Elfin Flip

If you have a Apple TV, save the money and buy the Elfin non plus model - it's the same projector but without Google TV.

I use a Xgimi Flip that I got refurbed on eBay. Love it. And it's for exactly your use case.

[Xgimi Elfin is nu ook in de aanbieding op bol](https://www.bol.com/nl/nl/p/xgimi-elfin-flip-smart-projector-beamer-400-lumens-dlp-1080p-fhd-resolutie-in-gebouwde-standaard-2x-3w-speaker-dolby-audio-xgimi-os-hdr-10-isa-bluetooth-5-1/9300000192283089/?Referrer=ADVNLGOO002013-S--9300000192283089-PMAX-C-22290424013&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22294151260&gclid=CjwKCAjwx-zHBhBhEiwA7Kjq60wrihIysYTQw7PD85cA1_KbcZNh-u_eF4eEcjTHMng__SDc4jR7DBoCAtYQAvD_BwE). Heb je tenminste een fatsoenlijk merk. Diezelfde heb je nu ook voor [330 bij Mediamarkt](https://www.mediamarkt.nl/nl/product/_xgimi-elfin-flip-beamer-beige-1872924.html?srsltid=AfmBOor9hZZ4pizR9qgZWF4t9gFK-w32y17-JJyJ45clqI18Xbg8hwgW), als je liever bij een fysieke winkel haalt.

Xgimi elfin flip was my choice. It's been fantastic so far, I think I found it for around €220 on sale at an Austrian electronics store (online order). DLP tech, Low latency mode and quite bright for the price. I couldn't be happier, it's my first halfway-decent projector. The sound quality is great for it's size, auto focus/keystone and huge range of screen size. Currently set up at 60" it's got great colour quality and pixel density (for my personal standards, keep in mind I'm coming from the older LCD, low lumen €60-150 bargain quality ones so for me it's quite an upgrade).

I'm a first time projector buyer. I have an outside wall I thought it'd be fun to use for summer movie/sports watch nights, an inside office wall to play some immersive games on with controller, and a GF apartment with tiny TV that could use a bigger display and comfy bed movie watching. I did not intend to use it for high quality movie watching, nor make a home theater with it. Got a decent TV myself already. So, a low-to-mid range, below 1000, is the sweet spot. Sprung for the elfin flip plus: \- Budget but not cheap/toy-like \- small and decently portable \- software and connectivity, easy to use with no fuss. So here are my thoughts: Design and usability is great. Lens covered for transport, light, easy to use. Audible but quiet fan in operation. Speakers do sound ok if you got nothing else. They're tiny but clear. Google TV allows for anything you want content wise, and HDMI port tops that for PC connection and games. The image quality isn't great, just ok. Colors and contrast is good, but there's very visible green/purple fringing around brighter items. Not very noticeable in movies, but UI text and icons will show it. I don't see RGB splitting in motion, although I read people have different sensibilities to this. Focus uniformity is weird, even bang straight on the wall I have a corner that's just out of focus. Auto focus and keystone work most of the times, but not always. Manual adjustment has been frequent. Rmote is great, feels great, but there's no actual control on the projector. If you forget/lose the remote, you're left using Google TV app on your phone to control it, and if you're not already on the same wifi, Bluetooth connection needs you to accept pair on the projector. You can be left locked out of using the projector without remote - or how I solved it: without a mouse to plug in and set it up. What I wish I've had a better idea before buying, even after reading and watching a lot of content about projectors: 500 lumens isn't "plenty for indoor use even with some ambient light", like alot of happy-go-lucky tech reviewers say. 3 meters distance is recommended, but even on full darkness I'd say you only kinda get decent brightness at 2 meters. This projector looks just OK on ideal conditions. Viewable with some dimm lights on, and straight up only white things visible with any outside light coming in through a small window. This is a projector strictly suited for casual viewing in near-full-darkness and below, only. I'm ok with the purchase, I'll get the money's worth with time. I can only imagine what cheap-o 200 lumens look like, but as someone purchasing a projector for the first time, I'm confirming the elfin flip plus suffers from the low-end-ish tech problem: YouTube and casual reviewers love to sing it's praises to farm the masses looking for deals/hidden gems, highly inflating it's use cases. Go for a used office projector at 1000 lumens and up. That would have been my sweet spot. But if portability/ease of use with streaming apps is a must, flip plus nearly fits the bill with enough quality drops to notice you're compromising, on the strict light situations you can actually use it.

The flip doesn't have a battery, which you'd think isn't an issue since you're not taking it camping, but having to manage an extension cord towards the ideal position, where the projector isn't too crooked so you make the most use of the limited brightness/size ratio, will def be an annoyance. Every projector has this issue somewhat, but it's particularly weird in a projector which it's main appeal is portability and ease of use.

I'm ok with what I got. The TLDR is that it's hard to get a real grasp on what you're actually getting as an inexperienced buyer, since it's all weirdly graded on an optimist curve. Lumens and what they mean in practical terms, especially, and the overall image quality description, I feel like everybody is consistently inflating what you can do with certain values. The elfin flip is very widely recommended as a good purchase for an affordable price. I'd love to have read reviews that told me it's the lowest you can realistically go for an ok, compromised use in very controlled situations.