Dangbei is one among a quartet of Chinese language projector producers — alongside XGIMI, JMGO, and Formovie — which are dominating gross sales globally. House projectors have gotten way more accessible in recent times due to the proliferation of Chinese language manufacturers, and that is notably true when you think about what the Mars Professional 2 has to supply: this projector makes use of a laser gentle supply and goes as much as 2450 lumen, exhaustive connectivity choices, a smooth design, and Google OS with Netflix pre-installed.
The Mars Professional 2 goes up towards the likes of the JMGO N1 Extremely and XGIMI’s current Horizon S Max, but it surely manages to undercut each rivals, with Dangbei as soon as once more delivering a stellar worth. The projector is routinely discounted to $1,359, and that makes it a terrific possibility to contemplate should you’re concerned about selecting up a brand new dwelling projector.
I used the Mars Professional 2 for a month, and here is why I feel it is without doubt one of the greatest projectors on this class.
Dangbei Mars Professional 2: Pricing and availability
Dangbei unveiled the Mars Professional 2 (DBOX02) in Could 2024, and the projector is now accessible globally. The Mars Professional 2 has a retail worth of $1,899, however it’s normally offered for $1,499, and I’ve seen it go right down to as little as $1,299. As of writing, it’s accessible on Amazon for $1,359, which is a really cheap worth.
If you happen to’re within the projector, it’s best to choose up the bundle that features a gimbal stand; it makes establishing and utilizing the Mars Professional 2 that a lot simpler, and it’s additionally accessible for $1,359 now. Do not want 4K? There’s an ordinary mannequin of the Mars accessible, and it has the identical design, will get as much as 2100 lumens, and prices $999.
Dangbei Mars Professional 2: Design
There are projectors that look fashionable; XGIMI’s Horizon S Max makes use of gold accents liberally, and has a material cowl that provides it added class. And transportable choices just like the Xming Episode One and XGIMI MoGo 3 Professional have distinct styling that grabs consideration, however with the Mars Professional 2, Dangbei went with a confirmed design as an alternative of creating the projector stand out.
The Mars Professional 2 has a black coloration scheme with a darkish blue grille that covers the perimeters and again of the projector, and the design itself is respectable. It jogs my memory of the Horizon Professional, and whereas it has an aluminum body, the grille is plastic. There are not any points with the construct high quality, and the projector is not any larger than its rivals.
The vents on the perimeters and again help with airflow, and like different dwelling projectors, you get a sizeable fan that takes care of energetic cooling. The fan is audible when the Mars Professional 2 is energetic, but it surely does not get so loud as to be an annoyance. The appropriate facet is the consumption, and the exhaust vents from the left as an alternative of the again.
My solely subject with the design is using shiny supplies. The entrance fascia has a shiny panel, and the highest additionally has an analogous shiny end, and either side simply choose up mud and finger smudges and want fixed cleansing. Dangbei ought to have used the identical matte texture all through.
Dangbei sells a gimbal stand accent with the Mars Professional 2, and I extremely advocate selecting it up should you’re within the projector. I did not get the stand, and it was cumbersome to vary the angle and peak of the projector — this is not an issue should you’re going the ceiling-mounted route.
Dangbei Mars Professional 2: Options
The Mars Professional 2 has higher connectivity than different projectors I examined lately. You get twin HDMI ports on the again, with one port providing eARC and the opposite based mostly on the HDMI 2.1 customary. The twin USB-A ports will let you plug in storage drives, and there is optical out, Ethernet, and three.5mm out. Different connectivity contains Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2, and I did not see any points utilizing the projector on my dwelling community — it maintained a stable sign within the month I used it.
You get the standard options which are customary on all dwelling projectors on this class, together with auto keystone correction, autofocus, eye safety — once you get near the lens — and impediment avoidance. Auto keystone works reliably, however the Mars Professional 2 is not as quick because the Horizon S Max at correcting the picture, and there have been cases the place it refused to take action in any respect — I had to make use of guide correction to arrange the picture as an alternative.
Coming to the internals, the Mars Professional 2 is powered by the standard quartet of A53 cores, and also you get 2GB of RAM and 32GB of eMMC 5.1 storage. The restricted reminiscence means you get the occasional stutter when navigating the Google TV interface, and projector producers really want to start out together with at the very least 3GB of RAM as customary on their fashions.
Dangbei Mars Professional 2: Image and sound high quality
Dangbei did a terrific job with the Mars Professional 2 relating to the projection high quality, and it is ready to go as much as 2,450 lumens. The projector has a 1.27:1 throw ratio, and is ready to ship as much as a 200-inch picture — I examined it at an 80-inch projection. It makes use of an ALPD laser gentle supply with a quoted length of 30,000 hours, and a 0.47-inch DMD chip.
