Question Xiaomi, M1, M2 or a traditional projector?

Sersant

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When my secondary TV broke a month ago I started to look at replacing it with a projector.

Started with the Viewsonic M1 to see if a projector was something for me and I liked the experience but I thought it was to low resolution. I switched to a Xiaomi Smart Compact but I noticed problems with moving focus and a bit to noicy fan for my taste.

Wondering if it is worth upgrading to a Viewsonic M2 or if I should look at the traditional projectors Benq W1090, W2000 or a Acer Nitro G550. The reason to switch to a traditional projector would be to get a better image quality, dont know if that would be the case?

I have 2.4-2.5 meters between the wall and projector which limits my options wanting a 90" image.

Since this is a secondary screen daylight performance is not to important.

Any thoughts?
 
When my secondary TV broke a month ago I started to look at replacing it with a projector.

Started with the Viewsonic M1 to see if a projector was something for me and I liked the experience but I thought it was to low resolution. I switched to a Xiaomi Smart Compact but I noticed problems with moving focus and a bit to noicy fan for my taste.

Wondering if it is worth upgrading to a Viewsonic M2 or if I should look at the traditional projectors Benq W1090, W2000 or a Acer Nitro G550. The reason to switch to a traditional projector would be to get a better image quality, dont know if that would be the case?

I have 2.4-2.5 meters between the wall and projector which limits my options wanting a 90" image.

Since this is a secondary screen daylight performance is not to important.

Any thoughts?

A RGBRGB color wheel model like the ones mentioned above would be better than the M1, not sure about M2.

Screen size depends on seating distance in part.
What is the seating distance?

What is the length of the room, wall to wall?

What color are the walls?
 
Thanks for your reply.

Wall to wall is about 2.80 meters and viewing distans is about the same. The walls are white with low texture.

I think 90" works in the room since that is what the M1 and Xiaomi gives me with the 1.2 throw ratio.
 
For the M2 keep in mind that the 1200 lumens is LED lumens, not ansi lumens. So the actual lumens will be almost the half. I think this is not a good solution for a 90' screen. Benq W2000 is a standard value and is going to give you 100' from ~2.5 meters.
There is another viewsonic model that i have test it recently that is RGB led projector too, 4K, with better throw ration for your space (0.8 vs 1.23). It has also 2400 led lumens, double light power from M2. Also it provide VERY good sound if you dont want to mess with extra sound system.
With M2 if you put it at 2.3 meters from the wall you will get ~84' image and with the X10-4K you will get ~120' image (you will get a 100' image from ~ 1.80 meters).
 
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I think the M2 is at par with the Xiaomi at 500 ansi lumen.

I think the x10-4K is to expensive for a secondary screen. Nice review though, think its been hard to find good reviews for the projectors I have looked at. 😕
 
Thanks for your reply.

Wall to wall is about 2.80 meters and viewing distans is about the same. The walls are white with low texture.

I think 90" works in the room since that is what the M1 and Xiaomi gives me with the 1.2 throw ratio.

The M2 would be lamp free, with all the benefits of that. But it will probably be just bright enough for a screen that size.
The other models are double.

However IMO a screen of 90" or so from 2.8m is rather small. Personally I would go 110-120". One of the first mistakes a new buyer makes is getting a too small screen. Ultimately it is a personal decision.

There are some shorther throw models in 1080p DLP, but only one with an RGBRGB color wheel. Non RGBRGB color wheels sacrifice color and sometimes black level for brightness (with some presets). They are sports, living room with some ambient light projectors, although no projector should be used with ambient light.



The larger issue at hand is picture quality. Wall reflections in a room with light colored walls will have a negative effect on contrast/black level.
Complile the link below

/videos/1692721894385217/



So room treatment is important.

DLP has poor contrast. 4K DLP has even worse contrast.

Besides room treatment, paint mixes can help with PQ and black level. They can be applied either on a smooth wall or white screen.

