The Nebula Mars II Pro by Anker is a cute, tiny moveable projector.
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Anker’s Nebula Mars II Pro is a stunning little projector. And I do imply little. It’s sufficiently small to cover fully underneath 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 good companion for a film night time within the yard or someplace farther afield. And along with being a projector, it is also a giant Bluetooth speaker.
LikeCompact sizeBuilt-in battery lasts as much as 3.5 hoursSurprisingly loud audio system
Don’t LikePoor brightness and distinctionIncorrect colorLimited app storeRequires charging brick
Video high quality will likely be adequate for a lot of viewers, however in contrast with a equally priced residence projector it is dimmer, with worse distinction ratio and shade accuracy. Compared with different tiny, battery-powered projectors nonetheless, the picture could be very watchable and audio system sound surprisingly highly effective. The predominant cause to get the Mars II Pro is if you’d like ultra-portable video, particularly outside. It’s straightforward to place close to a wall or display screen and stream some Netflix inside minutes, anyplace. If you propose to make use of it repeatedly in the identical room inside, nonetheless, you are most likely higher off with a extra conventional projector.
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 may assume. It would match simply inside any backpack with loads of room to spare for a water bottle, hoodie or digicam. Anker may have made the carrying strap out of cheap-feeling plastic, however has a faux-leather prime and is comfortable beneath. It’s good to the touch. There are buttons on the highest for all the essential 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 screen. Resolution is 720p, which is fairly low for a projector as of late 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 nice 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 machine, so you possibly can really obtain exhibits to its 8GB inner storage.
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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 loads on a projector like this. The USB port helps you to stream content material from a USB reminiscence stick, or you possibly can cost a tool (like your telephone), utilizing the Mars II Pro’s beefy battery. That’s it for bodily connections, aside from the ability port, which requires a separate energy brick. That’s a bummer: I’m a hardliner “everything portable should charge via USB.” If you need to cost the projector away from residence, you may need to 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 telephone or connect with some accessible Wi-Fi. You do not get the total Google Play Store, nonetheless, and even Android TV. Instead, it is Aptoide, a form 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 could or might not acknowledge. There’s HBO Nordic and HBO Go, however no US HBO or HBO Max. Chromecast just isn’t supported. Overall it isn’t unhealthy, however you won’t have the ability to discover each service you are used to. The distant is wafer skinny, however not backlit. That’s tremendous since you’re most likely 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, a number of the apps really require the app. Control within the projector’s menus works tremendous, however it’s kind of clunky within the Netflix app for example. Not a giant subject, however it might 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, however it’s pretty loud and the sound high quality is best than I anticipated from such a small machine. This is without doubt one of the few projectors I’ve really turned down to realize a standard listening stage.
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Picture high quality comparisons I in contrast the Mars II Pro to the ViewSonic M2, one other moveable projector, and the Optoma HD146X, a conventional plug-in PJ. The M2 is similar to the Anker, can run off a battery and in addition runs apps from the Aptoide retailer. The Optoma is a really completely different projector, and solely a direct competitor in a single sense: worth.
I’ve a sense the Mars II Pro may entice the eye of somebody not sometimes focused on projectors, so the Optoma is right here for example of what comparable cash can get you in a non-portable, commonplace projector. I linked these through a Monoprice 1×4 distribution amplifier and seen all on a 102-inch 1.0-gain display screen. Top view with carrying strap
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First up is brightness. The M2 and Mars II are remarkably comparable. Their mild outputs and distinction ratios are mainly similar. In each instances, this quantity is “fine.” Considering the dimensions and their potential 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 shifting the Anker nearer, which can create a smaller however brighter picture. The Optoma, however, is considerably brighter than both one. On a identical measurement display screen I measured over 127 nits, which is over 5 instances brighter than the Mars II. The Optoma is far more watchable at 100 inches. And should you use the Optoma’s most shade correct mode, it is nonetheless twice as brilliant as the opposite two. And we undoubtedly want to speak about shade. The Mars II Pro has a number of the least correct colours of any projector I’ve ever reviewed. Blue is the one shade out of the three major and three secondary colours that’s correct. Green is oversaturated. Yellow is not however is sort of greenish-yellow. Magenta is oversaturated and too blue. The outcome appears to be like such as you’ve bought the colour management a number of ticks above the place it needs to be. It’s not bizarre, per se, and total it nonetheless appears to be like higher than the M2, however total it is undoubtedly extra Speed Racer than The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Side by aspect with the Optoma, it is night time 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 way 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 method 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 you can’t alter distinction to revive clipped particulars in brilliant whites.
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Contrast ratio, just like the brightness, is appropriate given the class. I measured a median 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 mainly 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 may assume. In reality, as a result of the Anker’s black stage is a bit of decrease than the M2 it appears to be like a bit of higher. The M2 could be very barely brighter, which is not noticeable. That black stage 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 screen that is most noticeable should you’re shut sufficient to note the person pixels, that are pretty massive. If you shrink the picture right down to 60-80 inches, it appears to be like detailed sufficient that it would not look comfortable.
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 recognized for video gear are likely to miss some essential issues in terms of projectors. For occasion, image high quality. Overall I’m impressed that Anker bought quite a bit proper with the Mars II Pro. At least when graded on the curve of worth, measurement and battery energy. Compared with a median residence projector it comes up quick in each efficiency metric, so If you are in search of one thing that can by no means stray too removed from an outlet, you are higher off with a extra “traditional” projector. But if you’d like one thing moveable to look at motion pictures outdoors, the Mars II Pro has a terrific design, sounds good, is straightforward to make use of and has a extra watchable picture than the ViewSonic M2 — all for much less cash. As nicely as overlaying TV and different show tech, Geoff does picture excursions of cool museums and areas all over the world, together with nuclear submarines, large plane carriers, medieval castles, airplane graveyards and extra. You can observe 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.