XGIMI Elfin review: A genuinely protable projector

(Pocket-lint) - With streaming services similar Netflix and Amazon spending billions connected caller contented each year, there's been nary amended clip to bask the changeless watercourse of caller shows and movies. 

Converging paths of some our impulse to spell bigger, on with falling prices, means galore person started to look astatine whether a location projector tin present that cinema acquisition - without needing to enactment a humoungous TV successful your home. 

But having a big, bulky and costly projector for the occasional location cinema infinitesimal mightiness not beryllium to everyone's liking. So, tin a slimline exemplary similar the Elfin from XGIMI deliver?

Design and hardware

• Dimensions: 192 x 194 x 48mm / Weight: 900g
• Dual-band 2.4/5GHz Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/b/ac)
• 2x 3W Harman Kardon speakers
• Inputs: 1x HDMI 2.0, 1x USB 2
• Output: 1x 3.5mm jack
• Bluetooth 5.0 wireless

As you tin spot from the supra spec, the Elfin Smart LED projector is alternatively diddy - surely smaller and lighter compared to what we've travel to expect from a projector. The plan is somewhat reminiscent of the Apple Mac mini - albeit made each from integrative - truthful it's perfect for travelling oregon simply utilizing astir the location to get retired for those one-off moments, alternatively than it ever having to beryllium installed connected a shelf.

Simple successful its design, the tiny achromatic container is void of immoderate buttons, arsenic each controls are handled via the included (and besides white) distant control. The projector's lens is covered by glass, protecting it from fingers and immoderate accidental of genuinely bothersome interference.

The rear of the projector is straightforward too. It features a azygous HDMI 2.0 socket, a USB port, and a vent for cooling. The Elfin doesn't see an Ethernet transportation for those looking for a wired acquisition - retrieve this is designed to beryllium portable - but it does connection afloat Wi-Fi connectivity.

On the dependable beforehand the projector comes with 2 built-in Harman Kardon speakers, oregon the quality to link to a Bluetooth talker if you privation a bigger dependable signifier and person thing to brace it with. There's a 3.5mm headphone jack if you privation to spell with a wired transportation and person a suitable output.

The built-in talker is capable to fto you perceive to what you are watching, of course, but not overmuch much than that. It's surely not punchy capable to make a "cinema" acquisition portion you watch. Our proposal would beryllium to adhd a Bluetooth Speaker oregon perceive via Bluetooth headphones.

Software

• Android TV 10.0 software
• Google Play Store support
• Built-in Google Chromecast

This Elfin projector is powered by Android TV 10, giving you entree to the Google Play Store and each that the operating strategy offers. Once logged successful with your Google credentials, you tin entree assorted streaming services natively, including Amazon Prime, Disney+, adjacent Apple TV, each straight via the projector without having to interest astir further set-top boxes.

That database sadly doesn't presently see Netflix, which though is disposable to download isn't supported by the device. It's a precise glaring omission fixed the enactment of different streaming services and means that if you bash privation to ticker Netflix connected the Elfin Smart LED projector past you'll person to bash truthful via a streaming instrumentality specified arsenic the Fire TV Stick 4K, Roku, oregon an Apple TV box.

XGIMI tells america that it's inactive waiting connected Netflix to approve: "XGIMI's ngo is to present the champion idiosyncratic acquisition astatine each times. We are actively successful conversations with Netflix to integrate and tally the streaming work straight and locally successful our projectors, presently we urge Netflix users to usage 1 of the galore streaming media players for a amended experience." Here's hoping that gets resolved soon. 

Netflix omissions aside, 1 of the much intelligent features of this Elfin is the easiness by which you tin crook it connected and get watching consecutive distant - thing that's intelligibly aimed astatine those who privation to setup this projector rapidly successful antithetic places connected a changeless basis.

Designed to beryllium utilized astir the house, the Smart LED projector features the company's car keystone correction and autofocus technology. This is the aforesaid strategy arsenic recovered connected the company's bigger and much susceptible 4K projectors (like the Horizon 4K projector) and rapidly and easy ensures the representation is successful absorption and 'squared'.

More interestingly, though, it volition past automatically find you an optimal surface size to debar obstacles connected your partition - specified arsenic similar airy switches oregon representation frames - which is simply a clever diagnostic that works rapidly - unless you override it.

It means that wrong seconds of turning the projector connected you'll beryllium up and moving to watching your favourite shows. There's nary spending the archetypal 10 minutes trying to spot whether you've got the absorption close - that's large fixed the portability origin of this device. 

Watching TV and movies

• Non-replaceable lamp rated for 30,000 hours (10 years astatine 8h per day)
• 600-800 Lumens maximum brightness
• High dynamic range: HDR10+
• Resolution: 1080p (Full HD)

The Elfin projector delivers up to 800 lumens brightness and tin output Full HD solution up to a surface size of 200-inches. Clearly this should make a more-than-big-enough representation for astir - though you volition request rather immoderate region betwixt you and the wall, astatine 3.2-metres to execute that top-end scale.

That 800 lumens is surely agleam for this people of device, but it volition conflict successful brighter lighting conditions, portion bigger representation scales inherently won't beryllium arsenic agleam either owed to the region effect. Not to the constituent that it's unwatchable successful a well-lit room, but the projector's conscionable not agleam capable oregon almighty capable to ticker thing successful afloat daytime conditions.

Likewise the Elfin does sometimes conflict with acheronian scenes successful movies oregon TV shows. We deliberation it works hard to bash the champion it can, which isn't to beryllium sniffed astatine fixed the asking price. Motion is cleanable and colours intimately lucifer what you would expect.

The representation prime is large - though not 4K Ultra-HD, conscionable to propulsion that constituent - portion the summation of HDR10+ precocious dynamic scope surely makes a affirmative quality to the colour reproduction - the representation is precise washed retired if you crook it disconnected - and each this is achieved with precise small audible sound from the projector itself.

There are a fig of representation mode settings to assistance you fine-tune things, going immoderate mode to allowing you to customise the acquisition - but we really recovered the projector worked champion erstwhile we opted for the default settings alternatively than trying to excavation excessively deep.

Writing by Stuart Miles. Editing by Mike Lowe. Originally published connected 21 November 2021.