The AAXA M8 UST is a small, ultra-short-throw portable projector that uses RGB laser and DLP technology. It costs $529 and can project images from 8 to 200 inches with a 1920 x 1080p resolution.
It offers 1,100 lumens of brightness and a dynamic contrast ratio of 2000:1. The RGB laser light source is built to last up to 30,000 hours without needing maintenance.
The M8 UST is great for both entertainment and work. Its ultra-short-throw design means it can sit just inches from the screen, so no one can block the light by walking in front of it. It can also stand on its front end for tabletop projection.
Running on an Android-based OS, it supports apps from AAXA’s store and allows side-loading of apps and content. This makes it perfect for movie nights, presentations, or streaming shows from Netflix, Prime, Disney+, and more.
It has two HDMI ports, so you can easily connect devices like Amazon Fire Stick, Roku, or Apple TV.
You can buy the AAXA M8 UST now from AAXA or authorized dealers for $529.
+ Full HD (1,920 x 1,080p)
+ Small & Easily transported
+ Tabletop, ceiling, and rear projection
+ Effective electronic focus capability
+ 4-corner geometric adjustment
+ Brighter than expected
– The fan is loud
– Colors are oversaturated
– No sub-menu for external sources
– No basic picture controls
– Noticeable screen door effect
– No built-in battery
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OVERVIEW
The AAXA M8 UST is the company’s first ultra-short-throw (UST) RGB laser projector.
I had just finished reviewing the AAXA M8 portable projector when my editor told me another model was coming. This new one is also part of the M8 series but with a big and exciting change. At first, I wondered if AAXA was moving into full-size UST projectors, but that’s not the case.
Instead, AAXA has made a portable ultra-short-throw projector. That’s right—a portable UST projector from a company known for making some of the most feature-packed and advanced portable projectors on the market. I really like the idea of a portable UST projector, and it makes perfect sense that it comes from AAXA.
The M8 UST—where “U” stands for ultra-short throw—is an AAXA projector that fits their usual design, features, price, and performance. Mostly good news, with just a little downside I’ll explain later. Let’s take a closer look at AAXA’s first portable ultra-short-throw projector. At the time of this review, the M8 UST is one of the few portable UST projectors you can buy.
AAXA is known for making affordable, feature-packed portable projectors. The M8 UST continues that trend, offering bright 1080p images, smart features with an Android-based system, and lots of options useful for both traveling professionals and casual home theater fans—all with the added benefit of being ultra-short-throw.
The main value of a portable ultra-short-throw projector is its easy use and small size while still projecting a big image in different places. Unlike regular projectors that need more distance to the screen, a UST can project a large picture just inches away. This makes the M8 UST perfect for small spaces or quick setups.
For people who give presentations on the go, this projector makes setup easy by removing the need for long cables or complicated setups far from the screen. Its small size and ultra-short-throw design are perfect for last-minute meetings, client visits, or classrooms where the room layout changes often. At home, it’s a smart space-saver compared to a regular TV. You can easily store it when not in use, and when needed, it projects a big, clear image on a wall without moving furniture or mounting anything.
Since the projector sits close to the screen, people won’t block the light by walking in front of it. This means fewer interruptions during presentations or movies—no more kids accidentally blocking the picture while grabbing a snack.
AAXA added a handy feature: the M8 UST can also project onto a table. This is great for one-on-one presentations in rooms without a screen or clear wall space. As long as there’s power and the surface is light-colored, you can display an image about 33 inches wide right on the table or desk.
Being portable adds even more value. You can easily move the projector between rooms or take it outside for a backyard movie night. While ultra-short-throw projectors usually cost more, this portable option gives you a large screen and saves space without the high cost and setup of fixed home theater systems.
The M8 UST combines portability, easy setup, space-saving design, and the ability to project a large image almost anywhere. It’s great for both work and fun.
Setup is quick and simple thanks to features like an easy corner adjustment tool that helps square the image perfectly on your screen. It also has e-Focus, which lets you fine-tune the picture clearly.
The projector includes a built-in media player that can play presentations, photo slideshows, music, and videos directly from a USB drive, hard drive, or TF card, supporting many file types.
AAXA says the M8 UST can reach 1,100 laser lumens. There are different ways to measure projector brightness, like ISO, ANSI, and CVIA. At Projector Reviews, we usually use ANSI lumens but are slowly switching to ISO lumens. The M8 UST doesn’t quite hit 1,100 ANSI lumens, which I’ll explain more in the BRIGHTNESS section. Still, it’s bright enough to produce a good image in small to medium rooms with some light control.
The bright light comes from AAXA’s new RGB laser (red, green, blue). Because of this, the M8 UST doesn’t have a color wheel, so you won’t see rainbow effects. The lasers are maintenance-free and rated to last up to 30,000 hours in ECO mode.
