GooDee BL98 1080p Projector – Just as GooDee

The world is a different place than it was at CES 2020.  To lighten up the summer and help our readers stay entertained at home we asked our good friends at GooDee to help out. They responded with the GooDee BL98 1080p Projector. The BL98 is quite shiny as well as very flexible in terms of connectivity to laptops, game consoles, Blu-ray players, smartphones, and direct play from your storage devices. This projector is bright enough to watch movies outside even with bright city lights. It’s been a long strange trip so let’s open the box!

In the Box

The GooDee BL98 Projector comes bundled in a decent-sized retail box covered with GooDee BL98 graphics. Inside the box, you will find the GooDee BL98 1080p native projector, the remote control, an IEC power cable, a 6 ft HDMI cable, an RCA cable,  a lens cleaning cloth, the multi-language instruction manual, guarantee card, and a set of 4 tiny screws in a plastic bag. To use those screws for a ceiling mount you will have to remove the small rubber feet to expose the threads. Last you will find a white plastic knob on a screw. That’s the angle adjustment foot and needs to be screwed into the hole in the front bottom of the BL98 if you don’t plan to use a ceiling mount. Unlike the GooDee YG 620 Native 1080p projector I reviewed earlier this year: there is no included padded carry case.

As you can see from the above photo: the GooDee BL98 is silver with a modern ripple pattern on the side panels. The top controls are easy to understand and operate: starting from top left: First row: Return, Up, Second  Row: Left, Ok, Right; Third row: IR receiver, Down, last row: Input source, Menu, On/Off. There is an additional IR receiver on the front of the BL98. The last important detail of the top of the unit is the Focus dial and Keystone lever. You use the focus dial to get the best picture, and the keystone lever to align the image on your screen. Both are easy to operate and work really well. You will notice that GooDee uses actual large lenses in their projectors unlike the tiny plastic lens used in most pico projectors. The difference in image and detail is striking. On the back panel of the GooDee BL98 you will find the standby power switch, the IEC power connection, and the various inputs for this projector. From top to bottom left to right: USB 1, USB 2, micro Sd/TF card slot, HDMI 1, HDMI 2. On the lower left, you will find two 3.5mm input jacks: the top is for the AV cable which was included, and the next one is a stereo audio output. The last connection is a nod to the old school. A classic VGA output jack rounds out this very flexible projector just packed with easy connectivity. The included remote control has much the same control layout with a couple of differences: There are fast buttons to Zoom in/out and to flip the image depending on how you have mounted the projector or whether you are using a rear projection or front projection screen. At the very bottom is the volume control for the built-in speaker or to whatever system you’ve connected to the 3.5mm audio line out. The GooDee BL98 also includes a removable air filter for your cooling fan which snaps in and out for easy cleaning. Let’s plug it in!

In the Dark of Night

The GooDee BL98 projector is native 1920 x 1080P,  with an aspect ratio of 4:3/16:9. The BL98 can project images from  35″-200″ within the range of  4ft-21ft between the device and your screen. The TFT LCD environmental lamp source is rated at a minimum of 50,000 hours of life. It’s easy to set up and connect to your various devices. I waited until dark in Las Vegas. At this time of year that’s still over 100 degrees ambient temperature so I wanted to see how the BL98 projector would work under these adverse conditions. Over several hours I spent time watching videos through various devices such as video game consoles, Chromecast, or Roku type devices which utilized HDMI inputs. I viewed photos and videos using  USB sticks, and TF cards. I also used the USB connections to power my Roku devices or Nintendo Classic game systems. I connected various speaker systems using the AV output as well as listened to the included stereo speakers. I then put down a measuring tape and started playing with the GooDee BL98 projector. At 4 feet from the screen, the image wasn’t much larger than a 32-inch flat-screen TV. At that distance, the image was crispy, bright, and very clear. I moved back to 8 ft to play Nintendo, then finally ended up at a sweet spot at 12 ft where I watched Disney + with my 5-year-old son who was swinging on the playset half the time. At 12 ft from the projection screen, the BL98 produced a 9 ft diagonal image which is probably great for most people. It’s actually the size of my outdoor screen. The included speakers put out an acceptable audio signal but the experience can really be improved by adding extra self-powered speakers. I used the Zenbre Z4 TWS speakers which I reviewed back in 2018 and still love. At the full recommended distance of 21 feet, the GooDee BL98 was able to produce a very acceptable 15.75 ft diagonal image in 16:9 aspect which perfectly fills a 16 ft diagonal HD screen.

Whether you are using the touch screen controls on the unit or the remote control the GooDee BL98 is easy to operate and access any of the menu operations. Note: with the IR lens on top of the unit instead of the back it’s great when mounted upside down, but when using the remote outside I had to hold it up and aim it down for proper operation.

Final Thoughts

The GooDee BL98  Projector is a great entry-level device good for any home or small business. I’d even suggest small production rental companies use them when possible to extend their inventory without breaking the bank. By using the “SAS98” coupon code (via their website) to get 50%+ off, you will spend just under $200 for a very useful, flexible, and easy-to-operate home projector with an actual decent lens, vibrant colors, and acceptable built-in sound system. It comes with all one needs to project photos, videos, video games, computer screens and has a plethora of inputs which allows for a lot of connectivity. This relatively inexpensive projector is a great way to get into home movie/video projection and I highly recommend the GooDee BL98 for the price. It’s a lot of bang for your buck and we are looking forward to the next interesting device from the great folks at GooDee! Stay safe out there! 9 out of 10 as it sits in the box: Nearly ten out of ten with the “PocNetwork” discount code when you consider the value.

*Average price is based on the time this article was published

Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6tgo8pX6vQ

Additional Images:

Specifications:

• Native Resolution: 1920 x 1080P
• Contrast:  5000: 1
• Max Screen Size: 300″
• HDMI 2 Ports
• USB 2 Ports
• VGA 1 Port
• AV Port
• Tf Card

Are you a manufacturer or distributor that would like us to test something out for review? Contact us and we can let you know where to send the product and we will try it out.

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