Official Review Hardware Updated

Review cover CZUR StarryHub Projector (Hardware)
Official GBAtemp Review

Work and play come together with the feature-filled CZUR Starry Light Projector.

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What if you wanted to combine your webcam, your phone, and a projector, all into one device? Well, first off, that kind of idea sounds wacky, but that's what CZUR promises to offer with their AI Starry Hub Projector. Such a concept seems like it could easily be overdesigned, or get lost trying to do too much at once, but let's see if an all-in-one projector can work. 

The Starry Hub is a very simple box-shaped device. That's about the only traditional thing about it, because as you unpack it, you'll find it quickly gets a lot more complex. Included with the projector is a touchpad, which docks to the top of the projector. This looks fairly unassuming at first, sort of like a Magic Trackpad, but once you turn it on, the touchpad reveals itself as the controller for the projector. Instead of having to clunk about Android TV with an old-school remote, you can instead use the touchpad to navigate, with the little thing able to turn into a backlit touch keyboard at the click of a button. It's such a seamless way to go about the process of controlling the projector, and it removes the need to have a pointer, too. There are swipe shortcuts you can use, as well, which is useful for scrolling through documents or webpages. 

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Most projectors require a fair amount of dimming in order to show up on whatever surface you're displaying on--in my case, a beige-colored wall. In the case of the CZUR projector, however, you don't even need to turn off your lights. Even in a fully-lit room, the Starry Hub was was incredibly bright, and displayed well. Given that it's marketed as a projector that handles "professional" tasks, it makes sense to be able for it to still function somewhere like an office that might have bright lights, but the fact it does it so well is impressive. I can only imagine that things look even better if you were to have a dedicated projector screen set up.

You'll possibly want to use the projector in a lit room, because it has a webcam on the back. A novel concept, it's meant so that you can conduct work-from-home digital meetings without having to use an awkward set up to stream both the webcam and your facecam, since they're handled by the same device. I like the idea, and the webcam has absolutely no right to look as nice as it does, but it does seem like a highly-specific use case to ever need it. On top of that, if you want to be in the line of the webcam, you'll have to sit behind the projector, and more importantly, all the outtake vents of it, which means you're getting hot air exhausted right onto you. That being said, the webcam does have a high FOV, so you can sit reasonably away from the webcam and still be in it. 

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Another work-related feature included is the ability to cast four screens at once. In theory, if you wanted to stream your MacBook's screen, watch a YouTube video from your Android phone, play an iPhone mobile game on a bigger screen, and check GBAtemp on your Windows desktop, you could. It's absolute insanity, but the StarryHub lets all your multitasking dreams come true. It's a lot more reasonable to cast maybe two devices, say a game and a movie, or a webpage and a YouTube video, but the fact that you can go all-out wild on casting every device you've got to the projector is beyond cool. If you're not trying to overload your brain with 4 separate screens at once for entertainment, it's a lot more useful if you're in a professional setting, trying to display a report from your laptop alongside data from your phone's screen.

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Using Android TV means that you can grab any app you need from Google's Play Store, or even sideload APKs. This is super useful, especially if you want to use the projector as a media streaming device. It took a handful of clicks, and I was able to stream my Plex library effortlessly, or load up any streaming platform of choice. There's 32GB of onboard space for whatever downloads you need, and two USB (one 3.0, one 2.0) slots for further storage or device needs. The internal speakers work pretty well--they're nothing amazing, but they're clear and loud, which is really all you need. It'd be nice if it could support syncing to Bluetooth for extra speaker support, but the whole point of the projector is trying to keep how many devices you need to a minimum. 

The Starry Hub also has an HDMI port, for when you want to plug something in wired, for example, a game console. CZUR offers two variants--one that supports 1080, and another that goes up to 4K. Its display size will depend on where you position it, but you can make the projected display as large as 150", more than most projector screens support, even. The 1080p model looks clear and crisp even when on a textured wall, and games look stunning. There is a bit of lag, of course, somewhat between the levels of a TV and decent-quality game streaming, but it's more than manageable for a lot of games. 

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(Playing Persona 5 Royal on a 150-inch "screen" is nothing short of glorious)

At a $699 price point, the CZUR AI Starry Hub Projector is a pricey purchase. However, it's a competitive price when you consider that this is a full-size projector, with a ridiculously large 150" screen projection, handles high-light situations excellently, has acceptable lag when it comes to gaming, and a ton of fun, quirky features built in. If you want a good projector, you're going to have to pay for it, and for what you pay, the Starry Hub has a lot to offer. 

Verdict

What We Liked ...
  • The touchpad is brilliant
  • Bright enough to work even in a well-lit room
  • Huge 150" picture
What We Didn't Like ...
  • Requires a dedicated app to do the 4-screen cast to it
  • Sometimes the keyboard doesn't recognize the shift key
9
out of 10

Overall

Occasionally suffering from being too ambitious and excessive, the CZUR AI Starry Hub projector is an incredibly fun device, whether it's for work or play.
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P
Ok, so I actually own one of these and I do not agree with this review. The internal speakers are absolute garbage. They are not clear. They are not loud. I didn't buy this expecting movie theater quality sound but this thing isn't even useable because of how absolute trash these speakers are. Without the ability to hook up your own speakers, you're basically playing on mute. If you're looking for a projector for display ONLY, go right ahead. But if you need any kind of audio, stay far away from this expensive paperweight.
 
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