Yogen Sachdev, Author at Exhibit Tech

Optoma L1+ 4K Projector | A 4K projector for design enthusiasts?

With the Cricket world cup being all that’s buzzing right now, people love going to stadiums but if you dislike being in large open spaces with thousands of other people, then you have to find the best alternative i.e project the match and watch it with your loved ones in a cozy space. Well that’s where short throw projectors come in.

A home projector with an ultra-short throw that aims to replace your television is the Optoma L1+. It is lightweight, tiny, and requires no more area than a modest TV set for the living room. To configure it, simply connect it to a power supply and a content source. Although the L1+ comes with its own Android dongle that allows you to access content, the review unit was not included. Customers must purchase this individually as well, however it may not be necessary given that the majority of us already own an Amazon Fire TV dongle at home.

Design and Setup

Optomo is really big on design, they’ve made the L1+ in such a way that would fit right into modern home decor. Whether it’s the colour selection, the materials used or even the fit and finish. Top notch quality.

As with most modern projectors, setup is simple. If you’re not happy with the image, you may easily adjust the focus settings to acquire the desired result. There are no physical buttons on this gadget, thus the remote is incredibly helpful for whatever you want to accomplish here. For connectivity, there are three HDMI ports, one S/PDIF port, and an audio out port.

Speakers

Better speakers than most televisions are a feature of Optoma projectors, which is helpful. Additionally, projectors have advanced significantly in this area over time. A few years ago, people had to utilise an additional computer speaker system for projectors. Or even purchase a soundbar for it.

The Optoma L1+ comes with so many settings inside that you can get every aspect of the projection exactly as you want it. I liked the ability to adjust the digital zoom. Also, you can change aspect ratio to a wide angle mode, too, if you have access to such content.

Performance

The Optoma L1+ has great specs on paper with DLP 8K UHD that packs 8.3 million pixels on screen and enables HDR, low lag gaming mode with 240Hz smooth motion and 3D. All of this translates to stunning viewing on the wall, even when it is daytime. Yes, this is among the best-performing projectors I have used during the day, and that means this is an actual TV replacement if you are considering it.

Verdict

The Optoma L1+ at Rs 2,80,000 lakh, may be too costly for many people to contemplate replacing their television, especially considering that the greatest TVs are still just half as expensive. However, this is undoubtedly one of the easiest and finest solutions available if you are designing a space just for your entertainment needs. Offices and educational institutions may also think about using this as a backup option because of its versatility. If you are very picky about the design of the spaces around you, the L1+ will cater to your aesthetic needs fully.

Formovie V10 4K Projector: High end alternative to traditional TV?

With recreational tech evolving so rapidly, reinvention in TVs has been stagnant for a while now. After the introduction of the Android operating system to a TV, not much has caused a major market shift.

Well, Formovie is here in collaboration with Mi hoping to make that shift with their new projector, the V10 4K .

I highly admired Formovie’s commitment to serving Indian customers by including an Amazon Fire TV Stick with the V10. On the other hand, I feel this move was more of a “need” than a “want” because a few elements in the inbuilt UI are in Mandarin, regardless of switching the language to English. This is mostly limited to native content homescreen, the settings are in simple and direct english.

Design and Features: A 360° premium immersion.

It’s essentially an entire home theater packaged into a compact and cylindrical premium feeling enclosure. The Dolby audio enabled speakers manage to provide a surround sound experience but still feels like a smart home speaker and cannot compete with a dedicated home theater speaker setup.

Another smart feature that amused me was the projector remote doubling up to control the fire TV stick. It happened coincidentally when I picked up the formovie remote instead of the fire TV one and a small dialogue box appeared saying, “The back key is now used to control the connected device.

Performance: Silently impressive!

