REVIEW – For years, friends and family have asked me to figure out how to do outside movie night in conjunction with our annual fire pit evening of BBQ, libations, and too much fun. Every year we invite a bunch of our friends and neighbors over for this Fall-time debauchery. The party is set near our barn where everyone sits around the fire eating, drinking, and socializing but several have requested a movie playing in the background on the side of the barn as a bit of added entertainment. Well, the Nebula Mars II is theoretically the ideal device for delivering high quality video without the need for cords or infrastructure of any kind (other than perhaps a screen or white background)…let’s see how it does.

Last year Mike reviewed the first generation Nebula Mars projector and I have to admit it I was a tiny bit jealous, knowing how well the “theater-grade portable cinema” would meet my needs. So, this year when the Mars II was introduced I quickly volunteered to give it a try.

What is it?

Like its predecessor, the Nebula Mars II is an Ultra-Portable Theater-Grade DLP projector, capable of producing high quality HD images and videos on virtually any flat surface. It projects images/videos up to 150″ diagonally with a 16:9 aspect ratio. It has dual 10 watt speakers and a rechargeable battery that delivers up to 4 hours of battery life. The Mars II runs on Android 7.1 and has built-in apps like YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, and Netflix that can be streamed using the projector’s built-in WiFi. It can also project content via HDMI connected device, USB drive, and screen mirroring from your smart device.

Design and features

The Nebula Mars II casing is made from black plastic and is approximately the size of a box of tissues or small lunch pail with rounded corners. On top of the Mars II are the control buttons and a leather handle for easy transport. The device is engineered to be portable, measuring 7.01 x 4.8 x 5.43 inches and weighing four (4) pounds.

In the box:

• Nebula Mars II
• Power cables
• Remote control

Specifications:

Display technology

• Display Technology – 0.3″ DLP
• Native Resolution – 1280 x 720 (HD)
• Brightness – 300 ANSI lm
• Lamp Life – 30,000 hours
• Aspect Ratio – 16:9
• Throw Ratio – 100 in at 10.1 ft; 80 in at 8 ft; 60 in at 5.7 ft; 40 in at 3.8 ft
• Offset – 100%
• Focus Adjustment – Automatic
• Projection Mode – Front/Rear/Front Ceiling/ Rear Ceiling
• Keystone Correction – Auto (vertical ±40°)

Interface

• HDMI – HDMI 1.4
• USB – USB 2.0
• DC-IN – 19V, 3A DC-In
• Control – Physical Buttons
• IR Remote – D-pad mode/mouse mode
• Dedicated App – Nebula Connect for Android & iOS

Hardware

• CPU – Quad Core A7 Smartphone Chipset
• GPU – Adreno 304
• RAM – 1GB DDR3
• ROM – 8GB eMMC
• Battery – 12500mAh / 3.85v
• Speaker – Dual 10W Speakers
• Wi-Fi – 802.11a/b/g/n
• Dual Frequency – 2.4/5GHz
• Bluetooth – BT4.0 Dual Mode/A2DP
• Fan – <32dB

A nice design feature of the Mars II is its built-in sliding lens cover. In addition to protecting the lens, the vertically sliding door also acts as an on/off switch. The device automatically turns on when the door is down and turns off when up/closed. The original Mars projector had to be manually focused, where the Mars II has single-second autofocus and angle adjustment that were spot on every time I used it. Other differences include, Nebula increasing the Mars II’s battery life by an hour but decreasing its overall brightness as compared to the original.

Another difference between the Mars and the Mars II, is that the original used JBL 10 watt stereo speakers while the second generation uses an unnamed/unlabeled set of speakers.

That said, the Mars II 10 watt speakers fire sideways just like the original Mars. The speakers have two bass reflectors, all together producing a full, rich experience that sounds great.

The upper third of the back has the DC power, HDMI, and USB ports, audio out jack, infrared receiver, and reset button. The rest of the back has vents for ventilation and cooling. In addition to the built-in apps, you can attach a BluRay player, Roku, Fire Stick, AppleTV, gaming console, etc via the HDMI port and stream whatever you wish. You can also play H.264, H.265, DivX, MPEG-4 and VP8 via the USB port/thumbdrive. Screen mirroring worked very nicely as well though the iOS apps were pretty locked down in just what was able to be wirelessly streamed from my iPhone.

As I mentioned, the top rear of the Mars II has control buttons that provide the same functionality as the wireless remote.

