6 reasons I still haven't bought a Google TV projector (and why I may never get one)

The cheap projector market really took off a few years ago, and the market was suddenly flooded with units ranging from $50 to well over $500. During that time, I invested in a cheap but decent little unit for around $100 that had HDMI support and came with a Roku in the box. While certainly not capable of replacing a TV at this level, it was a great way to watch movies outdoors and gave me a taste of what projector life might be. I reasoned that if these cheap units were this capable, then a real higher-priced projector could likely take me much further.

Recently, our living room TV has started showing signs that its days are numbered, and I’ve once again started researching the best projectors. I have to admit I strongly considered a Google TV projector, as many recent models have received praise from critics and users alike. Not to mention, these units have Google TV baked in, so there’s less setup and no extra equipment needed. The more I looked into it, though, the more convinced I became that I might be better off spending the same $500-$1000 on a “dumb” projector.

Here are just a few reasons I’m not quite sold on Google TV projectors, though I understand that not everyone will agree and that not all of these downsides will apply to every model out there.

Built-in operating systems and often trouble

Anyone who has ever owned a smart TV probably has learned this lesson the hard way, but the truth is, having a built-in OS is often just a problem waiting to happen. Instead of two points of failure (a media player and a projector/TV), there’s just one.

Often, the experience starts off fine, but after a couple of years the UI slows down significantly, bug fixes and updates arrive more slowly or not at all, and you might even run into weird glitches that affect more than just the Google TV side of things. For example, my Google TV-based television has a weird OS glitch that sometimes randomly restarts the entire TV. Even if this kind of thing only happens rarely, it can prove to be a major pain. This is especially true if it happens in the middle of playing on the PS5, speaking from experience. As much as I love modern TVs, these kinds of glitches didn’t occur back when TVs had very little going on internally.

I will admit these kinds of glitches and issues are probably more common with sub-$500 projector models, but there are inherent vulnerabilities in a baked-in OS, and those will still apply here.

Performance can be pretty inconsistent, especially on the lower end

Even if you get lucky and don’t run into any glitches or long-term issues, performance can vary widely, especially with budget models.

While all models running Google TV are officially licensed, the bar doesn’t seem that high here. For example, I found an ultra-budget Google TV projector for only around $200, but its specs suggest it won’t be a great time, as there’s only 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. That means you can expect a sluggish experience at best, and at worst, you might find some apps won’t work and have to resort to aggressive app management tactics to avoid running out of space.

Like with the built-in OS issues above, the more you spend, the more likely you are to run into any real issues here. That said, even the well-reviewed XGIMI MoGo 4 costs about $500, yet it only packs around 2GB of RAM, though it does offer a stronger chipset and 32GB of storage.

Daytime viewing is still far from perfect

Projector setups are noisier

While modern projectors aren’t as noisy as some of their older counterparts, they’ll certainly contribute to noise pollution in your living room or media room.

If you mostly just watch shows and movies, that might not be a major problem, as it probably won’t be enough on its own to bother anyone once you turn up the audio. That’s less true if you’re a gamer. Add a PlayStation 5, a gaming PC, and a few other gadgets to the mix, and the total combined noise could start to leak through more noticeably.

They don’t work in every space

A “dumb” projector is often a better value and more future-proof

As I said from the beginning, as much as part of me wants to give a Google TV projector a chance, I feel like there’s more value in a standard projector.

For nearly the same price as something like the Dangbei DBOX02 Pro, you can get the Epson Pro EX11000. It might cap out at 1080p, but it has much higher-quality projection and an impressive 4,600-lumen range that works fairly well even in a room with a little extra light bleed.

For someone who’s looking to spend under $1,000 like myself, you’ll find plenty of options in the 1,500 to 2,500 lumen price range, and in some cases you might even get more ports and other features that are less common in Google TV Projectors. Best of all, if something goes wrong with your Chromecast or Google TV Streamer, you don’t end up with an expensive paperweight.