NexiGo PJ40 (Gen 3) Projector with WiFi and Bluetooth, D65 Calibrated, Native 1080P, 4K Supported, Projector for Outdoor Movies, 20W Speakers, Home Theater, Compatible w/TV Stick, iOS, Android

The NexiGo PJ40 projector is an exceptional projector for its price. This should not be your home theater projector - this is a fantastic "Movie Night", camper, or semi-portable projector. I have broken my review into 3 separate categories.DESIGN:The projector is made from plastic but is sturdy enough. I am not a huge fan of the gloss black plastic front, as I expect it to get dusty and scratched over time. The projector includes a silicon lens cover, but since it is not tied to the unit, you might misplace it. They have a nice integrated dust cover for the focus wheel, but I wish they had also integrated the dust cover for the lens. The unit draws in air from the lens side and pushes hot air out the other side. The unit comes with a spare air filter, which is nice since they are reusable. After ~2 weeks of use in a dusty environment, the original filter is still fairly clean. The unit has 4 feet that barely have any adjustment. If you unscrew them you can mount the projector to a VESA projector mount. Because of the poor feet design, I have had to resort to using books to get the correct angle for my wall. There is also no carrying case, but the box does have a handle, so maybe it's expected to transport it in that. The device also includes a 3.5mm to RCA cable and a Lens Cloth.The Device has (2) HDMI ports, (1) 3.5mm to RCA Jack, (1) 3.5mm Audio Out Jack, (2) USB ports, and (1) LAN port. The device has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, but for a more permanent setup, I would recommend connecting an Ethernet Cable for better Casting Quality. The HDMI ports accept up to a 4K 60 FPS input. Keep in mind that this is physically a 1080p Projector, so any resolution higher than that will be scaled down. I recommend matching the projector resolution (1080p) on your input devices for the best results. The projector uses a standard power cable, the same as most monitors and PC units.The on-screen display is easy enough, but it feels somewhat generic. There seem to be two File Manager shortcuts, one labeled "Office". The device gives the appearance that it is running some Android. Some UI elements (Volume control, Keyboard, Prompts to give the Casting 'Apps' permission to the network, etc.) show that this device is running Android. Yet, this projector does not allow you to install APK apps on the unit, which is a missed opportunity. Perhaps the CPU on the unit is only fit to run the basics, so that is why it's limited.VIDEO:I am pleased with this projector's video quality. It has very bright and punchy colors. I found that the best-looking picture mode is "Movie SDR". You can change this setting per input by pressing the Menu button on the remote. The device is plenty bright at 50% and is visible when the lights are on. When the lights are off, this is extremely bright and great for watching dimly-lit movies. It won't be a genuine HDR experience, but still very usable.If you increase the fan speed, the lens is allowed to be brighter. I have no complaints with the fan noise at max speed.I would recommend watching content via one of the HDMI inputs. Casting worked but seemed to have a weak signal. There were many artifacts while casting and it seemed to have an issue where casting a video to the unit while being Bluetooth-paired to the unit (which I don't recommend), would just end the casting session and play the audio using the projector as a Bluetooth Speaker. iOS cast (Airplay) from a Mac worked well; better than Miracasting.The device could not play back a 4K 60FPS local video file (MP4) off of a USB. It just played the audio. Again, probably a limitation of the CPU.The focus is finicky. Once you find a close focus, try going left and right to ensure you get the clearest image. The Auto-Keystone worked great and I had no issues with the Digital Zoom. Keep in mind that it seems that the Zoom does not save, and a restart will restore the setting to Full Zoom.There was only one caveat with the video. If you are watching a dark scene and there is a red object, it glows. Most notably, in dimly lit scenes where people had either red or somewhat pink lips, the projector would make their lips glow brighter than the rest of the scene. I assume this is a lens limitation and is not too detrimental to the overall video quality.SOUND:The on-board speaker is usable, but not the best. I recommend getting a good external speaker (or a pair) and connecting them to the audio out port. The on-board speaker is on par with most television units. It has good voice clarity but lacks bass response. The speaker gets very loud, so that's a plus.The sound can be equalized per input by pressing the Menu button while on an input. You can choose a preset or make your own. There is no equalizer, just "Bass" and "Treble" options.CONCLUSION:If you are in the market for an affordable and reliable semi-portable projector, the PJ40 is the one to get. If you are looking for something more permanent, you may wish to consider their more premium options. I have used NexiGo products and have been satisfied with them. I would expect to play close to $400 for a projector of this video quality.

