S320 LCD Home Theatre Projector Review

Projectors could get super pricey sometimes. In fact, projectors don’t usually come cheap. But thanks to many types of equipment and appliance manufacturers devoting time and resources to creating affordable projectors. Not affordable projectors, they do not compromise regarding quality too. We have reviewed some amazing budget projectors that cost less than $200 (Alfawise X3200, ViviBright GP90, ViviBright GP100, etc.). We also compiled a list of projectors that sell for $150 and less – you should check it out.

Now, here, there is a super cheap projector we would love you to see. The product is the S320 LCD Projector, and it cost less than $100. I won’t spill out the price now yet – that would come out later under the price header. But for now, I’d give a bit of introduction to the product.

The S320 LCD Projector is a high budget definition (HD) home projector that delivers clear images at high brightness level and likewise, gives off a vivid, colorful experience. It comes with a multi-coated optical glass lens that aid the projection of clear and vibrant images. Also, with built-in speakers, the S320 LCD Projector is perfect for a home entertainment system (for movies and gaming). Let’s dive in.

S320 LCD Projector: Design and form factor

The S320 LCD projector is very small as regards size and compactness. Almost all parts of the projector are made out of regular matte plastic, and this is understandable. The product is a budget projector; cheap materials had to be used in the making.

The frontal design is basic and has features no ‘wowing’ aesthetic properties except for the design cut-out on the right-hand side. The lens (which comes with a plastic cover/protector) and an air vent are the occupants of the frontal real estate.

Unlike many other (budget) projectors whose lens can be focused using the focus adjustment wheel, the lens of the S320 LCD projector can be manually focused by screwing in (to zoom in) or screwing out (to zoom out) the lens itself. If you do not prefer this method of adjusting the lens focus, the focus adjustment wheel can also be used.

At the top, a considerable amount of the space is large is empty, with some control keys occupying the bottom left corner. Keys present include navigation (up, down, up and down) keys, an OK button, power button, a small (S) and medium (M) key. There is a tiny LED light directly above the power button that turns red when the projector is plugged to a power source (via the DC IN port) and turns green when the projector is turned on.

On the flip side (bottom), there is a screw port for attaching the projector to either a tripod or any supporting stand. There is also numerous air vent for heat dissipation and adequate cooling of the projector system.

Ports

To the right-hand side of the S320 LCD projector is the DC IN port for the power cable, and air outlet channels. On the back side of S320 LCD Projector-, there are some ports: 3.5mm headphone jack, AV IN port, USB, TF card port, a port for HDMI cable, VGA port for connection to PC. The built-in speaker is also on the rear and the focus adjustment wheel I earlier mentioned.

The design of the S320 LCD projector isn’t top-notch, but rather, average. The S320 is also slim (has a 2.95-inch width), compact, and portable. Ease of mobility is on the high side as you can easily carry about from home to school, or even to your office and workplace; it is ultralight (1.2kg).

The S320 is available in Black and White color option. Both color variants are identical regarding specs, features, and price-wise too.

Display quality

The S320 LCD Projector comes with a brightness measured at 1800 lumens which is reasonable enough for the price it sells for. The lens projects images for as far as 4.5 meters. Quality of visuals may be low at that distance, especially for texts. Optimum projection distance is however measured at 3 meters.

The projector’s native resolution is tagged at 800 x 600 pixels as supports up to 1080P. Also, the S320 contrast ratio is 1500:1 while image size ranges from 30 inches to a max of 120 inches. With these properties of the S320, the projector was able to give off impressive visuals. The S320 did not give enough clarity when it was used to display texts, but when used to projects games, cartoons, and other videos, the image qualities were impressive, likewise color representation.

Multimedia and Connectivity

The following are the supported multimedia formats of the S320 LCD projector;

• Picture Formats: JPG / PNG / BMP etc.
• Video Formats: MPEG-1 / MPEG-2 / MPEG-4 / H263 / H264 / H265 / VC-1 / RV / VP6 / VP8 / Sorenson Spark / WAV
• Audio Formats: MP3 / WMA / MP2 / OGG / AAC / M4A / MA4 / FLAC / APE / 3GP / WAV

The S320 doesn’t come with support for any form of wireless connection (Bluetooth or WiFi).

Lamp Life

According to the manufacturers, the LED light (or Lamp) powering the lens of this projector has a life of 50,000mAh,  and really, I do not know how believable this is. Considering its price point (below $100), I doubt if the stated lamp life is true. But since there is no way to find out if the 50,000 hours lamp life is true or not, I guess we have to partly believe that the S320 has a lamp life 50,000 hours.

Price

The S320 LCD projector currently cost about $75. This is about the best cheapest budget projector you can get at that price.