Customer Reviews

Sharper Image Wonderwall Entertainment Projector

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

As I chose to pick up this unit at Kohl's, I did so confident that no matter how low my expectations, this would probably disappoint me. Upon reading the limited reviews and board comments, I was convinced it would be bad. Therefore, I started testing the projector as soon as I brought it home. To my pleasant surprise, this device was actually really good.

First off, sound. The sound is actually pretty good. It does a mono sound, but at full volume, it was ok in a quite room. The sound could be heard clearly from another room. I could see it failing in a loud or crowded room, however it comes with a headphone jack. You can also plug certain external powered speakers into this jack to supplement the sound if you feel the need to.

Now more importantly, the video. I tested the video with two movies on my standard DVD player. In order to see the projector at it's best, I tested it on the simpsons, a high bright picture with low detail. It functioned splendidly. I shot the picture at close range (about three feet) to produce a 27'' TV equivalent. Then I shot it across the room, about 10 feet, and received about a 130 inch TV equivalent. The image was shot on a white wall for the three foot, and white drawn curtains for the 10 foot. I also ran it both with and without the lights on in the room. At three feet, the light on did very little to effect the image. At 10 feet, the image suffered substantially(grew paler), but seeing as how this is 4 feet and 60 inches bigger than even they recommend, I am still impressed. I have not tested this product during the day as of yet.

The simpsons was clear and crisp at both distances. It did have some blurring, which seemed to appear and go away, and was mot prevalent at the center of the screen. As another reviewer mentioned, the screen has crisscrosses on it, which is unavoidable. Anyone who has dealt with a slight amount of snow when watching TV has faced worse. The "crisscross" is simply dark lines that appear in a crisscross pattern across the image, which is a result of the low resolution of the screen. The larger the image, the larger the dark lines. I can't say it bothers me, it is solidly there and unchanging, and doesn't effect the picture (except perhaps making the image appear darker). And depending on the angle and distance you watch from, you can't even see the crisscrosses

The second movie I tested was Final Fantasy, spirit within, a detail orientated dark movie. I could say it was watchable at the 10 foot distance. The darks and lights didn't show very well, and significant detail is lost. At three feet, their was still a lot of lost detail, but the dark scenes show up a lot more clearly.

All in all, the projector works great. It has a moderately loud fan, but the sound more than makes up for it. It is a $100 projector, and everyone who gets it needs to keep that in mind. The bottom line is that if you are looking for an HDTV or hi res experience, this is not for you. If you are looking for a replacement living room TV, this is probably not for you. If you are looking for some portable tv replacement, or something that lets you watch tv on the ceiling or some other wierd area of your house at the drop of a dime. This would be great. This is great for snuggling up at night with some popcorn in a movie theater experience, or even outdoors in the backyard watching your favorite romantic comedy or something like that.

Simply put, know what you are getting, it works, as a toy. Like it says on its box, it is typically for video games (high contrast, low detail, bright colors), and thus works well for them. It is more than I expected, and in my opinion, well worth the money. And when the next level of projector is 6 times the price of this one, this is the closest any of us low income guys are going to get to owning our own projector to play with.

Update:

Please note that I did NOT review a sharper image wonderwall projector. It shows the same picture... It is NOT worth the price tag of $300 some dollars I see, I got it for less than $100, which is why my review was geared as such. I am not sure if amazon has messed up, or if the product got bought out by sharper image, but you could buy a high quality "real" projector for that price.

We just bought one of these from Kohls on sale for a fair amount under $100 and I was hoping that it would be better than it was. For the price I paid, I will most likely keep it but if I had to pay $100 or more then I'd highly reconsider.

I bought this with the intention to use when the family goes on camping trips(at a campsite with electric). Rather than being couped up in a tent where the kids use a portable DVD player I thought what better way to get kids outdoors to watch a late night movie. While I have not yet done so, I plan to create a screen using a heavy-duty, bright white shower curtain liner having no texture).

I tried the Shift3 unit and it can project up to a 42"-50" movie with fair clarity -- that is, if you sit far away. You can get one of those cheap small profile Colby DVD players for about $20 or so and your all set (just plug in the RCA video, left and right jacks and your ready to go). I also was able to use my Zen Vision MP3/Video player using the RCA jack adapter accessory - probably sold here on Amazon) and it worked OK.

