The LYNCAST X1 sold for $52.76 on Amazon on November 3 and the Alwtniet HY300Pro for $49.99. Both are single-panel LCD projectors with a native 1280 x 720 image, Android 14, Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.4, and each weighs about 350 grams. The LYNCAST’s listing says it produces 400 ANSI lumens. The Alwtniet’s says 200. For $2.77, one of these machines is apparently twice as bright as the other.
They sit close together on the best-seller list too: sixth in video projectors for the Alwtniet, with 4.3 stars from 5,429 ratings, and thirteenth for the LYNCAST, at 4.1 stars from 1,931. Those Alwtniet ratings are shared across five color listings, so they don’t all describe this one white unit.
The brightness gap may not be what it looks like
We haven’t measured either projector. What we can compare is what buyers report, using the review summaries Amazon generates for each listing. LYNCAST owners are told, in effect, that brightness works in dark rooms but needs complete darkness for the best picture. Alwtniet owners are split, with some finding it bright enough and others wanting more. If one machine really had twice the output, we would expect that to show up more clearly than this.
LYNCAST does give some supporting detail, listing a 48-watt power rating and a 40-watt lamp. Alwtniet lists no wattage at all, so the two can’t be compared on power draw. Our advice is to treat both as dark-room projectors and neither as a machine for a lit living room.
One listing adds up, the other needs reading closely
Alwtniet’s copy is unusually plain. One bullet is headed “Native 720P for Casual Use”, which is a phrase you rarely see in this price range, and the geometry holds. Its 0.9:1 throw ratio over the stated 0.75 to 2.65 meters works out to about 38 to 133 inches, in line with its 35 to 135 inch claim. It also names its chip, an Allwinner H726, and warns in a note on the page that mirroring may fail with no image or sound from apps such as Prime Video and Hulu because of HDCP restrictions.
The LYNCAST listing asks for more care. Its title opens with “1080P 4K Support”, and the 720p figure appears inside the second bullet. One gallery image is headed “Android TV OS”, while the bullets say Android 14, and those are different things. The page’s metadata says it is compatible with Netflix, though the main image shows YouTube, Prime Video, Disney+ and Tubi and no Netflix logo. It also calls LYNCAST the “World’s First brand” to offer a phone remote for a projector, a claim we would not lean on.
Where the LYNCAST earns its extra $2.77
That phone remote is still useful. The Lumina Go app adds a full keyboard, a touchpad, air mouse and voice control, and anyone who has typed a password into a $50 projector with arrow keys will see the appeal. The stand rotates through 270 degrees for ceiling projection, and the warranty runs two years with free replacement in the first year. Alwtniet offers one year.
The Alwtniet wins on image size if your room allows it, at up to 135 inches against 100. That 135-inch figure comes from throw distance, so it’s fair, but the image will be very dim at that size. Its 80 to 100 percent resize is a digital zoom, which on a 720p panel means giving up pixels you can’t spare.
Neither price is settled
Our price log has followed both since the summer. The Alwtniet flips between $43.19 and $49.99 every few weeks, most recently $49.99 on October 26. The LYNCAST moved between $44.96 and $49.99 until now, which makes $52.76 the highest reading we’ve recorded for it. A week ago the order was reversed, with the LYNCAST the cheaper of the two.
Owners of both raise similar complaints. LYNCAST’s summary mentions quiet speakers, a loud fan and units that stop working, along with mixed reports on Wi-Fi. Alwtniet’s mentions poor sound, mixed connectivity and problems with Netflix, which fits the HDCP note on its page. Neither brand claims Netflix certification, so anyone who wants that service built in should look elsewhere.
The nearest step up is a real jump in price, but it does remove that problem. The Dangbei N2 mini is $199 on Amazon, about four times either of these, with a native 1080p LCD panel, automatic focus and keystone, and licensed Netflix. We have set it against another LCD rival before.
Between the two here, and with the full spec tables side by side, we would buy the LYNCAST X1 for its warranty and phone remote, but not at $52.76. It has sat at $44.96 for most of the autumn and will probably return there. If you see the Alwtniet HY300Pro at $43.19 and only need a bedroom projector for dark evenings, that is a fair deal from a listing that tells you what you’re getting.
