Sound Advice: New projector provides cinema-quality picture
-R.L., Raleigh, North Carolina
A.The projector is the new Nebula X1 Cinema Grade Projection System. I was able to try it myself recently after seeing a very impressive press demonstration at the CES expo in January, before it was announced to the public.
The Nebula X1 is extremely bright at 3,500 ANSI Lumens and can project from an 80-inch to a gigantic 300-inch image. The spectacular picture quality is indeed cinema-grade, and the brightness means it works well in moderate ambient light. Another remarkable thing about the Nebula X1 is that anyone can easily get the most out of the projector. Many high-performance audio, video and photography products require a certain level of expertise to access all the performance and capabilities. With the Nebula X1 you can just put the projector on the ground or on a table, point it at the screen and the projector will do the rest. The X1 uses AI to find the screen, fill it with a test pattern, focus and correct for keystone effect to present a perfect image automatically. From there the Google TV operating system makes the X1 as easy to use as any flat-panel smart television.
The X1 produces strong, satisfying sound on its own, but it can be used with dedicated wireless surround speakers that pair with the projector and automatically set up a 4.1.2-channel surround sound field. An optical/auxiliary port and HDMI eARC connection are provided for use with other external powered speakers and sound systems.
The Nebula X1 definitely lives up to the hype and the promise. It currently sells for the $2,999, and that is actually very affordable when many high-end 4K home theater projectors can sell for $30,000 or more. Nebula currently is offering a free 100-inch screen or gimbal stand with purchase. There is also a $3,998 bundle that includes the $699 wireless speakers, two microphones for karaoke and presentations, and a beautifully made case with dedicated compartments for the projector and accessories.
Whether the Nebula X1 is worth the difference compared to some of the very good 4K smart projectors selling around $1,000 will depend on the individual buyer. For those who want the absolute best and can afford it, the X1 significantly raises the bar in terms of image quality and what a smart projector system can do. seenebula.com
Q. In a recent column someone mentioned how their soundbar interfered with the bottom of their LG TV for viewing. I found putting a soundbar in front of our LG TV was in our line of sight. I found a fix by purchasing a TV riser from Syracuse TV Risers. They are excellent solid wood TV stands, and you can order custom made!
-J.R., East Hampstead, New Hampshire
A. After receiving your email I checked out syracusetvrisers.com and this looks to be a great option for those looking for more TV clearance or component space. Thanks for the tip!
Super-handy household gadget: Next week I will feature one of the most surprisingly useful and fun household gadgets I have ever tested. It has a multitude of uses around the home, car and outdoors, sports a really cool name and sells for about $30! Don't miss it!
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The Verge
a day ago
- The Verge
Anker Nebula X1 review: a terrific home theater that goes anywhere
I seldom sleep in the same place for more than a couple of weeks at a time, so I'm a big fan of portable all-in-one projectors. They're small and set up quickly, making them ideal for vanlife, gaming parties, outdoor movie nights, or an evening in on the couch — but they usually sacrifice quality for convenience. Anker's new Nebula X1 projector promises to produce an incredibly bright and color-accurate 4K image with excellent sound while remaining portable and quiet. Typically, if portability is at the top of your wish list, then sound and picture quality will suffer. Prioritize a cinematic experience and you're looking at an expensive, hulking, noisy device that requires permanent placement inside a home theater. Over a month of testing across endless firmware updates and a variety of viewing conditions, the Nebula X1 did a superb job of striking the right balance with very few tradeoffs, delivering on Anker's promise. But with a price starting at $2,999, or $3,998 for a kit that includes the highly recommended satellite speakers, it's not exactly cheap. And at close to 25 pounds (11.3kg) for the entire bundle — the Nebula X1 is more luggable than portable. 9 Verge Score The Nebula X1 is a 3500 ANSI lumen triple-laser 4K projector with integrated four-speaker sound system. It runs Google TV so you get built-in Chromecast, Google Assistant, and an official Netflix app (unlike many all-in-one projectors) that streams media over Wi-Fi 6. It includes a pair of USB and HDMI 2.1 ports (one supporting eARC) to attach your favorite game console or media drive. A satisfying, recessed handle pops up with a push to make the 13.7 pound (6.2kg) projection unit portable. There's a long list of features that make the X1 unique for a portable projector: Note: I did my best with the photographs, but they can only approximate the brightness, color, and contrast viewed with the naked eye. I'll just say it: the X1's image quality is unmatched for a go-anywhere all-in-one projector. Its 3500 ANSI lumen output is better than many home theater projectors, allowing it to produce a vivid image across a range of challenging