GoKawiilRita El Khoury / Android Authority
I’ve been a fan of portable projectors since I first got to try the XGIMI MoGo Pro in 2019. Back then, it was a nice supplement to my streaming setup at home, like a portable TV that I could carry to the balcony or bedroom without having to lug around a huge television set. Over the years, I’ve used Android TV and then Google TV projectors in various capacities, from my kitchen to my outdoor deck. My latest projector replaced my Samsung Frame TV Pro after its display died, and I was left TV-less for a few weeks before it was repaired.
It’s actually during those weeks that I realized something: Perhaps my next TV purchase won’t be a TV after all, but a high-end ultra-short-throw Google TV projector. Here’s why.
New TV or new projector? Which one would you buy? 6 votes TV for sure! 17 % Projector. 33 % I'm not sure yet. 17 % Neither. I'm happy with whatever I have now. 33 %
A projector isn’t a permanent big black box on my wall
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority
When I moved into my new home, I went out of my way to find a TV that didn’t look like a huge black box permanently taking up visual space in my living room. I had my eye on the Samsung Frame TV and its various competitors from Hisense and TCL. But when Samsung announced the Frame Pro with its brighter and more contrasty Neo QLED panel, wireless box connection, and faster processor, I knew that was the one.
I had to pay a hefty sum to disguise the TV on my wall, and yet, because of Samsung’s really bad software and lack of proper settings and options, I find myself disabling the frame feature about 70% of the time. By which point, I’m back to the big black rectangle despite having paid for the privilege of avoiding that.
By design, a projector is the very opposite of this. It sits on the media console if it’s an ultra-short-throw model, or next to the couch if it’s a regular laser projector, and doesn’t command any wall real estate. I could even have a painting, some decor, or bookshelves there, and mount a white screen on the ceiling that drops on demand. That’s the visual freedom that a projector could give me.
I can carry and use my entire TV everywhere
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