AAXA P8 Portable Projector Review: Teeny Price, Tiny Size, Totally Bright

The AAXA P8 is small and low cost even in comparison with different moveable projectors I’ve reviewed. The Nebula Capsule is nearly as minuscule however it’s a whopping 20% costlier. Impressively, the P8 has a full-size HDMI enter, Bluetooth and a headphone jack. Disappointingly, it isn’t powered by USB, so it’s a must to use the included energy adapter, which provides bulk to an in any other case minuscule bundle. It additionally lacks a battery. The picture high quality is okay, given its value and dimension, however like its larger brother, the P6X, gentle output is its principal energy.

The P8 is so much brighter than it has any proper to be. I measured 230 lumens, which is round half what the P6X places out however an enormous 2.5x what I measured with the Capsule. Plus, there are a handful of streaming apps inbuilt, which is certainly handy. So general, for the worth, you get a giant picture from a tiny, tiny projector.

Pico pico

• Native decision: 960×540 pixels
• HDR-compatible: No
• 4K-compatible: No
• 3D-compatible: No
• Lumens spec: 430
• Zoom: No
• Lens shift: No
• Lamp life (Regular mode): ~30,000 hours

The P8 shouldn’t be an HD decision projector. It is barely greater than customary definition with 960×540 pixels. Consequently, the pixels could be fairly apparent and visual with all however the smallest of projected photos. As we speak the most cost effective TVs have at the very least HD decision however projectors are a unique animal. Given the scale and value of the P8 it is neither sudden nor a deal breaker.

AAXA claims 430 lumens of sunshine output, and I measured roughly 230 on the P8. To place that in perspective, the equally sized and priced Anker Nebula Capsule places out 85, whereas the costlier Xiaomi Mi Sensible Projector 2 solely managed 162. The P8 is even brighter than the costlier Samsung Freestyle, which places out 197 lumens regardless of its $800 price ticket. The larger P6X places out 437.

There isn’t any lens shift or zoom: Focus is achieved through a small wheel on the facet. 

The LEDs are rated for 30,000 hours. You are way more more likely to lose the P8 between the couch cushions earlier than the LEDs die out.

Ins and outs

• HDMI inputs: 1
• USB ports: 2 (A and C)
• Audio output: Headphone output/Bluetooth
• Web: 2.4GHz/5GHz
• Distant: Not backlit

There is a full-size HDMI enter, which simply makes the P8 simpler to stay with in comparison with some projectors that use micro- or mini-HDMI and require an adapter. Surprisingly, for the scale and value, there are a handful of built-in streaming apps. Netflix and YouTube are the headliners, joined by Twitch, Vimeo, Haystack Information and Tubi. 

In the event you dig into the P8’s menus you’ll find the much-dreaded Aptoide retailer. This can be a semi-offshoot of the Google Play Retailer: There are some apps you will acknowledge and so much that you simply will not. Worse, nearly all of them do not work as you’d count on. Aptoide is frequent amongst lower-priced projectors.

Like all cheap projectors it makes use of a cell model of Netflix, extra like what you’d discover in your cellphone. This implies the interface is much less user-friendly utilizing a distant, which it’s a must to use since there is not any AAXA app. It additionally means you may’t forged to the projector out of your cellphone since Netflix thinks the projector itself is a supply. So, oddly, you might theoretically forged FROM the projector TO one other show. I did not check this, however that is what it says on display. It says loads of issues on display, like different error messages, pop-ups which might be troublesome to eliminate, and extra. I did, ultimately, get it operating, so it is in there. Simply do not count on the graceful expertise such as you get on most different units.

YouTube works as you’d hope, although, letting you decide what you need in your cellphone and forged it over to the projector (oddly, labeled “ATV_229” not P8 or AAXA). 

There is a single 2-watt driver. I did not count on a lot deep bass and room-filling sound out of one thing the scale of a tweeter however this speaker is fairly quiet. Fortuitously there’s Bluetooth or a headphone jack when you favor analog, so you may add an exterior speaker (which I extremely suggest).