The audio is in mono, relatively low and you really need to sit in front of the projector to hear sound from the tiny, not powerful speaker. The projector has a built in fan toward the back of the unit which is pretty loud (why I suggest you sit in front of the unit) . The bulb is not very bright and apparently projects a distracting criss-cross pattern which further degrades the picture (this is not pixelation but an actual pattern projected). The image projected is fairly dark so only bright/vibrant movies are recommended. Also viewing MUST be done in nearly total darkness to see the movie. There is some ability to change the contast and color but the hue options are mostly red and the contrast works OK but but you have to set the contrast high to try to make it clear which then causes the picture to be too dark. I believe the bulb is halogen and cheap to replace.

The unit itself didn't get hot which is probably good with kids around. The focus lens was dirty upon opening the box and I had a hard time telling when the picture was optimally focused since the image is dark and the project pattern was present.

Mine makes a rattling sound as if something is loose inside and I may see see if it's something with mine or all Shift3 projectors. This is by no means a high-end projector and for $100 or less, it's basically a toy. If you can pay $100 or less, willing to forego clarity, and want a portable unit for use with kids in the backyard, on a white wall/ceiling in a dark room in the house, then this might be for you. Currently this seems like the best option for me to use on camping trips. (at a campsite with electric).

If anyone buys one, I'd be interested to know if the criss-cross pattern exists for you and how it might be removed (different bulb?). I may buy another one to use as a test to see if the same problems exist.

After reading the reviews, I decided to go ahead and buy this since the next model was far out of my price range. I love it! I am a stay at home mom of two small children, 3 and 5, and I bought it for them to watch their cartoons on outside. We project it from our back deck onto a white matte vinyl shower curtain that we hang with a couple of hooks. Now, if you are looking for a reach-out-and-grab-you experience, be willing to shell out the big bucks. But if you want something portable, cheap, easy-to-use and hassle-free, this is great. The bulb is a standard bulb you can get at Lowes for a couple bucks. If you have researched the price of standard projector bulbs, then you know this feature alone makes the Wonderwall attractive. I also bought a cheap portable Coby DVD player to keep with it for $20. To settle down for the evening, my kids love to be treated to popcorn and a movie (cartoons are best, as the contrast shows up better) outside before bed. I have also shown movies for the family and friends after an outdoor cookout and projected Pixar movies onto the ceiling above my son's bed when he was sick. Like I said, it isn't a high-def experience. It reminds me of the images those old big screens from the 80s, with the tri-color lights and all. But it is worthwhile fun for the family and very simple to move around. I pack it up after every use, about the same effort as putting up the hair dyer. I like it much more than I thought I would, and my children think it is the greatest thing we have. As for the loud fan, sound can be difficult if people are chatting. But there is a simple port that I use to connect it with my Mp3 player speakers. No problem!

I have recently looked at this projector to purchase for some time and after researching the item I purchased it. The 1st thing that appealed to me was the fact that this projector could be purchased for under 100.00. With that being said you have to realize that the picture will not be in anyway HD quality.

I watched Star Wars original film to test the projector out. I have a windowless room that is completely dark and I projected the film on a homemade 7ft wide vinyl projection screen devised of PVC pipe and a Vinyl shower curtain. I have to give this projector props because the film came out with great picture. There were a few scenes that were darker which made it difficult to see all the detail (The Cantina Scene) but 95% of the film was in excellent detail and looked like 80s to 90s movie theater quality. I tested the projector with Van Helsing, Scooby Doo, Nightmare Before Christmas and Elf. All of these films were easily watched except of course in the darker scenes it was less detailed. This darkness issue happens because I am projecting at its mazimum distance. At closer range the films were displayed brighter and detail was restored.

I then tested the projector with the classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cartoons. The cartoons were bright and displayed excellent detail from the color of the weapons to Bee Bops mowhawk. I was impressed the picture was so defined. The downside would be that with a cheaper projector you have a net like shadowing over the image and although it is something you grow to ignore while watching cartoons it seems to be more prominant. Pixar films also had great detail as I played Finding Nemo and The Incredibles without issues.

Finally as a gamer I hooked up my Wii for some Mario Kart. This projector seems made for gaming. Yes as other reviews stated, reading text can be an issue due to the netting image of the lens, but in actual gameplay this projector does what it is intended to do which is make you feel like you are in the game. I played Mario Kart, Zelda, Mario Galaxy and even dipped into the classics playing Super Mario Bros and Mike Tysons Punch Out. All games played were displayed like they would on any non HD TV with the exception of text.

