4 hours ago
5
Aurzen D1R Cube Roku TV projector
ZDNET's cardinal takeaways
- The built-in Roku TV interface makes this projector casual for kids and parents
- The agleam 1080p representation works good adjacent successful rooms with immoderate daylight
- The worth is strong, though zoom settings reset and audio is basic.
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I wanted Aurzen's D1R Cube Roku TV projector for 1 circumstantial thing: outdoor movie nights. I person a backyard patio and a fireplace, implicit with a cozy sofa for my household to beryllium connected outside. The lone happening missing from this setup is simply a bright, large projector.
I tin representation america huddled nether a blanket, watching an aged favourite similar Jaws beneath the stars. The lone problem? Currently, wherever I live, it's 5 degrees Fahrenheit outside, with 3 feet of snow. My backyard cinema imagination volition person to hold until adjacent summer.
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In the meantime, I figured I could inactive get the projector and acceptable it up determination to spot however good it works and sounds. That's erstwhile an thought deed me... my child's bedroom. I could enactment it successful determination to test, and honestly, it mightiness beryllium the second-best usage lawsuit for it.
She doesn't person a TV successful her room, and I've intentionally kept it that way. This projector mightiness beryllium a bully alternative, though. It's much special, much fun, and little similar different surface bolted to the wall. When it's on, it's an in-home theater. When it's off, it disappears.
Fast, familiar, and agleam
The interface is precisely what you'd expect from a Roku TV, which besides means there's nary learning curve, particularly important erstwhile a kid volition beryllium the superior user, astatine slightest for now. I person 4 Roku TVs successful my home, truthful my girl is already acquainted with Roku and however to usage the remote. That means she tin find and unfastened Disney+, Netflix, and YouTube Kids without needing maine to play tech support.
No outer streaming stick. No guessing which HDMI input does what. No request to redownload my favourite streaming services.
The projector is ace quiescent and throws a crisp, agleam representation straight onto her wall. Her country is each white, which helps, arsenic I don't request to acceptable up a screen. However, it's people a spot darker than different rooms successful my location due to the fact that it has lone 1 model and a slanted ceiling from the roofline. Even during the day, I don't request to adjacent the curtains for her to usage this projector. That truly amazed me.
For those who privation to cognize the show specs, the Aurzen D1R Cube Roku TV projector has a 1080p autochthonal solution and 330 ANSI lumens. I haven't tested it successful a sun-soaked room, but successful a abstraction similar my daughter's room, it holds up acold amended than I expected.
Something other I admit is however accelerated the interface feels. It's conscionable similar utilizing Roku connected a TV. Snappy, responsive, and nary lag. I haven't connected a crippled console to it yet, but that's the adjacent happening I privation to try. My girl loves utilizing my aged N64, truthful I deliberation it could beryllium amusive to hook that up 1 night. And due to the fact that it's a projector, it feels antithetic than a TV. Bigger. More playful. More similar an event.
For kids, especially, that novelty goes a agelong way.
Compact, sleek, and casual
Physically, this projector is compact and minimalist successful design. It features a clean, modern plan with a compact, boxy lawsuit and rounded edges. The white, textured beforehand sheet centers a ample lens, portion a cloth talker grille wraps astir the side.
I truly similar the look of it and admit that it isn't black. Many location amusement devices inactive default to acheronian finishes, which I find dated. My parents had an all-black stereo setup with a matching TV, receivers, and speakers. Very 90s.
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What truly sets this projector apart, though, is that it's lightweight, afloat enclosed, and casual to determination from country to room. That portability is thing my parents decidedly didn't person with their wall-to-wall location theatre setup, and it's what makes this projector truthful appealing. It's besides what volition yet marque backyard movie nights imaginable for my household erstwhile wintertime loosens its grip.
The sealed optical motor is different bully touch, particularly for thing that's meant to beryllium moved astir often. There is simply a little accidental of particulate getting trapped, which means little attraction and, hopefully, less semipermanent representation issues.
The distant is the modular Roku remote, which again means you tin prime it up and commencement watching contented close distant if you're acquainted with Roku. I bash privation it included a dependable fastener for my girl to propulsion and denote what she wants to watch. But I had a spare Roku Voice Remote lying around, truthful I conscionable swapped them with nary issues. You tin besides usage the Roku app connected your phone.
Zoom and audio gripes
The projector automatically handles absorption and keystone correction each clip it powers on, and it does a genuinely bully job.
I don't person to manually tweak clarity oregon alignment, adjacent erstwhile it's placed astatine a flimsy angle. My 1 existent usability gripe is that it doesn't retrieve my zoom preference. I similar zoom the representation retired to 40 inches truthful it doesn't instrumentality up her full chamber wall. There's a door, a dresser, and different obstructions, truthful I privation the representation to enactment connected 1 wholly level conception of wall.
Every clip the projector powers on, however, I person to manually set the zoom. It's not a deal-breaker, but it's noticeable, particularly since everything other feels truthful automated and polished. It besides means my girl can't bash this herself, since you person to dive into settings to set it. She doesn't caput watching it with a 150-inch image, adjacent if it blankets everything. It conscionable bugs me.
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Another tiny contented I person is the sound. It features 10W Dolby Audio-certified speakers, but they won't regenerate a soundbar. In my surviving room, I usage a afloat Roku dependable strategy with wireless speakers and a subwoofer, truthful I'm utilized to a overmuch bigger audio experience. Compared with that, the projector's built-in speakers don't rather measurement up. That said, they're plentifulness large for a child's room.
To clarify, the audio is mostly good. I've adjacent had to inquire my girl to crook it down due to the fact that I tin perceive it blaring passim the upstairs erstwhile I'm trying to write, and it's distracting. Dialogue is clear, and the dependable is large and afloat without being tinny.
It's conscionable not the benignant of immersive dependable strategy you mightiness person successful your surviving room. I'm besides a small cautious astir outdoor use. Environmental sound tin diminish audio quality, and since I'm hard of hearing, measurement and clarity substance much to maine than most.
I fishy I'll privation to brace a Bluetooth talker oregon soundbar, but the projector supports some easily.
ZDNET's buying proposal
I got the Aurzen D1R Cube Roku TV projector for outdoor movie nights, but it's rapidly go 1 of the champion surface experiences successful my house, particularly for my kid. It's fast, simple, bright, large enough, and acold much amusive than a accepted TV.
While I privation it remembered its zoom settings, and I'm inactive reserving judgement connected outdoor audio performance, those consciousness similar insignificant trade-offs for however casual and enjoyable this projector is to use. When summertime yet returns, it'll caput extracurricular wherever it was meant to be, and I tin ever link a soundbar if needed. Until then, it's earning its support successful my daughter's room.
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There are plentifulness of affordable projectors with streaming capabilities, but this Roku projector genuinely stands out. It offers each my favourite services, with accelerated and reliable performance. Since we already usage Roku successful our house, it integrates nicely. I emotion the ecosystem consistency.
It's besides connected merchantability for $169.99 (with the $10 disconnected on-page Amazon coupon), which feels precise well-priced. That's a 38% drop, placing it firmly successful budget-projector territory without the accustomed compromises, specified arsenic clunky bundle oregon anemic brightness.
For a autochthonal 1080p projector with built-in Roku, car focus, and keystone, and a sealed optical engine, it's a low-stakes upgrade that delivers real, mundane value.
English (US) ·