Cheapest Native 1080p Projector? $250 Vankyo V600 Review!
I’ve been into projectors since the days when a true 720p projector retailed for $800 and up. When Vankyo asked me to review a $250 native 1080p projector, I was a bit skeptical. Hopeful, but skeptical. After all, $250 would typically buy you something closer to a toy than a home theater projector. After testing the V600 for the past few weeks, I can say that I’m impressed with their value proposition.
For reference, the projector I’ve used for the past few years is the BenQ HT2050 1080p projector. I love that thing. It was slightly under $1000 when I bought it. I recently reviewed the new BenQ HT3550 4K projector which currently retails for $1500.
I did not expect the $250 Vankyo to outperform my current projectors. What I wanted to know was how close it could get.
If your goal is to have a big screen, movie theater like experience, this Vankyo will do the trick. They claim up to 300″. That’s huge! For a backyard event, it’s perfect. For your kid’s room, awesome! For a dedicated home theater room, maybe save your money and get a better projector.
What you sacrifice with the Vankyo compared to something like the BenQ HT2050, is overall image quality. Primarily, the contrast ratio. Vankyo claims a 5000:1 contrast ratio compared to 15000:1 on the BenQ and it definitely shows in contrasty scenes. Also, colors are much more accurate out of the box on the BenQ. I spent hours trying to calibrate the Vankyo V600, (my settings are listed below.) I still couldn’t get colors that were as accurate as the BenQ. I noticed that the greens were very bright on the V600 and deep reds looked more like dark pink.
Corner sharpness wasn’t great and keystone correction was useless as it blurs the top and bottom of the screen while the center remained tack sharp.
Then again, we’re talking about a $250 1080p projector! After calibration, I found myself smiling thinking of the price of this thing. If I had to choose between a $250 32″ TV and this projector, I would choose this projector almost every time.
If you can calibrate your expectations to the price point of the Vankyo Performance V600, I think you’ll be impressed. The price to performance ratio is outstanding. I’m excited to see what Vankyo has in store for future products. What can they make at a $500 or $1000 price point? We’ll have to wait and see.
PROS
- True native 1080p output
- Inexpensive
- Remote
- Responsive menu
- Fairly bright
- Speaker is good enough
- Can get decent color accuracy by tweaking settings
- User upgradable firmware
- Fast to turn on and off
- Led lasts longer
- Comes with carrying case
- Comes with HDMI cable
- Decent look and build quality
- Portability
CONS
- Keystone is useless (blurry)
- Corner sharpness not great
- Contrast ratio is not great (blows out highlights in most modes)
- Deep reds are not very good
- Overly greenish tint
- Lumen rating is not that high in real-world setting (especially calibrated)
- Some of their marketing material claims 4000 lumen which I don’t believe is true (on Amazon it say 4500 lux which is a completely different spec)
- Louder than average fan
RECOMMENDATIONS
- Good first projector
- Good Business projector
- Good for smaller screens (less than 100″) which will allow the more contrast
- Good for outdoor use, special occasions, parties, etc.)
- For kids
MY RECOMMENDED CALIBRATION SETTINGS
- Contrast 0
- Brightness 50-65 depending on distance, ambient light, and preference
- Color 41-65
- Sharpness 50
- NR: middle
- Color temp: user
- Red: 80
- Green: 40
- Blue:100
Disclaimer: This product was sent to me by Vankyo free for review. Amazon Affiliate links below earn me a commission if you purchase a product using the following links.
Vankyo V600 Projector
Buy the Vankyo V600 on Amazon
My BenQ Projectors I mentioned in the video:
BenQ HT2050a 1080p Projector
Buy the BenQ HT2050a on Amazon
BenQ HT3550 4K Projector
Buy the BenQ HT3550 on Amazon
