Most projectors in this category lack the advanced lens shifting and zoom functions you’ll find on a home theater projector. We give extra points to projectors that perform one or both of those functions automatically. Picture setup: Focusing and shaping the image correctly should be simple.Does the picture appear rich and clean? Is the picture sharp? Do colors look natural, or are they wildly exaggerated? Color accuracy is not very good on many portable movie projectors, but considering their intended use, we’ve concluded that light output and contrast ratio are more important parameters, so we weigh those more heavily. Picture quality: We evaluate how each projector measures objectively, as well as how the image looks with real-world content.The included remote should have all the necessary buttons and be able to control all the internal apps the ideal remote controls the projector via Bluetooth instead of infrared (so you don’t need line-of-sight) and has a simple layout. If a projector has internal streaming apps, we confirm that those apps are easy to load and use.

User experience: We prioritize ease of use, since we believe that most people who want a portable mini projector put high value on a user-friendly experience.The main drawbacks are the lack of a USB-C port and the awkwardly designed underside, which limits the tripods and mounts you can attach. The inclusion of a backlit remote is a nice touch. In our tests, the built-in battery provided up to 3.5 hours of run time, and the internal speaker sounded loud and full, though you can also connect a speaker via cable or Bluetooth. The Mars 3 Air has solid image brightness, contrast, and color accuracy for this type of projector. Because Google TV supports pretty much every major streaming service, including Netflix, you don’t have to connect any external sources, though the projector has HDMI and USB-A video inputs if you need them. This is one of the first portable projectors to run on the Google TV streaming platform, which is our favorite. It’s fairly compact, and it includes a convenient carrying handle. This full-HD LED projector delivers solid picture and sound quality, has streaming apps built in, and can run off an internal battery for true portability. The Nebula Mars 3 Air offers everything we like to see in a portable mini projector.

Best outdoor movie projector 2018