the best of any of the projectors.
That soda can shape works well
to spread the sound around a room.
Anker even advertises the projector
as a Bluetooth speaker and I can see why.
It handles music and movie soundtracks well,
regardless of where it's placed.
That shape also helps with the projector's actual placement,
because you might not need an extra platform to raise it up,
unlike other projectors that lie flat.
You can control playback and the projector in general
through its remote, although you have to be within
a narrow range for it to actually register commands.
It also has a companion iOS and Android app,
but I had trouble pairing my phone and the projector.
The other obvious downside to my pick are its fans,
which are kind of loud but not the loudest.
My dream projector would be silent, of course,
but I haven't found one that is.
(fan whirring)
(upbeat music)
The Capsule is the best overall projector,
but if you value image quality,
you might prefer the more expensive LG PH550.
At $550, the LG is $200 more than the Capsule,
but offers 720p HD resolution that looks great.
You can also make lots of image adjustments,
including brightness, color and contrast.
It can supposedly project at 550 lumens,
and I clearly saw a brightness difference
between it and the rest of the competition.
But its speakers are horrendous and it's bulky,
making it the least portable of all the projectors.
You also need to bring your laptop or phone with you
to supply the content you want to watch.
There's an HDMI port, so you can connect a streaming box,
but will limit your ability to take this projector outdoors.
I tested a few other projectors as well.
I loved the slim shape of the Sony NP-CD,
and the picture quality was crisp and nice to look at.
This would be my other runner up.
Its primary downside is its speakers.
The Mini Projector M175 is sold in Apple Stores
and has a cool angling feature
so you can aim it at walls without a stand.
However, an HDMI cable weighs it down
and makes it difficult to use.
The AAXA P6 was disqualified almost immediately
because of its bulky form and loud fans.
I flew to Chicago with all of these projectors
in my carry-on, which wasn't exactly a pleasant experience
but did prove that they're truly portable.
The TSA agents, who obviously wanted to examine them,
were shocked at how small they were, and it's true!
They're super tiny and that's really impressive.
The pico projector field is still developing, but Anker has
built the most complete device for a casual on-the-go user.
So go ahead and live your wire-free life
and watch a backyard movie.
Thanks for watching!
If you use any of these projectors in your day-to-day life,
let me know in the comments.
I'm curious about how it's going.
Also, if you liked this video,
you'll probably like Verge Science,
so go check it out at YouTube.com/VergeScience.