If you’re looking to avoid ending up with a blurry, colorless image and want a budget projector that can easily slip into your pocket for portability or one that performs like a home theater projector at a fraction of the cost, we’ll have the product for you. If you want more information on the most up-to-date pricing on the products mentioned, be sure to check the links in the description.
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VANKYO LEISURE 3
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The fifth product on our list is the VANKYO LEISURE 3. This is our best budget under 100 dollars. The VANKYO LEISURE 3 is a popular choice for those looking for a cheap, compact projector to enjoy movies, TV shows, and sports on a big screen. The mini projector is quite portable at just 2.4 pounds and even comes with its own carrying case making it ideal for events for under 100 dollars. It’s definitely a budget option but still manages to have decent image quality and despite only being native 480p, it still supports up to 1080p and has a 2,000 to one contrast ratio.
So, whether you’re watching movies at home or in your backyard, you still get impressive visuals up to 100 seventy inches. Although it has 2,400 lumens of brightness, I think it’s optimal to watch in dark settings. If you want actual native 720p resolution with support up to 1080 P and far better image quality, brightness, and features, you may be better off with the Veratec LumaVision coming up next for about $35 more.
You get plenty of connectivity options with the Venco including HDMI, USB, VGA, and analog inputs but it doesn’t support any form of screen mirroring or casting so you’ll have to hard connect your phone or tab if you want to watch content on your device. I like that the USB port also provides power. So if you connect a streaming dangle or Amazon Fire TV stick to the HDMI port, you can just connect their power cord to the USB port. The Beamer has stereo speakers built in.
Each powered by two watts which isn’t bad considering the Leisure three’s price point. But I would suggest you definitely want to hook up some external speakers for more immersive audio. There’s plenty of better options than the VANKYO LEISURE 3 when it comes to image quality, portability, and feature set but for anyone looking for big screen entertainment for under 100 dollars, the Leisure 3 is an enticing budget option.
Verratek LumaVision
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The fourth product on our list is the Verratek LumaVision. This is our best budget projector for the money. The Verratek LumaVision projector has a native 720p resolution giving you a much more detailed and sharper image when compared to the native 480p resolution of the VANKYO LEISURE 3. Though it does cost a little more, but for those looking for better image quality, at under 150 dollars, the LumaVision is well worth the little extra spend. The LumaVision gives you 1080p support and an incredible 5,000 lumens of brightness so you can even watch it enjoyably during the day with some ambient light. I really like the clear bright image that this LED D projector puts out and it’s high contrast ratio produces a nice vibrant picture that performs above its class.
Colors are well saturated and the blacks actually look black and not washed out even when projected up to 200 inches for big screen entertainment. Simply put, in the most important aspect of a video projector, video quality in the sub $200 price range, you’ll find the LumaVision beats out nearly all the competitors and actually compares more like some projectors in the $300 price range.
It’s compact size lets you easily move it to any room in your home to instantly transform your living room bedroom, basement, patio, backyard, or garage into a movie theater since you only need about three to 15 feet of throw distance. It also comes with built-in stereo speakers so for impromptu movie nights in the backyard, you don’t have to worry about logging out external speakers.
The sound quality isn’t the best but it isn’t bad either. It’s pretty well balanced and adds to the overall cinematic experience. It has some nice features you don’t normally find at this price point like integrated WiFi for screen mirroring. Giving you a simple way to share images and videos for parties, meetings, weddings, or even get together from your phone or other wireless device using Apple AirPlay or Android Mirrorcast.
There’s also a variety of ports including HDMI so you can connect a media player or streaming stick. Considering it’s affordable price point, the Veritech LumaVision Mini Projector brings a lot to the table including native 720p resolution, high brightness, and features like integrated WiFi for screen mirroring. It’s definitely one of the best budget projectors for the money. If you’re someone looking for the best deal and the best value without going into the $300 price range, the Luma Vision will likely be the best choice you.
Kodak Luma 150
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The third product on our list is the Kodak Luma 150 This is our best portable budget projector. While a mini projector maybe portable, for about 200 dollars, the Kodak Luma 150 takes it even further. Not only can you easily slip it into your pocket, it even has a rechargeable battery for ultimate untethered portability. The image quality is quite exceptional when you consider it comes from a projector that’s only 3.1 inches square. Less than one inch thick and only weighs about one pound. So you can pretty much take it anywhere you go.
You get more than 2.5 hours of play time with should be enough for watching most movies or couple TV episodes from wherever you are. The native resolution is 854 x 480 with upscaling support for up to 1080p and projects a sixteen to nine aspect ratio giving you the wide screen look for movies. Surprisingly, the colors reproduced really well and the image quality was better than expected with a decent contrast ratio even when projected as large as 120 inches.
