You will hear a lot about Dangbei, a Chinese brand about which we will shortly tell you about the Dangbei Mars Pro (a 4 ANSI Lumen 3000K super projector) and which in recent times has stood out for the great value for money of its products, capable of bring top-of-the-line features at more affordable prices than its direct competitors.
Well, Emoton N1 was born with the same concept but from a sub-brand of Dangbei and, ok, with its 500 ANSI lumens, compatibility with HDR10, the possibility of projecting with diagonals up to 120” at a native FullHD resolution it might seem the yet another good product, but it brings with it two features few of its competitors can boast at the same time: a very low price and, above all, the official license for Netflix.
Emotn N1 review: portable projector with laser autofocus and officially licensed for Netflix
Design and materials
With dimensions more or less similar to an XGIMI Halo (here the review), Emoton N1 it is a product far removed from the average Chinese projector. And not only in functionality and image quality, but also in build quality. In essence it is a parallelepiped characterized by elegant and clean shapes, available in two colors, and large 18,2 x 12,5 x 19,2 cm with a weight of about 1.9 kg.
In short, it is compact but it is not among the least bulky on the market, and these dimensions are not only due to the dissipation system and the 5w speakers it integrates, but above all due to the large projection optics which has been centrally positioned in the upper area front of the device.
It can be easily positioned on any tripod, integrates a small stand with which you can adjust the inclination if it is placed on a flat surface, and in the back it has an HDMI input, a USB port, an ethernet port, the 'headphone output as well as, of course, the power button and input for the power supply.
No eArc, therefore, and not even any digital optical output: the only possibilities you will have to connect the projector to a better audio system are either via Bluetooth or via an analog connection with the 3.5mm cable. Too bad, also because as we will see the speakers are able to guarantee playback at very high volumes, but to enjoy a film like at the cinema it will certainly be necessary to use external speakers.
The remote control is also of good quality, which is made of plastic but is very solid and not only has the buttons for controlling the device and focus, but also integrates three quick access buttons for Netflix, Prime Video and YouTube. Too bad, however, that it is delivered without batteries in the package.
Technical features
As often happens when it comes to portable projectors, anyone who has had to deal with fixed projectors will hardly be amazed by the 500 ANSI Lumen peak of theEmoton N1, and actually it is a peak brightness rather in line with the market proposals for portable solutions. Sure, XGIMI's portable projector has about 300 ANSI lumens more, but it's a product that costs almost twice as much as this N1.
The image is generated by a DLP system with a maximum projection resolution of FullHD (but, don't worry, given the product's hardware it will also be possible to project videos and contents in 4K), the lamp should guarantee 30.000 hours of use and can project images 60 to 120 inches (152 to 305 cm).
As I said, the audio coming from the two integrated 5w speakers is good but not exceptional, but the ToF laser autofocus system with which the projector, at each movement, will focus the image painstakingly of decidedly high quality. And if we add this focusing system, with the presence of a good digital corrector of the geometry of the image (capable of working at ±40°) we arrive at the conclusion that theEmoton N1 is one of those do-it-all projectors, designed to also be used on the move.
In any case, it is a portable projector, but not one that has a battery: in order to use theEmoton N1 you will always need to use the power supply that comes in the box, which is quite large.
It supports dual band WiFi, 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, and integrates a bluetooth module with which it will also connect to the remote control.
Video quality
Although it is to all intents and purposes a projector designed to be taken with you, perhaps on holiday, in order to make the most of the video quality of theEmoton N1 it is always better to use a good projection screen, in order to avoid the absorption of light with a corresponding drop in brightness that would occur using surfaces not designed for projection: portable projectors are not as bright as the "fixed" ones, and also using a white sheet could have negative notes.
However, the video quality of the'Emoton N1 it's surprisingly good when compared to its compact size. Sure, it doesn't compare to bigger, more resolute and brighter models, but comparing it to the retail price I have to say that the bar is quite high.
However, like all compact products, looking closely at the image, you will notice a sort of layer on the projection, but it is a decidedly poco incisive that a few meters away becomes practically invisible. And even if it's not a 4K projector (but still capable of playing UltraHD video), FullHD quality is definitely good, also thanks to the excellent factory settings which, if necessary, can be balanced through a very specific section of the operating system in which, among other things, it is also possible to modify the trapezoidal correction which is automatic but only digital.
Software
Emoton N1 uses proprietary software that is based on the Linux kernel and in which applications can be installed through a proprietary store. It must be said, however, that it is not a store as rich as the Google TV PlayStore, but it has the most common streaming apps.
The menu has a very similar style to what we have seen in other products of the category, but it also integrates the previews of the streaming apps that arrive pre-installed: Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube and YouTube Kids are immediately available, and by selecting each of applications on the projector's home screen, thumbnails of the most viewed shows or your personal viewing history will appear at the bottom.
In short, it's not a complex operating system, it's not a dynamic operating system like Google's, but it allows mirroring from smartphones and all in all it has most of the apps you might need with such a product.
Good fluidity and good settings menu, which is simple and intuitive. But pay attention to one thing: when you first start the menu will be in Chinese, and only after having associated the remote control you can set Italian as the system language.
Price and considerations
The selling price ofEmoton N1 it is 499,99 euros on Amazon but, through the box below, you could buy it at a discount for 449,99 euros by activating a 50 euro coupon directly on the product page. And it's a very attractive price for a product that practically costs half the Xgimi Halo and even if it has a few less lumens of brightness, it has one thing that its direct counterpart cannot boast: the official Netflix license which, let's remember, it's not on the Xgimi projector.
In short, the value for money is high, even if I would have preferred that the brand had included a lens cap or, at least, a carrying bag in the package.
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