The last projector I owned was over 20 years ago and it was crazy expensive and near top of the line at the time. Now on Amazon, I've purchased two projectors, both of which blow away the quality of that one for a fraction of the cost! The first one I bought was about $50 and I couldn't believe the quality, it just wasn't very bright. I researched a few other options for the best all around Native 1080p projector and the Nexigo PJ series continued to appear in so many lists of best projectors under $500. In fact, the Nexigo constantly rates better than much more expensive projectors in this same range. And at least when I purchased, Amazon had a great extra coupon discounted over the current price.After unboxing and setting up the projector, the 4D Keystone Correction was incredibly easy to use and adjust to ensure a perfect fit on my fixed-frame 110" screen. To ensure best quality, I was able to mount the projector near centered on the screen, so keystone adjustments were minimal, but it's amazing how nice it is to get perfect geometry even if the projector is at a slight angle.The next step was connecting a video source - and originally I was using a wireless HDMI transmitter/receiver to avoid running cable across the room. Unfortunately, the wireless HDMI introduced too much audio/video delay which wasn't able to be corrected in my audio receiver or other devices in the path. Next step was running the video source (Roku) right into the projector and using Bluetooth connectivity to my audio receiver. This too introduced too much audio delay. Ultimately, I ended up buying a 30' HDMI cable and running it directly. This removed some of the bottlenecks in the process which ended up being the best option as all signals up to 4K60 HDR 10 are retained in full, and Dolby Atmos and highest audio formats are decoded without delay or issues resulting in the best possible picture and audio.In terms of picture quality, the Nexigo PJ40 (Gen3) with updated firmware blows me away for a 1080p native resolution! It's VERY noticeable how much better a 4K signal looks when the projector decodes it and downsamples to 1080p as opposed to a standard 1080p signal. Honestly, when watching on such a large screen from a distance of about 10' on my couch, everything is sharply focused and unless you have a 4K screen right nearby, it can be difficult to tell the difference. Obviously, if there's text on screen like when playing a video game or scrolling YouTube, etc... you will see the text is not as sharp as on a native 4K resolution screen. But watching a movie -- very hard to tell.One of the other aspects I didn't think about is how well colors are reproduced when using a proper screen. This projector rated near the top for percentage of color reproduction on the SDR scale. But the fact it also supports HDR and simply downconverts, the colors seem more vibrant and rich than most other projectors in this same price range.The only big negative I have is the total brightness. But considering this is a LED light source, it's significantly brighter than my expectations and brighter than the $50 projector I had been using the last couple months. But watching this projector in a completely darkened room, it looks absolutely brilliant! And technically, you can adjust the brightness by adjusting the fan speed. Fan noise is proportionate to the overall brightness due to the heat generated by brighter light. If you set the fan to 10, it's loud but the screen is bright. Lowering the fan to a 4, the brightness drops but the fan becomes very quiet and not noticeable at all with good quality movie audio running. And while I don't even mind the fan noise at level 10, the brightness drop wasn't too significant when watching in a completely darkened theater room even at setting 2 which is near silent. The fact you have so much control over this really is a huge bonus.One more slightly negative could be the minor lag time if playing video games which require quick timing. I tried a few out, and was able to play successfully, but the delay was noticeable enough to be somewhat annoying. I'll stick to my high resolution high framerate monitors for gaming.Lastly, I will also say the amount of control you have over the image within the menu is really impressive for a projector in this price range. So many settings, which actually do what they say they do! I discovered many projectors have settings that don't do anything. In this case, if you know how to calibrate colors and go through the detailed steps to optimize your settings, you will be pleased seeing realtime results of proper adjustments of brightness and contrast, and even deeper into RGBCMYK settings.Highly recommended for anyone thinking about an affordable projector and not ready to shell out the exponentially higher prices for Native 4K devices. (My friend owned an Epson 4K HomeCinema unit several years ago, and while it was definitely brighter, it wasn't THAT much brighter and the 4K resolution really only mattered when watching 4K UHD discs. The difference was negligible and the cost was nearly 6 times what I paid for the Nexigo PJ40.)