With winter approaching and the pandemic still in full swing, many of us have been forced to stay indoors. And that means no more going to the theater to take in the latest tent pole blockbuster or indie film.
Fortunately for us, a number of films have been released direct to consumer or have been fast-tracked for home release. Moreover, streaming services are getting more competitive with films and TV shows.
While we can’t help you get back out to the real world, we can help point you in the direction of a solid stop-gap measure. That is to say, we can recommend a decent mini projector to help bring the big screen to you.
Priced just $120 at the time of writing this review, the IBERDE Mini Projector is an affordable way of projecting your favorite content on a wall, screen, or garage door.
Whether you’re plugging your PS5, NVIDIA Shield, laptop or something else into the HDMI port, you’ll be able to project an image up to 176-inches. That’s more than 14 feet when measured diagonally.
It’s not just the HDMI input either as there are other ports, too. Select from USB, a card reader, AV cables, or VGA for your source. Indeed, it’s not just for films but it can also work with your laptop for giving reports just as easily. Whatever you’d normally run out to a monitor or TV can be pushed through the IBERDE Mini Projector.
We found the IBERDE Mini Projector to be easy to set up and configure, even without the remote control. Although it does come with one, you’ll need to supply your own pair of AAA batteries. Nevertheless, the menu system and physical buttons ensure you’re still able to take it out of the box and get to projecting.
Playing around with various rooms, walls, and surfaces to project on, we found the IBERDE to be more than sufficient for minimal to moderate needs. The image is bright, clear, and crisp at 1920 x 1080 pixels.
The fan is quiet and doesn’t drown out the audio, but we would suggest plugging something in for external sound. The projector has an external output for speakers or headphones.
If you’re taking the projector with you and only plan to use it for speeches, business updates, or the occasional quiet night alone, you’ll be alright. But, get into a room with multiple people or find yourself sitting more than a few feet away from the projector and you may have a bit of difficulty.
The potential size for the projection is quite surprising and rivals more costly projectors we’ve seen. But, we also found where corners were cut. As to how much that matters to users will vary, but we’ll point a few out here.
For one, there’s no kickstand built-in or pop-out leg to adjust the height. Other projectors tend to have something that drops out on the bottom in the event you need to angle your image up. With that said, it does come with a small screw-in adapter that acts as the leg.
Along those lines, adjusting the keystone is done with a dial similar to the manual focus. And while it works just fine for pinching or pulling the horizontal image, there’s nothing to help you in the event you’re projecting from somewhere other than dead center to the wall.
We did like that the projector has a standard tripod screw on the bottom. In fact, it’s the same spot that you would screw in the leg. The projector is light enough that you can easily put it on any traditional camera tripod and adjust the vertical height.
Also worth noting, this is a 1080p image that while HD, is not 2K nor is it near the 4K stuff we’re starting to see in other projectors. Again, as to how much that matters is up to you.
Getting picky here, but we might have liked seeing a carrying pouch or protective sleeve for the unit. There’s a cap for the lens but given how portable this is, we’d appreciate being able to toss the remote and cables in a bag for travel.
With a promised 50,000 hours of life in the light source we suspect the IBERDE will outlast our needs. We’ve found it quiet, easy to use, and rather flexible, especially considering the price point.
Purchase the IBERDE Mini Projector for about $120 at Amazon where, it currently has a coupon that can take an extra 15% off at checkout. All things considered, we have no issues recommending the brand or the product.
