Review of the Magcubic HY310X mini projector
A projector for RVers - is it the right decision?
Today’s review is of the Magcubic HY310X 4K Mini Projector that might be appropriate for some RV uses. To be honest, last time we reviewed the XGimi Halo+ projector we got a lot of push back from readers who didn’t like seeing people with projectors at campgrounds.
Projectors at campgrounds - let’s talk
First of all, we understand why people are angry at the idea of a projector in an RV. There are some people who will show movies or sports outside and accompany that with audio that you can hear several campsites over. Let’s hope if you’re reading this you share that we don’t think this is a good thing to do.
The idea we have is to have a small projector that we can use when we’re camping with a group, so those people camping with us are in the neighboring sites, and we can share a movie or program together. For example, we’ll have this projector with us in Quartzsite at our annual desert gathering.
The Magcubic projector on top of our existing XGimi projector for size comparison
I also think that a projector is a great substitute for a TV in an RV. You could hang this from the ceiling or place it on a tripod and project onto a wall. We also have a Spandex movie screen but I’ve seen RVs where they have a projector and some provision of a screen like the Coachmen RVEX whose back window can be a movie screen. The idea of a lightweight projector and screen appeals to me over a TV in some circumstances.
What is the Magcubic HY310X 4K Mini Projector
Back in the days where I used to work special events if you had a mobile projector you could rent the thing for hundreds of dollars per night. Projectors were big, expensive and fragile. So when Magcubic reached out and offered to send us this unit to test out, I was very skeptical.
How could a projector be worth a darn and also be priced under $100? Now I’m also curious.
Very simply this thing isn’t bad at all. While it’s not as bright as the XGimi projector we already have, it’s pretty good. Brightness is measured in Lumens and this Magcubic projector is only 420 lumens to the Xgimi’s claimed 700 Lumens. That’s actually a notable difference.
So this Magcubic projector would’t do as well in a brightly lit room and would probably not work well outside until after dark. It also has a small speaker built in but you can feed external speakers or headphones with the 1/8” stereo plug on the back of the projector.
What I like about the Magcubic HY310X 4K Mini Projector
This projector is very affordable at under $100.
The image quality is good
There is an auto keystone function that can adjust for the position of the projector accommodating being low or at an odd angle to the screen
There’s a tripod mount which I really like and makes it easier to place the projector to get an optimal image
It’s effectively “smart” running on the Android OS so you can watch your streaming services with it (here’s how we get Internet on the road in our RV)
It has a short throw ratio (around 0.8:1) which means you get a decently large image without having to have the projector really far from the screen
It uses very little power so you can absolutely run it on a portable power station (we have a guide to choosing a portable power station)
The Magcubic HY310X on a tripod watching Balloon Fiesta in my office.jpg
Setup and use of the Magcubic HY310X 4K Mini Projector
Connections on the back of the Magcubic HY310X 4K Mini Projector.jpg
Setup was easy - you just turn on the projector and log into the Wifi network you want to use. Bam. Of course like so many other modern gadgets the projector wants to update the software. I also found it easy to log into the streaming services we use including YouTube, Amazon and all of that.
Once you go through all that your’e set - the projector is ready to go. But if you don’t want to do anything with WiFi, no worries. There’s still a USB A port on the back so you could put movies and such on a USB stick and just use that without the Internet, which isn’t a horrible idea.
There’s also an HDMI port on the back. We have an AppleTV that we have in the camper (nerds!) and that’s what’s plugged into ours but you could also put something like a BlueRay player or whatever.
Final thoughts on the Magcubic HY310X 4K Mini Projector
Considering that these things are under $100 it’s really an easy decision to get one if you have any justification for having a projector at all. Quite honestly the Spandex screen we have cost more than the projector itself and we’ve spent more than this in a night at a brewery.
Typically really inexpensive stuff is disappointing to use over time but I think that this is going to prove useful and not disappointing. As someone whose motto is “buy the best and cry only once” I think I could buy this and not shed a tear.
