The Kodak Flik HD9 Sensible Projector ($249.99) is a small step down in worth from the Kodak Flik HD10, nevertheless it’s additionally a bit of extra succesful in two stunning methods. Each projectors show in full HD (1080p, or 1,920-by-1,080-pixel) native decision, however the HD9 additionally accepts 4K HDR enter through HDMI (down-converting the picture to 1080p) and handles excessive dynamic vary (HDR) content material visibly effectively, neither of that are formally supported options. On the draw back, in testing we discovered that it additionally delivers rather less brightness than its 200-lumen ranking guarantees. When you care extra about picture high quality than picture measurement, you may be proud of the tradeoff.
Design: A Lunchbox-Model Projector
Establishing the HD9 is easy. It is principally a small field with a deal with on prime, although at 5.9 by 5.4 by 4.3 inches (HWD) and three.1 kilos, it is easy to maneuver from one spot to a different even for those who ignore the deal with. Setup entails little greater than connecting the facility twine and a wired or wi-fi video supply, pointing the lens at no matter you are utilizing for a display, and focusing.
As is typical for mini projectors, you may discover no optical zoom. Kodak features a digital zoom, however much more than with most projectors, it is best to disregard it and regulate picture measurement by transferring the projector. Digital zoom lowers brightness, and even at its brightest, the HD9 might use a lift. You will need to wring out each lumen you will get from it. You must also keep away from utilizing the digital keystone correction, for a similar motive.
The Android TV setup is normal, utilizing Wi-Fi as the one selection for connecting to the web. As with an increasing number of Android TV-based projectors—although removed from all—the HD9 features a Netflix app that is each simple to make use of and labored with out issues in my assessments. The projector makes use of a single distant for controlling each streaming and the projector settings.
The projector’s ports are on the rear panel. They embody one HDMI enter and a USB Kind-A port for studying recordsdata from USB reminiscence, powering an HDMI dongle, and loading firmware updates.
(Credit score: Kodak)Kodak charges the HD9’s brightness at 200 lumens, which in response to the Society of Movement Image and Tv Engineers (SMPTE) suggestions is vibrant sufficient for a 55-to-74-inch, 16:9 picture when utilizing a 1.0-gain display in a darkish room. In my assessments, I settled on a 39-inch diagonal picture measurement for the minimal brightness I felt snug with on a 1.1-gain display, which boosts brightness by 10%. Something bigger felt too dim to observe with out tiring my eyes. That is roughly the dimensions I might count on to want for viewing a 110-lumen projector’s picture in a darkish room.
Whereas the low brightness could possibly be a deal-breaker for some folks, a key characteristic the HD9 shares with the HD10 and with another mini residence leisure fashions, together with the Vankyo Efficiency V700W and NexiGo PJ20, is that it would not present rainbow artifacts. Kodak was unable to substantiate design particulars past the truth that the HD9 makes use of a single, massive LCD and a white LED mild supply. Nonetheless, that is sufficient to know that it takes the identical method because the HD10, V700W, and PJ20 of utilizing an LCD matrix of 5,760 by 1,080 pixels together with pink, inexperienced, and blue filters over particular person cells. Every set of the three primaries serves as a single pixel, giving a 1,920-by-1,080-pixel decision. The white mild shining via the filters lets it undertaking all three main colours directly, as a substitute of one by one, giving the rainbow-free picture. The LED mild supply is rated at 30,000 hours.
The onboard sound system is constructed round twin 3-watt audio system. In my assessments, it delivered usable although considerably clipped audio at appropriate quantity for a small or medium-size household room. You can too join an exterior sound system through both the three.5mm audio-out port or Bluetooth.
Testing The Flik HD9: Surprisingly Efficient Picture High quality
The HD9 menus embody three predefined image modes and one Private mode, which most different projectors would name a Person mode. After some preliminary testing, I selected it for my viewing assessments, each as a result of it was one of many brighter modes, and since it was the one one that allows you to regulate settings for brightness—which I tweaked for my assessments—in addition to distinction, hue, saturation, and sharpness. You can too set coloration temperature for any of the modes.
(Credit score: Kodak)The picture high quality for 1080p SDR materials was on the excessive finish of the vary for cheap mini projectors. Colours had been effectively saturated, and coloration protection was much better than merely adequate. The picture misplaced some shadow element, however even within the darkest scenes in our check clips I might nonetheless make out what was occurring. Brightly lit scenes delivered deep sufficient distinction together with broad sufficient coloration protection.
Even higher, the HD9 dealt with 4K HDR enter effectively, regardless of formally supporting neither 4K nor HDR. Brighter scenes had been a bit of darker than they need to be, however shadow element in each darkish scenes and darkish areas in in any other case vibrant scenes was noticeably improved in contrast with the SDR variations of the identical scenes in the identical films.
As is normal for single-chip LCD mini projectors, this one has no assist for 3D.
The HD9’s enter lag is appropriate for strictly informal gaming. I measured it utilizing a Bodnar meter at 72 milliseconds for 1080p 60Hz enter.
Verdict: A Wonderful Alternative for Darkish Rooms and Small Screens
The HD9’s low brightness makes it finest fitted to viewing in a darkish room or in a yard (assuming you’ve gotten a handy outside energy outlet) on darkish nights solely. Inside that context, nonetheless, it might probably ship picture high quality that is higher than typical for a mini projector, and its built-in Android TV plus Netflix will allow you to stream films and video from any location that may connect with the web.
With that in thoughts, if you’d like a bigger picture, think about any of the opposite projectors talked about above. The Vankyo V700W is the brightest, whereas the NexiGo PJ20—which proved as vibrant because the Kodak HD10 on our assessments—is the least costly at this writing. The HD10 is the one certainly one of these three with built-in streaming options, however you possibly can all the time add a third-party streaming dongle to both the V700W or PJ20 if it’s essential.
