Jan and I have always liked the idea of having a projector in our house rather than a TV. Not only does it immediately grant you an ultra-wide watching experience, it also saves floor space, which is essential given the size of apartments in Singapore these days.
However, there are so many factors that go into planning for a projector in the house. Suitable light (or lack of), an empty wall/screen, and an appropriate place to hang the projector while maintaining aesthetics are just some of them. Not to mention that projectors are expensive—the best budget projector for a home theater recommended by Wirecutter, for instance, comes in at around US$1,000 (not very budget after all).
Which is why we jumped at the opportunity when LUMOS offered to provide us with a review unit of their LUMOS FLOAT Home Cinema Projector. We decided to try it out in our master bedroom, and here’s a review of our experience so far.
The smart version comes in at a mere S$298 (the regular version retails at S$199) with 1-year local warranty, which is a steal given its features. You might think that, at such a low price point, you wouldn’t expect much from it. And to be honest, there are some shortcomings that we’ll address in this article. But the upsides more than make up for them.
Let’s take a look at the technical specs first. The LUMOS FLOAT boasts 1080p resolution and 3000 lumens brightness, which sounds good on paper. While I did feel that the colors were a bit washed out, the brightness was perfect for our pitch-black dark room (thanks to blackout curtains), making for an enjoyable watching experience even at the maximum screen size of 150 inches.
What really makes the LUMOS FLOAT stand out is the fact that it is designed to be 360-degree rotatable. That’s right—you can flip it up to the ceiling if you’re feeling lazy and want to watch some Netflix while lying down, or swivel it to face the opposite wall if you want to sit up and snack at the same time. An integrated stand called the SkyTrack enables this function, and also allows the LUMOS FLOAT to be mounted onto the wall seamlessly.
It is a great idea in theory, but slightly unwieldy to use in reality. This is largely due to the straight two-pin power cord, which causes the power cable to get caught in the SkyTrack when swivelling in an extreme direction, such as directly upwards. It does take a bit of fiddling to get right, so do take note of this.
However, this projector is very compact, so you’ll have no trouble moving it around to find the right spot and angle for the perfect watching experience.
Another minor issue we faced was getting the focus and “shape” of the projection right. There were no instructions on how to find the keystone correction function, so it took a bit of hunting on our end.
We found it in the settings, and while the automatic function wasn’t very accurate, we were able to manually find the right fit eventually. After that, it was easy to fine-tune the focus using the provided remote.
Again, do bear in mind that we’re talking about a sub-S$300 projector here, so I’m more than okay with the minor inconveniences presented here.
Finally (and perhaps most importantly), the smart version of the LUMOS FLOAT comes preloaded with commonly used streaming apps such as Netflix, YouTube, and even mirroring apps that allow you to directly use your other smart devices to cast their screens.
All things considered, I’d happily recommend this to anyone who really wants to have a home theater but doesn’t want to break the bank. Kudos to LUMOS for continually innovating and finding ways to make our home theater dreams come true!
If you’re interested to purchase one, you can do so here.
Now, back to binging more Netflix shows in the comfort of my bed.
