Best low cost pico projector - UNIC UC50 First Review

There are many mini projectors in the market today.

QUESTIONS
Does it worth it?
or should you spend RM3000 (USD 700) to get a branded high quality 3D capable projector?

These are though questions considering:
- no friend of mine use one
- all these mini/ pico projectors are manufactured by numerous random non-international branded company
- the specs varies a lot for these projectors (resolutions, lumens, input port, output port etc)
- projectors are used in low light setting which photos will not be able to show how is the true viewing experience (camera sensor is less sensitive than human eye)

EXPERIENCE PHOTOS
OK, straight to the point - what is the experience quality for UNIC UC50?
Detail summary later. In short, GOOD.
Following are actual photos (minor exposure adjustment to reflect how my eye experience it):

1. Projection from bed about 1.5m away generates an image about 70-80 inches. Only a yellow dim light is ON at minimum brightness. Room will be illuminated by the screen and resulting a brightness experienced as picture.
   
2. Now, what does it look like under normal room lighting, refer below. Projected from about 1m from the wall, image about 50inch, normal room lighting. Softdrink bottle is to reflect screen size comparison.
   
3. Same setting, lets turn off the light. Softdrink bottle is still there at bottle left.
   
4. And this is all it takes to get this working.
   

PURCHASE CRITERIA SUMMARY

Of all the projector options available, why is UC50 my final decision?

1. WIN
• Natural 16:9 ratio (Native resolution: 854 x 480) - avoid 4:3 ratio as nowadays most media are all in 16:9 ratio. Top and bottom bar for 4:3 ratio are useless
• DLP projection
• Very compact in size and weight - a size that can put in pocket
• Operate using normal smartphone charger
• Has battery build-in & can be powered by power bank - truly portable.
• Has build in speaker (soft but usable)
• Has multi-input (HDMI, AV, USB, Micro SD) & audio output
• Affordable gadget pricing - RMB748 | RM485 | USD 114
• Highest resolution 1080p - this is important only if you play 1080p files from USB or microSD card (Clarification: Highest resolution means it can play the video file without issue, output quality still rely on Native resolution)
2. LOSE
• Do not have adjustment capability (back to square screen) for angled projection
• Low lumen (800) - Only suitable to use at night without light (I planned to use at night in dark setting. Thus this is not important for me)

EXPERIENCE SUMMARY

1. My setting:
• UC50 projector
• My own Manfrotto mini tripod
• Google chromecast
• MicroSD card
• Xiaomi 5000mah power bank 
2. Tripod in package - NOPE
• Tripod in package is suitable if you are using MicroSD card or USB drive to store content.  
• Additional HDMI cabling, Streaming stick etc will result in the tripod to trip or disoriented
• Not easy to adjust the screen to be truly horizontal parallel
3. Build-in speaker - AVERAGE
• Only suitable in private session without other noise
• Build-in speaker sound is softer when miracast via certain software compared to others.
• recommend to use headset or external speaker for better experience
4. User Interface for USB/ MicroSD - AVERAGE
• Looks and feel like standard first gen smartTV UI. Usable, just basic.
5. Battery - GOOD
• When fully charge, top right screen will see a full battery sign
• Build-in battery claimed to have 1 hour power (yet to confirm)
• Xiaomi 5000mah power bank - 60% power lasted me 2-3hours
6. Image quality - GOOD
• Very good at low/no light
• Sharp & Clear
• High color accuracy
7. My experience combo
• Cast from smartphone to Chromecast give the best user experience as you can still enjoy all the nice graphical UI on your phone
• Small issue - Casting from app using a SmartDNS seems to be not working (found a solution, yet to test - will review and update this later)

WHAT IS IN PACKAGE?

• UC50 projector
• IR remote control
• HDMI cable
• RCA (F) to AV cable
• Samsung Smartphone charger
• USB to power cable

Second review will be written on further test.

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