Dangbei has improved its performance compared to last year’s DBOX02, and the new MP1 Max enhances colour accuracy and brightness.
The company does this by using a new LED/triple-layer projection method that looks fantastic. I was blown away when I first turned it on, and movies look amazing on it with really colourful images and solid HDR.
Like many other living projectors these days, the MP1 MAX uses a built-in gimbal stand to make it easy to place the unit on a table and point at a wall. A nice perk, compared to the JMGO Ultimate I tested last year, which has the same design, is that the MP1 has a quarter-twenty screw hole in the bottom, so it does work with regular tripods if you want to put it on a stand or take it outside.
Even in an ambient-lit room, this projector is very watchable.
Combined with the stand, Dangbei has improved its image adaptation software this year, which makes it easy to point this at a wall or screen and watch a movie without needing to fiddle with the focus or keystone features. It’s still not as good as LG’s, but it’s getting closer. Of course, there are still manual controls for dialling it in yourself.
Like other mid-range projectors, the MP1 Max has eye avoidance. If it detects you walking in front of the laser light, it will dim things down until you’ve cleared it. This works well, but like the JMGO implementation, it could activate a little faster since it takes a half-second to actually turn off, so you can still get some bright light in your eyes. In the end, it’s not a huge deal, and not everyone will likely use this feature.
The speakers are pretty good when the projector is on the table in front of you or just behind your head. It has nice stereo separation, and the bass has a good impact. However, the further you get away from this, the worse it gets. I find the sound doesn’t carry as well as I’d like for this. It won’t matter since it should be enough for most living rooms, but you might need a Bluetooth speaker if you plan to take it outside for a movie night.
The screen really is the star of the show. It can project an image anywhere from 40 to 300 inches and looks incredibly crisp. I wasn’t able to get it up to a complete 300, but at 150 inches, it looks fantastic. The brightness and colour gamut allow this TV to support HDR10+, which really makes modern movies with good HDR look incredible. While testing, I rewatched Jurassic Park from a 4K disc, and it felt like being in a theatre. I had zero complaints.
I do have an issue with the lack of IO on the back. There are two HDMI 2.1 ports, one of which is eARC. Most of the projectors I’ve tested only have two HDMI ports, so this seems like par for the course, but I would just love the option to have one more, so I could have two things and a sound system plugged in at the same time. You could use the AUX port for audio output or Bluetooth, but regardless, two HDMI ports are a bit limiting.
The other area that could use a bit of improvement is the Google TV projector software. It’s not bad and gives you access to all the streaming apps you’d ever need, but when you try to dive deeper into the settings, it starts to show its limitations. I’d love the ability to set a true default input as well.
When it comes to the image quality, I have no complaints.
Overall, the image quality alone makes this projector worth it, and all the other features are mostly icing on the cake. It even comes with a decent case if you want to travel with it. I would have been nice if this were a little smaller, like the previous DBOX from the company, but it’s not outlandishly big and should still fit on a lot of tables and shelves. If you need a home projector and you’ve got some budget to spend, this one won’t disappoint.
You can buy the Dangbei MP1 Max from the company for $1,999, but as of the time of writing it’s discounted to $1,799.
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