Vankyo V610 Full HD Native 1080p LED Projector Review

Vankyo V610 Full HD Native 1080p LED Projector Review

Buy it at Amazon: Vankyo V610 Full HD Native 1080p LED Projector [Affiliate Link]

Takeaway: Bright picture, even with ambient light, good contrast/color saturation, decent sound, quiet fan.

You’ll receive the projector in a carrying case, 6.5 foot power cable, 5 ft HDMI cable, remote control, 1/8” AV cable to RCA connector, USB card reader, mounting screws and extra fuse, lint-free lens cleaning paper, a user manual and quick start guide. The carrying case is made of padded canvas fabric, has an accessory pocket in front, two thick carrying straps, and dual zippers. Inside you’ll find the projector.

The projector measures 12 inches wide, 10 inches across, and 5 inches tall. On the front there’s a plastic lens cap over the 3 inch diameter glass lens, an IR receiver, and this plastic edge accent. Just under the front edge is a tilt foot that unscrews to raise the front of the projector up to 1.125 inch to adjust the height of the projection. If your lens becomes dusty or dirty, simply tear off one of the lint-free dust-free lens wipes and swab it down; no cleaning solution needed. To adjust the focus of the projector, simply grasp the adjustment ring and turn it to change the focus. The adjustments are smooth and granular so you can adjust the focus quickly and precisely. On the left side you’ll find a rubber door marked ‘more ports here’ behind this door are the AV input port for use with the included RCA adapter, AUX output or headphone port to pass the sound on to an external speaker, and VGA input port for connecting to a computer or laptop.

On the back of the projector are another IR receiver, two USB ports, two HDMI ports, power switch, fuse compartment, which is where you’ll insert the extra fuse if it blows, and AC power port. On the right side is the fan exhaust. Just make sure this side stays unobstructed and is well ventilated to prevent over heating of the projector. The top of the projector is covered in a chic, grey abrasion-resistant polyester. The logo is small and unobtrusive and on the back left corner is the power button. Other than that, there are no physical controls on the unit, so be sure not to lose the remote control, because this is the only way to control the unit.

Taking a closer look at the remote, it has a power button, mute, play/pause, rewind and fast-forward, directional navigation, ok button, back, menu, source selector, volume down and up, and keystone correction. At the back, the battery bay opens from the side and the remote uses 2 AAA batteries which are not included. On the bottom of the projector are four rubber feet and the adjustable tilt foot. Under each of the 4 corner feet are threaded mounting bracket holes to be used with the mounting screws and a ceiling mount, sold separately.

To turn the projector on, flip the power switch. Then press the power button on top once it’s red, indicating standby. The LED lamp takes about 10 seconds to warm up and turn on after pressing the button. With the two HDMI ports I can hookup my cable box and Fire TV stick, although I have to use an HDMI flex adapter to fit it in the space. I can also power the Fire TV stick using one of the USB ports. In the other USB port, I could use the USB card reader and insert a microSD card with video, photos, or even music on it. Note that if you want to use the full size SD card slot on the right, you have to remove the HDMI input which may be blocking access to the slot. Note that only one type of card can be used in the reader at a time.

When used in a room with ambient light or even some background lighting, the image on the screen remains quite visible. I have my projector set at about shoulder height and 13 feet away from this 120” diagonal projector screen. While running, there is a slight hum of fan noise, but in general it's no louder than a running laptop or computer. When used in total darkness, the projected image is very clear, bright, and sharp. The sharpness remains clear even at the corners of the screen (with slight vignetting), which makes this unit ideal for gaming or e-sports.

With the native stereo 5W speakers built-into the projector, the audio from the video matches up pretty well to the image on the screen with little to no lag and does a decent job of drowning out the fan noise so that you don’t notice it too much. At the max volume, though, the sound does distort a little bit, so it's best to keep the volume in the midrange or for better sound performance, hook up an external soundbar or sound system using the headphone port and an audio cable. However, you won’t be able to pass on Dolby or surround sound and there are no other audio output options like S/PDIF.

The USB interface for the projector is pretty basic, but easy to navigate. You can see the colors of the projection are rich, nicely saturated, and vivid. Blacks are very dark and there’s very little distortion or loss of contrast. If your projector is on an angle you can adjust both the vertical and horizontal keystone using the remote control to tilt the image and get it square.

Overall, this projector is able to produce high definition video in a large format. I found the brightness to be adequate at 120 inches though it can go up to 200 inches. Just note that the image will look dimmer the larger the size. You'll want to use it in nearly pitch black conditions to get the best performance, but in a room with some light, it's still usable. I recommend using an external speaker, but even without it, the speaker is loud enough to cover up the fan noise making this projector great for movies, gaming, or even slideshows.

Buy it at Amazon: Vankyo V610 Full HD Native 1080p LED Projector [Affiliate Link]