Project recommendations on a budget (£500approx)

[juliushibert]

I'm looking for a budget projector (<£500) to go in my bedroom. Looking for recommendations and guidance or if it's a stupid idea for this low budget?

A little research and I've found a few potential shortlisted projectors, but not fixed on getting any specifically.

• Anker / Nebula Solar Portable
• Nebula Capsule
• Xiaomi Mijia Mini Projector

Background / usage

• It'll only be used occasionally for late-night TV viewing or the odd movie. Probably only 1-4 hours a week use, if that.
• There's one large wall in the room that will be projected onto, it’s painted off-white. I don't have any plans to put in a projector screen.
• There's one window with curtains and the room gets relatively dark but not pitch black.
• It'll be used for streaming, probably with an attached Amazon or Google device.
• I'll build a small shelf above the bed headboard to mount the projector on.
• If the projector has a decent speaker that's a bonus, but have a few Bluetooth speakers in the house that I can spare to link it up to.

Spoiler: Sketchs and dimensions of the room.

Questions

• Should I look for a min. lumen / ANSI rating?
• Is 1080p sufficient? Most content being streamed will be 1080p, 20% will be 4k, but not too bothered about a downgrade in quality.
• Is there anything else I should consider or be aware of?
• Is a projector with this budget and usage a waste of time?

 

[gagaga]

You'll probably be looking at an LCD in that price range, so brightness will be fine for the casual watching you're proposing. Likewise the wall will be fine for that purpose. It will look washed out compared to a TV, but will still feel pretty cinematic.

Re 1080p - at that price range they are all 1080p, though the odd one might have a trick to pretend they are 4K. The distance you'll be watching from 1080p will be fine unless you're making the image huge (Which will compromise brightness).

For your budget, also look at that classifieds on these forums, you might get a bit of a bargain and find one of the ~£1000 projects with minimal use for your budget. That will be brighter and will have less of the rainbow effect (if you're susceptible to it).

For sound - i'd ignore any inbuilt speaker. It'll be awful and intended for people sitting behind it (so will be facing your wall. Bluetooth headphones are another option as well as a speaker, but check what you intend to connect that to (probably the source as few PJs will support a bluetooth connection).