Our New Egate Home LED Projector & Screen :)
Here is our new Egate Home LED Projector & Screen that we bought recently to watch movies on a bigger screen during the weekends.
It’s been eight months since I watched a movie because mobile/computer/TV screens cause eye-strain when I watch for a long time. So unless I am working, I stay away from these light-emitting gadgets.
The last time I went to my eye doctor, he told me that there would be no eye strain if I watch something from over 20-feet of distance. That’s why we don’t strain our eyes while watching movies in the theater.
Also, with a projector, we are not exposed to light directly. We just see the reflection of light from the screen. This is softer on the eyes.
Considering all these things, I checked on Amazon India and I was surprised to find that there were a number of inexpensive LED projectors selling on that marketplace.
After a little research, I zeroed-in on Egate LED projector. I guess this is made in China, but most electronics are made in China anyway.
Since these are low-cost projectors, the brightness and resolution are quite less. So it’s not possible to use it for work purposes – text is difficult to read. However, it’s more than sufficient for watching movies and youtube videos – especially at night or in dark ambiances. Which is what I wanted it for.
I was able to connect my DTH set-top box and my laptop with the projector easily with the HDMI cable supplied by the manufacturer. I also bought a longer (5m) HDMI cable because I wanted the laptop to be near me as I need to change youtube videos frequently.
I bought a large projector screen with a stand from Amazon. So we are able to move the screen and stand parallel to the wall when not using it – minimizing the space occupied by the screen.
There are many screens in the 4:3 aspect ratio but I searched for and bought one in the 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. This one is bigger and the projector display fits it perfectly – it occupies almost the full screen from where we have placed it.
The projector has a built-in speaker. It picks up the audio too via the HDMI cable and automatically plays it while playing the video. The audio is loud but not always clear. For better audio, I guess I’ll have to buy and connect a good external speaker via the 3.5mm audio out port in the future.
Actually, I bought the ‘Miracast’ Projector model thinking I’ll be able to mirror my mobile screen to the projector display. But while setting it up I discovered that Android has dropped miracast in its recent versions. So, for now, I am trying to figure out how to connect the mobile without buying Chromecast or Amazon Fire Stick.
I think I should have bought the Projector model with built-in Android. That way, we can just connect it to WiFi and load Google Play apps directly from the projector. If you want to buy one in the future, buy an Android projector. The price difference between the models is not that much.
Try to buy the max. resolution and brightness your budget will allow. Mine is 720p and 400 ANSI Lumens (I think). There are better models than this. If you just want to use it to watch movies at night this is fine.
So far I’ve spent close to 15K INR for the entire projector set-up: LED Projector, Screen, Longer HDMI Cable & Electrical Extension box. Quite inexpensive.
Destination Infinity
PS: We have already watched two movies – that too continuously without any break. So far I did not face any strain on my eyes. I hope to watch at least two movies every week from now on – on the weekend nights.
Who needs a theater when we have a projector? Thanks to the Chinese 🙂
Glad you have a new toy to play with.
A new toy that enables me to watch movies after eight months without worrying about eye-strain 🙂
Destination Infinity
Good idea since we no longer can go to cinema halls to watch movies. You will get the feel of a big screen too. How big is your screen now?
I think it should be around 8 x 5 feet – I know it’s slightly bigger than the standard 6 x 4 inch screens.
Destination Infinity
Good purchase.
thnx…
Destination Infinity