The Formovie V10 4K stands out because of its minimal fan noise and efficient heat dissipation capabilities. These noises are barely intrusive even when I was sitting right beside the projector. The colours are fairly accurate and did not seem off or washed out. However, with multiple picture modes like Vivid, standard, movie, office and more, you can always tweak it as per your needs. Multiple inbuilt streaming apps along with the ability to Sideload apps adds to it’s pros.

There’s also auto adjustment that starts working right after you fire it up. It does a decent job at sizing and position except you have to make micro adjustments sometimes.

With a rated 2500 ANSI lumens and 4K projection capabilities, the V10 leaves no visual area to be knit picky about. It has two 7.5W speakers along with a 15W subwoofer. Having inbuilt speakers in a projector is a real game changer in my opinion, especially when it’s trying to be portable. That’s right, I said “trying” because with a weight of 3.8Kg and bulky power supply adapter, the V10 is not exactly portable. You could carry it to your vacation home over the weekend paired with a gaming console or just the included fire TV stick.

Verdict:

If you’re someone who’s looking for minimum hassle, inbuilt high quality speakers, a quick set up process and basic amount of portability then the Formovie V10 4K is the right pick for you. It’s the perfect secondary media machine but can’t replace a TV in an average Indian household.

Rating: ★★★½

OnePlus Pad Go: GO and GET it!

I’ve been observing OnePlus’s moves since they first surfaced in 2013. They have a proven track record of releasing great products at a great price right from the start. 10 years later and things haven’t changed much, except for a few competitors sprouting up. The OnePlus Pad Go is a new budget tablet which is very reminiscent of its elder sibling, The OnePlus Pad. With differences in aspects like the processor, camera, battery and charging, let’s find out if it’s worth the 19,999 price tag that’s almost half when compared to its predecessor.

Display:

The first display aspect that caught my eye was the crisp 2.4K resolution IPS screen which combined with the sharp and vibrant calibration provides a very immersive content viewing and gaming experience. I highly trust that this helps the OnePlus Pad Go shine in its segment. The only minor inconvenience that came to my geeky attention was the refresh rate being at 90Hz instead of 120Hz but to people who don’t bother much for refresh rates, this shouldn’t be of much concern.

Design:

Whether it’s the metallic finish, the tactile buttons or even the overall sturdiness of this device, I like it. The glossy strip of plastic near the camera module adds a level of freshness to the age-old tablet design i.e the industry standard. Audio enthusiasts will also appreciate its quad speakers that provide ample bass, well balanced mids and clear treble. Movies, music and frequent video calls are handled really well by the OnePlus Pad Go.

However, nothing comes perfect in our imperfect world and what that means here is no 3.5mm headphone jack. For a device that positions itself as a media machine, this is a small disappointment. The seamless bluetooth 5.2 connectivity does try to make up for it but wired users will have to resort to a dongle.

While we are on the topic of missing basic features, there’s no fingerprint scanner which means you’ll have to rely on the face unlock. Come on OnePlus, it’s 2023, everybody prefers biometric authentication over gimmicky facial recognition.

Camera:

The camera performs decently in fair to good lighting conditions. The 8MP resolution both in the front and back is sufficient. You won’t find yourself complaining during zoom calls or the occasional tablet photography session. I was a little surprised to see the omission of a flash in the rear camera module, but I guess they have to cut costs somewhere.

Performance:

It performs best when presented with everyday tasks but falls short when pushed to its limit in heavy games and other processor intensive tasks. The Helio G99 is definitely capable of handling all games but not so much if you like playing them on the highest settings for long periods of time. That said, navigating through multiple apps or browsing the web is as seemless as it gets.

Battery and Charging:

With a 33W adaptor and an 8,000 mAh Li-Poly battery, the Pad Go shines in this department. A solid 2+ day life is easily expected and a respectable 1.5 day life if you decide to really push it.

Software:

What I really enjoyed in the software department is the ease with which I was able to navigate, multitask and get things done in general. OnePlus seems to have customized Oxygen OS and made it more user friendly on a larger screen. I hope they add the option for using a split keyboard soon though, this addition will make it a complete experience.

