XGIMI Aura 4K review: How good is this short throw projector?

(Pocket-lint) - With much and much contented - and truthful much chances for movie nighttime astatine location - you mightiness person pondered whether oregon not to bargain a projector. Most of them request a large room, the request for you to not get successful their way, and each the lights to beryllium switched off.

The XGIMI Aura 4K is different. It promises to not lone let you ticker projections during the time (curtains unfastened oregon not), but besides functions conscionable inches distant from your partition - that's what the 'short throw' plan is each about.

So tin you person your proverbial barroom and it? We've been watching XGIMI's 4K Ultra Short Throw Laser Projector successful each conditions to find out.

What is simply a abbreviated propulsion projector?

An Ultra Short Throw (UTS) projector features a precise wide-angle lens that allows you to presumption the projector container a abbreviated region from the partition that you are projecting onto. That's large due to the fact that it means you don't request a agelong region to get a large picture, to interest astir ceiling mounts, oregon astir radical getting successful the mode of the projected picture.

Design

• Measures: 606 x 401 x 139.5mm / Weighs: 14.93kg
• Dual-band 2.4/5GHz Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/b/ac)
• Inputs: 3x HDMI, 2x USB, Ethernet
• Built successful Harman Kardon speakers
• Outputs: optical, 3.5mm jack

Unlike XGIMI's different projectors - which are designed to beryllium picked up and carried from country to country - the Aura is large, heavy, and designed to beryllium positioned the erstwhile and past ne'er truly moved again. It's astir the size of a ample briefcase oregon tiny carry-on bag, truthful this silver-and-black container is important capable that you'll announcement it sitting against the wall.

Featured wrong are 4 15W speakers, offering Dolby and DTS audio support, which are each hidden down a achromatic cloth mesh. The lens and reflector compartment are hidden retired of show and retired of touch, too, truthful if you bash find yourself getting overly funny past the bundle automatically dims the laser to task your eyes.

The lone fastener connected the instrumentality is simply a powerfulness power connected the right-hand side, sat adjacent to an easy-access USB socket. Around the backmost are the applicable ports you request to link your devices.

The built-in speakers are bully capable for you to not person to interest astir adding an further soundbar, and surely akin to a decent in-built tv talker system. You could easy bask contented this way, but we would inactive urge looking astatine further talker options if you truly privation to effort and replicate a cinema-at-home experience.

Setting up the XGIMI Aura

• Android TV 10.0 software
• Google Play Store support
• Built-in Google Chromecast

Like different XGIMI projectors, specified arsenic the Elfin and Horizon models that we've antecedently reviewed, the Aura is powered by Android TV 10. The strategy starts up rapidly and gives you plentifulness of options to entree your assorted streaming apps, including Apple TV, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video.

Sadly, similar different XGIMI projectors, Netflix isn't disposable owed to Netflix not approving the instrumentality arsenic yet. The institution tells america that it's inactive waiting connected Netflix to approve: "XGIMI's ngo is to present the champion idiosyncratic acquisition astatine each times. We are actively successful conversations with Netflix to integrate and tally the streaming work straight and locally successful our projectors. Currently we urge Netflix users to usage 1 of the galore streaming media players for a amended experience."

There's thing stopping you from connecting an further set-top container - similar an Amazon Fire Stick oregon Apple TV - and due to the fact that of its imperishable determination attack and 3 HDMI ports, we don't consciousness it's arsenic large an contented arsenic it is connected the company's much portable devices.

Setup is important to getting the astir retired of the projector, arsenic is simply a gangly ceiling if you privation to execute those bigger representation sizes. Thanks to that wide-angle lens you tin get a 120-inch show if you spot the Aura 11.7-inches distant from the wall, oregon up to a 150-inch show if you spot it conscionable 17.3-inches away. The region from the partition is improbable to beryllium an issue, but the tallness it needs for that large representation is astir apt what volition restrict your last representation size.

The Aura doesn't diagnostic automatic representation calibration, sizing, and keystone correction though. It does diagnostic an eight-point manual correction feature, which is controlled via the remote, to assistance you get everything successful absorption and shape.

Things tin get tricky though. You'll request to marque definite the projector is arsenic level arsenic it tin beryllium (it would person been bully for XGIMI to diagnostic a built-in tone level astatine the back) and your walls volition request to beryllium arsenic level and creaseless arsenic imaginable to execute a cleanable rectangle projection careless of however overmuch correction you tin manipulate. As you tin spot from the representation above, our partition isn't arsenic level arsenic we thought - and that means you'll get kinking successful your representation careless of however overmuch you effort to negociate the correction. 

Watching TV and movies

• Non-replaceable lamp rated for 25,000 hours (8.5 years astatine 8h per day)
• 2,400 Lumens maximum brightness
• 4K, HDR10, MEMC (60Hz), 3D

Out of the container and representation prime is great. A precocious Lumens number ensures you tin ticker a projected representation successful a country with the curtains unfastened and the lights on. But it gets amended the darker the situation you are watching successful gets. 

If you privation to customise things further past you can. There's some pre-set brightness and representation mode settings depending connected what you are watching: Football, Movies, Games, and truthful forth. Movie mode volition darken things down but the disposable brightness inactive means things are agleam and clear.

Tweaking those representation modes volition alteration the picture, but you don't truly request to walk the time. We recovered it was a lawsuit of picking which 1 you similar and sticking with it. In our tests we watched a fig of movies from James Bond: No Time To Die to Luca to a fig of the enhanced-for-IMAX Marvel titles.

It's an awesome show with large colours and capable to happily header with some upscaling contented from HD oregon coping with games (as agelong arsenic you aren't looking for 120Hz support). There's besides 3D enactment for those who inactive bask that format (if specified a radical inactive goes exist).

Writing by Stuart Miles. Editing by Mike Lowe. Originally published connected 8 December 2021.