Juzihao Star Projector review

The Juzihao Star Projector looks, at a glance, rather like a water feature. You’d be forgiven for thinking a small fountain should shoot out of the top of it, but instead it can project colorful galaxy images on your ceiling. It’s one of the most unique star projectors we’ve seen, and we do not doubt that its appearance will draw people in.

But does its performance match up to its looks? Well, it’s certainly not bad, that’s for sure. Its projections are bold and colorful — perhaps too bold and colorful if you’re looking for natural-looking night sky projections. But with a built-in speaker and some unusual ways to connect it to your music, the Juzihao Star Projector offers great value for money.

Does it do enough to be one of the best star projectors on the market? Perhaps not, but considering it costs roughly around $20, it’s certainly worth your consideration. Read on for our full review of the Juzihao Star Projector.

Juzihao Star Projector review: Design

• Unique, eye-catching design
• Feels solid and well-built
• Well-placed buttons on the front

It’s the design of the Juzihao Star Projector that first drew us to it. It resembles a bowl, with a translucent top that’s rippled to look like moving water. But of course, it isn’t a water feature. The central part of the unit contains the projector, but the entire clear covering of the top will light up when it’s in use.

It feels solid and well-made, and thanks to its shape, it’s very secure when it’s placed on any surface. It’s surprising given how inexpensive the unit is: Typically, star projectors in this price range are very cheaply made, but the Juzihao Star Projector looks and feels much more premium than its price would suggest.

You’ll find six buttons on the front of the unit, allowing you to control the basic range of functions, including any audio input you run through the unit. There’s also a 3.5mm jack that you can connect an MP3 player to, along with a TF card slot — an unusual choice, but a nice option.

Juzihao Star Projector review: Performance

• Bright, vivid projections
• Not the widest reach
• Bright, laser stars

Since the whole top surface of the Juzihao Star Projector lights up when it’s in use, it can be a little bright and blaring to look at, particularly at full brightness. Thankfully, you can turn the brightness down, but that also affects the projections on your walls and ceiling. Depending on where it’s placed in the room, it might not be a big issue, but because it’s so large, it’s hard to avoid looking at.

The projections themselves are seriously bright and vivid, and rather enjoyable to look at. If you prefer softer, more realistic nebula patterns, however, you might want to look elsewhere: We found that the Juzihao’s projections feel a little more “psychedelic” than most. Unless you turn the brightness way down, it’s more suited for creating a party atmosphere than a relaxing atmosphere.

You can cycle through a range of colors, adjust the speed of the projection’s movement and cycle, and you can turn on or off laser stars. Unfortunately, you’ll find the same cheap, green laser stars here as you will on most budget projectors. They do have a very wide reach, though, much wider than the nebula projections, which are fairly narrow considering the size of the projection unit itself.

There’s a built-in speaker, which you can use either by connecting via Bluetooth, plugging in a device to the 3.5mm jack, or inserting a TF card loaded with music. The range of options is very welcome, although we can’t imagine many people using anything other than Bluetooth.

The speaker itself is of an average quality. Don’t expect to blast loud, clear music out of it, but if you’re using it to listen to a podcast or audiobook, it’s more than adequate.

Juzihao Star Projector review: Functionality

• On-body controls as well as a remote
• Features a sleep timer
• Fairly quiet in operation

The Juzihao Star Projector comes with a decent remote control that can control both the projections, the stars and any audio you input to the device. However, you’ll need to provide the batteries (2x AAA). If you misplace the remote control, don’t worry: you can also control the functions directly on the projection unit. It has a row of six handy, clearly labeled buttons, making it easy to use.

One thing you will struggle to set without the remote, however, is the built-in sleep timer of the projector. You can set it to automatically turn off after either 45 or 90 minutes, making it perfect to fall asleep to without worrying about it running all night. But, there are no on-body controls for the sleep timer, only on the remote.

We’re happy to report that the Juzihao Star Projector is quiet when in use. It has a gentle whirring as you’d expect, but it’s easily blocked out if you’re using the built-in speaker. It’s certainly not distracting, even in the quiet.

Should you buy the Juzihao Star Projector?

If you want a star projector unit that you can use to create a party atmosphere, we think the Juzihao Star Projector is a good choice. It can be picked up on Amazon for around $20, making it a real bargain.

But if you’re looking for a projector that offers realistic, scientific images, this isn’t the one for you. The ‘galaxy’ projections are more funky-looking than actual nebulas. For something more realistic, we’d recommend taking a look at something like the Pococo Galaxy Star Projector. Or if you’d like something that offers softer, more relaxing colors, we recommend the BlissLights Sky Lite Evolve.

Kim is a Yorkshire-based freelance writer who focuses on Lego and video game-related content. She’s the co-creator of GameSpew.com and ThatBrickSite.com, where you’ll find most of her work. If she’s not building with plastic bricks, playing a video game, or writing about doing either of those things, you should probably check she’s still breathing. You can find her on Twitter at @ichangedmyname.