Verdict:

The OnePlus Pad Go excels in several key areas, including its high-resolution display, versatile audio capabilities, tactile buttons, multitasking optimization, and premium build quality, making it a compelling choice in the slow Android tablet market. It’s a great choice for a younger family member or an avid OTT enthusiast all while proving worthy for individuals who love multitasking.

Rating: ★★★★

HP Envy x360 2-in-1: HP’s Obedient Middle Child

Ultrabooks aren’t new in the portable computing device game, and HP is constantly spoiling us with options. One such option is the new HP Envy 15 x360. It perfectly fits between the budget pavilion series and the flagship spectre series of laptops. It starts at ₹92,000, but let’s see if it can justify that hefty price and who it’s for.

Design:

HP has always nailed design, if there’s anyone that competes with the Macbook’s design without blatantly copying them, it’s them. The Envy has a premium metallic finish on the chassis and a glossy screen supported by reassuring hinges. It also passed our 1 hand lift test. Unlike the competition, the included zenvo rechargeable pen fits snugly onto the right side of the frame in its dedicated space using magnets. From the trackpad placement to the tactile keyboard, everything is perfect. The keys are backlit and sized perfectly. Secondly, the 360 degree hinge allows for a lie flat usage scenario. The rechargeable pen is cherry on top for presentations and smooth scrolling. Port Selection is decent but could’ve been better, the only reason I say that is because the 2 type C thunderbolt ports are on the right side, which causes slight hindrance while plugging it in. You get USB-A, USB Type-C, 3.5mm jack, HDMI and an SD card reader.

Display:

4K is the new 1080p

The 15 inch 1080p display is enough but a 4K or atleast QHD offering would have helped set the Envy apart from its competition easily. You can however, get an AMOLED by paying more but then you end up in last year’s spectre territory. That being said, the IMAX Enhanced tuning really helps create an immersive content viewing experience when paired with the B&O speakers. Since the display is touch enabled and the hinge allows for a 360 rotation, the Envy also doubles up as a tablet. Speaking of using it as a tablet, the IR enabled webcam is really crisp, one of the best ones in a windows machine. HP also offers a physical shutter for the camera to create a sense of privacy.

Performance:

This ultrabook does great at what ultrabooks are expected to do and this one even manages to perform decently at tasks that a high performance laptop does best. Essentially, the 13th gen Intel Evo i5-1335U is great at handling multitasking and processor intensive tasks but combined with the Iris Xe graphics I feel it’s not the best for gaming or video editing. The ideal workload for this machine is for apps that have high CPU and high RAM usage but low GPU usage, coding for instance or even the common 20+ tabs open at the same time while making a PPT whilst watching Netflix workload. The speakers deliver crisp and loud audio although no Windows laptop can ever compete with the Macbook’s speakers, which even manages to deliver decent bass with the aforementioned aspects. Allow me to knit-pick for a moment but ultrabooks are all about convenience and nothing screams convenience like a fingerprint scanner, which the Envy misses out on. However, windows hello face recognition partially makes up for this. Oh well, maybe next year’s model will have it.

Battery Life:

Best I’ve seen in an HP. Basic web browsing and content consumption can easily be done for 8-9 hours without plugging in. HP has managed to pack a 55 Wh battery in this slim chassis which makes it one of the few windows machines with exceptional battery life. It also supports fast charging via both thunderbolt ports so you can carry a lighter USB PD charger as an alternative to the bulky type-C 65W adapter that comes in the box.

Verdict:

Anybody who’s top 3 priorities from a work machine are: Portability, a touchscreen display with a pen and good battery life should keep the HP Envy 15 at the top of their list. For folks who want more in terms of performance, I suggest looking at other work horses. For everybody else including avid content watchers and college students, it doesn’t get better than this, unless of course you start looking at the Spectre series.