INTRODUCTION

   Christmas may have come and gone already but the holidays are far from over so Merry Christmas everyone! Now as many of you are already aware i may be a PC guy at heart but nothing beats testing various gadgets (aimed towards both you and your loved ones) leading up and even during the holidays so for the few days left until new year’s i decided to only release such reviews. Numerous gadgets made their way in the lab in late November but only a handful are meant to be used by an entire family so these in particular i wanted to focus on the most (could make the ideal presents after all, even though a bit late for some). The first such device is about none other than the Performance V700W 1080p Full HD Projector by Vankyo which i ended up using for well over a month now.

   Since its creation in 2017, Vankyo’s story has always been about innovation. As one of the most trustworthy projector brands, Vankyo is focused on delivering immersive, fantastic, and exciting visual feasts to people worldwide. While that innovation lies at the core of our business, it has transformed into our mission to empower people to explore and enjoy a better life. Today, we have developed various visual display products such as projectors and tablets, built multiple online and offline channels, are trusted by tens of millions of consumer customers worldwide - but we're just getting started. As our work continues to evolve, we stay focused on delivering prime products and services to customers across the globe.

   The latest Performance V700W is Vankyo's flagship LED LCD model (5760x1080 matrix) sporting a native resolution of 1920x1080p (Full HD - 576i/576p/720i/720P/1080i/1080P are also supported) together with a contrast ratio of 1000:1 and maximum brightness of 420 ansi lumens. It also features a projection ratio of 1.35:1 (16:9/4:3 screen format - 224 inches max supported screen), two 5W/4Ohm drivers with Dolby Atmos support (360 degrees area coverage), manual keystone calibration (+-15 degrees vertical), electronic & manual focus, blue-light and direct light reduction, 5G Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity (Android & iOS mirroring along with DLNA and Windows Cast are supported) and a built-in media player with support for AVI/MP4/MKV/FLV/MOV/RMVB/3GP/MPEG/H.264/XVID video formats, MP3/WMA/MP2/AAC/FLAC/PCM/AC3 audio formats and BMP/JPG/PNG/JPEG picture formats. With the Performance V700W Vankyo aims to hit the price/performance sweet spot so let's see just how well they did.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Vankyo uses a small black and white box to ship the V700W the front of which as expected has their logo, a product picture and some of the main product features.

The product specifications are printed on the left side whereas on the right side we find the bundle contents under a few words about the blue light and direct light reduction features.

In terms of packaging the projector is placed inside two pieces of cardboard and the rest of the bundle is placed inside a small cardboard box.

Along with the Performance V700W 1080p projector and its power cable inside the box you'll also find a 120 inch cloth screen, screen mounts, HDMI cable, remote control, lens cleaning cloth, 5 long q tips, quick start guide and the user manual.

THE PERFORMANCE V700W

Measuring 290mm in length, 220mm in depth and 93mm in height the Performance V700W is a medium sized projector.

To have a better idea about its size i placed the Vankyo Performance V700W right next to the Vankyo Leisure 495W, EZCast Beam H3 and the Vankyo Leisure 470.

Thanks to the two 5W speakers located on its sides the Performance V700W should easily outperform its smaller brothers.

The lens of the V700W feature both automatic and manual electronic focus.

As expected, the IR receiver is also located at the front of the enclosure.

The media navigation buttons are located at the rear top and are quite easy to use (slightly larger buttons would be better however).

Moving at the rear we find the two HDMI v1.4 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, 3.5mm headphones plug, 2nd IR receiver, power port, on/off power switch and the keystone calibration wheel.

Taking a look at the base of the V700W we find a angle adjustment wheel, 4 rubber feet and 4 mounting holes.

The compact remote control bundled with the V700W is nothing i haven't seen numerous times in the past (and of course material quality could be a lot better).

MENUS

The very first thing you should do when you get on the main tab is to press the autofocus button (if that doesn't work you can manually focus the screen).

From the main screen you can access the movie, music, photo and text tabs.

You can of course also access the settings menu from where you can access picture (like projection mode, aspect ratio, color range and picture mode), system (language, firmware update, sleep timer and reset) and other settings (OSD timer and WiFi/Bluetooth pairing with smartphones, tablets, headsets, speakers, etc).

AUDIO / VIDEO QUALITY

Since i started of my projector reviews with the 100" screen Vankyo send with their 495W/470 models i will be using that for now along with the Max Vision 4K media player by HD Dune.

Even though image clarity is good and the same goes for color reproduction, brightness levels could obviously be better (something which becomes even more obvious with dark pictures). Movement is also quite smooth, not what I'd recommend for console or even PC gaming but for watching movies it works as it should. As for audio well let's just say that from the 4 models that arrived in the lab in 2022 this produced the best results so for some people this should be more than enough (still as expected it can't compete with a good soundbar).

CONCLUSION

   The Performance V700W may be Vankyo’s current flagship model but it’s not really worlds apart compared to the Leisure 470 & 495W models. Build quality is noticeably better but in terms of picture quality if I was to give the 470 and 495W models a 6 (5.5 for the EZCast H3 in case any of you are wondering) I’d give this a 7. Of course, this too is a budget-friendly model so one can’t actually expect it to compete with models that cost twice as much or more. For example, thanks to its very good specifications my 2016 EPSON HC2040 projector may offer better image quality even compared to the Performance 700W but back then it cost well over twice as much (around 750Euros if I recall correctly) and even though it’s been 6 years since then things haven’t really improved a lot, not around this price segment. Unfortunately, as with the Leisure models the Performance V700W can get dirt on its LCD so it’s a good thing Vankyo packs cleaning tools for that. Likewise, the bundled 120 inch cloth screen even though not exactly special it’s good enough to introduce users to projectors. As for audio once again the two 5W speakers do well and since this is a budget-friendly model It should be more than enough for most users.

   Just in time for the Christmas holidays the Performance V700W Full HD Projector by Vankyo retails for USD299.99 (IVANKYO.COM – 15% coupon off seems valid still once you register your email address) a price tag which is indeed balanced for what you’re getting. Overall, the Performance V700W may not be the jack of all trades but it does deliver good picture quality and audio while at the same time offering both wired and wireless connectivity options and for that it gets the Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Compact Size
- Specifications (Compared To The Competition)
- WiFi & Bluetooth v5.1 Connectivity
- Built In Media Player
- Electronic Auto & Manual Focus
- Blue Light & Direct Light Protection
- Dolby Audiο
- Bundle (120 Inch Cloth Screen)
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Overall Picture Quality (Brightness)