At this point, I don’t even own a TV any more. I don’t do daytime television, and my screening sessions are limited to a specific movie or a TV show displayed in my bedroom. As I have a Xiaomi DLP projector in my bedroom, my entertainment sessions were limited to evenings only, due to unimpressive daytime performance. NexiGo PJ40 (AmazonUK | AmazonUS) could change this with an impressive 700 ANSI lumens brightness, a few features, and an attractive price tag.
Good on paper
While the selection of projectors on Amazon or similar stores is littered with “1080p wannabes”, you can find some budget options that deliver native 1080P. NexiGo PJ40 is one of these projectors that offer a great bang for your buck as far as the spec sheet is concerned.
An LCD-based sensor with a native 1080P resolution and impressive 700 ANSI lumens is accompanied by extra features like 5G WiFi, an Ethernet port, and the ability to play media from local storage up to 4K. To finish up the list of things that NexiGo PJ40 has on offer, we have 20W speakers, 2x USB and HDMI ports, and automatic keystone correction. To expand the audio Bluetooth 5.1 and 3.5mm AV and audio jack are also provided. All this was delivered with onboard controls and an IR remote.
The asking price of $279.99 left me wondering if the company cut any corners to deliver a promising specification. After reviewing my last budget offering, which looked great on paper, but failed to deliver a vibrant projection – I had my doubts about this gadget. After all, projection quality comes first, the rest is secondary.
While unboxing, grab a super glue while you are at it, as the rubber dumpers on the projector’s feet were very easy to peel off. A drop of superglue here and there should mend this. The central feet screws out, allowing for angle adjustments and when removed completely, the thread is used to fit NexiGo PJ40 to a tripod.
Android, but not “smart”
Despite NexiGo PJ40 running Android inside (Android 9), the projector doesn’t offer typical smart features present on Android TV boxes like apps support, Google Play, or apps like Netflix or Amazon Prime Video. Once connected to WiFi, an update was waiting for me, fixing some bugs and improving the unit’s performance.
Typical apps may not be available, but the projector itself comes with a handful of features to make your viewing experience better. Or at least it would seem so. The home screen features a YouTube app, but until I performed a factory reset, the app would not open for me.
As NexiGo PJ40 runs Android, the USB ports can be used as input. You can connect a USB/Bluetooth mouse or keyboard and save yourself from typing everything in by selecting one letter at a time using the control buttons.
Encouraged by this fact, I tried to sideload some .apk files, but it looks like the option to install apps has been disabled. I can see the .apk files in the file browser, but I’m not able to start the installation. It’s a shame.
NAS, DLNA?
Hidden inside the “More” tile are options to access DLNA, but the onscreen instructions are for AirPlay cast which to my knowledge isn’t how DLNA works. It’s a shame as I’d welcome the ability to browse media files on my DLNA/Plex server. The Cool DLNA app asks for relevant Android permissions, but then I’m stuck with AirPlay instructions.
When connected to a network, the file manager, apart from USB storage, shows access to network machines. I was able to set up a shared folder on my laptop and browse files through the projector’s file browser, but no matter how I configured SMB shares on my Argon Eon NAS drive running open media vault, I had no luck discovering my network shares.
Miracast works (although the video playback while connected to 5G and Ethernet was a bit choppy, in NexiGo PJ40 defence in almost all Miracast streams I was never able to get it working properly. And playback from USB drive works as advertised with support for the most popular media formats and video decoding up to 4K.
700 ANSI is real
Thankfully, this is not a fad. You get a really bright and crisp projection that you could use in daylight without problems. On a very sunny day, it may feel a little dim, but as someone who lives in the UK, the constant overcast simply creates constant opportunities to use the projector throughout the day.
There is a small (and very reasonable catch), the brightness of the NexiGo PJ40 is tied to the fan speed. There is literally a control slider to increase the brightness (and crank up the fan). At max, the projector is definitely audible, but you can drown the noise out by using external speakers. In more intimate settings at night, I set the brightness to a minimum to enjoy the very quiet performance.
Video
NexiGo PJ40 doesn’t feature autofocus, therefore your viewing experience will start with adjusting the focus. If your projector is placed in a fixed position, it’s a thing you’ll do once, then forget about it.
NexiGo PJ40 isn’t a short throw. At minimum throw distance (approx 1.7m) projector casts a screen that is not impressive in size (37″). The projection is very clear and clean, and I could totally use the projector as a secondary display for my computer. But as far as the media go – it’s not the widest cast. NexiGo PJ40 shoots straight, beaming image at the wall and spanning it in all directions. Thanks to the 4D keystone feature, you can correct the image vertically and horizontally to adjust for the projector’s location. I achieved 85″ of projection in my bedroom from a 3.5m distance. On that note, grab yourself a long, angled IEC cable (or adapter) as the one supplied is short and not the best suited for putting projectors as far back as possible.
The extra lumens paid off. The image is really pleasant to watch even in the daylight. I settled for the fan noise at level 4 (out of 10) as this gave me the best balance between noise levels and picture brightness.
Audio
I didn’t expect much. Stock 20W speakers facing sideways in a projector that has to manage fans never sound like a good idea. NexiGo PJ40 manages to make the speakers sound good. If you don’t crank the brightness up all the way, you can easily get away without having dedicated audio attached to your projector.
Considering the projector’s price I’m genuinely impressed. The sound propagates nicely across the room. With a projector over my head, I had to focus a lot to be able to pinpoint the location of the speaker. It’s loud enough for a screening in a large conference room.
Overall, the included speakers may lack low frequencies while covering the mid and highs well. It won’t knock your socks off but it makes for an OK cinema night without getting extra speakers. If you want the audio to match the picture quality, take a look at some Majority speakers which will complement your setup nicely without breaking the bank.
NexiGo PJ40 can also be used as a Bluetooth speaker, although in this mode, make sure the fan level is set to 1. Frankly, speaking I can’t imagine anyone being eager to use the projector as a speaker.
Gaming
Casual gamers will have fun, anyone else not so much. With Miracast out of the picture due to latency, the HDMI option while promising, still introduced latency that would hinder your gaming efforts. You can get away with casual games, but first-person shooters might be problematic.
Update 25/09/2023
The latest firmware patch brings low latency mode and brings the overall latency down to 20ms (or 1 frame at 50FPS) which changes how I feel about gaming on this thing. There is one trade-off.
To enable it, select the low latency option using the Picture menu (press the menu icon while streaming HDMI content). Unfortunately, you must disable keystone correction. Toggle it off, then reset settings to default in the same menu to enter low latency mode. To enjoy games, try positioning NexiGo PJ40 in such a way, that it doesn’t require any keystone corrections.
You probably can go through a campaign mission in Battlefield games to do a couple of races, but NexiGo PJ40 isn’t suited for anything remotely competitive. I played Spider-Man on PC which was fun, built a rocket in Kerbal Space Program 2 and had a go at CS GO. It was only CounterStrike that made me feel like NexiGo PJ40 is hindering my efforts.
Final thoughts
NexiGo PJ40 (AmazonUK | AmazonUS) is very reasonably priced. It’s not a perfect projector, but if you are on a budget, you should seriously consider it. The money saved on a projector can be easily spent on a dedicated Android box or a Chromecast to complete your bedroom cinema experience. As far as projectors go – this one is the one to watch out for. Especially during sales. Got questions? Let me know in this Reddit thread.
🆓📈💵 – See the transparency note for details.
