Good projectors are affordable and accessible, and they really give TV’s a run for their money. The beauty of projectors is that, unlike televisions, they can operate on any surface, rather than through one set screen. In case of projector, the screen size can be configured to any size, large or small, that you desire. When it comes to your eye comfort, the advantage of projectors is this respect are too good. The emergence of the short throw projector has even made it so that they can be placed on a shelf within close range of the projection surface. The projectors can be used excellent in business, education settings and entertainment.
In this projector review, our goal is to provide the most in depth reviews of projectors under $100. Projector gives a big screen experience over a TV. In broad terms the versatility of projectors, as a device to better eye health. In earlier times the projector seems to be much expensive but due to the technological advancement, now projectors are available at low cost, that is under 100$.
Before buying a projector, you have to keep certain factors in mind. In this review we are considering 6 factors.
- Type of projector
- Resolution
- Contrast
- Brightness
- Guarantee period
- Lamp life
QKK Mini Projector
QKK Mini Projector is better in terms of its longer lamp life and better aspect ratio. Also the brightness level can be set very high which is enough for clear viewing with its 2200 lumens. This projector can be used for gaming or watching videos inside your house. It can also be used for outdoor entertainment. USB, Compatibility, smart phone connectivity and great image is all its better features.
Highlights
- Type of Projector : LCD
- Resolution : 1080p Full HD
- Contrast : 2000:1
- Brightness : 2200 Lumens
- Lamp Life : 50000 Hours
Pros
- The presence of intelligent cooling system, the projector performs efficient and makes a very little noise
- 50000 LED lamp life, which makes the projector more durable
- There is a better sound option, which gives a more theatre like experience for video games
- This projector offers HDMI, AV, VGA and SD card port so that you can connect almost any thing
- With the better contrast ratio and improved lamp life, you can expect 20% more brightness than the competent projectors
Cons
- The photo slide show however slow and some transitions are very choppy.
Verdict
This projector is much good at this price range by proper adjustments, this projector will give decent picture in a reasonably darker room. Due to the availability of different ports, this projector can be connected to any kind of devices.
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Auking Mini Projector
Auking 2400 Lumen mini 1080p projector is the best projector for home entertainment. It is having a 35% extra lumen, when compared to other projectors of same category. This projector offers an impressive cooling capabilities that minimises the fan sound. It also offers 55000 lamp hours, thus we can avoid the replacement of lamp for many years.
Highlights
- Type of Projector : LCD
- Resolution : 800*480 (1080p supported)
- Contrast : 2000:1
- Brightness : 2400 Lumens
- Lamp Life : 55000 Hours
Pros
- Two year warranty period with professional customer service
- This projectors works well with TV box, Chromebook, Amazon fire stick, Blue Ray DVD player, Tablet, PC, Laptops, USB flash drive etc.
- 55000 Lamp life is a very good feature since it appropriately gives 15 years with 10 hours of daily use.
- Gives better performance in dark rooms due to brightness and better resolution
- Low fan noise and super heat dissipation
- Presence of dual audio speakers, brings clear and balance sound experience
Cons
- This projector is not well suited for bright room, since the image quality will be much poor at that situation
Related Read: 5 Best Home Theater Projectors Under 200
Verdict
At this reasonable cost this is an amazing projector. This projector is much easier of using, reliable, smart and plenty bright enough in a dark room, group video gaming and in occasional family movie nights. Thus with a $50 you can have much fun.
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Top Vision Mini Projector
Top vision mini projector offers a top home cinema experience and also better for presentations in educational purpose. The high fidelity image offers a superior quality and convenience of use. It is certainly a very small projector and still quite portable. Also the installation of projectors is also much simpler and easier.
Highlights
- Type of Projector : LCD
- Resolution : 800*480
- Contrast : 3000:1
- Brightness : 3600 Lumens
- Lamp Life : 50000 Hours
Pros
- It offers built-in stereo surround speakers, which provides a very detailed sound effects.
- It is having a powerful noise-reducing mechanism, making the noise lower than comparable LED projectors.
- Key stone correction and focus are very easy to set by turning the key.
- Unlike other projectors, that use high power light bulbs, this projector is using LED as light source so it does not produce that much heat.
- This projector is beautiful in appearance and light in weight and very convenient to operate with high definition.
Cons
- This projector does not connect to the internet or Wi-Fi. It also does not offers Bluetooth connectivity
- This projectors image is having better sharpness at the centre, where as a bit blur out at the edges.
Related Read: 5 Best Home Theatre Projectors Under 500
Verdict
The overall performance of this projector is much good. It is much small and light weight thus portable. At this cost this projector can perform beyond the expectations. This projector is a good performer at night times rather than at day time. Highly recommended by all the users.
