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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/1491529
Design and features Hardware The EZCast Beam J4 is a small, square, functionally designed projector. The projector is half-wrapped in white plastic on the top, bottom, and one side. The other three sides are coated in an aquamarine metallic finish. The product guide from EZCast indicates that this unit is available in 5 colors. The white plastic and aquamarine metallic surround might not match the black and silver aesthetic that is the current trend in computer hardware, but it does look like many of the mini and pico projectors sold on Amazon. The front face has the lens on the right side and an outlet for cooling the LED on the left side. The lens is set inside the perimeter of the projector but there is no lens cover. Covering the lens with electrical tape is probably the easiest solution for keeping the lens clean and oil-free. Below the lens is a trademark for Texas Instrument DLP. The far right side of the front has the adjustment wheel for manual focus. The LED that powers the light that shines through the projector can deliver up to 300 lumens when at full brightness. This LED requires fans to keep it cool. The fans are a bit noisy at maximum output and when the system starts but eventually the temperature control system starts and the fan noise diminishes to only as loud as required. The left side face of the projector contains the loudspeaker. It’s loud enough for people on the left of the unit but may not be sufficient for people sitting on the right. The sound quality is not the best but it is great that EZBeam includes the speaker for when it is needed. For better sound, I recommend using an external speaker and the audio out port. The right face contains the power button and a reset button. The power button must be held for 3 seconds to turn on and up to 6 seconds to turn off the projector. When using portrait mode the projector may be placed on either side. However, audio will suffer if the speaker port is facing down. The rear face of the EZCast Beam J4A projector is where the connectivity ports are located. The ports include, from left to right: • AC power input – The EZBeam uses a 15W custom supply. The unit comes with the receptacle connections typical for the country where the unit is supplied. It would be nice if the unit came with a full international selection of connectors. • Power indicator – The indicator flashes red while recharging, stays a solid blue when plugged in and fully charged, blinks green while starting up or shutting down, and is solid green while operating. • USB A port – This can be used along with a native file reader, such as WPS, to display presentations. The included media browser can play movies and media stored on memory sticks inserted into this port. Sadly, it is not USB 3.0. The best use of this port is for a dongle for an external keyboard and mouse. By using an external keyboard and mouse the Wi-Fi passwords can be typed rather than inputted using the remote control. • Infra-red sensor – This is for receiving data from the remote if it is not paired with the projector using Bluetooth. • HDMI – A standard HDMI port. • Audio out – a 3.5mm output socket to permit the audio from the projector to be played on an external speaker. • WiFi dongle outlet – This is interesting. The projector is shipped with the Wi-Fi module packaged separately and is designed to be inserted permanently into the system. This may be to permit Wi-Fi to operate on the specific channels that each country supports. Or, this could be an elaborate but creative way to deal with chip shortages caused by COVID-19. One thing is for sure. That dongle is not coming out!