The M8 UST shows content in Full HD (1920×1080) using a 0.23” DLP chip from Texas Instruments, with advanced tech to create a sharp image on screen without blurring or shifting. AAXA has used this DLP technology in many of their projectors, and DLP projectors usually don’t have alignment problems, so the image quality is very good.
One downside: when sitting close and projecting large images, you might notice a bit of a screen door effect—small grid lines—especially on bright content.
DESIGN
CHASSIS
My experience with this ultra-short-throw projector was great. Since the projector sits very close to the screen, I didn’t have to worry about finding the perfect spot in the room or what to put it on. This close placement solves many of the tricky setup problems that standard projectors have.
With a UST projector like this, no one can walk in front of the light or accidentally knock it over, which makes watching or presenting much smoother. Honestly, once you try an ultra-short-throw projector, it’s hard to go back to regular ones.
The AAXA M8 UST is small and light, measuring 8.1” x 4.8” x 3” and weighing just 2.78 lbs. It has a side control panel with real, clicky buttons instead of the usual touch controls AAXA uses. This makes it easier to use by feel. There are four buttons: OK/PWR, ENTER, LEFT, and RIGHT. One downside is there’s no HOME button on the projector itself when using HDMI or USB inputs, so you’ll need the remote to navigate menus fully.
On the left side of the projector, AAXA has included two HDMI ports, which is very handy, plus a USB Type-C port for screen mirroring, an optical audio output, a full-size USB Type-A port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. On the right side, there’s a slot for a TF card and another USB Type-C port—but this one is just for the included 20V, 3A (60W) power supply. The M8 UST also has a built-in 4-watt amplifier that powers its stereo speakers.
The remote control is a nice upgrade. It’s slimmer than most Android TV or Fire TV remotes and has a similar but not identical button layout. This is a big step up from the older credit-card style remotes AAXA used before. The remote uses infrared (IR), so you need a clear line of sight to the sensor on the back of the projector. However, unlike other AAXA models I’ve tried, I had no problems using the remote from the side or even the back.
The AAXA M8 UST has a fixed ultra-short-throw lens that can project images from 8 to 250 inches at a 16:9 ratio on a wall or screen. When used on a table, it shows a smaller 33-inch diagonal image. In my tests, I easily filled a 110-inch screen with movies, PowerPoint slides, and text.
The projector is bright enough to be seen clearly even with a room lamp on near the screen. But if you go bigger than 70 inches, you’ll notice a screen door effect (a grid-like pattern) on bright, white areas. You can set up the projector on a table, mount it upside down from above, or place it behind the screen.
AAXA offers manual keystone correction, letting you adjust all four corners of the image. You can only control the focus manually using the remote.
The image looks great when projected on a flat surface like a wall or screen. But if the surface isn’t perfectly flat, the image can get a bit distorted. The focus is very even across the picture, with just a little softness in the upper left corner, which is good for a portable projector.
PERFORMANCE
COLOR REPRODUCTION
Right out of the box, the M8 UST shows colors that are a bit too bright, especially reds. AAXA doesn’t offer the usual picture settings like color, hue, or saturation. There is an RGB slider, but even after turning saturation down to zero, the colors stayed very vivid. The projector only has three brightness settings and no preset picture modes.
The overall color tone is cool, probably to make the image as bright as possible. Still, it’s not as blue-looking as other AAXA projectors I’ve tested.
BRIGHTNESS
As I mentioned earlier, AAXA says the M8 UST can reach up to 1,100 laser lumens. But in my tests, the brightest it got with the default settings was 700 ANSI lumens in Boost mode. That’s still bright enough to use with some lights on in the room.
AAXA suggests using screen sizes from 8 to 250 inches diagonally. With the lights off, I was able to fill my 110-inch screen with a good enough picture. But if your room has a lot of light or your screen is different, using a smaller image size will give you better color and brightness.
Here are the brightness levels I measured for the different picture modes:
Boost: 700 ANSI lumens
Standard: 523 ANSI lumens
Eco: 260 ANSI lumens
BLACK LEVEL AND SHADOW DETAIL
AAXA says the M8 UST has a dynamic contrast ratio of 2,000:1, which isn’t very high. But for people buying projectors at this price and for this kind of use, color and brightness usually matter more than contrast. This means blacks will look more like gray unless you lose a lot of detail in dark scenes. The black levels on this projector are similar to other AAXA models I’ve tested in this price range.
SMART OS
Like previous AAXA projectors, the M8 UST doesn’t use Android TV or Google TV, but it runs on an Android-based system. This lets it support many Android apps through AAXA’s own app store.
