At first glance, the Miroir Synq M189 projector ($349.99) looks like a series of near-misses. It's easy to use, but lacks automatic or powered focus or adjustable image settings. It's light and has a built-in battery, so it qualifies as a portable projector, but it's bigger than a palmtop and doesn't have a handle. It's designed for streaming, but you have to buy your own streaming stick. However, its high points more than balance out those drawbacks. We love its unusually high-quality color accuracy and audio for its size, the ultra-simple setup, and the flexibility of using any streaming service you like. That makes it our new Editors' Choice for a portable streaming projector.

All the Resolution You Need

The M189 pairs a red-green-blue LED light source with a 1280-by-720 DLP chip. Despite its native 720p resolution, it behaves like a 1080p projector with a maximum 1080p 60Hz input, automatically negotiating connections at 1080p. It will give you a slightly softer focus than a 1080p model, but its brightness rating of 200 LED lumens and 150 ANSI lumens means you're best off using a screen no bigger than 45 diagonal inches, and at that size, the difference between 720p and 1080p isn't very noticeable. (More on brightness and screen size below.) 

At 4.25 by 3.25 by 6.25 inches (HWD) and 3.75 pounds without the AC adapter, the M189 will fit easily in a briefcase or backpack, but it's bigger and heavier than the ViewSonic M1 mini or the Kodak Luma 150, which are small enough to be constant traveling companions. One reason for the large size is that there's room inside the case to hide a streaming stick as well as cable connectors. Removing the back cover reveals a deep recess along with an HDMI port, a USB-A port for power, a 3.5mm stereo audio out port, and the power connector. 

The HDMI port will let you connect most current computers, video sources, phones, and tablets. It will also let you turn the M189 into a streaming projector. Plug whichever streaming stick you prefer into the HDMI port, and connect it to the USB port for power. Miroir even includes an 8-inch USB-A–to–Micro USB cable. For a neater look, you can hide the streaming stick and connectors by threading cables through the hole in the back cover and snapping the cover back on. 

Beyond that, setup consists of pointing the M189 at whatever you're using for a screen, manually focusing, and positioning the projector at the right distance for the image size you want. As with most small projectors, there is no zoom.

The built-in stand can point the projector up a bit if you need to raise the image. If you have to tilt the projector, the automatic keystone correction will square off the image for you. For greater flexibility, buy a tripod separately to take advantage of the tripod mount on the bottom of the projector.

There's no remote, probably because there are no menu settings. The only controls are three buttons on the top for power and for raising and lowering volume. You can switch between Normal and Eco power modes by pressing both volume buttons at once. Beyond that, there's nothing else to set unless you connect a streaming stick, which you can control using the remote it comes with. 

The built-in audio is good enough that it may be all you need. The 5-watt mono speaker delivers high quality sound for this class of projector and sufficient volume to easily fill a small conference room or family room. For stereo, you can connect an external system to the audio out port.

The rated 4-hour battery life is for an externally powered image source and Eco power mode, rated at 80 ANSI lumens. Connect a streaming stick that also needs power, and the battery life drops to 2 hours 40 minutes. In Normal mode (full brightness), the battery life is rated at 3 hours without a streaming stick or 2 hours with one. 

Top-Tier Color Accuracy for Its Class

The M189 has a single color mode with no way to modify settings. That seems like hubris, but the image quality is good enough to justify it. For business graphics, it delivers nicely saturated color and far better color accuracy than typical for LED-based models in this price range. Color accuracy in my tests was also easily good enough for presentations that include photos, film clips, or video.

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Skin tones, sky, grass, and other memory colors (colors that are so familiar you know what they should look like) were all well within the realm of realism. Some colors were a little shifted from what I know they should be, but not by enough that I would have noticed if I weren't familiar with our test images. Most impressive is that I didn't see any colors that were unrealistically bright or oversaturated, which is a common issue for inexpensive LED projectors. 

The same comments about color accuracy hold true for video and movies. In addition, the M189 delivered good contrast and did a credible job on black level and holding shadow detail, even in the most demanding scenes. Another plus is that I didn't see many rainbow artifacts. As with any single-chip projector, if you see these red-green-blue flashes easily and find them annoying, be sure to buy from a dealer who allows returns without a restocking fee.

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Focusing is a little tricky, since the focus is almost too responsive to slight adjustments of the wheel. However, it took me only a few tries each time to make text appropriately sharp and readable given the resolution. 

I measured the input lag at 42.3ms, which most casual gamers will consider acceptable. There is no support for HDR or 3D.

Some claim that the high color saturation of LEDs leads to greater perceived brightness, hence the M189's ratings of 200 LED lumens and 150 ANSI lumens. However, according to the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) recommendations, even 200 ANSI lumens would only be bright enough for a 64-inch diagonal 16:9 image in a dark room using a 1.0-gain screen, and many people prefer a brighter image, which means positioning the projector closer to the screen and accepting a trade-off in size.

In my tests, I settled on a 45-inch diagonal image in a dark room for comfortable extended viewing, which is consistent with 150 ANSI lumens. In moderate ambient light, I settled on a 40-inch image. Don't expect this projector to give you anything larger. Fortunately, a 40-inch image is still plenty big for most purposes, from business presentations to backyard movie nights.

A Strong Contender for Streaming and More

The Miroir Synq M189 is a very good all-around home and business projector, though not without competition. For business presentations, be sure to also consider the ViewSonic M1 mini and Kodak Luma 150, which can be better companions for road warriors because of their small size, as well as the AAXA P6X for its high brightness.

For streaming, you might consider the Kodak Luma 350 palmtop, with built-in streaming and a lower price. However, the Miroir Synq M189 has a compelling combination of 1080p support, ease of use, color accuracy, streaming-friendly design, and the flexibility to let you choose any streaming stick you like. Among portable streaming projectors, it's our Editors' Choice.