My final thoughts on this projector is that if you are a cheap movie and game buff like myself then this is for you. If you want the latest and greatest then walk away because you will be disapointed. I believe this projector is great for kids both young and old and also great for a guy like me who likes to save a buck and have the novelty of an eight foot screen.

I got one of these for Christmas and I was extremely impressed with the quality for such a low price. It's not a $$$$$ Flat Screen TV, so one cannot expect such quality. It's as good or better than the wide screen monster TV's of the 1980's and takes up a LOT less space. I hook my Video iPod up to this baby and let the kids watch cartoons and other shows on a projector screen that cost twice as much as the projector! If you want the quality of a Plasma/LCD TV, then go pay those kind of prices. Most people I know with those TV's stop watching them after a few months once the 'new' wears off. It's definitely not meant to watch in a room with lights on, but when is the last time you went to a movie theatre and they kept the house lights on? If you don't want to spend the big bucks or don't have the big bucks, this baby is worth every penny! I have this projector and the Torpedo Projector. Both work about the same, but the price for this one seems to be, on average, less $$.

I bought this projector, which is actually a Sharper Image Wonderwall Projector, I'm not sure why they don't state that here.

I had pretty low expectations for it, I really did. I didn't expect much at all. But this was just garbage. I bought this at [...] for only [...]. I really don't think I got a dud, I think this is just how it is. Projected very close to the wall (like 3 feet) the picture is acceptable - but why would you buy a projector to end up with a 2 foot image? If you want an image any bigger - its just unacceptable. I would say "its a toy" - but its not, because if you made your 5 year old watch a movie on this he'd be complaining the whole hour and a half "Why do I have to watch this blurry picture". I tried this with regular movies as well as cartoons. Someone said cartoons were crisp. They were more clear than regular movies... but NOT crisp. Every image was blurry and glowing, kinda dream-like - in a bad way. The picture never gets fully in focus, if one part is in focus than another part is not. But no part is ever crisp or clear. I quickly realized how much I'd rather watch my 27 inch tv, its not worth the novelty at all.

And here is the absolute worst part of this product - the fan! Oh my, this was loud. I would say its about as loud as my 9" table fan. Given that you cant adjust the throw of the projector - it could be sitting right next to you - but it really doesn't matter because even at the other side of the room the fan is too loud.

I sound like a complainer, but honestly - I knew I was buying a cheap projector and didn't expect much. But I'm very surprised that they manufactured this and decided to actually put it to market in this condition. Save your $59, $100, $300 or whatever and put it towards a real projector for a few hundred bucks - frankly money in your pocket is much better than this junk in your living room.

Amazon is generally watchful over vendors who charge wildy unrealistic prices for merchandise. This current offering for $350 is way over the top. I just paid $59.99 at Marshall's. Thoroughly not in the Christmas spirit of things, but in looking at the vendor's name, perhaps they are not familiar with American fair trade, and should be forgiven. In any case, do not be fooled. This item is worth about $50. It is a toy. The fan IS rather loud, and it requires total darkness for a decent image, and I define decent as generally as I would the character of said vendor.

I got this for my 12 yr. old son for his birthday. He absolutely loves it. He has movie nights with his friends and they think it's a blast. If you're over the age of 12 or 13 then this projector is not for you. The picture has pronounced edge distortion, and the fan is extremely noisy. The picture is very bright for something in this price range however, it is noticeably pixelated. But let's get one thing straight about this projector, it is a toy. And as such, it is very good. It's not made to take the place of the family television. If that's what you're looking for than I suggest you save up at least $1000. That's what it will cost for a half way decent projector.

for the price that i paid for this product it is a good buy. It keeps the kids entertained and content. For hardcore home theater though this is not the thing to buy. This is nothing more than a toy. I would recommend a high end DLP projector for serious home theater systems. The image is grainy when you are close to the screen and you need a separate speaker to hear it well. I guess you get what you pay for.

great for the kids. projects big image. clear and clean audio. the thing is i paid 40.00 brand new. i cant figure out why they are so hig on here. set it up outside make popcorn and the kids love it. we were able to hook it up to the speakers for the pc so now we have great sound