The TCL C1 is a compact 1080p LED smart projector designed for quick, casual big-screen viewing without needing extra gear. It runs Google TV and supports casting, so you can stream directly from built-in apps or throw content up from your phone, and its auto focus and auto keystone help you get a squared-up picture fast when you move it between rooms. Connectivity is simple with a single HDMI2.0 input, a USB port for media playback, and a 3.5 mm audio out if you want to hook up external speakers, while the built-in speaker covers basic standalone use.
Our Verdict
The TCL C1 projector is disappointing for movies. It's terribly dim, so it can only truly be used in a completely dark room. It's also extremely inaccurate out of the box, with a very narrow color gamut, so it's far from vibrant. While you can improve it through calibration, there is little to be done to improve its color accuracy. Thankfully, it does have excellent contrast, but only due to how dim the projector is.
Excellent contrast.
Fully-featured smart unit, with native Netflix.
Terribly dim projector.
Extremely inaccurate out of the box.
While you can improve its accuracy through calibration, it's still only alright afterwards.
Very narrow color gamut, even in Rec. 709.
The corners of the image are visibly darker than the center.
The TCL C1 projector is a poor choice for gaming. It tops out at 1080p @ 60Hz, and it has high input lag at every resolution, so it's not a good experience for anything but slow turn-based titles. It has meandering image quality, with a dim and inaccurate image out of the box. It's not colorful at all, and while it has excellent contrast, that's really only due to how dim the projector is.
Excellent contrast.
Terribly dim projector.
Extremely inaccurate out of the box.
Very narrow color gamut, even in Rec. 709.
The corners of the image are visibly darker than the center.
Tops out at 1080p @ 60Hz, with high input lag.
The TCL C1 projector is terribly dim and can only truly be used in an entirely dim room. Its brightness uniformity is alright, but its corners are noticeably darker than the center.
Terribly dim projector.
The corners of the image are visibly darker than the center.
The TCL C1 projector has excellent contrast, but only because of how dim it is, which gives it a very solid black floor. This means that in a dark room, which is where you should be using the unit due to its very low peak brightness, it delivers a pleasant experience.
Excellent contrast.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The TCL C1 smart projector doesn't have any variants.
Our unit was manufactured in Vietnam.
Popular Projector Comparisons
The TCL C1 is an extremely cheap projector with excellent contrast, but it's a rather poor product overall. It's extremely dim, has a narrow color gamut, and is terribly inaccurate out of the box. It's also a poor choice for gaming due to its high input lag. Even its high contrast comes with a caveat, as it's only excellent due to how dim the unit is. That said, it's very inexpensive, but for its price, you could get the vastly superior NexiGo PJ40 (Gen 3). The C1 just isn't worth it for most users.
Check out our recommendations for the best cheap projectors and the best home projectors. If you'd prefer to shop solely for another product in the same price range, look up the best projectors under $500 instead.
The TCL C1 is slightly better than the Samsung The Freestyle 2nd Gen, but the Samsung is smaller and more portable. Still, the TCL's contrast is much better, so it looks better in dark rooms. Accuracy purists will, however, prefer the Samsung, as it's far more accurate out of the box, and it's easier to calibrate.
The NexiGo PJ40 (Gen 3) is better than the TCL C1. The NexiGo is brighter, so it's a bit more versatile when it comes to room conditions. It also has slightly better contrast, and it's more meaningful on the NexiGo due to its higher peak brightness. While neither unit is accurate out of the box, the NexiGo is a bit more so, and it's also easier to calibrate. Similarly, neither product is solid for gaming, but in a pinch, the NexiGo does a better job due to its lower input lag. The TCL is slightly more portable due to its smaller size and weight alongside its swivel stand, and it's also quieter under operation than the NexiGo, but overall, the PJ40 is the better product.
We've independently bought and tested over 70 projectors, and we've published all the detailed results for each so you can decide which one to buy. These have all been tested under the same standardized methodology, allowing you to compare them side by side. We still have all these projects in our lab so we can continually go back and compare them to ensure our reviews are still accurate. All our test methodology is also public on our website, so you can validate the results yourself.
