The Nebula Mars II Pro by Anker is a cute, tiny moveable projector. Geoffrey Morrison/CNETAnker’s Nebula Mars II Pro is a shocking little moveable mini projector. And I do imply little. It’s sufficiently small to cover utterly beneath a six-pack of Coke. With built-in streaming and a battery good for round three and a half hours of projection, the Mars II Pro is a superb companion for a film evening within the yard or someplace farther afield. And along with being a projector, it is also an enormous Bluetooth speaker. Like
Compact dimension
Built-in battery lasts as much as 3.5 hours
Surprisingly loud audio system
Don’t like
Worse brightness and distinction than house projectors
Inaccurate coloration
Limited app retailer
Requires charging brick
Video high quality might be ok for a lot of viewers, however in contrast with a equally priced house projector it’s miles dimmer, with worse distinction ratio and coloration accuracy. Compared with different tiny, battery-powered projectors nevertheless, the picture may be very watchable and audio system sound surprisingly highly effective. The predominant cause to get the Mars II Pro is if you need ultra-portable video, particularly outside. It’s straightforward to place close to a wall or display and stream some Netflix inside minutes, wherever. If you propose to make use of it repeatedly in the identical room inside, nevertheless, you are in all probability higher off with a extra conventional projector. Editor’s be aware, Dec. 1: Due to its efficiency, dimension and worth, we’re giving the Nebula Mars II Pro our Editors’ Choice award as our favourite moveable projector. While there are newer moveable mini projectors which can be brighter and simpler to make use of, those that outperform this Anker — just like the Xgimi Halo Plus — are additionally costlier. The Mars II Pro is a superb all-around projector for the value. Basic specs Native decision: 1,280×720 pixelsHDR-compatible: No4K-compatible: No3D-compatible: NoLumens spec: 500Zoom: NoneLens shift: NoneLamp life (Normal mode): 30,000 hoursThe Mars II Pro is smaller than you would possibly suppose. It would match simply inside any backpack with loads of room to spare for a water bottle, hoodie or digicam. Anker might have made the carrying strap out of cheap-feeling plastic, however has a faux-leather high and is smooth beneath. It’s good to the touch. There are buttons on the highest for all the fundamental features, however no controls for zoom or focus. This is logical since there is not any zoom and focus is computerized. An built-in slide-open lens cap additionally turns the projector on and off. To get a 100-inch picture, the Mars II Pro must be about 9 toes from the display. Resolution is 720p, which is fairly low for a projector lately and decrease than the competing ViewSonic M2, which is 1080p. The LED lamp is rated at 30,000 hours. Max brightness is a claimed 500 lumens. I measured about 37 nits, which calculates out to about 337 lumens. For comparability, the ViewSonic M2 produces 349 lumens by my measurements, whereas the marginally costlier, however far much less moveable, Optoma HD146X places out round 1,146. Anker claims the inner 12,500-mAh battery is sweet for about three and a half hours viewing time, and about that lengthy to cost again up once more. If you retain it within the excessive brightness mode, that drops to 1 and a half hours. If you are simply utilizing the Mars II as a Bluetooth speaker, Anker claims about 30 hours for audio-only playback. Though not particularly talked about as a characteristic by Anker, some apps deal with the Mars II Pro as a cellular gadget, so you’ll be able to truly obtain exhibits to its 8GB inside storage. Geoffrey Morrison/CNET Connectivity and comfort HDMI inputs: 1USB port: 1 Audio enter and output: 3.5mm outputDigital audio output: NoneWi-Fi: 802.11a/b/g/nRemote: Not backlitThere is one HDMI enter, which is lots on a projector like this. The USB port enables you to stream content material from a USB reminiscence stick, or you’ll be able to cost a tool (like your cellphone), utilizing the Mars II Pro’s beefy battery. That’s it for bodily connections, apart from the facility port, which requires a separate energy brick. That’s a bummer: I’m a hardliner “everything portable should charge via USB.” If you wish to cost the projector away from house, you may should pack the brick too. The Mars II Pro’s runs Android 7.1, which places all of the streaming functionality contained in the PJ. So all you want is to tether the projector to your cellphone or connect with some obtainable Wi-Fi. You do not get the total Google Play Store, nevertheless, and even Android TV. Instead, it is Aptoide, a type of culled or curated model of the Play Store. It’s a little bit of a legal responsibility with the ViewSonic M2, and it is no higher right here. There’s Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Disney Plus and others you might or could not acknowledge. There’s HBO Nordic and HBO Go, however no US HBO or HBO Max. Chromecast will not be supported. Overall it is not dangerous, however you may not be capable to discover each service you are used to. The distant is wafer skinny, however not backlit. That’s wonderful since you’re in all probability not going to make use of it. Instead, there’s the Anker Connect app (Android and iOS), which connects simply and does all the identical issues. In reality, among the apps truly require the app. Control within the projector’s menus works wonderful, however it’s kind of clunky within the Netflix app as an illustration. Not an enormous concern, nevertheless it could possibly be smoother. There are two side-firing 10-watt audio system and an oblong passive radiator within the entrance. That would not sound like a lot, nevertheless it’s pretty loud and the sound high