The M8 UST offers popular streaming apps in its curated store, chosen to work well on the projector. I tried several popular apps, and the experience was better than older AAXA models, but still a bit hit or miss. Most pre-installed apps worked, but many are made for touchscreens, so you need to switch the projector to MOUSE mode with the remote to navigate. Without this, apps won’t respond properly.
AAXA limits its app store to tested apps to improve reliability, which is smart, but they still need to improve. Luckily, you can easily add a Google TV, Fire TV Stick, or Roku device for around $20 to get smooth streaming anytime.
TEXT AND PRESENTATIONS
For this review, I used content from my computer connected to the AAXA M8 UST through HDMI input one. The text on the screen was always clear and easy to read.
The projector shows a sharp image, and even on a 110-inch screen, the text was easy to read from 25 feet away. It handled presentations well, showing slides, documents, and animations with different graphics.
Sound
AAXA says the M8 UST has a 4-watt stereo sound system. However, in my tests, I couldn’t hear any real stereo effect. It seems like it uses two speakers but sounds mostly like mono. Also, when there’s bass in the audio, the speakers start to distort at volumes over 60%.
The projector’s fan is pretty loud, especially in BOOST mode, and can be distracting unless the audio is very loud.
SUMMARY
The AAXA M8 UST is one of the few super-compact, ultra-short-throw portable projectors available today. Its UST design makes it a great choice for anyone wanting a projector that’s easy to carry and use at home or for work. Because it sits close to the screen, you don’t have to worry about people walking in front and blocking the image.
Unlike regular portable projectors, the UST design solves placement problems and keeps the projector safe from damage. Plus, the unique tabletop projection mode adds even more flexibility, making this little projector a smart buy.
The M8 UST delivers a bright picture, so you can use it in more places—even with some ambient light. The colors aren’t perfect, but they’re good enough for bedrooms, backyards, or meeting rooms. It has built-in smart features and supports certain Android apps, though the experience can be a bit hit-or-miss. If you want a smoother smart experience, you can easily add a $20 media stick.
Like most AAXA projectors, the M8 UST is all about balancing portability and features—but with the big bonus of ultra-short-throw design.
It might not match fancy home theater projectors in sound quality or brightness, but its ultra-short-throw setup, small size, and ability to present without a PC make it stand out from standard projectors.
The colors are a bit oversaturated, and picture settings are limited, but it still works well for movies and is great for presentations. The convenience of the UST design makes up for these minor flaws.
For kids, first-time buyers, students, or anyone needing a budget-friendly, easy-to-carry projector that can show a big image in small spaces, the M8 UST is a smart pick. At $529.99 MSRP, it offers great value, giving you ultra-short-throw benefits without the high price of more expensive models. If you want portability and space-saving design, this projector is worth considering.
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PROS
Ultra-short throw design makes placement easy and avoids blocking the image.
Good brightness (700 ANSI lumens in BOOST mode) works well in moderately lit rooms.
Long-lasting RGB laser light source rated for 30,000 hours.
Built-in media player lets you present or play content without a PC.
Simple, easy-to-use menus.
Supports wireless casting for Android and iOS devices.
Many connection options: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, two HDMI ports, and USB.
Four-corner image adjustment for perfect alignment.
Portable and lightweight for a UST projector (under 3 lbs), with included power adapter and remote.
CONS
Limited picture settings (no detailed color, hue, or saturation controls).
Colors are a bit too bright and oversaturated.
Low contrast means less detail in dark scenes.
No built-in battery—needs to be plugged in.
Built-in speakers can distort at higher volumes.
Fan noise can be distracting at all times.
App support and reliability can be hit or miss.
| Full Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Projector Model | M8UST |
| Price (MSRP) | $529 |
| Imager Type | DLP 0.23 inch |
| Displayed Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| Native Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels |
| Brightness (Manufacturer Claim) | 1100 LD Lumens |
| Light Source Type | RGB Triple Laser Light Source |
| Contrast Ratio | 2,000:1 (Dynamic) |
| Lens Throw Ratio | |
| Power Zoom/Focus | Yes |
| Lens Shift | No |
| Interchangeable Lens | No |
| Ultra Short Throw | Yes |
| Native Aspect Ratio | 16:9 (Widescreen) |
| 4K/120 fps | No |
| 3D | No |
| Speakers | Yes |
| Noise Level (-db) | |
| Low Lag Gaming | No |
| Smart Functionality | Yes |
| Business | Yes |
| Classroom | Yes |
| Portable | Yes |
| Special Features | Ultra Short Throw, 2X HDMI, USB-C, Smart OS |
| Networking | Wireless |
| Dimensions (WxDxH) | 8.1“x 4.8”x 3” inches |
| Weight | 2.78 lbs. |
| Warranty | 1-year Limited |