There have been lots of trends in the TV/Audio market this year, as always. Off the top of my head you could pick wired headphones, party speakers, bigger TVs and the increased interest in lifestyle projectors.
It’s always difficult, at least for me, to figure out whether these are just ‘trends’ or whether there is real-world experience backing them up. Take lifestyle projectors, for example.
More AV brands are launching portable, convenient models, offering an experience you can scale to your needs and requirements of your home. But are they increasing in popularity, or, is do brands want you to buy into the good vibes of graphs with red arrows moving upwards as sales increase.
There’s apparently been a boom in projectors since the pandemic – I myself have been offered so many portable projectors to review that something must be up. The story that’s emerging is that people are buying a projector as an alternative to a TV, but will a projector ever replace a TV?
I don’t think so – although it can offer something different…
Same idea, new audience
There’s very much still a market for hulking beasts that require a dedicated space, but there has been an increase in smaller models. Do I want a 20kg projector that takes up lots of space? Actually, yes, if I were rich and had my own private cinema room.
But I don’t. And that’s the case for many people.
So while the JVC DLA-NZ900 that won our Best Projector award would be perfect for some, for those of us without a dedicated installation, who live in flats, who simply don’t have that much room, a portable projector is the saviour.
I could point to the Samsung with its Freestyle projector in kicking this trend off, but others have leapt into the fray. The likes of LG, Xgimi, Yaber, BenQ, and Anker have offered plenty of models; but Epson, JMGO, Hisense, Leica, Optoma, Dangbei, Philips and others have joined the fray too. It’s a surprise to me that the likes of Sony and JVC have stayed silent.
And these projectors cater to a market that isn’t necessarily after the highest quality, but is happy to make-do with good enough in a small, unobtrusive package. The flexibility these projectors offer, whether in terms of placement (short-throw or ultra short-throw) to beaming an image (on the floor, a wall, outdoors or even a ceiling), shows off their adaptability.
Xgimi, with its numerous add-ons, has lent into the ‘vibes’ of portable projectors (the launch of the most recent was basically a fashion runway), but its add-ons change the experience in a way that expands the reach of the projector’s audience.
They’re not for the home cinema purist (you know who you are), but for a younger audience – families and kids. Like with Samsung’s Premiere 5, where you can play interactive touch games, it broadens the appeal of a projector in a way that a rigid home cinema beast couldn’t it. And that brings more people to the market.
But it is a compromise
But let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. There are compromises, some of which can’t be avoided. For one, while you can get a massive picture compared to a TV screen (and at a relatively affordable price), projectors can’t go as bright as a TV nor will they offer the type of black levels, contrast and detail that the best TV could, unless you consider buying an indoor or outdoor projector screen.
Battery power? I don’t want a low power alert 90 minutes into a two-hour film. The sound system might be fine on some projectors, but ‘fine’ doesn’t get the pulses racing.
App support isn’t always there. Why am I seeing the Hulu app when I’m not based in the US? Why doesn’t this projector support BBC iPlayer? Why am I logged into some weird version of Netflix that I can barely navigate?
Convenience comes at a cost. For some it’s less of an issue, but in the back of my head, I’ll always feel as if I could be getting a better experience… if I were watching on my TV.
Lifestyle projectors won’t replace TVs
Anyone even attempting to call the death of the TV is being very premature. Its role in the household has changed.
A TV is the centre of not just the living room but the whole house. Gaming, workouts, security, smart home, multi-screen and multi-room – it’s become more than just a box people watched Big Brother on 25 years ago (though amazingly, those boxes sounded so much better than today’s TVs).
TVs have experienced a ‘glow-up’, as it were, and so have projectors. I don’t think a lifestyle projector can replace a TV, but it can go to other places.
A projector might make more sense in a bedroom than a TV. While there are outdoor TVs, a projector can be more convenient (especially if you have a screen) – you can take a projector with you to the outdoors.
So while I make my way through a mountain-load of portable projectors, I’ll keep in the back of my mind that they’re not trying to do what a TV does. They are different, and the potential they offer could take them to places no one really expects.
