Aurzen rates the battery at 90 minutes in Eco mode—a respectable length for a pocket projector, but a little short for, say, watching a movie. And note that although you can charge the ZIP using a 5-watt USB port or phone charger, you can’t use the projector with one if the battery is dead. For long sessions, Aurzen recommends a 24-watt charger, which will let you use the ZIP and charge it at the same time. If you don’t have one, you might want to order it when you buy the projector.
In my tests, connecting the ZIP wirelessly to my Android phone, my Windows PC, and an iPad was almost as easy as using cables. When you turn on the ZIP, it projects an image with shorthand instructions for connecting from Android, Windows, iOS, and macOS devices, including the ID to look for when connecting. For my Samsung phone, for example, I simply made sure Wi-Fi was turned on, activated Smart View, and chose the ZIP. The steps for Windows and iOS AirPlay were different, but just as easy.
(Credit: M. David Stone)
The ZIP can’t connect to HDMI sources like Blu-ray players or game consoles out of the box. If you’re willing to shell out another $99.99, however, Aurzen’s CastPlay HDMI Dongle will add that capability. Connecting it wirelessly to the ZIP was a bit of a problem in my tests, but only because the setup steps weren’t spelled out completely in the dongle’s manual or even on a website FAQ. Aurzen says it will both update the manual and add an instruction video for setup on the website. But if you get a unit before the update is done, you can get the details from Aurzen’s support team. Once the connection to the dongle was set up, it worked without problems with both my Blu-ray player and as an alternative way to connect to my PC. You may want to consider getting some other accessories, as well, most notably a $39.99 carrying case.
(Credit: M. David Stone)
As with most small projectors, the ZIP is built around a DLP chip and uses a red/green/blue LED light source. The chip is actually 640 by 360 pixels, according to Aurzen, but it takes advantage of TI’s XPR pixel shifting to put more pixels on screen. Aurzen claims that the chip delivers a native 720p (1,280-by-720-pixel) resolution, but my Windows PC-based tests show moiré patterns with 1,280-by-720-pixel images, which indicates that the number of pixels in the projected image isn’t exactly 1,280 by 720. (This is not unusual for DLP chips. Some offer a native resolution that is close to, but a little off, the standard they’re named for.)
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The tendency to add moiré patterns won’t be an issue for most photorealistic images, but it can be one if you plan to show presentations that include slides with patterned fills. The need to interpolate pixels when converting from one resolution to a slightly different one can also have a visual effect that resembles having a soft focus.
Sound quality and volume are necessarily limited in such a small projector, but the dual 1-watt speakers do a serviceable job in a quiet room. If you want better audio or the ability to watch a movie in, say, an airplane seat without disturbing your seatmates, you can use Bluetooth to connect a headset or powered sound system.
