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I had been fiddling with the idea of replacing my Android TV with a projector for a while before I bit the bullet. It was the one thing I wanted to buy last Prime Day because I felt it would be the perfect substitute for a smart TV.
Of course, a projector cannot get as bright and crisp as a real television set, so you might be curious about my conviction to go forth with this plan. My bedroom is insanely small. There are boxes full of stuff everywhere, and I cannot even fit a full-blown wardrobe or a proper dressing table in there.
Thus, putting a TV in such a small room was out of the question. But at one point, streaming my favorite shows before bedtime on my smartphone just wasn't cutting it. I toyed with the idea of a wall-mounted screen, but that would further shrink my already tiny bedroom.
There are other limitations of a projector as well. It needs to be mounted on a mount or a stand; most of them need to be plugged in to function, and cheap ones don't come with Google TV or Android TV.
The first two issues were significant for my small room conundrum. I had to configure the room's furniture arrangement and determine whether such a setup would be less untidy and occupy less space as opposed to a regular old wall-mounted Android TV.
After considering everything, I decided to get the XGIMI MoGo 3 Pro for my experiment. XGIMI provided a sample to help me test this idea. This affordable little projector has a built-in stand that swivels at an angle. As for the height-adjustable stand, I got a cheap off-brand one online.
Had I bought the projector with my own money, the entire setup would still have cost me almost exactly $500. That's filthy cheap, especially considering that the MoGo 3 Pro can project screen sizes as big as 120 inches! That's big enough to cover a significant portion of my bedroom wall.
To make the most of the experience, I decided to place the projector right next to my bed, sandwiched between my bedside table and the bed. Conveniently, there's an electrical socket in that vicinity where I have my multiport USB-C charger plugged in. The swiveling design of the MoGo 3 Pro really came in handy here because I didn't need to twist and turn or readjust the stand itself once it was planted in its spot.
The XGIMI MoGo 3 Pro has auto keystone correction with a dedicated button for this on the remote control. The remote itself is like any other smart Android TV remote; you can use Google Assistant to look up stuff and use the Netflix, YouTube, or Amazon Prime buttons to quickly open those apps. And what's even cooler is there's an extra unlabeled shortcut button that is completely customizable. I have mine set to Disney Plus, but you can choose any app you like.
The picture quality is really good too, delivering a 1080p resolution. The brightness is improved with this iteration, going from 400 lumens on the MoGo 2 Pro to 450 lumens on the MoGo 3 Pro. It's not a major improvement, but it is certainly noticeable. Overall, I felt satisfied with the image output. It's ideal for nighttime streaming and binge watching my favorite anime series.
I cannot express how quick and easy it was to have the whole thing up and running. Since I have tested the last-gen MoGo 2 Pro, I felt a markedly improved experience with the auto keystone correction. It is so easy and you don't have to be a tech expert to set it up.
I'd probably struggle to get the angle right with any other projector because of the awkward lack of space in my room. During this experiment, I had flashbacks of the Anker Nebula projector that I reviewed a few years back. It was a nightmare to get the keystone right on it in tight spaces and small rooms.
The circular lens and swiveling stand make a world of difference. In the end, I concluded my experiment was a glowing success. I am now spoiled with a 120-inch screen plastered adjacent to my bed at a perfect viewing angle. Sometimes, I'll cast some Reels on the gigantic screen, just because. The XGIMI MoGo 3 Pro projector truly replaced my need for an Android TV, and there's no going back now.
So, if you don't have space in your flat or room, give this hack a try!
Play it smart
Do you live in a tiny, cramped little apartment that has no space for an Android TV? You can still enjoy the experience with the cleverly designed XGIMI MoGo 3 Pro projector.
