Do you remember the Dangbei Mars Pro we tested a year ago? It was not only impressive as a laser projector but surprisingly cheaper than other laser models. But after all, it’s still a high-end projector with a decent build and excellent performance, and there are still many people who’re more looking at budget projectors.
For those who need a not-that-pricy projector, today I would like to introduce you to the Dangbei Neo Smart Projector: a lightweight, compact, Netflix Officially Licensed, and much cheaper projector than Mars Pro. I think this projector will probably be the choice of most people.
Unboxing
Because Dangbei Neo is not Dangbei’s most high-end projector model, the package offers the most basic accessories. A manual, a power cable, a power ad, an apter and a remote control.
Design
When you look at the Dangbei Neo, you should easily guess its main selling point, portability. The small size allows you to take it with you wherever you go. With a size of about two cell phones plus a weight of 1.4kg, I can easily lift it with one hand. Even if you stuffed it into your backpack, it wouldn’t be a burden to you at all. I think it would be a lot of fun if we carry it out for camping, such as watching films with it at a field party.
The Dangbei Neo is designed like a mini version of Mars Pro. We got the same rectangular shape with rounded ends. The shell with a matt finish looks and feels very much like metal, but not as heavy as metal. There is its lens and focus module at the front, a power button at the top, and you can see the heat sink and speaker at the sides.
The reason why Dangbei doesn’t compress its size further is that the high-brightness projector has high special demands for heat dissipation. The Neo’s proper size combined with a solid built-in fan allows it to keep the noise below 24 dB. The dual 6w speakers are also DOLBY Audio certified, which is enough to ensure your most basic audio and video experience.
Interfaces
All of the I/O ports on the Dangbei Neo are on the back. Two USB ports, one HDMI port with ARC support, one LAN port, one S/PDIF, and power interface. Although the Dangbei Neo is only a mid-range projector, it only lacks a headphone jack compared to the premium Dangbei Mars Pro. It is still very expandable.
System & Function
Dangbei Neo’s system is different from Mars Pro’s and got simplified a lot. The home page is almost showing all it can do. The Neo comes with NETFLIX, Amazon Prime Video, and YouTube pre-installed. In addition, the projector supports installing apps from App Store on the home page but it’s not available for app installation from other sources.
Settings also include the basic Auto keystone, auto-focus, and zooming. The Neo’s remote control is also quite special, especially the three buttons at the bottom, which are printed with the three pre-installed applications on the home page. You can access various streaming services with one click. Obviously, the main target of this projector is people who like to watch streaming media and programs. Now you can watch videos from anywhere in the world.
Image quality
In addition to watching streaming media, you can also use HDMI to connect to your computer or console such as Switch. Although the size got smaller, the Neo doesn’t really compromise its image quality. The projector’s native resolution is 1080P, and it is a DLP projector. The biggest advantage over other LCD projectors is that it has much better-projected quality. The brightness uniformity of the projected image is better, and there will be no typical problem we found on most LCD projectors that the cornered brightness is lower than the center. And the clarity will be better than LCD projector in the same resolution.
Another advantage of a DLP projector is that it has a very long lifespan. 3000 hours means that even if it is used for 8 hours a day, it can last for 10 years. The Dangbei Neo has a maximum brightness of 540 ISO Lumens. Although it doesn’t sound like a great figure, the experience is actually much better because it doesn’t have inflated figures like ANSI Lumens.
If it’s your first time using a projector, you must know that any projector is better used in a low-light environment, otherwise, the visual effects will be greatly reduced. A great detail that is the speakers also support custom bass and treble. I will play a clip from an episode in the review video, you can feel the image and sound quality by yourselves.
Conclusion
The Dangbei Neo’s position is very clear: it is designed for people who need to take projectors out and people who like to watch streaming videos or local media. Of course, it is also impressively versatile even at home in place of a TV, or just for an open-air movie. As long as your needs for projectors are not that high, Dangbei Neo should be able to surprise you.
If you do have higher demands for image quality and brightness, the Dangbei Mars Pro that we tested would be a better choice. Anyway, you can find more information about it down below this video. Hope this video help.
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