A few years ago, people were predicting the end of the movie theater. With so many available movie titles available from our own couches, it defeated the purpose of actually going out to the movie theater.
Ever since movie theaters have been projecting movies, they’ve fundamentally stayed the same with little new infrastructure or change: some popcorn, an uncomfortable seat, and a big screen with loud speakers. With how cheap TVs have gotten, you can do all of that from home nowadays in a much more comfortable seat.
Here in Southeastern Wisconsin, a popular movie theater is the Marcus Theater. Seeing the demise in people’s desire to go to the theaters, I’ve personally seen the brand change who and what they are. They now offer $5 movies on Tuesdays (even for brand new releases), free popcorn to members (free to signup), extremely comfortable reclining chairs, reserve your own seat, food available inside the theater, and a few other improvements.
Personally, these changes make me want to go to the theaters more often, especially given you can watch content on the “big screen”. That’s what hasn’t changed, the big screen.
Movie theaters have continued to stick with a projector for their content instead of a supersized TV. We have the technology and TVs provide better brightness, colors, and response time, but with the great throw distance of a projector, it’s hard to argue the change.
Why haven’t we adopted projectors in the home yet? Perhaps it’s because they were previously too expensive to justify their use. When TopVision reached out with the claim that their mini projector was affordable, had a large display, was quiet, and had better than average brightness, I, of course, had to put this to the test.
Despite my not liking projectors for anything outside of a movie theater, this is a test of TopVision to see if they can turn me into a believer for a projector in the home, or if a TV cannot truly be replaced.
Welcome to my review of the TopVision T21 Mini Projector.
Design
TopVision’s claim to fame on their T21 projector is the T21’s compact and miniature design. Miniature indeed, the T21 is a child when compared to the Simplebeamer G70UP and business Epson projectors. Likewise, the T21 is a fraction of the weight at only 3 pounds.
Made entirely of plastic, the all-white T21 is a stylish looking projector that can be easily placed anywhere your heart desires. The small, boxy shape gives the T21 advantages to sneak away in a bookcase or be placed on a wall display ledge.
Taking a physical tour around the T21, the front of the projector contains the offset projector lens with a detachable plastic lens cover as well as a forward-facing IR sensor for the included remote.
Around the sides of the T21 there is a fair amount of I/O including a headphone jack, an AV jack, two USB ports, a full-size SD card reader, full-sized HDMI, VGA, and another rear-facing IR sensor. The inclusion of a rear-facing IR sensor is a great benefit as those using the included remote don’t need to fuss with where the IR sensor is.
On the top of the T21, there are the projector’s lens adjustment rings that change distance (screen size) as well as tilt of the lens. Furthermore, the top also contains user-controlled buttons. Here we find the power button, navigation buttons, and menu options. Unfortunately, these buttons are poorly labeled, and I prefer using the included remote. Speaking of which, the black remote is a great addition to the T21. Not only does is it stylish with a brushed plastic face, but the buttons are well laid out and have satisfying clicky responses. Two AAA batteries will power the remote for quite a while.
Back to the projector, the T21 has cooling vents located all around its lower body. The majority of cooling air is taken in from the bottom vents. Exhaled air is sent to the side vent where we can see two copper heat pipes.
All in all, I am rather pleased with the T21 design. Its small, compact size and lightweight body allow it to be easily handled and placed. That said, there are a few design aspects that TopVision could have improved on.
First, the speakers of the T21 are located on the bottom of the projector, causing them to be muffled or quieter than if placed on the top. They also need to battle against the fan noise.
Second, the T21 cannot be ceiling mounted, only placed on a flat hard table surface. The four rubber feet keep the T21 stable on the table, and there is an option to use the included riser foot that will help pivot the T21 up.
The lack of an option to ceiling mount the project does not mean it cannot be done. Luckily, the projector has options to have the image flipped in any direction.
Third, the included power cable is short at only three feet long. It essentially required that the T21 be used with an extension cord.
Functionality
The primary benefit of a projector is that a small, inexpensive device can provide you with a display size up to 100+ inches. Such a TV could cost thousands of dollars, hence their relevance in a movie theater.
In the home, the first thing to check for is that you can support such a display. While a projector can be moved to increase or decrease the screen size, you will still need about 50 – 70 inches of free wall space for a projector such as this one.
I powered up the T21 close to the wall due to that short power cable and then projected an image onto a flat white wall about ten feet away. For video input, I used a Windows 10 laptop and connected it to the T21 via HDMI.
While I opted for HDMI, there are multiple ways to connect to the T21, including VGA, USB via an iPhone or Android smartphone and the EZCast app, an SD card, or through a USB port.
For reasons I will never understand, projectors use the worst fans available on the market, and the T21 is no exception. While the internal fan is quieter than previous projectors I have used, it is still rather loud, tinny, and noticeable.
Once a movie began to play on the projector, external speakers began to drown out the tininess of the T21’s fan, but nonetheless the noise will always remain. My recommendation is that you attempt to place the projector in a location away from your head, preferably in front of you or near external speakers.
You may have noticed my mention of using external speakers while previously mentioning that the T21 has internal speakers. Again, for reasons I do not understand, projectors tend to use lower quality speakers as is the case here.
The T21 speakers are considered “okay”, but their downwards firing positioning followed by the lack of any bass makes them unusable for my enjoyment. The saving grace here is that a projector setup should be used with external speakers and it would always be my recommendation to use as such.
Using external speakers not only solves the problem of lower quality sound, but resolves the other problem by drowning out the fan noise.
Shining bright against the wall at a maximum of 2400 lux, I have about an 80-inch display on my bedroom wall with a movie running at 1080p Blu-ray quality. To my happiness, the image of the movie looks stunning and just like a movie theater.
The T21 displays colorful, clear, and bright images that really immerse you in the content you are watching. So much so that it seriously impressed me in how well the content on the wall looked.
I did notice that the T21 struggled on smaller details such as display text and computer system applications such as Microsoft Word, but movies were, from my experience, flawless.
Loading a movie such as The Avengers, the fast pace exploding scenes didn’t seem to bother the T21 whatsoever, and it wasn’t enough to have it struggle. It handled all of the scenes well and looked good doing it.
Other than watching movies, you can, of course, choose to use the projector for gaming, and it handles this quite well too. As previously mentioned, text can be blurry on screen, but the gaming itself is clear and fun on a massive movie theater-like screen.
I mentioned that I wasn’t sure if projectors were ready for the home, but the T21 helps change my opinion. Its image quality is what impresses me so much here and at how clear everything looks from such a small projector. The possibilities with this projector are endless.
Finally, let me say that navigating through the T21’s onscreen display is uneventful and easy enough to do and learn. There isn’t any learning curve, and a child could do it if this were to be used for a children’s play area.
My Final Thoughts
With 50,000 hours of lamp life, two years of warranty, and priced at $99.99 the TopVision projector is an excellent at-home projector to turn one of your rooms into a movie theater experience. The bright 2400 lux lens does an excellent job at projecting bright and colorful images at a clear and quick rate.
The smaller size of the T21 allows it to be placed wherever you desire and given its maximum 175-inch display throw distance it is sure to provide you with an enjoyable movie theater-like experience. Furthermore, the multiple input methods allow you to store older movies on the device or connect a smart device for unlimited content.
While the internal speakers and loud fan are a bummer, both are solved by using a pair of external speakers and helps complete this home theater package.
It may not be enough to replace your home TV, but the TopVision T21 is enough for you to turn your basement or bedroom wall into a massive “TV” for your viewing pleasure.
Buy it now:
© 2019 Justin Vendette