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The TCL PlayCube is a 1080p portable projector with a great design that is somewhere between a Rubix Cube and the robot TARS from Interstellar. The twistiness is more than just for show: It lets you pivot the lens up so it projects an image that’s taller than where it’s sitting. Inside is Google TV for streaming and a laser light machine that is very bright. Oh, and it has a 66Wh battery that’s good for a claimed 3 hours of playtime — some competitors struggle to get through an entire movie.
Overall, the performance is good. The image is bright for a portable, colors are reasonably accurate, and the contrast ratio is better than most portables. It also sounds good, which is good because the unit can also double as a Bluetooth speaker.
There aren’t many failures, except for some software issues that will hopefully be fixed. The main one is the price, which is several hundred higher than our favorite portable projector. Some aspects of its design and performance justify the higher price, but not entirely.
Specs and more
- Resolution: 1080p
- Lumens spec: 750 (ISO)
- Zoom: Nope
- Lens shift: No (well, a bit, 3/4 of the thing pivots)
- Battery life (claimed): 3 hours, 1 hour after 30 minutes of charging
- The type and life of the light source: Laser (the life span is not specified but probably the life of the projector)
PlayCube looks like different things: the aforementioned Rubik’s Cube, a tricorder from the original Star Trek, some kind of small toy that teaches shapes, or maybe very large Legos. It is small, boxy and yet lightweight, something that even children can easily carry. It doesn’t exist Anker Nebula Mars 3 Air’s small handle, but it’s a little small overall. I think it’s a smart design because it’s also functional. You turn the larger part to point the lens upwards. Unlike TCL A1the PlayCube has an upward throw, so you don’t always have to rely on keystone correction if you want to place the projector on a coffee table. There’s no optical zoom or other lens shift, but that’s not surprising given the price and size.
TCL claims that the PlayCube emits 750 lumens. I measured 452 in its most accurate mode, and 569 in the less accurate, and noticeably greener, Business mode. That’s a little lower than they claim, but there are different ways to measure brightness and the difference between 569 and 750 is not very noticeable. For comparison, the Mars 3 Air only managed 252 lumens in its proper mode. Contrast is also decent at around 492:1, roughly the median of all the projectors I reviewed for CNET and slightly higher than the 3 Air’s measured 405:1.
One of the best features of the PlayCube is the combination of a large internal battery and USB-C charging. The former, TCL claims, is good for about 3 hours of playback, probably not running anywhere near its brightest. The latter allows you to charge from a portable battery bank for hours of off-the-grid viewing.
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Connections
- HDMI inputs: 1
- USB ports: 2 (1x USB-A, 1xUSB-C for charging)
- Audio: 3.5mm headphone output, Bluetooth
- Internet: Wi-Fi
- Remote: Not backlit
Inside the PlayCube is the standard Google TV interface, so you have access to the full version of all major streaming services. In general, portable projectors from big manufacturers like TCL have full versions of various apps, but smaller manufacturers have mobile versions that can be annoying to use.
The 5-watt speaker sounds great. For something the size of a Bluetooth speaker it sounds, well, like a Bluetooth speaker. There isn’t much bass, but it plays loud and sounds clear. You can adjust the sound using several presets, as well as increase / decrease treble and bass. Play it loud enough to fill a small room, but outside with lots of people it can be a little soft.
I ran into a few bugs during my testing that will hopefully be ironed out in future updates. For example, like all laser projectors it has an eye sensor to turn off the laser so it doesn’t burn your retinas if you’re in front and happen to look into the lens. However, the PlayCube thinks everything is an eyeball, including the light reflection it creates on my screen. It flashed the warning eye every 2-3 seconds non-stop until I was able to turn the feature off completely. Automatic keystone correction cannot be turned off, despite a setting that claims not to. It’s all a bit annoying, as well as unexpected and undesirable for a fully updated $750 product from a major manufacturer.
Lastly, and it’s not a bug exactly but still strange behavior, when you press the power button it goes into standby mode. That’s fine, but in this mode the internal fan turns on every few minutes. This will definitely drain the battery and/or cause confusion when you try to figure out where the fan noise is coming from. To actually turn it off, you need to hold the power button for a few seconds until you see the on-screen notification that it’s shutting down.
Image quality comparisons
Mars 3 Air is the logical competition. Small portables can’t match either of these light models, and are more traditional home projectors far superior to them (even at the same or lower price). Both are 1080p, reasonably bright, and have an option for battery-powered operation. However, Anker’s MSRP is $150 cheaper, and it’s significantly less now. I connected them to a distribution amplifier (aka an HDMI splitter) and viewed them side by side on a 102-inch 1.0-gain screen.
These are, in general, very well matched projectors. Both are surprisingly bright for their size, the TCL even more so. The extra 200 or so lumens isn’t very noticeable, but it looks brighter. Yes, the TCL is technically almost twice as bright but subjectively it doesn’t look twice as bright, just slightly brighter. Those are the eyes for you.
The difference is evenly matched, as I mentioned earlier. You won’t see much difference between the two. Black bars in letterboxed movies appear dark gray. The TCL’s 492:1 is better than many home projectors I’ve reviewed, and solidly in the middle of the projectors I’ve reviewed overall. The TCL A1, despite other quirks, is actually a big standout in contrast ratio, likely due to its simple lens design. That said, the PlayCube looks good for a projector and isn’t impressive or disappointing. As I mentioned in this review, the Anker would probably look better if it had brightness control because it magnifies shadows in a way that doesn’t change. The TCL has more control over its image reproduction with more menus and picture settings.
Color is where these projectors differ the most. Not accurate either, but not too bad either. The Anker is a bit green, but the TCL’s skin tones are a bit warm/reddish. The TCL is slightly more powerful, so I’m going to lean it a little against the Anker, but it’s close. As for the difference, both are “good” but neither are standouts.
Sound wise, the Anker has better bass but is slightly muffled while the TCL is louder and clearer. Both have aforementioned EQ settings to help dial in a sound that’s right for your environment and content. In fact, I’d say the TCL sounds 10-20% better.
Anker has a handle, but TCL has a twist. The TCL has USB-C, but the Anker is cheaper. Neither feels as fast to use as a top-of-the-line phone, but the Anker feels slower and slower. So overall, despite their differences, they are both good choices just for different reasons.
Hip square
PlayCube is great. It’s bright for its size, looks great, and looks great. Its smart design is simple and good, and the battery is good enough for a long movie or a set of TV episodes. Having USB-C charging is the cherry on top.
Bugs aside, my concern is the price. I feel like the Anker Nebula Mars 3 Air is priced a bit high at $600 when it’s brand new. Everything is more expensive now for reasons but Anker managed to drop the price of the 3 Air, making the PlayCube more premium. For an extra few hundred you get a brighter projector with better sound, a bigger battery and USB-C charging. The PlayCube is a better portable projector, but I’m not convinced it’s nearly 50% better as the prices suggest as of this writing. So right now it’s not the king of portable PJs, but if price isn’t a concern for you, this is the one to get.