So if you're ok with ~90", wait until 85" TVs become afordable. TVs don't suffer from contrast deficiencies from wall reflections, so room treatment is not necessary. TVs are generally speaking better looking than projectors. With a TV you'll have 4K, HDR, etc.
Even if 85" is too small from 2.8m, you could still get a TV and move the seating closer.

The advantage of a projector is a larger diagonal screen. If you don't want that, I would not bother with a projector.
 
I think the M2 is at par with the Xiaomi at 500 ansi lumen.

I think the x10-4K is to expensive for a secondary screen. Nice review though, think its been hard to find good reviews for the projectors I have looked at. 😕
Thanks Sersant!Yes, the X10-4K its a bit high priced. I have test a chinese projector, called xgimi H2 (XGIMI) and the review will be up in the next few days. I was very impressed, this little projector is bright, it has IRIS, i believe a hide darbee software (you dont hear it from me😜 ) and the picture it provide is realy nice and crispy with fair blacks for DLP projector and vivid colors. I think you can find it on ~700 euro price range. It has throw ratio 1.2 so it will gives you ~90' screen. This projector is really bright (true ~1000 lumens on the screen). Also the sound is nice, totally usable. My opinion is that this is by far better solution from M2.
 
Would you say that the H2 is better than forexample W2000? It is also a bit higher priced than I had thought but if it is alot better it might be worth it...
 
I would not mind a bigger image but there seems hard to find a projector within this price range that is much better than 1.20.

Room treatment is something I will look at after I found a projector. 🙂
 
Would you say that the H2 is better than forexample W2000? It is also a bit higher priced than I had thought but if it is alot better it might be worth it...
Look, in my eyes it seems better. Very nice image, RGB led (no need for lamp replacement, you can use it as a TV all day) very crispy image (it seems like darbee, so good), nice sound, very bright, iris, auto focus, all these in a small package. Yes, if you pass the "chinese" thing, this is a better overal projector for me in a fair price, this is my opinion. The only thing is that i don't know anything about the durability in time, this is the only dark spot for me..
 
I would not mind a bigger image but there seems hard to find a projector within this price range that is much better than 1.20.

Room treatment is something I will look at after I found a projector. 🙂

I mentioned it, the Benq W1210ST, as well as the BenQ HT1085ST .

If not there are a lot of shother throw units, but not with RGBRGB color wheels:
Optoma GT1080HDR
GT1080
GT1080 Darbee
Optoma HD29HST
Benq TH671ST
Viewsonic PX706

Some of these you could find used.
 
Im now chosing between PX706HD and TH671ST, any thoughts between those? They seem to be more or less equal from what I can see.

You mentioned viewing distance and that I might want to consider a screen bigger than 90". When I Google it the recomended distance seem to be that I'm already to close for 90". I think I can fit 100" but Im not sure if this will feel to big for my vieving distance of 2.8 meters? I guess alot comes down to personal preference.

My only concern at the moment is the fan noise, I cant find what decibel the Xiaomi is working at so I can compare it to the other projectors. 🤨
 
Im now chosing between PX706HD and TH671ST, any thoughts between those? They seem to be more or less equal from what I can see.

You mentioned viewing distance and that I might want to consider a screen bigger than 90". When I Google it the recomended distance seem to be that I'm already to close for 90". I think I can fit 100" but Im not sure if this will feel to big for my vieving distance of 2.8 meters? I guess alot comes down to personal preference.

My only concern at the moment is the fan noise, I cant find what decibel the Xiaomi is working at so I can compare it to the other projectors. 🤨

dB ratings can't be trusted. There is also some variation from unit to unit.

Those distance tables are very generic, but more important they are oriented towards how far away you should sit in regards to resolution, aka. visual acuity.
What is not discussed is immersion. So for proper imersion, 90" from 2.8m is small. Personally I would need 135" from 2.8m. This is for cinemascope movies. Content made for TV may not look as good on a large screen, but some well produced TV does, i.e. GoT or other series.
In any case if you feel a screen larger than 90" is too big, you can make it smaller.


They are fairly similar.
 

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