The wireless remote works as you would expect but I prefer the smartphone app for controlling the Mars II. The interface is intuitive and easy to use, very similar to a touchpad.

On the top near the front, the Nebula Mars II has four small battery power LED indicator lights.

The integrated leather handle makes for easy and secure transport.

In addition to the cooling/air vents, the bottom of the projector has a universal 1/4″ threaded tripod mount. I found attaching the Mar II to my tripod was the most stable and secure way to use the device but really nearly any flat surface should suffice.

Setting up the Mars II is quick and easy. The whole process took less than 5 minutes to get up and running, with the longest part being clicking in our WiFi password using the virtual keyboard to gain connectivity.

As I stated above, the Mars II is an Android device running a modified version of OS 7.1 Nougat. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Plex are the streaming apps Nebula preloads on the device. Shame ESPN+, HBO Go, Showtime, etc aren’t available as well like a majority of smart-televisions have these days. I grant you, these streaming services can be added by connecting various streaming devices via HDMI port but it would be nice out of the box, baked into the OS.

What I like

• Well-thoughtout, compact, portable design
• Up to 150 inch screen projection
• 4 hrs of battery life
• Can attach other devices for greater streaming options
• Can stream a multitude of video formats

What needs to be improved

• Needs a greater selection of streaming apps
• Not as bright as its predecessor

Final thoughts

I really like the Nebula Mars II, it does an excellent job bring a “cinema quality” experience whenever, wherever you want it. The hardware is very well designed, portable, and can throw a bright, HD picture up nearly anywhere. The autofocus works as advertised, it quickly adjusts the video on a variety of surfaces and angles. The brightness, picture quality, sound, and battery life are all better than solid. Plenty nice enough for creating a media room from nothing but a sheet and a few lawn chairs. Its built-in apps (Netflix, Amazon Video, YouTube) are a good start but it is a shame you can’t download HBO Go, Showtime, ESPN+, etc. Though many streaming services and video content can be added via the HDMI, USB port, and screen mirroring from your smart device.

Price: $499.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Nebula.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Projector

Nebula Mars II DLP projector review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 30, 2018 at 9:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

REVIEW – The Vankyo LEISURE 3 2200 LUX LED Portable Projector is a low-cost, easy-to-use, portable digital projector with a good amount of input options. At a price of $89.99, the Vankyo LEISURE 3 does what it’s supposed to do, but don’t expect too much from the viewing experience. The Vankyo is serviceable, but it takes a few hits for not being able to process Dolby Digital Sound, function as a digital presentation projector, or including cables for iPhone or Android devices.

What is it?

Portable digital projectors have become pretty popular recently. The ability to immediately project a wall-sized video of content from your phone or laptop is really exciting and when compared to the price of televisions of comparable size, the cost of a digital projector seems to make sense. The best digital projectors are usually in the $300-$800 range. They offer a viewing experience on par with that of a modern, reasonably priced television with the added benefit of portability. Generally, the smaller and more feature-rich the projector, the higher the price.

The Vankyo LEISURE 3 can’t compete on any level with those high-end projectors. This projector costs only $89.99 for a reason. The build quality, included features, and picture quality are all sub-par to mediocre. But, you get what you pay for, and there are a few instances where purchasing a projector of this caliber makes sense.

The Vankyo LEISURE 3 comes in a sturdy cardboard box with a carrying handle. This box would make a great case if the Vankyo didn’t already come with a cool zippered carrying case.

The carrying case is a great accessory and of good quality, it makes the Vankyo stand out a bit from other projectors in this price range.

The case has internal velcro straps to keep the projector safe, a separate adjustable compartment for the extra cables and remote, and a sleeve for the manual and quick start guide.

What’s in the box?

• Vankyo LEISURE 3
• Quick start guide and manual
• Remote control (batteries not included)
• VGA cable
• Power cable
• Standard HDMI cable
• RCA to 3.5mm video cable

Hardware specs

• LED Brightness: 2200 LUX
• Contrast Ratio: 2000:1
• Keystone: ±15 degree
• Lamp Life: 40000 hrs
• Aspect Ratio: 4:3\16:9\auto
• Projection Size: 33-170 inches
• Native Resolution: 800 x 480
• Display Technique: LCD
• Weight: 2.12 lbs
• Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.9 x 3.1 in

Design and features

With the provided cables and inputs, the Vankyo LEISURE 3 can accept video input from a few sources. The included cables let you input video from an HDMI source, a computer with a VGA output, an RCA video output, an SD Card, or a USB source. Because you’re only given three included cables, you need to buy additional adaptor cables to be able to input video from your iPhone, Android device, or newer laptop.

