TCL has put a second compact projector on sale in the U.S., and this one drops Google TV for Roku. The TCL C2R is listed on Amazon at $239.99. It’s a single-panel LCD projector with native 1080p, rated at 350 ISO lumens, with Roku TV built in and a 10-watt Dolby Audio speaker. It sits on the same swiveling gimbal design as last year’s TCL C1.
Notebookcheck reported the launch on November 9, but the Amazon page has been up for a while. By November 10 it already had 21 ratings averaging 4.7 stars. As of this writing the C2R hasn’t appeared on TCL’s own U.S. web store, which still lists only the C1 and the A1S in its projector section.
Brightness is the main upgrade. The C1 was rated at 230 ISO lumens and the C2R at 350, and TCL says both numbers are verified by SGS against the ISO standard. That’s about 52 percent more light, though it’s still a projector for dark rooms. Notebookcheck says the gain comes from a TCL CSOT LTPS panel with better light transmission, an optical path with fully coated triple-glass lenses, and a dual thermal-isolation design that TCL says keeps the optics from degrading. CSOT is TCL’s panel arm. It also supplies panels to other Chinese single-LCD brands, which is one reason this kind of projector has improved quickly.
The resolution is still native 1920 x 1080. TCL now rates the image at 40 to 150 inches, up from 40 to 120 on the C1. Amazon’s spec table gives a throw distance of 3.77 to 13.52 feet. Our math puts that at about 1.24:1, close to the C1’s 1.25:1, so you need roughly the same amount of room for a given screen size. The optical engine is sealed to IP5X, which is a dust rating. Notebookcheck’s story says “IPX5”, but the listing and TCL’s own product graphics both say IP5X. IPX5 would mean water resistance, and nothing in TCL’s material claims that.
The two sources disagree on contrast. Notebookcheck has 2,000:1, while Amazon’s structured spec field lists 1,500:1. TCL hasn’t published a spec sheet on its own site for the C2R yet. We’re treating both figures as unconfirmed until it does.
The speaker goes from 8 watts to 10, still with Dolby Audio. TCL’s listing claims bass down to 80 Hz, a 340 cc sound chamber, and peak output of 85 dB. The fan is rated under 30 dB in Eco mode. For a projector that will often sit on a bedside table, the fan number is the one to watch. The unit weighs 5.4 pounds and draws up to 90 watts. It has no battery.
The C1 used Google TV, with Google Cast and Google Assistant. The C2R runs Roku TV and supports Apple AirPlay and Android screen mirroring. TCL’s own comparison graphic on the Amazon page lists the platform change first, ahead of brightness. That isn’t surprising from TCL, which has sold Roku TVs in the U.S. for years. Netflix is included on both platforms, so app access is no longer what separates budget projectors. Our Amazon tracking keeps turning up cheap white-label projectors that can’t run Netflix, and both of TCL’s machines avoid that problem.
There is a cost. Like every Roku TV device, the C2R has to be set up with a free Roku account over Wi-Fi before you can start using it, and the first line of the listing says so. If the plan is to take it straight out of the box to a campsite with no Wi-Fi, do the setup at home first.
The rest of the hardware is standard for the class: dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.2 for headphones or a speaker, one HDMI port, one USB-A, and a 3.5 mm audio output. The gimbal rotates 285 degrees, so it can project onto a ceiling, and the stand has a carry handle built in. Setup features include autofocus, keystone correction, screen fitting, and obstacle avoidance, and TCL says keystone correction keeps working while the projector is in use.
This is the most expensive Roku TV projector we’re tracking on Amazon. As of November 10, Aurzen’s D1R Cube sells for $199.99 with a 330-lumen rating and its own 10-watt Dolby speaker. The D1R air is $152.99 at 300 SGS-certified lumens, and the plain D1R is $139.99. All three are 1080p LCD projectors, and all three sell well. That puts the C2R $40 to $100 above an established competitor that is very close on paper. The case for paying more comes down to the extra 20 to 70 rated lumens, the gimbal, the sealed engine, and the TCL name on a platform TCL already knows well.
The C2R also costs less than its predecessor right now. On November 10 the C1 was $249.99 on Amazon, with 379 ratings averaging 4.3 stars, and $237.49 on TCL’s web store. Our price log shows the C1 at $199.99 in August before it went back up. If the C2R follows the same pattern, its first discounts could come quickly, and Black Friday is less than three weeks away.
The main open question is whether the C2R replaces the C1 or sits beside it. TCL’s comparison graphic presents them as two parallel choices, one Roku and one Google, and the C1 is still in stock. If TCL keeps both, it will be one of very few projector makers selling the same hardware class on two competing streaming platforms, and the price difference between the two models will show which one TCL thinks U.S. buyers want.
We have also compared every Roku TV projector currently worth buying in our 2026 Roku TV projector guide, and the wider single-panel field in our best LCD projectors of 2026.