The Xiaomi Mi Laser Projector is not a bargain with a price of almost 1.900 USD (now only $899.99), but you get a lot for your money. That much we can tell you: It’s a truly awesome piece of engineering. Read here to find out exactly what you get and why it’s worth buying. In the following we would like to explain to you:
What the short throw projector is and what it can do (resolution, brightness, etc.)
How to set it up and use it in English despite the Chinese language
What applications do you have (indoors or outdoors? Movies or gambling?)
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Xiaomi Mi Laser Projector
Overview
Laser Projector? Short Throw LED Projector? What is this, anyway?
Basics for understanding
Equipment & Connectivity
Unboxing; Processing; Connections
Operating system MIUI TV
Setting it up; changing the language to English
Video quality
Brightness, contrast, etc.; 3D function
Gaming on the Xiaomi projector
Technical Specifications
Model Xiaomi Mi Laser Projector
Type DLP
Resolution Full HD (1080p)
Image Formats 16:9, 4:3
max. Screen 150 “
Brightness 5000 ANSI Lumen
Dimensions 410 × 291 × 88 mm
Weight 7 kg
Laser Projector? Short Throw LED Projector? What is this, anyway?
The term laser projector refers only to the lamp technology in the projector and replaces the usual light source with a laser module. This has a significantly lower heat emission and a longer operational life – 25,000 hours are stated. The projection takes place despite laser by the so-called DLP technology. This stands for Digital Light Processing, because the image is projected digitally onto the screen via tiny mirrors.
projector, i.e. it can be positioned at the shortest possible distance from the screen. It is intended to be placed on a TV board, for example, where it takes on the role of television. Depending on the distance to the wall, a larger image is obtained, as with ordinary projectors. The maximum Xiaomi states is 150 inches, about 3.8 meters, which can be reached at a distance of 49 cm.
The advantage: The installation is much simpler, the projector does not have to be set up at the height of the screen and the depth of the room does not matter either. In the simplest case, the projector is placed directly in front of the wall on the floor. And you can’t walk through the picture either.
projector, i.e. it can be positioned at the shortest possible distance from the screen. It is intended to be placed on a TV board, for example, where it takes on the role of television. Depending on the distance to the wall, a larger image is obtained, as with ordinary projectors. The maximum Xiaomi states is 150 inches, about 3.8 meters, which can be reached at a distance of 49 cm.
The advantage: The installation is much simpler, the projector does not have to be set up at the height of the screen and the depth of the room does not matter either. In the simplest case, the projector is placed directly in front of the wall on the floor. And you can’t walk through the picture either.
The distance to the size of the projection is shown in the table. The distance to the wall refers to the projector as a whole (not to the lens), as you can see in the graphic above. Schedule this, for example, if you use a TV bank on which the projector is to be placed.
Image diagonal (SD) Distance to the wall (D) Projection height (H) Image size
80” 14 cm 29 cm 177 x 100 cm
90” 19 cm 32 cm 199 x 78 cm
100” 24 cm 35 cm 221 x 126 cm
120” 34 cm 41 cm 266 x 149 cm
150” 49 cm 50 cm 332 x 187 cm
At this point it should be mentioned that a mounting under the ceiling is possible, because the picture can also be mirrored horizontally. Of course, the same distance values also apply there.
Power Consumption – How Hungry Is The Mi Projector?
The maximum power consumption during operation is 250 watts, which is significantly higher than that of televisions. Even large 60-inch monitors are usually close to 100 – 200 watts. Anyone who wants to use the projector as a full-fledged replacement for the television set will have to prepare for a higher electricity bill at the end of the year.
Of course, comparing the consumption of the projector to a 32-inch television would not be entirely fair. Compared to a 4K-capable 60-inch device, the difference is two hours of operation per day in the low, double-digit dollar range. If the projector is used only once a week for the cinema evening, it is hardly noticeable on the electricity bill at the end of the month.
Equipment and connectivity
The first thing you have to do is unpack. If you want to know how the projector is packed and shipped and how it was for Kristian (from China-Gadgets.de) to unpack it from the freshly arrived box, take a look at his unboxing video.
