TCL Unveils A Portable Projector For Big Screen Viewing Up To 120 Inches With Google TV
TCL has made a splash in the big screen TV space with competitively priced models in all three segments—entry-level/budget, mid-range, and premium. Now it's looking to do the same in the projector spaces with its introductory mobile model, the TCL Projector A1, which is intended for both indoor and outdoor use. Either way, it's capable of throwing images ranging from a modest 45 inches on up to a massive 120 inches.
At the top end, that's a bigger display image than almost every TV on the market, and certainly every TV without an outrageous price. The biggest you can get at the moment before venturing into ludicrous pricing territory is 98 inches. And incidentally, you can pick up a 98-inch TCL Q6 4K QLED TV on sale for $1,598 on Amazon (save $1,401.99) right now, or $1,499.99 at Best Buy.
The Projector A1 is a bit of a different animal, of course, as you're not going to lug around a 98-inch TV to your camper on the weekend and then back into your living room during the week. So it's not really in direct competition with TCL's TV lineup (or any other company's TVs), which is something TCL acknowledges in its press release.
"Our amazing ultra large TVs offer the best solution for fixed screen entertainment but we recognize the different needs of consumers, so TCL is dedicated to bringing that superior viewing experience in new ways," said Chris Hamdorf, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, TCL. "Projector A1 is the perfect extension to our lineup as it meets consumers in the places they want to watch, no matter where that is. It represents the convergence of TCL’s innovative technology, combining reliable Wi-Fi and streaming entertainment with award-winning visual and audio capabilities."
This is a relatively compact projector with a native Full HD 1080p resolution. It features an auto-adjustable focus, a rated brightness of 360 ISO Lumens, and Google TV baked in to handle smart TV chores. That also includes Google Assistant (via an included voice remote), so you can find shows with your voice. There's also a Game Mode, though TCL isn't pitching this as a gaming projector. And on the audio front, it boasts a pair of independent 8-watt speakers with Dolby Audio processing.
TCL's Projector A1 is also a wireless model in the sense that you can connect a source via Wi-Fi (albeit it uses the older Wi-Fi 4 or 802.11n standard) or Bluetooth 5.1. It doesn't draw power from a battery, though, so you do need to be nearby a power source. A 'VersaGrip' handle on the top doubles as a stand—pull it up to carry the projector around, and push it down to give it an angled base.
The unit measures 5 (W) x 7.6 (H) x 10.4 (D) inches and weighs 5.5 pounds, so it fits into the portable category quite nicely. As for pricing, the TCL Projector A1 is available now for $499 on Amazon. We'll be curious to see how it performs, as the portable projector market is fairly crowded with cheap options, though not a lot of name-brand models that we could find.
