Priced at $699.99 (though its website offers a $599.99 sale at this writing), the Miroir M1200S Ultra Pro Smart Projector is above par in some aspects and below par in others, sometimes when talking about the same feature. Unlike most Android-based streaming projectors—including the Editors’ Choice-award-winning Epson EpiqVision Mini EF12 ($999.99) and the Xgimi Horizon ($1,099)—the Miroir offers a Netflix app. But while Netflix support is a plus, the app is somewhat flawed (more on that in a minute), so it counts for less than it might. Much the same is true of the M1200S overall: It’s worth consideration if you’re shopping for a home projector, but that recommendation comes with some hedges.
Simple Setup, But Android OS, Not Android TV
The Miroir M1200S is built around a 1,920-by-1,080-pixel DLP chip and an RGB LED light source with rated life of 30,000 hours in Eco mode or 20,000 hours at full brightness. Physical setup is simple: Find a spot for the projector—not difficult since it’s a compact 5.6 by 7.6 by 7.5 inches—and connect the power cord and cables, then turn it on. The back panel includes one HDMI 2.2 port and an Ethernet port, the latter for those who prefer a wired network connection for streaming, though you can also use Wi-Fi.
There’s no optical zoom, but at just 4.8 pounds, the unit is easy to move to adjust image size. You can also use digital zoom, though you probably don’t want to—as with any projector, using it lowers brightness and can add artifacts.
By default, the Miroir focuses automatically. However, I found I could get a more consistent focus across the entire image by manually adjusting the powered focus using the remote. The final result was a bit soft, but sharp enough so few viewers seated at a typical distance will complain.
Another automatic feature that demands mention is the keystone adjustment. I don’t usually mention digital keystone in reviews, because it’s best avoided for the same reasons that digital zoom should be. For those who like it, however, the projector’s version is notable for adjusting both vertical and horizontal keystone. It works by briefly projecting a stored image on screen, analyzing it, and then adjusting keystone settings to compensate. In my tests, I found it could be misled by objects close to the edge of the screen, but it otherwise worked as advertised.
The Android 9-based operating system uses Aptoide apps, which have earned a reputation as less reliable for streaming than the versions used by Android TV and other streaming platforms. In my tests, for example, the M1200S Netflix app skipped over a second or two of video every so often. Miroir says it’s working on a replacement OS it calls Synq TV, which it expects to make available for upload to current units in March 2022, although it plans to continue selling the projector with its current OS for those who prefer it. According to the company, the new OS will “aggregate all the streaming services you’ve signed up for into one interface,” so commands from the remote will work the same way no matter which service you’re watching.
The onboard audio is surprisingly robust for a compact projector. The two 10-watt speakers, along with Dolby and DTS audio, deliver unusually good sound quality for the device’s size and enough volume to fill a large family room. You can also connect to an external audio system for still higher quality, using the S/PDIF optical audio-out.
An Above-Average Picture
Image quality is a strong point, with good color accuracy and better contrast and shadow detail than is typical for this category of room-to-room portable. The Miroir offers four predefined picture modes with no settings, plus one custom mode that lets you change only brightness, contrast, sharpness, and saturation. Preliminary tests let me quickly settle on Monitor mode as the best choice, a decision that served well throughout my viewing. For 1080p SDR material, it delivered the best color accuracy of the five modes—better color accuracy than most comparable LED projectors—and fine contrast and shadow detail considering the projector’s price. It also retained detail in highlights well.
Although the M1200S doesn’t support HDR, it can accept 4K (3,840-by-2,160-pixel) input for downconverting to its native 1080p. Comparing disc versions of the same movies in 4K HDR and 1080p SDR formats, the two looked similar, but the 4K versions were slightly improved overall. Black levels were a little higher, which made dark scenes look less dramatic. However, the 4K versions also revealed more shadow detail, and dark scenes stood up to ambient light better when I turned on a floor lamp.
Note that the M1200S does not offer frame interpolation for smoothing motion, and its input lag is long enough to be a potential issue even for casual gamers, let alone fast-twitch players. I measured lag with a Bodnar meter at 141 milliseconds or longer, at 1080p and 60Hz. (The lag variance depended on the picture mode.)
The projector also offers full HD 3D, using DLP-Link glasses only. The single 3D picture mode supports two 3D formats, top-over-bottom and side-by-side. To use either, you must manually switch to 3D and to the desired format in the menus, then manually switch back to 2D when you’re done. In my tests, I didn’t see any crosstalk, and 3D-related motion artifacts were within the typical range for current 3D projectors.
Miroir rates the brightness of the M1200S at 1,000 LED lumens or 700 ANSI lumens. With no standard for LED ratings, the former isn’t useful for comparing the unit to other projectors, though it basically translates to a claim that (in a dark room) the projector’s images would be judged as bright as those from a 1,000-lumen lamp-based projector.
In my tests using Monitor mode, the Miroir’s image was bright enough to light up a 90-inch 1.0-gain screen in a dark room, but unable to stand up well to ambient light at that size, making it roughly as bright as I’d expect from 500 ANSI lumens. It was also bright enough to produce a watchable but slightly washed-out image on an 80-inch, 1.0-gain screen in a family room on an overcast day. (See our guide to choosing the right projector screen.)
Very much on the plus side, the M1200S does a good job of avoiding rainbow artifacts, the red/green/blue flashes that are a potential concern for any single-chip projector. I saw only hints of them with the Miroir, and not many of those. That said, if you’re sensitive to rainbow artifacts (some viewers aren’t), it’s always smart to buy from a dealer who accepts returns without a restocking fee so you can test the projector out for yourself.
Supplementing, Not Replacing, a TV
The Miroir M1200S is a natural fit as a room-to-room portable for shifting setups. Its onboard audio is good enough that you shouldn’t need to bother with a separate sound system in many cases, and its image quality and brightness are sufficient for casual viewing in places where you don’t normally keep a TV, including outside for a backyard movie night.
If you want a streaming projector that’s bright enough to replace or serve as the TV in your family room, consider the $1,099 Xgimi Horizon (1080p), the $1,699 Xgimi Horizon Pro (4K), or the $999.99 Epson EpiqVision Mini EF12. The last is our favorite among 1080p room-to-room streaming projectors with a solid-state light source. The two Xgimi models are brighter than the Epson (and the Horizon Pro is the only one in the group with native 4K resolution), but the EF12 is the only one that offers guaranteed freedom from rainbow artifacts.
As for the Miroir M1200S, its key advantage is its low price. If you can live without the higher brightness the other models offer, that could easily make it your best choice.