The 60 antsy lumen is on the low side but when viewing in dark settings, watching movies, TV shows, and sports is still quite enjoyable. The ultra portable size also makes ideal to take to business meetings or presentations with its DLP technology, simple touch controls, and fairly comprehensive device compatibility. I like that I can easily play files from thumb drives, micro SD cards, or simply by connecting via HDMI.
As well as screen mirror wirelessly from my phone via AirPlay or Mirrorcast since it also comes with WiFi and Bluetooth. It does have built-in speakers but the single one and a half watt speaker can only output so much but you can easily connect external speakers or headphones via its audio jack. When it comes to portability at just 3.1 inches square and under one inch thick, the Kodak Luma 150 can’t be beaten especially when you add its rechargeable battery making it a great option for movie nights just about anywhere.
Anker Nebula Capsule
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The second product on our list is the Anker Nebula Capsule. This is a great budget projector for outdoors. The Anker Nebula Capsule lets you enjoy blockbuster movies without the blockbuster price of some of the more expensive projectors. Priced around 300 dollars, it’s a great budget projector that has a lot going for it especially if you want to catch up on some of your favorite streaming content in your backyard with no fuss. I really like that it runs on Android 7.1 which looks similar to Android TV and the great benefit is that I’m not just limited to the apps pre-installed on the projector.
With access to the abundant apps for Android, I’m able to download Netflix, Amazon Video, Hulu, YouTube, and other media apps for convenient streaming on the big screen. It also supports screen mirroring with airplane, mirror cast, or Bluetooth. Plus, you can use the HDMI port or the two USB ports to connect external media drives. Now, the big advantage of the Nebula capsule is its portability. It’s not just the compact size which is only incredibly about the size of a coat can but also the 4 hour play time from its rechargeable battery. Just slip it into your backpack.
Pack it along with your camping gear or just take it to your backyard for some cinematic entertainment under the stars. You also get a 360 speaker so whether you have the beamer in front or behind, everyone watching gets great audio. And it gets pretty loud too. The image quality is also impressive considering its size. It has the same native 480p resolution as the Kodak Luma 150 but it’s 100 antsy lumens is much brighter. Overall, it’s not a bad way to watch your screen up to 100 inches. The Anker Nebula Capsule offers some impressive features and performance considering its size.
It doesn’t offer the same key features, ease of use, and overall picture quality as the similarly priced best overall projector coming up next on the list. But it does have a bright image, extremely portable design, and rather affordable price tag making it a great option. So if you value true portability and something that would work great for outdoor and backyard situations, the Anker Nebula Capsule makes a solid choice.
Verratek VividBeam 550
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The first product on our list is the Verratek VividBeam 550. This is our best overall budget projector. The Verratek VividBeam 550 is the only projector on our list with native 1080p resolution and 4K support. So if you like your movies not just big but clear, sharp, and detailed with great color reproduction, then the Vivid Beam 550 gives you that cinematic experience at home for under 300 dollars.
Simply put, if you’re in the market for an affordable projector that can perform like a true home theater projector at a fraction of the price, this is likely your choice. It’s slightly bigger than the LumaVision but it’s still quite portable to move around or your friend’s place. The bigger build gives you a long-lasting bulb with a lifespan of more than 50 thousand hours and outputs an incredible 6,500 lumens so watching with some ambient light in the room is still enjoyable. The Vivid Beam 550 takes your entertainment experience to a new level and can be projected up to 300 inches.
Giving you that movie theater like immersion and it comes with built-in speakers with Dolby support to enhance the overall experience with clear stereo sound. I found the speaker loud enough to not need external speakers. While other projectors on our list only come with manual vertical keystone adjustment. I really like that in addition to manual keystone adjustment, the 550 also has both digital vertical and horizontal adjustments built in so I can use the remote to make any tweaks without having to manually fiddle with dials which may seem like a small detail. But it’s actually extremely useful and makes the projector way more versatile to be used in all kinds of settings and situations.
For example, since it can be ceiling mounted, the digital key stoning is a big bonus and makes life much easier. The Vivid Beam 550 also gives you the convenience of screen mirroring, letting your user mobile devices, PC, or Mac to wirelessly share your screen, stream movies, videos, photos, or games. There’s also a variety of input options including HDMI for Blu-ray and media players or streaming sticks. Plus, you get USB and SD cards. So, viewing content for E learning, gaming, presentations, and more is really convenient. This projector works well in a bedroom, living room, office setting, even outdoors or in a backyard, provided you’ve got a power source available.
Verratek VividBeam 550 offers many of the performance and features normally found on projectors upwards of 500 to $700 at a sub $300 price point. If you’re looking for the best overall budget projector that will appeal to most price conscious people looking to enjoy big screen entertainment, this is likely the one for you.