We haven’t been disappointed by Xiaomi before, so it wasn’t that big of a surprise, when we discovered that the projector is a really nice piece of technology. The design kept in complete white corresponds to the design of most other Mi Home products, the exterior finish is impeccable.
Only drawback: Thanks to the almost mirror-smooth plastic cover, the projector is a real dust magnet, and greasy fingers also leave traces immediately. Understandably, a microfibre cloth was enclosed in the delivery.
the front of the Xiaomi Mi Laser projector
the rear of the Xiaomi Mi Laser projector
the right side of the Xiaomi Mi Laser projector
the left side of the Xiaomi Mi Laser projector
Three HDMI 2.0 ports are located on the rear end of the projector, one of them also supports ARC(Audio Return Channel). There is also a USB 3.0 port and an audio output, AV input, an S/PDIF port and an Ethernet socket. An additional USB 2.0 port is located on the side of the device.
the cloverleaf power cord of the Xiaomi Mi laser projector
The EU plug right next to the Chinese version of the cable – Without the suitable cable, you’re in need of an adapter
Also on the back is the connection for the power cable. This is a cloverleaf power cord (also referred to as mickey mouse cord or IEC C5 power cord); however, the enclosed cable has a Chinese type 1 mains plug. But you need either an adapter or simply a corresponding cable with US plug. If you don’t have one of these at home anyway, you can find them for a few dollars on Amazon, for example.
all the accessories of the Xiaomi Mi laser projector
The “accessories” of the projector are limited – but that’s all it needs
Apart from the remote control, there is only a Chinese operating manual available in the delivery. This is of course of little help, even if some of the illustrations are self-explanatory, and you can also read the data sheet halfway without Chinese knowledge. But it doesn’t need any more accessories, because the projector is immediately ready for use without any installation.
By now an instruction manual was released in English. We have made it available for download here.
Hardware – Smooth and quick operation
In addition to a 1.8 GHz quad-core processor, the projector has 2 GB DDR3 RAM and 16 GB flash memory. This is sufficient for smooth operation throughout; navigation through the menus takes place without jerking, only some apps have short loading times. The projector needs approx. 20 seconds to start up, after that it is fully operational.
Hardware Specs of the Xiaomi projector
the hardware specs of the Xiaomi projector in the settings
Operation of the projector via Bluetooth remote control
The projector can be easily operated using the included remote control. This requires two AAA batteries, which are not included. The design of the remote control is as simple as the projector itself, but just as chic. The keys are limited to the most necessary and are absolutely intuitive. You navigate through the menu using the direction buttons, which are attached in a ring, and the OK button is in the middle. Home button, Back, menu and volume control – all pretty self-explanatory.
the white remote control of the Xiaomi Mi laser projector with few buttons
The remote control fits well in the hand and is also visually perfectly fitting to the projector.
Alternatively, mouse and keyboard can also be connected. This may make navigation easier for some people, even if the remote control in conjunction with the menu, which is clear in itself, already does a good job. The keyboard simplifies longer text entries. However, a mouse is required in some apps (such as Netflix) where the remote control does not work completely.
Operating system MIUI TV
Pairing the remote control and setting up an Internet connection
The remote control connects to the projector via Bluetooth. If it doesn’t work right from the start, read the instructions on how to pair it with the Laser Projector. We have translated the most important steps into English for you here.
Pairing of the Remote Control with the Xiaomi Projector
Pairing the remote control is easy if you know what you have to do.
The start in the menu is then uncomplicated, but can still be very confusing due to the Chinese language. For example, after the start you will be asked to register with a (Chinese) phone number – but you can simply skip this step. Setting up the WLAN before changing the options to English is also not quite as easy if you do not know the respective menu items. You can work around the problem by first changing the language (see below) and selecting the network via the developer options, or you follow these steps:
You can access the settings via the app list or by navigating up in the main menu. In both cases, the gear symbol will tell you where to go.
The WiFi icon shows you where to find the connection settings. It should be the first menu item directly.
Here you can also select the first menu item (æ— çº¿ç½‘ç»œ) – The wireless networks
Now you see the list of available networks, select yours and connect as usual by entering the password.
Xiaomi Mi Laser Project