After reading a few biased reviews on the Hasbro ZoomBox, my husband and I decided to pick one up at Wal-mart since they were in the $250 range. We thought it would be a great little home theater for our small family.
We got it home and hooked it up and we immediately had problems. We tried closing all windows but there was still too much light to effectively use the ZoomBox during the day.
We tried to play a movie on the Hasbro Zoombox again as it got darker and still had a lot of issues with it. One issue was not being able to read the menus very well and the other was like a screen door effect. The look easily distracted you from the movie.
I expected more since, to me, $250 is a lot of money, but I guess I shouldn’t really have had such high expectations. If $250 isn’t a big deal to you then maybe this item is a good buy for your kids.
We took this piece of expensive junk back to walmart and got our money back within 24 hours. I do not recommend this Zoombox projector for a childs gift. I also do not recommend this as an inexpensive projector for movies. Its seriously not worth it and you will be sorely disappointed in your purchase. Trust me. Spend a little more money and get a decent projector or get a bigger flat panel HD tv. That is what we did.
March 11th, 2007 at 6:43 am
It’s a toy, sold in the “TOYS” section. This review is as reasonable as a review about how well an easy-bake oven can make a soufflé.
March 13th, 2007 at 9:15 am
Yes, it’s sold as a TOY and we bought it for our 6 year old son..It’s an expensive toy for a child but it’s basically an expensive piece of junk …toy or not!
April 9th, 2007 at 10:55 am
Thank you so much for the tip. My family wants to have backyard movie nights and that is all we are planning to use the projector for. I was vacilating between this and spending double the amount for a Optoma DV10 MovieTime Home Theater DLP Projector With Built-In DVD Player. Sounds like it would be better to spend the $700 and get the Optoma.
April 30th, 2007 at 8:50 pm
Yes, the room does need to be dark, however, considering you can use a 10 dollar bulb, verse a 500-700 dollar bulb (that all other projectors take) I am VERRRRRRRRRRRY HAPPY with the zoombox, I find it projects far better on a ceiling than a wall. for anyone planning to buy a projector please take into consideration you may pay 500-700 dollars for a bulb that will only last about 2000 hours (if you plan to use this every day, that could be 1, maybe even two bulbs a year)… the image is a little pixilated but if u fiddle with the manual focus you can get a fairly good image, I am a nanny in the summers, and got this for the two children I watch, and as a 19 year old, I am VERY happy with it for my own use and the kids LOVE IT!!! (Maybe, possibly more than me?) ! but I advise everyone try projecting this on the ceiling when the room is dark,, you will be pleasantly surprised how much better the picture is! Or another option is , take some 1×1 lumber, and make an appropriately sized frame then take a white sheet, and stretch it over tightly and glue gun/nail it in place, fits under a bed, or in a closet! You could even paint it with BRIGHT white matted paint! Makes a GREAT screen for a low price! I find it is very durable, the kids have knocked it around a fair bit, the bulbs are very easy to replace/install, the price is great, I give this projector a 10/10 as far as you get what you pay for. If you do want a HIGH quality projector, then go and spend 1000 dollars on a fancy one, and an additional 500-700 a year for a new bulb. You should read the booklet, a lot of the issues mentioned in the reviews I have read are very easily preventable such as the issue with over heating, all you need is a hard surface (NOT CARPET/FABRIC) to put it on, a large hardcover book works well, do not place it near a heater, or leave it running for more than a few hours.
February 16th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Professional Web Site Design: 6 Tips Even the Amateur Aficionado Can Handle…
Professional web site design is important but you don’t have to be a licensed professional to get an online space that “says” professional web site design with confidence!…
March 10th, 2008 at 7:11 am
Good post. You make some great points that most people do not fully understand.
“We took this piece of expensive junk back to walmart and got our money back within 24 hours. I do not recommend this Zoombox projector for a childs gift. I also do not recommend this as an inexpensive projector for movies. Its seriously not worth it and you will be sorely disappointed in your purchase. Trust me. Spend a little more money and get a decent projector or get a bigger flat panel HD tv. That is what we did.”
I like how you explained that. Very helpful. Thanks.