You can also output audio from the projector to an external speaker. The internal speaker on the Vankyo works OK in a quiet room or if there isn’t a lot of background noise. The fan on the Vankyo is pretty impressive in how quiet it is. You know it’s running, but it doesn’t really affect the viewing experience.

The USB input is what I found most useful. If you format a USB stick with movies, music, or images and insert it into the USB slot, the Vankyo can access the folders with a rudimentary file system. By using a low profile 128gb USB stick, I was able to pack up the Vankyo projector along with about 30 movie files for outdoor viewing on a recent camping trip.

The remote for the Vankyo proved useful at times, but since the Vankyo works best in absolute darkness, I found myself wishing it had a light-up feature to help make the keys visible. Additionally, the IR receiver for the remote is on the back of the projector, so if you’re sitting adjacent to or in front of the projector, the remote is useless.

Setup

Setting up the Vankyo LEISURE 3 is pretty easy. Just plug in the power cord, connect your video source, power on the projector and you should have some type of image projecting. There are control buttons on the top of the projector and it takes a bit of time to understand them, but once that’s been figured out, the rest of your setup time will be spent on trying to get the best picture and focus.

Focus can be adjusted with the Focus dial on top of the projector or by turning the lens itself. The Keystone adjustor allows you to fix the geometry of the picture if it’s not hitting your screen correctly. It’s of note that the keystone can only be adjusted vertically, which I found frustrating.

Performance

For my testing, I set up a screen using a white bedsheet and had the projector about three feet away projecting an image comparable to a 32 inch television.

I watched several movies and television shows to test the Vankyo, but mainly tried it out using “Thor: Ragnorak” because of the bright color palette and great audio tracks.

It took me a while to find the best configuration for the picture settings. The picture from the Vankyo LEISURE 3 looks best in COMPLETE darkness, so using the remote to change the picture settings in the dark was frustrating at times.

After some trial and error, I was able to get some decent contrast and color although this varied as the scenes changed.

I was impressed with the color, but disappointed and frustrated by the focus and sharpness of the image.

I was never able to get the bottom of the frame to stay completely in focus, no matter how I adjusted the keystone, focus, or position of the Vankyo. Also, at times the picture would take on a pinkish hue in the whites.

The internal speaker handled the music and cinematic sound from the movie fine. There are a few audio parameters that can be adjusted as well and that helped a lot, but not having the ability to enable Dolby Digital Sound really hurts the experience.

And this is why the Vankyo LEISURE 3 is just a mediocre performer, there was no point during my testing where I was like, “This is so much better than my TV.” The whole point of digital projectors is that “wow” factor to kind of bring the cinematic experience home; the Vankyo just doesn’t come close to evoking that feeling.

Ultimately, for me, the Vankyo LEISURE 3 is kind of like a novelty purchase. It’s cheap and fun to take on camping trips or maybe to play the occasional movie outside after a BBQ or family gathering, but it’s not of good enough quality to use and enjoy on a regular basis.

Additionally, and most importantly for some, you can’t even run a digital presentation on it! Of all the reasons I mentioned to get and use a digital projector, that’s one of the main ones and the Vankyo can’t even function in that sense.

What I like

• Easy to set up
• Inexpensive
• Carrying case included

What needs to be improved

• No support for PowerPoint, Word, or Excel presentations
• No support for Dolby Digital Sound
• Mediocre picture quality and focus
• Large for a “mini” projector
• No included smartphone cables/adaptor

Final thoughts

The Vankyo LEISURE 3 2200 LUX LED Portable Projector is a mediocre product at best, but some of its shortcomings are offset by its low cost. The Vankyo functions properly and does what it’s supposed to do, but it lacks options offered in a number of other products in its class, like support for Dolby Digital Sound and the ability to run digital presentations. This might qualify as a good novelty purchase, but you’d be better off investing a little more money in a more versatile, higher quality projector.

Price: $89.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Vankyo.

Filed in categories: Reviews

Tagged: Projector

Vankyo LEISURE 3 2200 LUX LED Portable Projector review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 20, 2018 at 11:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.