Casio XJ-M255 DLP projector

The projector product category is easily one of the more dormant ones out there. Other than a few home theater enthusiasts and primarily organisations that require them, no one really goes out to buy projectors. Prices therefore don’t drop drastically and hardware only improves a little from time to time.

A whole bunch of features

Casio hopes to change that with the XJ-M255, which falls under their Signature series of projectors. One of the features that Casio boasts about with this projector is its lamp-free design. There’s also a three-year warranty bundled with 20,000 hours of lifetime for their hybrid lighting technology. 

Features

The Casio XJ-M255 is a DLP projector that supports a native resolution of 1280x800 pixels, which is a 16:10 aspect ratio display output. Casio rates the projector to have a brightness level of 3,000 lumens. 

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A whole bunch of connectivity options including HDMI and USB

Connectivity options are aplenty. The HDMI input is most welcome and so are the composite, standard D-Sub and S-video connects. 3.5mm analog audio in and out ports along with RCA connectors are also present at the rear of the projector. Network capabilities are also present. The bundled remote is somewhat large to hold in hand. It’s light, but it isn’t very striking. Casio could’ve used more colours to make it stand out. There are clear demarcations to indicate separate functions of the remote.

The user interface of the Casio XJ-M255 is simplistic. The fonts and styles used are really basic. More colour, icons and large fonts could have probably enhanced the look. Nevertheless, users won’t be using the primary settings menu of the projector most of the time. The interface is exhaustive and covers everything from colour profiles to economy modes. There’s even a ceiling mode to invert the image and a projection mode, which mirrors the image.

Easy-to-use stand that’s handy is raising the XJ-M255

The projector supports media playback and even presentations. A USB port at the rear lets you connect portable hard drives and flash drives to it. We first tried playing back videos across all formats and it wouldn’t work. One is expected to convert everything from presentations, videos to a compatible Casio format before playing it. This takes sometime and does get pretty cumbersome. Once converted, the media formats play well. JPEG images are viewable without conversion. The interface does slow down when you have a large drive with a deep folder structure and files in each folder. Casio bundles the necessary software convertors, which includes a 2D to 3D video conversion software. The remote has a pointer mode that allows you to use direction keys to point out items on screen. The controls are sluggish and slow.

A large but comprehensive remote control

The bundled 3D glasses are active shutter glasses. Setting up the projector is simple. Use of HDMI makes it even simpler and the projector is detected by the notebook we tested it on, perfectly fine. Casio has partenerd with Cestron to deliver remote access capability for some of the projectors. The MJ255 is included in this and it’s clear from the Cestron branding at the rear of the projector. The top of projector has a basic set of controls too. Next to those, are indicators including one for temperature warning. 

Design and Build Quality

The Casio XJ-M255 is larger than the average projector. It’s somewhat thin, but does take up a good bit of space. The projector has a fan that blows out hot air from the front. The projector is sturdy, but it’s not like you’re going to be carrying the projector with you at all times. The front of the projector has one single stand that lets you raise the front of the projector. Raising the stand is simple - a press of a button and lift the projector to the height you’d like to set it at.

Somewhat large sized

The rear feet have to be rotated to slowly rotate but they are only useful to adjust the tilt of the projector if the table its placed on, isn’t already flat enough. The foot at the front could have been stronger. The remote we talked about is large, but not proportionally heavy. It’s wide so using it takes a while getting used to. The bundled glasses are not the most comfortable. They are bulky, heavy and not adjustable. 

Performance

The Casio XJ-M55 is put through its paces by connecting it to a notebook. We used a set of videos, images as well as the DislayMate to gauge its performance. Even with the lights on, we noticed that the the projector had a bright enough output. To start with the tests, the room was darkened and the lights turned off. 

A cover to protect the lens

DisplayMate showed a steady tiny of red in almost all tests. The gray gradient test is where this is most obvious. Darker shades appear fine, but lighter shades have a reddish tint to it. Contrast levels are pretty good. Gradient jumps are even and gradual. There aren’t too many areas where shades aren’t distinguishable. Our biggest concern however is with the nature of the colour. Reds, blues and all related colours don’t appear natural. They are generally a shade darker and this shows across all kinds of tests, including movies. Detail however is great, even though this may not be a fully HD ready projector. It works great for text and also movies. HD 720p content looks great on it.

Bulky, boring looking glasses

We noticed reasonable operating tempreatures even after keeping the projector on for a couple of hours. There was a steady flow of warm air billowing out from the front of the projector. The review sample we received came with a pair of 3D glasses. There was some flickering noticed and the whole process of converting videos was painful. Quality of videos played back after conversion wasn’t impressive. File sizes went through the roof after conversion, as well.

Verdict

The Casio XJ-M255 is one of the more expensive products out there with a price tag of Rs. 99,995. It’s great for presentations and also movies, if you can ignore the slightly oversaturated look to them. 3D is a capability, but we wouldn’t really recommend buying this projector specifically for it. Some of the in-built media playback features could have been better implemented. The XJ-M255 is slightly overpriced and a similar product without the 3D and media playback features with a lower price tag would’ve been an easier recommendation.