As the previous few years have come to show us, it’s fairly simple to get your palms on a big display screen for viewing films, streaming content material, and video video games. Now not does a 42-inch display screen seem to be one thing solely your wealthy associates have entry to; we’re all shopping for issues in extra of 55-inches.
Whereas TVs have gotten thinner, cheaper, smarter, and customarily “higher”, so too have projectors. Certainly, it’s additionally pretty simple to search out one thing that initiatives a picture of 100 or extra inches and with out spending a ton of cash.
Because it involves 4K projectors, although, that’s a relatively nascent trade. Certain, they undoubtedly exist and there are a selection of choices to select from, however it’s considerably costly to get a feature-rich 4K projector.
The Dangbei Mars Professional is a 4K UHD laser projector with sensible options and a really enticing price ticket. It’s extremely quiet, options a variety of enter choices, and affords up a 300-inch 3,840 x 2,160 pixel picture. However does it make this the suitable projector on your wants? Learn on to study extra and assist come to the suitable conclusion.
What’s within the Field?
Along with the Mars Professional projector itself, the field features a distant management, microfiber cleansing material, and a sticky washer for when utilizing the mounting gap. After all you additionally get the facility brick and cable and directions, too.
Design
The Dangbei Mars Professional is an aluminum dice of a unit that has 2.5D glass on the highest. There’s a 10W speaker on either side, enter and output ports on the rear, and a 1/4-inch threaded socket on the underside. Additionally on the underside are 4 non-slip toes which assist preserve the projector from sliding on a tabletop floor.
There’s a touch-sensitive button for energy and an ambient gentle sensor on the highest, and a laser gentle able to placing out 3,200 ANSI lumens on the entrance.
Whereas the 1/4-inch thread is an trade commonplace, you may need to assume twice about utilizing your outdated tripod. At 10 kilos, the Mars Professional just isn’t precisely gentle — or low-cost. Should you’re going this route, make sure that to make use of a stable tripod and do your greatest to keep away from unintentional touches.
The Dangbei Mars Professional homes two HDMI ports on the rear, one in every of which helps HDMI 2.1 and eARC. A pair of USB-A ports let person join exterior gadgets corresponding to a streaming stick for gaming on an enormous display screen.
You’ll be able to join audio system or a sound system utilizing the S/PDIF optical audio port, or make the most of the three.5mm audio jack and go old fashioned with headphones or audio system. Bluetooth can be current so you possibly can pair your favourite headphones, too.
A LAN port can be positioned on the again and ensures your projector has a steady connection at as much as 100Mbps.
Picture High quality
The Mars Professional has a throw ratio of 1.27:1, placing it within the class of long-throw projectors. In different phrases, at a 1.27m (4.2-feet) distance from the display screen or wall, the Mars Professional will venture a picture width of 1m (50 inches).
The Dangbei Mars Professional helps projection display screen sizes from as small as 30 inches all the way in which as much as 300 inches (76.2cm to 7.62m). For what it’s price Dangbei recommends a projection distance of 11.15 toes (3.4m) for the very best expertise.
The projector packs its 10-pound body with nice expertise and options, all which result in an excellent picture and first rate sound. Pictures are crisp and shade copy is great in our testing with wealthy colours and a darkish black in low-light environments.
The Superior Laser Phosphor Show (ALPD) expertise can ship 3,200 ANSI lumens, which is nice sufficient for projection in daylight — so long as the solar isn’t beaming immediately in your wall or display screen. Should you’ve obtained an older projector or a starter unit, you’ll know the aggravation of getting to attract the curtains or blinds to observe one thing earlier than sundown.
At 4K decision the Mars Professional runs at a 60Hz refresh charge however do you have to dial all the way down to 1080p, you possibly can stand up to 120Hz refresh charge. Should you’re utilizing the projector to show your gaming console, you’ll respect that buttery clean motion. And with simply 20ms latency, the Mars Professional is properly above the typical for projectors and response instances.
As you little doubt perceive, until you mount or set your projector completely straight out from the wall, you find yourself with an uneven display screen. Practically each projector in the marketplace will give customers guide management over the keystone characteristic, permitting for dragging of corners and edges to create the correctly formatted picture.
