If you’re looking to step-up your home entertainment system at home, XGIMI’s Mogo Pro portable projector might be what you need. Here’s our review.
Now more than ever, people are looking to new ways to watch media in the biggest way possible from the comfort of home. As the past year has seen many looking into updating their home entertainment setup in the absence of theaters, XGIMI’s Mogo Pro portable projector is ready to help out.
Personally, I’ve always loved the idea of having a projector at home to watch movies, though it’s not something I’ve really been able to dedicate much time or money into setting up. While I was able to snag a really nice/fancy projector for our outdoor screenings with the ReelOutreach charity, I haven’t really set up anything INSIDE the house.
One of the big reasons I held off, was due to spacing and what not. Making sure I had room for a screen, setting up a project to hang somewhere it wouldn’t be in the way (we have a lot of kids in the house so being in the floor definitely wouldn’t work), and then there’s dealing with all the cords. It’s a cool idea, especially for people like us who watch quite a few movies, but practically speaking, the projector just wasn’t going to happen.
When XGIMI reached out to me about their line of portable projectors, ones which promised great quality in a tiny package, I jumped at the chance to see if it could deliver. Friends, I’m happy to say it absolutely does.
The Tech
Let’s take a quick gander at the specs:
•1080P
•300 ANSI Lumens
•Android TV 9.0
•Harman Kardon Speaker 3Wx2
•Google Assistant Built-in
•Chromecast Built-in
•4000+Native Android Apps
•Auto-focus
•4 Points Keystone Correction
•Battery Built-in (upto4hrs)
Obviously that might not mean much to you, but the basics are pretty simple. It runs entirely off a Digital MicroMirror Display (DMD) chip that allows for a standard resolution of 1920×1080. There’s no cheating to get to that number, it’s straight up HD output. It also includes 16GB of Storage (we’ll talk more about that importance in a bit) and 2GB of RAM to help it all run smoothly.
If you haven’t looked much into projectors before, lumens is always a thing you want to be on the lookout for. Lumens measure the brightness output of the projector, and as you’d imagine, the higher the lumens, the better image. The Mogo Pro comes in at 300 ANSI lumens. While that doesn’t sound like much, ANSI is a slightly different unit of measurement and created by the American National Standards Institute.
ANSI Lumens take into account a number of other factors in determining the overall brightness of the projector/image and is considered a more accurate determination than straight lumens. Again, this is technical stuff, but suffice it to say, the 300 ANSI lumens here works wonderfully inside your home. It’s bright enough to offer a clear picture without it having to be completely dark. I was testing it out some during the day time in my master bedroom with only my main lights turned off (sun was still coming in through windows), and I could still see pretty damn well. Obviously, the darker it is, and better screen you have, the better looking it’ll be.
Anyway, all of this is bundled together in a tiny package that’s easy to carry around. It’s minimalist design means everything looks sleek and smooth, with the USB (2.0), HDMI, and AC charging ports all sitting flush on the back and generally being unobtrusive. Since its whole deal is supposed to be a projector you can use and take anywhere, this is pretty essential, but it is impressive nonetheless considering the power/output it offers.
Ease of Use
Quite possibly the best thing about this projector is how easy it is to use. Seriously, from taking it out of the box to watching something is really only a few minutes (and that includes the software update required when you first start it up). Even if you don’t think you’re very tech-savvy, you won’t feel lost in setting this up.
Simply set it down where you want it and turn it on. While you’ll have to make some connections to your Wi-Fi and sign-in (if you want to connect your Google account to take advantage of apps), the process is no more complicated than setting up any other streaming device. The remote is simple and easy to understand, streamlining everything in a way that feels intuitive while taking up the smallest amount of space.
That’s pretty much all there is too it. The projector does most of the work itself, even to the point of auto-adjusting the focus and orientation to the screen (or dedicated wall you’ve chosen). You can set it on any flat surface, like a table, or even use a tripod. At the bottom, you’ll find a screw-hole to connect it to a tripod (It’s a little heavy so I’d use a decent one).
It also comes with a whopping 40 degree Vertical and Horizontal Keystone Correction. So even if you set it up at an angle, it works to make itself present a flat and normal image. I set it up once in my bedroom using a side table next to the bed. The layout of the wall space made it impossible to set it up to face the area dead-on. I thought I’d have to deal with a wonky angled screen, but that wasn’t the case and it looked amazing! I was able to set it up and watch from the comfort of bed in the biggest way possible.
All of this goes to it’s primary purpose of being portable. It really feels like you can set up pretty much anywhere and be just fine. It also runs off of an internal battery, lasting up to 4 hours of use (or roughly one sitting of Zack Snyder’s Justice League) so it doesn’t even have to be plugged in while you’re using it. That eliminates at least one cord you have to worry about, meaning you won’t have to worry about placing it near a convenient power outlet.
But what about a 4K/blu-ray player (it’s compatible with 4K devices but won’t output at it), or something you need to plug-in? Well, in that case you would need to be close to an outlet but the Mogo Pro packs in some more goodies to help you out. Namely it’s loaded up with the Android TV operating system, meaning you can log-in to your Google Account (or control it using an Android phone) and download pretty much any streaming app you choose to.
From Disney Plus, Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, and so much more. With 16GB of storage you can download any app you want, and even download some whole movies if you choose to! Hell, with the USB port, you could put movies on a flash drive and play them directly from that. The remote even includes Google Voice, so you can search and do everything via voice commands.
This adds to its overall portability and makes it incredibly easy to watch whatever you want, without having to worry about anything extra (unless you want to). All around, there’s no denying the convenience the Mogo Pro brings to the table. Hell, I was able to take it up, set it down, and start watching a movie on a whim! Since there’s hardly any setup time needed, and no need to push furniture out of the way, I was able to use it more often than I expected.
If you DO want to hook other devices up to it, the Mogo Pro works great. There wasn’t any latency or issues when I hooked it up to my PlayStation 5. However you want to use it it’s ridiculously easy to do so.
Picture Quality
Obviously, one of the most important things when it comes to a projector, is the picture quality. In this regard, the Mogo Pro does pretty damn great. While it’s “stuck” at 1080P, it’s still a great looking resolution and looks great with whatever you’re watching, and wherever you’re setting up.
Quite fortuitously, this review unit dropped on my lap one DAY before my screener for Godzilla vs. Kong came in. As such, my first use of the projector was to watch this big movie on a significantly bigger ‘screen’ in my house. It worked wonderfully, and offered a crisp, clear picture that allowed all the details of the film to shine through and giving it the scale the film deserves.
Combine that with an impressive build-in speaker system (though you can connect it to a bluetooth speaker/sound system if you want) and it felt like I was watching in more of a theater setting than just enjoying a movie at home.
Selling Point
The Mogo Pro comes in at around $580, though there are online coupons (even on Amazon) that can bring the price down to around $500. While that might seem a little steep, considering it works essentially as a portable SMART TV, one that can go up to 300 inches (though the image begins to suffer a bit there), it seems way more manageable than the initial price tag seems.
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