Sometimes I get completely sensible concepts. Like doing a 10,000 mile highway journey in a Miata. Other instances, they’re… “sensible.” Like reviewing the bestselling projector on Amazon. Here’s that gem, the $65 AuKing M8-F. I’ll give the corporate the good thing about the doubt that the identify is implying a chemical image for “gold king”, or one thing. As far as product names go, I do not H8 it.
Like all ultrabudget projectors, the specs record reads like a fever dream of somebody with excessive and power optimism: 9,500 lumens, 1080p decision, 200-inch projected photographs, “50 to 100%” zoom vary, 15-year “bulb” life. If these numbers are correct, this projector could be a discount at 20 instances its worth. Spoiler: They will not be. But absolutely the 4.3 stars from 26,215 opinions cannot be a complete fabrication?
5.0
AuKing M8-F
Like
Well, it is low cost
Did I point out it is low cost?
Not truly horrible
Don’t like
Surprising nobody who frequently reads my projector opinions (absolutely that must be a few of you? Mom?), the AuKing fails to stay as much as any of its grand claims. Well, possibly the 15-year factor, because it’s lit by LEDs and never a “bulb.” So, how dangerous is it? Compared to actual projectors, it is fairly dangerous. Judged together with its meager worth? Eh, not horrible.
‘Superlative’ specs
The AuKing M8-F has no zoom or lens shift, however it does have an optical keystone adjustment.
- Native decision: 1,280×720
- HDR-compatible: No
- 4K-compatible: No
- 3D-compatible: No
- Lumens spec: 9,500 (lol)
- Zoom: Yes (claimed)
- Lens shift: No
- LED life: 55,000 hours (claimed)
My greatest grievance in regards to the AuKing — and all these ultrabudget projectors on Amazon — is the best way producers blatantly lie about their specs. Look, corporations fudge their numbers a little bit, I get it, however 9,500 lumens? Are you kidding me? Even super-bright projectors that value 10 to twenty instances what the AuKing does nonetheless solely declare round 3,000 lumens. Going as much as 9,500 would burn your retinas. Good factor it is utterly false. I measured a complete of 212 lumens. So… much less.
AuKing claims a “50% to 100% zoom” vary. The precise quantity is 0%. Unless, that’s, you rely bodily selecting up the projector and strolling it farther from the display. I suppose that is a “zoom,” technically. If you possibly can’t sense my sarcasm, that is as a result of each single projector can do that.
Unlike most projectors, the AuKing M8-F would not have any upwards throw. So to create a sq. picture, it must be on the midpoint, vertically, of the display.
Interestingly, it does have optical keystone correction, which could be very uncommon. So as an alternative of the potential digital artifacts and backbone discount from digital keystone correction, you may get optical discount in decision as a result of panel being out of focus from the aircraft of the lens. This keystone correction is essential, although, as a result of not like most projectors, there isn’t any upwards throw. In order to challenge a sq. picture the projector must be in the midst of the display height-wise. Most projectors are designed to challenge a sq. picture from barely beneath or above the display.
And then there’s the decision. The mannequin description says “Compatible with Full HD 1080P HDMI.” Anyone educated about such issues will know that “appropriate” is a weasel phrase to imply it might settle for 1080p, not that it is 1080p. I might guess most individuals would miss that distinction. In the product specs it says the M8-F is definitely 1,280×720, and that appears sincere, at the least. Side-by-side with a 480p projector and a 1080p projector, the M8-F’s pixels aren’t as chunky because the 480p’s, nor as tiny because the 1080p’s.
It claims 55,000 hours from the LEDs, which does not appear far-fetched given how dim they’re. It equates that to fifteen years, and at 4 hours an evening, that is in all probability underselling it.
Surprisingly, a number of inputs
The AuKing M8-F has HDMI, analog RGB, headphone and line outs and extra.
- HDMI inputs: 1
- USB port: USB-A (1)
- Audio outputs: Headphone output (1), line degree (1), each 3.5mm
- PC: DE-15 “VGA” (1)
- Memory card: Micro SD
- Internet: None
- Remote: Not backlit
The pattern in most projectors has been for fewer inputs, so I’m shocked to see so many on such an affordable product. HDMI, analog VGA for a PC, even a microSD card slot. I attempted powering a Roku streaming stick by way of the AuKing’s USB output, and surprisingly it labored.
The again of the AuKing M8-F together with its tiny speaker.
There are each headphone and line-level analog audio outputs on the AuKing. To be sincere, I can suppose of some projectors that might profit with having each these choices.
The distant is nondescript, trying mainly similar to the one which comes with almost each ultrabudget projector I’ve examined, however it’s pretty simple to navigate in the dead of night.
Picture high quality comparisons
With a plethora of ultrabudget projectors to select from, I figured the 2 most worthy opponents had been the Hision HIUS-LP-M7 and Elephas JingHuier. The Hision is a jaw-dropping 20% costlier, but in addition the least dangerous projector on this worth vary that I’ve reviewed thus far. I described the picture of the Elephas JingHuier as a “smeary, joyless mess of washed-out colours and disappointment.” So it was positively going to be part of this comparability, and it is $10 lower than the AuKing. I linked all of them by way of a Monoprice distribution amplifier and watched them side-by-side-by-side on a 1.0-gain display.