The Mars Professional 2 does not get fairly as brilliant because the Horizon S Max, however it’s on par with the JMGO N1 Extremely on this regard. You continue to get a brilliant projection, and you should utilize the projector in the course of the day — even when there’s ambient gentle. There’s an auto brightness characteristic that does a ok job, however I did not use it a lot outdoors of testing its efficacy at day and night time.
Picture high quality itself is implausible, and did not see any points on this space. You get vibrant colours and respectable distinction ranges, and it does a terrific job with HDR content material. There is not any Dolby Imaginative and prescient integration, however you get HDR10+, and a devoted low-latency mode that permits you to use the Mars Professional 2 with a console.
There are 4 image modes, and also you get a Customized mode that permits you to tweak the colours and brightness to your preferences — you may tweak particular person settings in every mode as properly. I discovered coloration steadiness to be one of the best in Film mode, however you may simply change modes or modify colours. The devoted Gaming mode toggle will be activated once you join an HDMI supply — like a console — and it switches to decrease latency.
Brightness is nice out of the field, however should you want one of the best the projector has to supply, you will have to allow Excessive Efficiency mode. Doing so prompts the fan always, however you get significantly better brightness ranges, and this mode makes all of the distinction if you wish to use the Mars Professional 2 in the course of the day.
Onboard sound is nice as properly due to the twin 12W drivers, and it’s loud sufficient that you could get away and not using a devoted audio system. It is not as detailed because the Horizon S Max, however you continue to get good vibrancy general.
Dangbei Mars Professional 2: Software program
The Mars Professional 2 comes with an ordinary Google TV interface, and also you get Netflix pre-installed. The opposite two projectors I discussed within the part above — Horizon S Max and N1 Extremely — do not have a dependable means to make use of Netflix, so its inclusion on the Mars Professional 2 offers the projector a bonus.
Aside from that, you get the identical Google TV interface as every other system. There is a wall of adverts once you go to the house display screen, and you may set up streaming companies of your selection by way of the Play Retailer. The interface was laggy at occasions — largely with HDR content material — but it surely wasn’t an enormous drawback. I discovered the interface to be higher than that of most XGIMI projectors, however truthfully, you’ll need to make use of a devoted dongle if you wish to take advantage of out of the projector — I like to recommend the Protect TV Professional.
You get a very good distant as properly; it has a curved again that makes it simple to carry, and there are devoted buttons for YouTube, Netflix and Prime Video. It does not have backlit buttons, however outdoors of that, I did not see any issues utilizing it.
Dangbei Mars Professional 2: The competitors
XGIMI’s Horizon S Max is the plain challenger to the Mars Professional 2. The projector has a gimbal design, a brighter projector, and also you get Dolby Imaginative and prescient integration. It’s costlier at $1,899, and whereas it does a greater job with HDR content material and has a brighter picture, you get a single HDMI port, and there is not any Netflix integration.
JMGO N1 Extremely is respectable as properly. It will get a smidgen brighter than the Mars Professional 2 in common use, and I actually just like the gimbal-mounted design. The largest subject with the projector is that it does not have Netflix pre-installed; if that is not an issue, then the N1 Extremely is a good possibility at $1,399. The N1S Extremely is now accessible, and whereas it has Netflix, it’s a hefty $2,399, and it does not make any sense to shell out that a lot money.
Dangbei Mars Professional 2: Do you have to purchase it?
You can purchase this if:
- You need a laser projector that can be utilized in the course of the day
- You want nice picture and sound high quality
- You need Google TV with Netflix
- You need good connectivity
You should not purchase this if:
- You want a projector that is comparatively simple to arrange and use
- You need a chassis that is not susceptible to mud
The Mars Professional 2 does not have a flamboyant design, but it surely comes with the options you will truly find yourself utilizing. It is clear that Dangbei centered its consideration on picture high quality and connectivity, and the Mars Professional 2 outshines its rivals in these areas. Google TV integration means you do not have to fret about any streaming companies being omitted, and pre-installed Netflix is an enormous differentiator.
The projector will get brilliant sufficient that you could simply use it in the course of the day, and I did not see any points on this regard within the month I used the Mars Professional 2. The picture high quality itself is among the many greatest on this class, and also you get respectable onboard sound — sufficient to fill a small room.
What I additionally like is that the Mars Professional 2 does not price as a lot as its rivals; coming in at $1,359, it’s a terrific worth — notably when you think about what you are getting with the projector. If you happen to’re out there for a house laser projector and want one thing that is versatile and has Google TV with Netflix, the Mars Professional 2 is your best option below $1,500.