quality is healthier than I anticipated from such a small gadget. This is among the few projectors I’ve truly turned down to attain a standard listening degree. Geoffrey Morrison/CNET Picture high quality comparisons I in contrast the Mars II Pro to the ViewSonic M2, one other moveable projector, and the Optoma HD146X, a standard plug-in PJ. The M2 is similar to the Anker, can run off a battery and likewise runs apps from the Aptoide retailer. The Optoma is a really totally different projector, and solely a direct competitor in a single sense: worth. I’ve a sense the Mars II Pro would possibly entice the eye of somebody not usually fascinated about projectors, so the Optoma is right here for example of what comparable cash can get you in a non-portable, customary projector. I related these by way of a Monoprice 1×4 distribution amplifier and seen all on a 102-inch 1.0-gain display. Top view with carrying strap Geoffrey Morrison/CNETFirst up is brightness. The M2 and Mars II are remarkably comparable. Their gentle outputs and distinction ratios are principally equivalent. In each instances, this quantity is “fine.” Considering the dimensions and their capability to run off batteries, someplace round 300 lumens is appropriate. When making a 100-inch picture that equates to about 37 nits. That’s sufficient for a watchable, albeit dim, picture. You’re higher off transferring the Anker nearer, which can create a smaller however brighter picture. The Optoma, then again, is considerably brighter than both one. On a identical dimension display I measured over 127 nits, which is over 5 instances brighter than the Mars II. The Optoma is way more watchable at 100 inches. And for those who use the Optoma’s most coloration correct mode, it is nonetheless twice as shiny as the opposite two. And we undoubtedly want to speak about coloration. The Mars II Pro has among the least correct colours of any projector I’ve ever reviewed. Blue is the one coloration out of the three main and three secondary colours that’s correct. Green is oversaturated. Yellow is not however is kind of greenish-yellow. Magenta is oversaturated and too blue. The end result appears to be like such as you’ve received the colour management a number of ticks above the place it ought to be. It’s not bizarre, per se, and general it nonetheless appears to be like higher than the M2, however general it is undoubtedly extra Speed Racer than The Grand Budapest Hotel. Side by aspect with the Optoma, it is evening and day. Or not less than Technicolor and Kodachrome. The Optoma is not tremendous correct itself, and really errs on the aspect of being undersaturated, however its colours look much more pure than the Anker. Unlike the Optoma, the Mars II would not have intensive image settings. It has two. You can alter the colour temperature: Normal, Cool and Warm, and even essentially the most correct (Warm) continues to be manner too cool. You can alter the lamp settings: Standard, Battery and Auto. Standard is its brightest. Battery is dim however will get you that three-plus hour view time. Auto switches between the 2 different modes relying on whether or not or not the projector is plugged in. That’s it. No brightness, distinction, tint. One result’s that you could’t alter distinction to revive clipped particulars in shiny whites. Geoffrey Morrison/CNETContrast ratio, just like the brightness, is appropriate given the class. I measured a mean of 354:1 throughout all modes. That appears low, and it’s, however the majority of sub-$1,000 projectors are solely two or thrice that. The excessive finish of that efficiency vary, the BenQ HT2050A is 2,094:1. The ViewSonic is principally the identical because the Anker, at 376:1. The Optoma is 568:1. The Anker’s picture lacks punch however not as a lot as you would possibly suppose. In reality, as a result of the Anker’s black degree is slightly decrease than the M2 it appears to be like slightly higher. The M2 may be very barely brighter, which is not noticeable. That black degree is even decrease than the Optoma, however that projector is a lot brighter this edge is not related. Lastly we come to element. Both the M2 and HD146X are 1080p to the Anker’s 720p. On a 100-inch display that is most noticeable for those who’re shut sufficient to note the person pixels, that are pretty giant. If you shrink the picture right down to 60-80 inches, it appears to be like detailed sufficient that it would not look smooth. Conclusion Honestly, I wasn’t anticipating a lot from the Mars II Pro. I’ve been underwhelmed with most battery-powered moveable projectors I’ve reviewed. I’ve additionally discovered that corporations not identified for video gear are inclined to miss some vital issues with regards to projectors. For occasion, image high quality. Overall I’m impressed that Anker received quite a bit proper with the Mars II Pro. At least when graded on the curve of worth, dimension and battery energy. Compared with a mean house projector it comes up brief in each efficiency metric, so If you are searching for one thing that may by no means stray too removed from an outlet, you are higher off with a extra “traditional” projector. But if you need one thing moveable to look at motion pictures outdoors, the Mars II Pro has an important design, sounds good, is simple to make use of and has a extra watchable picture than the ViewSonic M2 — all for much less cash. As nicely as masking TV and different show tech, Geoff does photograph excursions of cool museums and places around the globe, together with nuclear submarines, large plane carriers, medieval castles, airplane graveyards and extra. You can comply with his exploits on Instagram and YouTube, and on his journey weblog, BaldNomad. He additionally wrote a bestselling sci-fi novel about city-sized submarines, together with a sequel.