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Vankyo Leisure 3 Mini Projector
Vankyo Leisure 3 projector is a mini projector designed for packing light. As this projector measures a mere 7.8*5.8*2.7 inches and weighs in at only 2.4 pounds it can be of the size of a small laptop making it easy for use as per your choice. The projector is a single-chip LCD projector that uses white LED’s as its illumination source.
Highlights
- Type of Projector : Single chip LCD
- Resolution : 800*480
- Contrast : 2000:1
- Brightness : 2400 Lumens
- Lamp Life : 40000 Hours
Pros
- Easy to handle and portable with mere 7.8*5.8*2.7 inches and weighs 2.4 pounds. It makes a good companion for a laptop
- For such a low price the projector offers a peak light output of 2400 Lumens
- As the technical enquiry of the projectors says that a projector with a measurable 2400 lumens typically draws at least 220 watts but this projector draws only 50 watts.
- Fills screen from 32 to 176 inches.
- The projector offers a throw distance of 4.9 to 16.4 feet
- There are several connectivity options like HDMI, USB, VGA, Analog inputs
- The projector has a stereo speakers of 4W total audio power
- The TF slot accepts Micro SD Memory Chips
- It offers vertical key stone correction to compensate for geometric distortions arising from less-than-ideal placement in the vertical direction
- It has an innovative cooling system with heat dispersion
Cons
- The projector will impart a “rainbow effect” – momentary rainbows that trail bright, moving objects on a dark background which is caused by the colour-filter wheel.
- This projector has a relatively high black level
- This projector does not have zoom function or lens shift mechanism
Related Read: 20 Best Projectors for Movies Gaming and Video Presentation
Verdict
Vankyo Leisure 3 Mini projectors main strength are small size and LED light engine, which should last tens of thousands of hours. Plus it has a media player built-in as well as stereo speakers, and you can easily turn it into a small projector with the addition of a streaming stick. The Vankyo Leisure 3 is a home-theatre projector. It cost a low price, so you will not risk much in buying one.
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Meer Portable Pico Projector
Meer portable pico projector is a pocket sized projector having a size of 11.9cm*8.6cm*4.8cm, almost the size of a smart phone. This projector is only ideal for home entertainment in a dark room or a hall.
Highlights
- Type of Projector : Single chip LCD
- Resolution : 320*240 (1080p supported)
- Contrast : 800:1
- Brightness : 800 Lumens
- Lamp Life : 20000 Hours
Pros
- It is much good for travelling, hiking and camping due to the smaller size it offers
- It offers various multimedia ports such as USB, AV, SD slots which enable you to connect about most of the devices such as Smart phones, Laptops, Tablets, DVD players, Game console and more.
- It is having LED light, power consumption is 10 to 24 watt
- It offers good clarity, built-in rigid and also colour depth is vibrant
- Quality of sound and video is very impressive. It offers a built-in speaker which is loud enough for its size.
Cons
- It is not recommended for business presentations or power point
- It does not have a Bluetooth facility
- It does not offer its own battery hence need a power source such as a wall charger or a power bank
- It does not offer key stone adjustment
Verdict
This projector is much good for outdoor family movie trips and even camping trips. It offers a better image quality at this price point, but not as super as HD resolution. If you are looking for a portable projector and very affordable with basic features, then it is a better choice.
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HOW TO BUY THE BEST MINI PROJECTOR?
Resolution
Resolution is the number of dots or pixels used to display an image. Higher resolution means that more pixels are used to create the image resulting in a crisper, cleaner image. Thus as per the resolution value any of the projector is okay apart from Meer portable pico projector.
Contrast Ratio
Contrast ratio is the difference between light and dark on a screen expressed by a number. Higher contrast ratio means, the projected image will be incredibly rich and crystal clear detailed. Thus I suggests Top Vision Mini Projector having a contrast ratio of 3000: 1
Brightness
Brightness is generally measured in Lumens. Higher the number the brighter will be the projected image. The brightness of the projector is governed by how big a screen it can be used or how much ambient light is bouncing around in the room hence I suggest Top Vision Mini Projector.
Lamp Life
Lamp life is a major factor which we need to consider since the lamp is not included in warranty period. The operating time of a projector bulb is known as lamp life. It is expressed in hours and represents the number of hours before the lamp is at half its original brightness thus I strongly recommend Auking 2400 Lumen mini 1080p projector.
FINAL VERDICT
The most of what makes a projector great is its video content look. Here we have short listed five projectors under $100 and explained all the features of these projectors. Thus all the projectors are much good and offers many advantages at this very reasonable cost. But as a recommendation I would like to suggest Top Vision Mini Projector since it offers a better contrast and brightness. Also it is having a lamp life of 50000 hours.