MacDirectory Magazine

Cam Taylor

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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/1491529

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operates the projector as if it is an Android tablet with a gigantic screen. In either mode, the settings menu is available with either the back button on the top of the projector or on the remote control. Items such as brightness, color, keystone, and audio out are available through this screen. However, while the screen is being accessed the displayed image is only a pre-recorded static preview and not the image being displayed by the projector. Also, there are no independent corrections for colors or even a correction for hue. Wireless connectivity is an important feature of the EZCast Beam J4A projector and I had some difficulty connecting it to my home network. I have a legacy printer that I have on a WPA2 network, but the projector will only connect to a WPA3 network. I was able to set up my guest network for this but network compatibility may be an issue if your network does not support the latest protocols. There is a wireless settings menu from the main screen and also a wireless settings menu from the settings screen. I found that the wireless settings menu from the main screen did not accurately display the SSIDs that are broadcasting in my area. It only displayed the two strongest signals repeatedly. The main screen of the default launcher displays tiles similar to the Windows 10 Live Tiles motif. The launcher has 6 tiles that are dedicated to the app and 4 tiles that may be programmed. The main app repository supported by the launcher is Aptoid but I prefer to get apps from APKMirror using the Firefox browser (since there is no Chrome on this release). Performance The Android 10 deployment seems to work well with a number of the streaming services that are available for installation from APKMirror. As mentioned above, logging in to the services is easier if a wireless keyboard and mouse are used by plugging a dongle into the USB-A port. I tried viewing a bunch of videos from my collection on the EZCast Beam J4A projector using the included media viewer and with VLC. VLC performed better, only stumbling on an 8K file that I copied directly from my Samsung S20 without remuxing. I have to consider that this is a projector that fits in my hand, runs without a power cord, and weighs less than a pound when I talk about the image and audio performance. For watching videos I think the projector does a very good job. I did not notice any rainbow artifacts when I was watching a video, but I could detect them when looking at the projector light beam so I know that it can be an issue with those that are sensitive to it. It is difficult to rationalize that an ultra-portable projector requires a special high-gain screen for viewing so performance tests were done against a painted wall. Color reproduction and contrast seem acceptable in the standard setting. Image contrast and brightness seem a bit dull using the ECO mode against a painted wall. The image brightness is acceptable for viewing on a white wall in a bright room if the projector is about four feet from the wall. This results in a 44"diagonal image. The above image is with the lights full on. The below image is with the lights dimmed. Images up to 84" diagonal can be viewed in a dimly lit room without a high-gain movie screen. To view images this size the projector must be 7’9" from the screen. 100" diagonal images can be viewed in a dim room using a projector screen if the projector is 9’5"from the screen. All of these calculations assume that the brightest lamp setting is used. When viewing a presentation on the screen using the Calibri font, the smallest size that is legible is about 14. The text below that size cannot be read because of the 854 x 480 resolution. These font sizes should not be a problem during presentations but this projector will not work to display and work collaboratively on a formatted letter or a spreadsheet.

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