I welcome buttons like this. Remotes are too simple to lose.
Unexpectedly, shockingly maybe, the AuKing is definitely not that dangerous. Let me be clear, it is not good, however I’ve positively seen worse. Well, for one, the Elephas JingHuier is correct there. The AuKing’s colours are… OK. The distinction is… OK. The brightness is… OK. If you dimension it to create a circa-60-inch picture and watch it in the dead of night, it is not the worst factor I’ve seen.
Let’s begin with the sunshine output. The 212 lumens I measured is definitely greater than the AAXA P7 Plus I just lately reviewed, in addition to a number of different costlier projectors. It’s even barely greater than the Hision. It’s not rather a lot, although. I would not strive watching one thing 100 inches in diameter. That could be arduous to observe even in a completely darkish room. A extra TV-size picture could be high quality. It would nonetheless be darkish, however watchable. Brightness uniformity is abysmal, with the corners noticeably darker than the middle. This is yet one more casualty of the simplistic lens.
One advantage of such a easy optical array, although, is a better-than-expected distinction ratio. I measured a median of 269:1. That’s not rather a lot, however it’s truly greater than the $1,100 Anker Nebula Mars 3 (258:1). It’s about half of the Hision’s (466:1) however greater than double the Elephas (136:1). So it does look pretty flat, however it’s watchable.
The AuKing M8-F’s distant appears just like those that include different ultra-budget projectors.
The colours are an odd mixture of correct and inaccurate. Green, cyan, and yellow are all surprisingly near correct. Red, magenta, and blue are all very undersaturated, and blue is greenish. Even essentially the most inaccurate colours are all shut sufficient that it would not look as “unsuitable” because the Hision. Caucasian pores and skin tones, for instance, are much more life like on the AuKing. A extra correct colour temperature helps too.
The Hision has a little bit extra element… within the precise heart anyway. The edges are so blurry what’s even the purpose of 1080p with such dangerous lenses? Which is to say, 720p is okay for one thing like this. The Elephas has pixels the scale of drink coasters, so greater than 480p is certainly worthwhile.
Who wins this mini-face-off of ultrabudget projectors? Let’s begin with instantly dismissing the Elephas. It nonetheless strongly within the working for one of many worst projectors I’ve ever seen. It’s comically dim, the distinction is horrible, and its colours are bizarre. This would make an amazing reward for somebody that you just hate.
Overlooking the Hision’s bug subject (a literal bug caught someplace within the mild path), it does look good for its worth. However, the AuKing appears higher. The colours are much more life like (once more, the important thing phrase there may be “extra”), it is a little bit brighter, the video processing is best, and the distinction ratio is first rate for the value. Honestly, had been I pressured to decide on which of those sub-$100 projectors I needed to watch, I’d truly decide the AuKing.
Bestseller
As of this writing, the AuKing M8-F is Amazon’s bestselling projector.
Projectors will not be, to place it succinctly, “mainstream.” They are, and without end shall be, a distinct segment. Don’t get me unsuitable: I’m firmly inside that area of interest. I do not even personal a TV. I solely use a projector. Despite the large leaps in brightness in the previous couple of years, in addition to a wide range of new designs, most individuals haven’t got projectors. And not like telephones and TVs, which value much more I’ll grant you, I guess most individuals will not spend time researching the AuKing. Either they will suppose “a projector is a projector, why spend extra?” Or they will consider one thing this low cost is “in all probability high quality” given how they intend to make use of it.
What considerations me just isn’t that persons are shopping for $65 projectors. What’s regarding is why they’re shopping for this one. Sure, it is a little bit higher than the competitors. I solely figured that out solely by measuring it with about $15,000 value of video check gear. I’m fairly assured I’m the one individual to have performed this exterior the corporate (or extra precisely, no matter firm truly made this).
To me, the success of the AuKing is a failure of a unique variety. There is not any means customers made this product a bestseller as a result of it was good. They would haven’t any means of figuring out. Amazon opinions might be meaningless, particularly when there’s over 26,000 of them. Maybe it being “not dangerous” led to some extra constructive opinions than it could have, however how a lot of a distinction would that make? For proof of that time, the AuKing has a evaluate common of 4.3. The profoundly horrible Elephas JingHuier has a median evaluate of three.8. And that is assuming a significant proportion of any of these opinions is definitely actual.
My assumption in regards to the AuKing’s gross sales success can finest be summed up by William H. Macy’s character in David Mamet’s State & Main: “It’s not a lie. It’s a present for fiction.” The, let’s say, exaggerations in regards to the AuKing’s efficiency had been sufficient to offer it early success, after which it simply snowballed from there. A case research, for positive, in efficiently promoting a commodity product on Amazon. The incontrovertible fact that it is first rate for the value, given this sea of comparable merchandise and advertising obfuscation, is an sudden, however welcome, accident. Was AuKing the primary to do that? Nope, nor are they the one one to take action on Amazon. Caveat emptor, because the Romans stated. But what did they know? They did not even have Prime next-day supply.