June 24th, 2008 at 1:10 am
[...] ZoomBox, my husband and I decided to pick one up at Wal-mart since they were in the 250 range.http://www.amomsreview.com/2006/12/19/hasbro-zoombox-projector-review/Hasbro Toys - Zoombox DVD Entertainment Projector - 75052Compare prices on hasbro Zoombox DVD [...]
June 24th, 2008 at 1:33 am
a good read.
July 8th, 2008 at 4:29 am
Thanks for the post!!!
Keith
http://www.HDPl.us
July 29th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
Our 7 year old and 4 year old boys (at the time) saw the Zoombox advertised on TV two years ago and wanted one for Christmas. We had a hard time finding one anywhere so we found one on eBay for a cheaper price. It sounded like a great “toy” for them. They LOVED the projection onto the ceiling feature.
We got it for them and they thought it was one of the coolest gifts they had that year. No one they knew had one or even heard of it and their friends thought it was so cool too!
In spite of its flaws compared to a “real” projector I think it was a great buy. The boys enjoyed all the nights they got to spend watching movies on the ceiling as they laid in bed. (It helped that they shared a room together.) They especially enjoyed it when they had sleepovers and they could connect their game systems to it for an hour or two of game playing with their friends or just to watch a movie.
Yes, the projection was somewhat pixelated
and to MY eye it was a little bothersome, but the boys either never truly noticed or they just didn’t care as long as this cool device did what they wanted it to do, that is: project a movie or a game onto the ceiling thus enlarging the picture and turn their room into their own personal little home theater. To them it was always fun.
As for viewing anything during the day, even my boys understood it was not worth trying. Have you ever watched a drive-in movie during the day? Me neither. Sounds silly doesn’t it? Same concept. I’ve been to some at night and the quality of the picture still is not as good as an indoor movie theater. Even a high quality projector looks better in the dark.
We have since built a brand new house with our own true home theater and large flat screen TV that the boys no longer use the Zoombox at home. But when they travel to Grandma’s house, they take it with them so they can watch their movies on the living room ceiling as they both lie on her sleeper sofa with the allowance of being able to stay up later than usual. It is such a treat to them to be able to enjoy something they perceive as “big” in such an honestly inexpensive innocent, but clever, “toy.” They STILL don’t complain about the quality of the picture.
I think the person who started this review had her own idea of what a projector SHOULD had been before she bought this and then was sorely disappointed when she realized she had truly bought a toy.
August 28th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
I bought one a few years ago. the need for the room to be dark and the pixilated appearence didn’t bother me. In fact myself, my wife and my 3 year old daughter loved it untill it stopped working for no apparent reason. We used it for a couple months and one day it just didn’t work. We got sound but no picture. Tried replacing the bulb but that didn’t work. I was realy disappointed. Did I just have bad luck or has anybody else had this problem with this projector?
August 28th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
JRock - we didn’t keep it long enough to find out.
We now have a real projector and like it so much better.
Good luck to you!
August 28th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
BigKidDad -
Yes we were disappointed with the quality of the product at the cost of $250 regardless of it being a toy. I’m not sure about most people but to me $250 is a lot of money and I felt like it was worth more like $25-$40! I would have kept the product if it were in that price range so the kids could do whatever they wanted with it.
Thanks for the comment!
December 16th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
I GOT THIS ZOOM BOX FOR MY (THEN 14) YR. OLD AND SHE LOVES IT! WE OFTEN BORROW IT AND PLAY A MOVIE ON OUR LIVING ROOM WALL. IT MAKES MOVIE NIGHTS MORE SPECIAL. WE HAVE HAD NO PROBLEMS WITH IT, AND TO ME, IT IS WELL WORTH THE 200 AND SOMTHING WE SPENT ON IT AT WALMART. WE KEEP PLANNING ON TAKING IT OUTSIDE AND SHOWING A MOVIE ON THE SIDE OF OUR GARAGE, BUT HAVE YET TO. HAD A HECK OF A TIME FINDING IT BY THE WAY WHEN OUR DAUGHTER ASKED FOR IT, DIDNT REALIZE IT WAS IN THE TOY SECTION! ALL IN ALL, GREAT GIFT FOR CHRISTMAS!