One other disappointment is the shortcoming to energy the projector utilizing USB. As a substitute, it comes with a normal energy adapter wall wart. There is a USB-C enter on the facet, however it would not energy the unit. A projector this small, powered off a USB battery pack, can be wonderful. I am certain we’ll get one thing like that ultimately however within the meantime you will must lug the adapter round to make use of the P8..

The tiny distant is so long as one in every of my fingers and squeezes in all the required buttons, however laborious to make use of at midnight as they’re all the identical dimension and form.

Image high quality comparisons

I pitted the P8 towards the AAXA P6X and the Anker Nebula Capsule. The Capsule is a probable competitor for the P8, at roughly the identical value and kind of an identical dimension. One’s a dice, the opposite’s a cylinder, however each are “pocket sized.” The P6X is each slightly bigger and slightly costlier. It is within the value ballpark, although, and actually it is solely barely bigger. I related them to a Monoprice 1×4 distribution amplifier and in contrast them side-by-side-by-side on a 102-inch 1.0-gain display.

The P6X is a lot brighter than the opposite two it virtually looks like a unique class of projector. It has 437 lumens vs the P8’s 230. The Capsule is barely seen compared, with solely 85 lumens. In equity, the P6X is costlier and bigger. Bigger being relative once we’re speaking tiny projectors. Image high quality is not that a lot completely different between the AAXAs, apart from the brightness. Which is to say, it isn’t nice, however given the worth and dimension, not unacceptable.

Focusing, pun meant, on the P8 and Capsule, the comparability is nearer… ultimately. The P8’s image high quality out of the field is abysmal. It is so over-sharpened it appears just like the “earlier than” picture in an exposé concerning the evils of edge enhancement. Fortunately, there is a modicum of image changes, one thing that may’t be mentioned of the Capsule. Switching to the Consumer image mode and dialing the Sharpness down from “cartoon” to “that is pretty much as good as SD appears” does wonders for the general picture.

With that performed, and the colour temp within the heat mode, it offers the Capsule a run for its cash. Whereas the Capsule would not have any image changes, it appears positive out of the field. It might look higher, I am certain, with some tweaking, however we’ll by no means know. Does the inclusion of image settings imply the P8 can look higher than the Capsule? Kind of. Extra that it brings them in line they usually’re each equally “off” simply in several methods. Colours aren’t correct. Shade temperature is not both. It is not fairly cartoonish, however neither look notably real looking both. 

One sudden side of the P8’s efficiency is its distinction ratio. I measured a median distinction ratio of 558:1, which is considerably higher than something underneath $1000 that I’ve measured in latest reminiscence. So it appears far much less washed out than the Capsule, which averages simply 192:1. In order that, mixed with the added brightness, does push the P8 in entrance by way of general picture high quality.

Do these videophile particulars matter for sub-$300 projectors? Most likely not. I might say different elements are extra essential, which brings us to what I believe are the 2 most essential variations between the Capsule and the P8: brightness and batteries.

The P8’s brightness is borderline outstanding for its dimension and value. It places far costlier projectors to disgrace. At ~50-inches that is shiny sufficient to see with some lights on. Even at 100 inches, it is a usable picture. Apart from the P6X I do not know of one other projector this dimension that may try this. I am not saying it is best to use an inaccurate, 540p projector as your principal TV… however for $250 you might do worse.

The Capsule cannot compete on brightness, however it does have a battery. The P8 doesn’t. That is a sport changer, or possibly a unique product class. You possibly can put the Capsule in a backpack and watch a film on the facet of a tent. I believe, for lots of people, that is the principle use for a projector this small. The P8 simply cannot try this — not with no very lengthy extension twine. The P6X certain can, although, for a bit extra money and a bigger unit.

Tiniest of the tiny

The P8 is actually a pocket projector. You possibly can match it in your pocket. But it surely’s far brighter than different projectors this dimension. It even has built-in Netflix and YouTube as an added bonus. I want it recharged through USB-C, making it really off-the-grid moveable. But when off-the-grid moveable is what you need, the P6X is barely slightly bit costlier (and bigger), or the Capsule is simply as small however far dimmer than each.

It is a fairly particular area of interest the P8 matches into: tiny dimension, tiny value, large brightness and no battery. An anomalous amalgam of attributes that in some way works. It is laborious to not like 230 lumens for lower than $250.