The AAXA P8 is inconsistent when it comes to color reproduction. In photography, displayed images appeared dramatically oversaturated, resulting in inaccurate colors. This also applied to video, where standard colors were off even in the best out-of-the-box mode. Reds looked more maroon, and faces looked yellow, while actors' lips often looked too reddish.
look at the images below. They are all in the same mode and taken from the same video. Notice the color change of the red in the truck from image to image. This is not the result of my camera picking up the DLP projectors changing color. This is how it appeared on screen.
PinkPinkishRedishPink/Red
BRIGHTNESS
AAXA rates the brightness of the P8 at 430 LED lumens. The P8 was decently bright in a dark room, but the image started washing out as soon as I added some ambient light from windows or lamps.
The projector has three brightness settings: Eco mode, Standard mode, and Boost mode. There is a dramatic difference between Eco and Standard brightness and only a minor increase in brightness when using the Boost mode.
To measure the brightness, I set the projector to Boost Mode, which is the projector's brightest mode. I then took 3-4 readings about 15-20% out from the center of the lens.
The P8 measured 325 ANSI lumens. I measured all three brightness modes; my measurements are below.
Brightness Mode
Brightness (ANSI Lumens)
ECO
218
STANDARD
286
BOOST
325
PICTURE QUALITY
The picture quality of the P8 was okay for the price. You have to be pretty far back not to see pixels. But for the most part, I would say the picture quality is acceptable for a kid, where the projector's color and noise issues won't be significant problems. Overall, it's decent enough to be used in a spare bedroom or for travel. This is not a living room projector.
The image is bright for the projector's size, specifications, and price range, and I certainly didn't have problems viewing presentations or watching a video in darker environments. I preferred P8 in the "standard" brightness mode and "standard" video effect to achieve the best results watching movies.
BLACK LEVEL AND SHADOW DETAIL
The P8 has a claimed dynamic contrast ratio of 2,000:1. On my white screen and in a dark room, the contrast was sufficient to tell what was meant to be black. I found the contrast performance to be above average, and I would imagine most users won't have an issue either. Overall, the black level and shadow detail was decent, especially for a projector of this type and price point.
Below are screenshots with my comments.
In the end, I don't think the customer who wants the feature-packed and highly affordable AAXA P8 will make contrast their first priority.
SOUND QUALITY
The AAXA P8 comes equipped with a single 2-watt speaker that produces decent sound focused on mid and high frequencies and gets loud enough for a small audience. However, I recommend connecting the P8 to an external audio source via the included 3.5-inch audio jack, especially if the audience is large or if you are projecting movies.
AUDIBLE NOISE
The P8 fan runs from the moment the projector is turned on, and it keeps getting louder as the brightness image setting increases. I would consider the noise average and not distracting at about three-quarters of full volume.
WIRELESS CASTING
Casting was a frustrating experience. I was excited to see that AAXA offered both Miracast for Android and Screen Mirroring for iOS and casting from apps. On paper, that was great, but casting or trying to cast was very frustrating in reality.
I began by trying to cast YouTube videos from my Android phone. At first, I thought it was not working, but the projector displayed my YouTube content just as I was about to disconnect. So it worked, but it looked terrible. The image was noisy because of the projector's low resolution, and the projector kept randomly disconnecting.
Next, I tried screen mirroring from my iPad Pro. The connection process took several minutes, but after that delay, my iPad's main screen appeared on the P8. I launched an old game, Angry Birds, and while the game sound came out of the projector speaker, the home screen never changed. The game only appeared on my iPad.
Lastly, I tried screencasting from my Android phone. My phone recognized the projector, but the projector never got past its internal connecting screen.
I think these results are important since most kids will probably want to connect a phone or tablet to the P8 wirelessly. Wireless casting is also likely to be necessary when using this projector for presenting.