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Test Results
The TCL C1 is a dim projector, and it can't project vibrant colors due to its low peak brightness. You really need to turn off the lights to get the most from this projector. There's also noticeable vignetting on the screen.
| Picture Mode | White Light Output (WLO) | Color Light Output (CLO) |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 195 lm | 188 lm |
| Vivid | 194 lm | 187 lm |
| Movie | 189 lm | 184 lm |
| Game | 193 lm | 188 lm |
The TCL projector C1 has excellent contrast, but this is due to how dim the projector is to start with. Nevertheless, it performs well in all scenes, with relatively deep blacks.
The TCL C1 projector has a narrow color gamut in both Rec. 709 and Rec. 2020. In Rec. 709, its blues, purples, whites, and yellows are notably undersaturated, while in Rec. 2020, all colors are vastly undersaturated outside of greys. Ultimately, this projector isn't colorful in any content.
The TCL projector C1 is terribly inaccurate out of the box. Its blues are overrepresented in all shades of grey, especially dark and bright greys. Reds, however, are incredibly underrepresented in mid-grays and even more in bright ones; this makes the projector's color temperature extremely warm. As for color accuracy, all blues veer strongly from the target, as well as all other colors, but to a lesser extent.
The projector's image accuracy is mediocre after calibration. Its white balance is now vastly improved, with most colors now being slightly overrepresented in most shades of gray, except for reds, which are vastly underrepresented in one shade of bright gray. This brings the unit's color temperature more in line with what it should be. Unfortunately, there's little to be done about the unit's color accuracy, which is still very inaccurate even after calibration.
The TCL C1 uses an LCD imaging system with an LED light source, so the image tends to look clean, but blacks don't get truly deep, and dark scenes can look a bit washed out if there's any ambient light.
Its SPD shows a strong blue peak with a broad phosphor hump through green and into red, which is typical of an LED light source and can give the image a slightly cool look unless you dial in the white balance.
The TCL C1 projector has a fixed-throw lens with no optical zoom, so placement is fairly strict: with a 1.27:1 throw ratio, you'll need to physically move the projector closer or farther to change image size. It does at least make setup easy day to day, thanks to its autofocus and auto-keystone, which quickly clean up the image if you nudge it or move it between rooms.
There's no lens shift, though, so you can't slide the picture onto the screen without repositioning the projector, and you'll generally get the best clarity by keeping keystone corrections to a minimum and aiming for a straight-on, centered placement.
The TCL C1 projector is fairly easy to move around and set up, thanks to its compact footprint and manageable weight, and it doesn't take much effort to get a usable picture when you drop it on a table or shelf. Its auto-focus and auto-keystone do a lot of the heavy lifting for quick relocations, and the built-in 8W mono speaker means you can use it without immediately dragging an external audio setup along.
It doesn't have a built-in battery, though, so it isn't a true grab-and-go outdoor option unless you're always near an outlet, and while its 285° adjustable gimbal helps with aiming, you don't get adjustable feet for fine leveling on uneven surfaces.
At maximum brightness, the TCL C1's fan noise is decent overall. You'll still hear it, especially in quieter scenes, but it's usually not distracting once you have audio playing, unless you're sitting very close to the projector.
The TCL C1 projector keeps things simple, with a single HDMI 2.0 input for a streamer, console, or Blu-ray player, plus one USB data port for playback from a flash drive. There's also a 3.5 mm analog audio out if you want to run powered speakers, headphones, or a soundbar that accepts AUX, but there's no optical output and no Ethernet port for a wired network connection. On the plus side, it does have Wi-Fi for streaming, so it works well as a self-contained living room or bedroom projector as long as you don't need multiple HDMI devices connected at once.
The TCL C1's input lag is quite poor, as it's high at any resolution. Its 'Game' Picture Mode also doesn't do anything to increase responsiveness.
The TCL C1 projector has a single HDMI port with ARC (not eARC). If you want audio from the projector's built-in apps to play through a soundbar or AVR, connect that HDMI port to the soundbar/AVR's HDMI ARC port. Since the projector only has one HDMI input, the most practical setup is to plug all external sources into the soundbar/AVR and send video up to the projector from there, while the soundbar/AVR handles audio locally.
The TCL C1 projector is a fully self-contained streaming unit, with an Android-based smart platform built in, so you can install apps and start watching without needing an external stick. It's also cast-capable, making it easy to send videos, photos, or audio from your phone or laptop when you don't feel like signing into apps directly on the projector.