The AAXA M8 ultra short throw (UST) projector is one of only a handful of mini UST models, and only the second we've reviewed—the first being the Philips Screeneo UL5 Smart. The models in this so-far tiny category are only distantly related to more common UST models that are both bigger and brighter. Like all UST projectors, they sit inches from a screen or wall, yet throw a relatively big image. But where the larger models can serve as a large-screen-TV replacement, the M8 and UL5 aren't bright enough for that. Instead, they combine the convenience of a UST lens with easy portability. In that context, the M8 stands out for its low price, at $529.99. It's equally appropriate for home entertainment use or for business presentations in a small conference room, though the Editors' Choice-winning Xgimi Halo+ and Anker Nebula Capsule 3 Laser are our two current top picks for 1080p mini projectors and are better overall if you don't need an ultra short throw.

Design: Bring Your Own Streaming Dongle

The M8 shares more design basics with the UL5 than just an ultra short throw. Also, aside from the lens, both have more in common with other mini projectors than with larger UST models. The display chip in both cases offers a 960-by-540-pixel matrix in combination with TI's XPR pixel shifting to generate the full 1,920-by-1,080-pixel image on screen. As with most current 1080p models, the M8 can accept 4K (3,840-by-2,160-pixel) input and downconvert the image to 1080p. However, it's limited to a refresh rate of 30Hz, making it suitable for watching movies at 4K/24Hz, but not for gaming at 4K/60Hz.

Both models also use tri-color red/green/blue laser light sources, an increasingly common choice even for mini projectors. One difference between the two is that AAXA claims a 50% longer lifetime for the M8's light source, at 30,000 hours. AAXA also claims a higher brightness, but the ratings for the two aren't comparable. The UL5's rating is in ANSI lumens, while AAXA uses "laser lumens," which isn't a standard. (More on the M8's brightness later.)

(Credit: M. David Stone)

Setting up the M8 is easy. At 3.0 by 4.8 by 8.1 inches (HWD) and a mere 2.7 pounds, it's easy to position, and its powered focus lets you stand back far enough to see the whole image at once while you focus. It also has rubber feet on two sides. One set is on the bottom when you've set up the projector to use a screen or wall. The other is on the side that would normally face the screen; it becomes the bottom when you set the unit to point down to project an image on a tabletop or floor.

The built-in streaming feature doesn't require any setup. However, it's built on Android version 9, which has apps designed for touch screens rather than remotes. AAXA says the feature is included for commercial customers who want to load their own apps, and it explicitly recommends that others use a third-party streaming stick instead. If you'd rather not bring or buy your own, you can use the preinstalled apps, including Max, Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube, and Chrome, or install others. To use the built-in streaming feature, you'll need to connect a mouse to the USB port or control an on-screen mouse (somewhat clumsily) through the remote.

(Credit: M. David Stone)

Two better alternatives for streaming are to follow AAXA's recommendation to plug a third-party dongle into one of the two HDMI 1.4 ports or mirror a phone or other device. The M8 supports DLNA mirroring as well as MiraCast for Android and AirPlay for iOS. (The iOS devices have to be connected to the same network, while Android devices can connect directly to the projector.) AAXA also provides a USB-C-to-USB-C cable for mirroring without going through a network, and the projector also has a USB Type-A port and a microSD/TF card slot for reading files from USB sticks and memory cards.

In testing, the 4-watt stereo audio system delivered good enough sound quality for casual viewing at enough volume to fill a family room. For better quality and higher volume, you can connect an external sound system via the TOSLink optical audio output, the 3.5mm stereo output, or Bluetooth.

Image Quality: Decent Color, Good Shadow Detail

The M8's only image-quality setting is a Color Temperature option, which I left at its default setting for my tests. The one adjustment I made was to add a piece of opaque tape to cover the vertical row of status lights on the side of the projector facing the viewing area. I found the bright white light too distracting in a dark room. AAXA says it's working on a firmware upgrade that lets you turn off the status lights from the menu.

In our standard test regimen of JPG files and PowerPoint slides, patterned fills showed moiré patterns, and hues in color graphics were noticeably shifted from what they should be. However, colors for graphics were vibrant, if somewhat off target, and photos offered surprisingly good skin tones and good shadow detail, making the M8 a good choice even for presentations that include photorealistic images. However, you'll want to avoid patterned fills.

(Credit: M. David Stone)

For viewing SDR movies on disc in a dark room, color accuracy was off by enough to notice. Some colors were oversaturated, and I saw a blue/green shift in some scenes (depending on the dominant colors in the scene). Even so, color was within a range most people will consider at least marginally acceptable, if not better, for casual viewing. Shadow detail held well enough in a dark room to make out what was happening, even in the darker scenes in our test suite. In low levels of ambient light, however, the dark scenes were completely washed out.

HDR 10 support is…unclear. HDR isn't mentioned in the M8's specs, my Blu-ray player reported an SDR connection when playing HDR discs, and the HDMI ports' 1.4 spec—which predates HDR—doesn't officially support the standard. On the other hand, an AAXA spokesperson said the projector does support HDR, and in my tests, the image quality for the same scenes we use for SDR viewing tests was noticeably improved when played back from the HDR discs. I didn't see any obviously oversaturated colors, and fewer scenes showed any overall color bias. The HDR versions also showed significant improvement in shadow detail in dark scenes, retaining almost all of the detail I know to look for in our test clips. The darker scenes in the HDR versions of movies also stood up much better than the SDR versions to ambient light, retaining enough detail to make them watchable.

(Credit: M. David Stone)

If you're sensitive to rainbow artifacts (the red/green/blue flashes that DLP models can show), note that I saw them relatively often with the M8. However, I see them easily. If you're bothered by these flashes, it's best to buy from a dealer who allows easy returns, so you can test this aspect of the projector for yourself.

Two issues that will be either deal killers or irrelevant: The M8 does not support 3D, and its input lag is too long for even most casual gamers, at least for games where reaction time matters. I measured it with my Bodnar 4K Lag Tester at 103.5 milliseconds for 1080p/60Hz input.

(Credit: M. David Stone)

The rated brightness is 1,100 laser lumens for Boost power mode, and 800 laser lumens for Standard mode. As with LED lumens, AAXA's rating is based on a presumed subjective sense of the brightness rather than an objective measurement. And because it's not measurable or even a standard, it's not useful for comparison to other projectors. In my tests, the image was roughly as bright as I would expect from about 375 lumens, which translates to a 75-inch-diagonal image for a 1.0-gain screen in a dark room, or about 55 inches in a family room at night for a watchable image with lights on.