Cheap, portable projectors are getting increasingly more powerful and affordable this year. We’ve seen a whole host of very low cost and surprisingly decent big picture beamers arrive in the last few months, and now Chinese brand Xiaomi has joined the party with the launch of the Redmi Projector 5 and Redmi Projector 5 Pro.
They’re both launching in China initially and they offer 1080p images and can beam a picture of up to 120-inches on any wall or projection screen. Thanks to their integrated gimbal stand, they’re pretty flexible, with the ability to project onto ceilings too. They also come with sealed optical engines, wireless screen casting, automatic set up features and Xiaomi HyperConnect support.
First up is the standard model, the Redmi Projector 5 (pictured right), which is housed in a textured white chassis and has an integrated gimbal stand that enables 360-degree tilt adjustment. The custom sealed optical engine is there to help dust getting inside and interfering with the picture quality, making the device more durable. In terms of brightness, it can output pictures at 400 CVIA lumens, and it also boasts SGS Low Blue Light certification, which should ensure it doesn’t strain the eyes too much.
Other features include a Time-of-Flight laser sensor that combines with auto-focus and auto-keystone correction to automatically optimise the picture wherever it’s pointed out. It can also be swiveled side-to-side by 20-degrees, making it even more flexible, positioning-wise.
Inside, there’s a MediaTek MT9-series processor that comes with 1GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. There’s a Bluetooth voice remote control, and connectivity options include dual-band Wi-Fi, wireless casting from smartphones and USB-C and HDMI ports. Because it supports Xiaomi HyperConnect, users can also use it as a hub for smart home products such as Xiaomi’s smart lights and curtains, if they happen to own any. All in all, the Redmi Projector 5 does not have a bad set of features considering it’s priced at just 999 RMB, which works out at around £109 at the current exchange rate.
For many, the more intriguing offering will be the Redmi Projector 5 Pro (left), which beefs up the brightness by more than double to 1,000 CVIA lumens. At that level, users should be able to enjoy big-screen pictures during the daytime, so long as they draw the curtains. It also comes with HDR support, which should ensure better contrast.
The Pro model has the same sealed optical engine and also an all-glass lens system, which helps to improve image sharpness by around 10% compared to the standard model. Other enhancements include a 120Hz refresh rate, versus 60Hz on the standard version, 5 milliseconds latency and MEMC motion compensation. These features should help to reduce motion blur and minimise judder during fast-moving, action-packed scenes, sports and video games.
Because it’s a more expensive model, it looks a bit nicer too with its fabric-covered front panel. However, it’s a little less flexible, with Xiaomi saying that the gimbal stand supports 150-degrees of vertical adjustment, and 30-degree side-to-side movement.
On the set up side, the Pro model has the same ToF sensor to aid its autofocus and auto-keystone correction features, but it also has automatic obstacle avoidance and screen alignment thrown in to further refine the picture without manual input. In addition, there’s also a nice wall colour adaptation feature that helps to adjust the picture based on the colour of the wall.
The Redmi Projector 5 Pro comes with a superior MediaTek MT9660 chipset that has 2GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, and there’s a dual-circulation cooling system that helps keep the noise level to less than 28dB, the company said. The sound system is a bit punchier too, with dual 10-watt speakers compared to 7-watt speakers on the basic model, in addition to a passive bass radiator. Both models support Dolby Audio surround sound. In terms of connectivity, the Pro model has one HDMI 2.1 port and one HDMI 2.0, versus the two HDMI 2.0 ports on the cheaper model, and there’s a single USB 2.0 port, the same as what’s found on the standard device.
For these improved specifications, Xiaomi has upped the asking price to 1,899 RMB, which translates to a still very reasonable £281. For now, the two devices are only available in China, but it would not surprise us to see them launch globally in the coming weeks or months.
