Has anyone ever heard of a Zoom Box? It's a cheap version of a projector basically. My mom's friend bought it for her kids for christmas and was teling my mother about it and my mom's eyes lit up.

She always wanted to have movie parties over the summer where we could project movies on to our house at night and have everyone in the backyard with our fire pit going watching the movie.

So I am thinking about getting her this Zoom Box for christmas but I have read online that it has to be pitch black to see it. Has anyone ever used a Zoom Box before to tell me if it is worth buying? If I can't use it outside then I am not going to get it because that is what she wants it for.

I looked at it and it looks like it is totally not worth it. I mean, the picture is dim and not all that great along the terms of resolution.

Take a look at the reviews at Amazon.com and you will see that for the people who are expecting a cheap very low end projector who dont care about how the image looks - they tend to give it a good review. If you care about how the image looks - then dont waste your time.

My take on it is that if you do get one - get it at a place where you can return it for a full refund if you are not satisfied. After all - only you can determine if it is worth the money.

The best news is that the bulb is really cheap to replace which is a real plus compared to more expensive and mainstream projectors.

I read the reviews at Amazon.com which what brought me over here because I felt that half of the group of reviewers liked it and the other half didn't.

I am somewhat torn on what to do, but I like your idea of going to a place where I can get a full refund.

I could always wait until after christmas and ask my mom's friend if she likes how it works. I can ask her to test it outside and if it works maybe I'll get it for my mom.

She always wanted to have movie parties over the summer where we could project movies on to our house at night and have everyone in the backyard with our fire pit going watching the movie.



Did you look about renting a projector? It might not be as good as buying your own but it would allow you to show the movie outside once.

I did it once at my place, it was a blast.

Did you look about renting a projector? It might not be as good as buying your own but it would allow you to show the movie outside once.

I did it once at my place, it was a blast.

Our friend was actually going to do that for her Halloween party but had to cancel due to poor weather. She spent a fortune though, but she had a lot of people there. We just wanted it for when we had friends over for BBQ.

haven't seen one in person, have seen a 'commercial' for it on HGTV's Toy Fair 2006 show where it looked decent, but I'd expect exactly what amazon.com reviews tell you overall, which is that it's a toy. it's certainly priced as one (albeit an expensive one). i have no doubts it'd be absolutely amazing and captivating for a 6 year old. i'm sure there are videophiles who can't sleep at night knowing this exists also.

the plus side is that normal tv resolution is pretty darn low to begin with. obviously every time you blow something up, the image quality is going to deteriorate as well, so some may have had unrealistic expectations (I'd still expect better results from 'real' projectors though).

if you don't have an absolutely white wall or a screen to use for it, I wouldn't even bother for one.