As companies like Sony and Epson strive to bring giant cinema-sized projectors home, Philips is taking the opposite approach with compact alternatives that create large images from smaller hardware, such as its new 1080p Screeneo U4 shot ultra short that doesn’t look bigger than a shoe box.
If you want to permanently switch from a TV to a projector in your living room or in your home theater, ultra-short-throw projectors are a more convenient solution, as there is no risk that anyone will get up for a break in the bathroom and be blinded by a bright light. ray of light emanating from the back of the room. One downside to going the ultra short shot route is that these projectors are usually very large and very expensive, but the Philips Screeneo U4 is not.
Weighing in at three pounds and only 8.8 inches on the longest side, Philips claims that the Screeneo U4 can project an 80-inch-sized image from a distance of about 12 inches from a wall, or an image from 60 inches to just 7.7 inches away. However, one of the most important metrics for a projector is the lumens, or the amount of light they can actually emit on a wall or screen. For the Philips Screeneo U4, 400 lumens is a bit disappointing, which means that for a decent level of contrast and brightness, you’ll only want to use it in a dark room if you want to get an image over 60 inches. .
Many compact all-in-one projectors are now shipped with Google TV and Wi-Fi so that, out of the box, they can access the content of all major streaming platforms. The Screeneo U4 does not, and instead encourages users to opt for a streaming dongle, such as a Chromecast, for one of the projector’s two HDMI ports, which can draw power from the single USB port right next to it.
A pair of 15-watt speakers are integrated into the Screeneo U4, which is another benefit of using an ultra-short-throw projector located at the front of a room, but users can also choose to connect headphones without wireless or a pair of wireless speakers. by Bluetooth, assuming they are fine with a small delay between the audio and what’s happening on the screen. Other features include a built-in camera, which allows the projector to automatically correct focus and make key corrections, and an LED light source that promises 30,000 hours of use.
Philips is following the crowdfunding route to bring the ultra-short-range Screeneo U4 projector to consumers via Indiegogo (the usual crowdfunding warnings apply here, although the risk is minimal given that Philips has been around for 130 years) and the its best feature is certainly a 50% discount for first-time sponsors, making the price around $ 630 ($ 875). This makes this one of the cheapest ultra-short throw projectors you can buy, and a tempting upgrade assuming you get the discount. With a full price that will exceed $ 1,000 ($ 1,388) after shipping begins in August, you’ll probably want to opt for a projector with more lumens than Screeneo U4 offers, even if you have to sacrifice the comfort of its ultra short shot functionality.