When we first put our hands on this projector as it came out of the box, we assumed it wasn’t going to be much better than your typical pico projector. At this price, why would it be any better? Sure, maybe a little brighter, but we didn’t think much further than this.
Then came the time to plug it in for its first test. We hadn’t even taken the lights down yet in the theater room we were testing it out in, and yet it shot down all of our initial assumptions the moment the Crenova logo popped up. It actually looked quite impressive.
Design
The design of the projector is, of course, similar to many other projectors out there. It’s not often you find a model that is any different without spending a lot of money or running into a unique character on the shelf.
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All of its connections are both on the right side (if looking at it from behind), as well as on the back.
The side contains a 3.5mm AV-out port that uses an included break-in cable to break-in an RCA (analog) cable with. Next to it is a 3.5mm aux/audio-out port for sending sound to an external speaker solution (for if the content is being sent straight to the projector without an AVR in between, or played directly on the projector using its internal media controls). Next to these is a PC-RCB input.
Underneath those connections are two speakers that deliver sound when you have a source connected directly to the projector and you don’t care to output to an external speaker solution. These speakers are small, but surprisingly put out a good amount of sound for coming from a projector. If you take your sound serious in any way, you probably won’t opt for this, but if used for simple situations or a children’s playroom or something, the sound may be more than enough.
The back-side of the projector is where the HDMI (digital) inputs are, and you get two of these. This is where you would send just about any modern signal to. They do of course support HDMI adapter/dongle solutions like Google Chrome or Amazon Fire Stick. You also get two USB port for attaching thumb drives and other media with, allowing you to play media files directly from the projector.
The top contains controls that are similar to the included remote, allowing you to control the projector directly from these. The remote however is usually going to be your go-to beyond your initial setup, and especially if the projector is roof-mounted.
The remote of course comes with all of the options needed to make your way around the menu, setup and control of media (if using the USB ports). Batteries aren’t included, but this usually isn’t an issue this days.
There are IR receivers on both the front (top-front) and rear (by the USB ports), allowing you to control it with the remote from either side. Very useful (again) if the projector is roof-mounted.
Performance
Getting setup only takes a few minutes. You initially have to determine the distance from the screen to get the size of the picture you want. There is no optical zoom, although there it does offer a little digital zoom range for zooming “in”. For the most part though, you will want to physically install the projector at the exact distance needed to get the best fit to your screen (or wall). Once you have your distance, the lens rotates to obtain the right focus. Everything else is within the menu.
There isn’t a lot of flexibility, but the price tag really says it all, so you can’t expect there to be. You have some basic keystone adjustment (having it at all is a comfort). No lens shift or anything fancy. You can, of course, flip the image in case you do install it on the ceiling. Surprisingly, it also supports rear projection, so you have both modes for rear projection screen setups as well.
You get some basic image calibration options, but nothing that is going to dial it in perfectly. Color isn’t going to be 100% and neither will be the quality of brightness. Colors may be a little off, but not enough to drive you nuts (unless of course, any deviation will get to you). The brightness can wash out in certain areas where bright colors meet and other similar elements in the image.
However, for the price that this projector will run you, the image looks pretty good. This opinion is based on the fact that it is quite bright for what it is, and it can project an image like this up to 200-inches.
The image above shows what the image looks like with the lights out and some slight modification of the few settings it offers for color. It is projected against a 125″ screen from 18 feet away. It shoots right off the screen with a larger image than the screen and you can tell if the screen was larger, it would fill it without a problem.
Turning on the lights to a normal/basic bedroom brightness (the room lights in the above image are brighter than the image makes them look), the colors will dull a little and so will the brightness, but not by much. Making this a good projector for both low-light, as well as a properly darkened room.
It is perfect for situations where you want to setup projection in a playroom for children, or project the game outside at night by the pool-side. Any situation where you don’t require an absolutely perfect image. So if you are looking to build an amazing theater room in your home, you will want to spend a lot more money on the projector than this. However, if you need something simple that works pretty well, then this is a winner.
Our Conclusion
This is a great projector at an affordable price if they keep that price tag where it’s at. It clearly will not compare to a fancy model that weighs in with a heavier price tag, but for its cost, the quality you get is quite reasonable. It blows away any pico projector option when it comes to quality and brightness, yet around the same price. Great for simple setups where you don’t need a perfect image. Great for playrooms and simple gaming setups for kids. The image isn’t perfect and the colors could be better, sure, but for the price, you aren’t going to find it. It would, of course, be nice if the whites didn’t wash out as much as they do, but wow does it still have a good image for the price.
| Buy from Amazon | |
Our Rating | Average Price* $229.99 |
*Average price is based on the time this article was published
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