DBPower L21 Review – Best Projector under $100?

With the advancement in modern technology, projectors have become cheaper than they’ve ever been.

One such example is the DBPower L21. It is a sub-$100 projector offering a casual big-screen watching experience without emptying your pocket. For the price, you get a compact and featherweight projector, you can effortlessly carry anywhere with you.

In this DBPower L21 Review, we’ll look at the overall aspects of this projector, including its design, built quality, and performance. Plus, we’ll also look at a few unique features and functions that it has to offer.

Are you ready?

Let’s get started!

DBPower L21 Review

First Impression & Design

Being priced under $100, you’ll notice that the DBPower L21 has a minimalistic design. It is available in a compact casing making it easier to carry anywhere you go. It weighs a measly 2.3 pounds, and the package comes with a carrying bag for easy transportation.

Currently, this DBPower projector is sold in its updated avatar; thus, you get additional new features that we’ll talk about in a bit.

Within the package, you are first greeted with the projector itself. Alongside, you also get a remote control, power cord, HDMI cable, audio cable, and instruction manual. Just like the projector, the instruction manual is very straightforward because the projector is very easy to set up.

Also Read: 5 Best Projectors for Dorm Room Usage

Talking about the design, the DBPower L21 sports the projector lens and IR sensor at the front. The top features a focus ring, keystone correction ring, and 9 backlit control buttons, including the power button.

The back features a VGA port and IR sensor. The left-hand side features connectivity options like 2x HDMI ports, USB port, 3.5mm audio jack, AV port, and SD card reader. You get heat vents and power cable connector on the projector’s right side.

Being a compact projector, the DBPower L21 requires an active power connection to keep it running. In case you a completely wireless projector, you can fit in your projector, then you should take a look at this one.

The bottom part of DBPower L21 features 4 rubber feet and 1 screw-type kickstand. You get a quarter-inch screw threading at the center to mount this projector on a tripod or ceiling mount. The bottom right corner has a 3W mono speaker for casual audio listening.

To get better audio performance, I recommend getting an external speaker. You can connect this DBPower projector to the external speaker via an AUX cable and enjoy improved sound quality than the built-in speakers. Furthermore, you can connect a streaming media player to this DBPower projector for Bluetooth connectivity with several other devices.

Built Quality & Performance

For $100, don’t expect the built quality to be breathtaking. It is made entirely out of plastic with a glossy finish. While this DBPower projector can withstand daily usage; however, a fall from a short height might be enough to break the projector casing and its internals.

With the provided carrying case, you can prevent damage while carrying it in your backpack or storing it in a cabinet. The carrying case makes it easy to carry this projector wherever you.

Also Read: Miroir M220 Review: Compact Battery-Powered Projector

The first-time setup is effortless, and within few steps, you can configure and set up this projector. You can start using this projector by connecting a USB drive or SD card to view its content on a big screen.

Price-wise, the user interface isn’t candy dandy, it feels rough and not well put together like we see in smart projectors, yet it gets the job done. The OSD menu is very simplistic, and hence getting around it won’t be an issue. The OSD menu text feels a little pixelated, but that is the projector’s software problem and not related to display quality.

A big reason why DBPower L21 is a popular choice among other inexpensive projectors is its native resolution. This projector comes with 1280 x 720p native resolution with support for up to 1080p resolution content. It is hard to find a 720p projector for under $100.

On its product page, this DBPower projector shows 6000L brightness and interchangeably uses Lumen and Lux units to describe brightness. It is a common practice among cheaper projector brands to use this trickery for misleading first-time projector buyers.

True projector brightness is measured in lumens, which measures the light output from a light source, whereas the amount of light that falls on a surface is called Lux.

Also Read: 5 Best Projector with 4000 Lumens Brightness (Ideal for Office/Business Usage)

The DBPower L21 has 200 ANSI lumens brightness, where ANSI lumens is the industry standard to measure a projector’s brightness. In real-life usage, 200 ANSI lumens isn’t very bright, and thus you’ll require a very dark room to get a bright projection.

With the 2x HDMI port, you can connect a plethora of HDMI compliant devices to this DBPower projector, including PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Laptop, Mobile, Tablet, etc. To add smart TV-like capabilities, you can connect a streaming media player like Chromecast, Amazon Fire Stick, or Roku and enjoy movies/TV shows on a big screen.

Through the HDMI ports, you can connect it to several devices like Firestick, Chromecast and Roku. These players will help you watch your favorite streaming services like Netflix or Prime Video. Additionally, you can also watch Live TV on the DBPower L21 with the help of a streaming media player.

Suppose you’ve never used a projector before. In that case, you’ll enjoy the display quality since it’s comparatively bigger than your smartphone or laptop screen. However, you’ll notice the lack of sharpness.

In a dim room, the colors pop, and watching animated movies will be a joy on this DBPower projector. However, if you’re a cinema lover, you’ll find cinematic movies a little off-putting while watching on this pint-sized projector.

The DBPower L21 is capable of producing up to 200-inch projection. Although, it works best between 60-80 inches since you get the right amount of clarity and brightness.

In the audio department, the 3W speaker is a good addition; however, to improve the audio experience, I’d suggest getting a dedicated speaker set as mentioned above.

Talking about daily use and heat dissipation, the DBPower L21 stays relatively cool. It uses an LED-based light source that starts up instantly, doesn’t require heating or cooling periods and doesn’t emit heat excess during long time usage.

Important Features & Functions

DBPower L21 Review: Pros & Cons

Conclusion

In today’s time, it’s hard to imagine you get so much tech just under $100. This DBPower projector is not for serious users. But if you’ve never owned a projector before and want one for casual use, then the DBPower L21 is an excellent starting point.

Since it’s priced under $100, you aren’t emptying your pocket, plus your friends will thank you for turning movie nights enjoyable. In addition, you can also get the DBPower L21 for your children, which makes a much better and cheaper option than a smartphone.

With a good amount of connectivity options, you can attach several devices at one go. However, to make full usage of this projector, I’d suggest getting a streaming media player and aftermarket speakers to improve the overall audio-video experience.

If you have any questions regarding this projector, please don’t forget to leave your queries in the comment section below.

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