In a lot of the mid-range and upper-end projectors automated keystoning is a characteristic that helps to shortly calibrate issues for the surroundings. The Mars Professional comes with this functionality, however I did discover it struggled to appropriate itself. Most of the time it acted as if there have been obstacles in the way in which or, worse, landed on a picture that was nonetheless skewed.
The included distant management and software program do make it fairly simple to regulate issues, and as soon as they’re in place you do not need to fret about it every time you energy on. For some motive I additionally discovered that I needed to sometimes tweak the main target as the automated setting didn’t lock onto one thing that felt proper.
It’s right here the place I remind you that until you’re mounting from the ceiling or putting in a agency place, you might run into adjustment issues. The tiniest nudge of a tripod may be all that it takes to throw issues off, forcing you to recalibrate the picture forward of viewing content material.
Sound High quality
The Mars Professional’s two 10W audio system assist each Dolby Digital Plus and DTS encompass sound, placing out a relatively respectable sound. It’s lots loud and clear for quiet environments with no perceivable distortion at higher ranges.
The digital encompass is nice sufficient, I’m of the opinion that an exterior speaker setup is healthier. If not the full-on, 4 corners of the room stuff, at the very least go along with a soundbar to unfold issues out a bit. And if you happen to’re gaming, it may be advisable to go along with one thing wired in that 3.5mm jack. You don’t need to find yourself on the shedding finish of a battle as a result of your sound was off only a smidge.
The Mars Professional is absolutely quiet by itself and is sort of imperceptible in most conditions. Air appears to attract into the suitable facet and out by way of the left and also you’ll barely hear it until you go searching for it.
Software program and different Options
Whereas the Mars Professional itself appears like fairly the premium gadget, its distant is about as cheaply designed as they arrive. Composed of plastic, it requires a pair of AAA batteries (not included) and feels generic within the hand.
There are only a few buttons to fret about, resulting in a relatively easy and simple expertise. You gained’t be taking a look at it too lengthy as you’ll determine issues out shortly.
The Dangbei Mars Professional runs on a customized model of Android 9 however it’s not Android TV, nor does it appear like one thing you might need frolicked with. It’s minimal and fairly simple to get the grasp of, however I’d relatively make the most of one of many HDMI ports and use an Android TV stick.
Additionally price noting, the projector just isn’t formally licensed for Netflix; nevertheless, you will discover workarounds utilizing a GMS (Google My Companies) installer and Netflix unlock. Then once more, a media keep on with Android TV solves for this.
The Mars Professional has a number of helpful built-in options such eye safety and self-cleaning. The previous turns itself on ought to the projector detect an individual or object in entrance of it, dialing down the brightness. When you or the thing strikes out of the way in which issues return to regular.
Utilizing the projector’s menu, you possibly can allow the self-cleaning mode, which kind of cycles air by way of the vents to take away mud.
There’s additionally a screensaver you possibly can have robotically activate to transition by way of pictures, retaining you from staring on the identical display screen all day lengthy. On a associated notice you possibly can at all times have the unit flip itself off after durations of inactivity.
Parting Ideas
Relating to meals there’s an axiom that claims you possibly can decide any two options: low-cost, good, or quick. It’s fairly troublesome to get all three of these in a single spot. That’s kind of the scenario with projectors — you possibly can have inexpensive value, nice efficiency, or stable design.
The Dangbei Mars Professional is that uncommon exception the place you get all three of these options. It’s a well-built projector with an enormous, stunning picture, and a gorgeous price ticket.
It’s not excellent, as I did must get previous a number of quibbles early on with the keystone and focus, plus I by no means cherished the distant management. And as soon as I modified my software program expertise to one thing extra acquainted, I used to be actually glad.
The image high quality is sharp, clean, and correct, even at 300 inches. Sound is about nearly as good as I anticipated however I’d suggest mounting the projector and utilizing your personal audio system. However to be clear, that’s one thing I’d recommend for just about any projector ever.
Availability
You’ll be able to study extra in regards to the Mars Professional at Dangbei’s web site, or head on to Amazon to select yours up. As of the time of this evaluate the value was listed at $1,699 on Dangbei’s website and $1,799 at Amazon.