environments with no apparent optical distortion. It looked great at default settings when tested in a variety of lighting situations on painted walls, a traditional white-matte pulldown screen, a gray Ambient Light Rejection (ALR) screen, and a small folding Ikea tabletop. The X1 will attempt to dynamically balance the colors and contrast on whatever surface it detects. Mostly it works, but colors, especially reds, tend to be over-saturated out of the box, making Gwyneth Paltrow's face overly ruddy, especially on my ALR screen. Anker offers plenty of manual overrides to dial in the exact image you prefer with just a few minutes of work. The X1's lumen count made casual viewings possible in spaces flooded with ambient light. At times, I found the image to be too bright, especially when all that light was focused into a 32-inch diagonal on a glossy Ikea panel from just five feet (about 1.5 meters) away. Fortunately, you can manually reduce the power and iris settings to dim the image. That class-leading brightness makes the X1's HDR10 and Dolby Vision support more than just checkmarks on a sales sheet — color is mostly accurate with plenty of contrast, but it's still a DLP projector, so don't expect true blacks. The X1's lumen count should also do a decent job with 3D if you own DLP 3D glasses (I did not test this). Importantly for a portable, the Nebula X1 features all the automatic placement features you'd expect. These include automatic focus, keystone correction, and obstacle avoidance, as well as automatic color adaptation to optimize the image based on the color of the paint or material used on the projection surface. These can be triggered manually from the device, Nebula app, or remote control, or set to engage at startup and when the projector is moved. Autofocus worked 100 precent of the time, while the automatic placement features worked well when there was a clear border. I had to manually correct the edges more often than not when projected onto a blank white wall. Startup is relatively fast. You can begin navigating Google TV in about 45 seconds from a cold boot, or just a few seconds if resuming from standby. There's also an 'Extreme' game mode that disables digital keystone correction and motion smoothing to devote all that background processing to faster response times. For casual game play, the very slight lag is something you quickly get used to. The bundled mics, I can confirm, are fun for karaoke nights. Sound is the killer feature of the Nebula X1. Even without the satellites, the sound is clear and immersive and easily fills a room. Connecting the optional battery-powered satellite speakers over a direct, low-latency 5.8GHz Wi-Fi connection to the main unit takes things to another level. The satellites link automatically at startup and transform the X1's four internal speakers into a makeshift subwoofer, while the three speakers in each satellite take over responsibility for center, top, and side channels. The resulting soundscape is wide and impressive and plenty loud enough for a group to enjoy outdoors — so long as you have accommodating neighbors. There's also a 'Bluetooth Speaker Mode' that turns off the projection lamp to play music with plenty of bass when full, rich, warm audio is all the entertainment required. I used this feature several hours a day which helps to maximize value for money. With the audio turned down the projector is largely silent thanks to its liquid cooling. The fan kicked in on an especially hot day of testing, but I could barely hear it (measuring just 26dB from a distance of 1 meter) over the regular din of a living room or waves crashing beyond. As expected, the X1 did not deliver on the promise of 4.2.1 surround sound. I struggled to hear any simulated channel separation from overhead or behind. Anker lists some strict placement requirements that I couldn't meet exactly in testing — you might have better luck. Those satellites also dropped connection occasionally requiring manual intervention that sometimes resulted in an audible pop. It's a little annoying, and has improved with each firmware update. I saw 19 hours of battery life from those satellites (the projector does not have a battery) in my testing. That included two hours of film watched outdoors at a loud 50 percent volume, and the rest spent vibing to music at a relaxed 20 to 30 percent. Those IP54-rated satellite speakers even survived a small rain shower when I forgot them outside once. Overall, I don't have any real complaints. Sometimes the automatic image placement features can miss the mark, but I find them far more useful than annoying. Sometimes the satellite speakers don't pair properly, but that can be quickly fixed with a power toggle. The Google UI verges on sluggish at times, but it's faster than any other portable implementation I've tried. And I've seen far too many firmware updates, but things keep improving. Anker's Nebula X1 has left me utterly impressed. It produces incredibly immersive sound for its size, alongside a bright, vivid image comparable to home theater projectors costing closer to $5,000. The Nebula X1 with the satellite speaker bundle is expensive at $3,998, but anyone who finds themselves in need of a projector that can quickly approximate a home theater experience anywhere they go will get their money's worth. Photography by Thomas Ricker / The Verge
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