Dangbei Neo: Impressive DLP projector for home entertainment
Dangbei Neo Projector. Pictures: Dangbei.
The Dangbei Neo is an impressive DLP projector with official licenses for popular streaming platforms like Netflix, YouTube, and Prime Video. It boasts a 1080P resolution, delivering crisp and vibrant visuals that bring your favourite movies, TV shows, and videos to life.
The Neo has s a familiar yet refined design, with a compact and squarish form factor that won’t look out of place on any entertainment display cabinet or shelf. At 1.42kg, the Neo is compact and lightweight, which makes it incredibly easy to handle and transport, allowing you to move it from room to room effortlessly.
The sleek exterior is complemented by long metal speaker grilles that adorn the front and sides, adding a touch of sophistication to its overall aesthetic.
You'll find a generously sized outtake vent on the projector's rear, ensuring efficient heat dissipation for prolonged usage. The back panel also houses all the essential ports you'll need, including DC power, S-PDIF, LAN, HDMI with support for ARC (Audio Return Channel), and two USB 2.0 connections.
While the Neo is easily transportable, providing flexibility in terms of placement, it is essential to have access to a power outlet to keep it running, as it doesn’t have a built-in battery, but this would only add to the weight, size and expense. This reliance on a power source may restrict its potential for truly portable usage, which could be a drawback for users seeking untethered convenience.
The four rubber feet help to keep the Neo stable on a table or shelf, and a tripod-compatible hole on the base offers additional setup options.
A large physical button is the only feature on the top of the project, but there are no other controls. This means you won’t be able to use the Neo if you lose the remote control.
The heat vent at the back pushes out warm air to keep the internals cool. It runs quietly and never gets uncomfortable, even when sitting close to the unit.
The Neo is capable of 540 ANSI lumens, which is good but not bright enough for daytime viewing unless you can control the lighting with blackout blinds. It is bright enough for moderately lit rooms, but there are a lot of variables, including the distance from and size of your projector screen, to consider. Dangbei claims the project is capable of projecting up to a 120-inch screen. I used a 100-inch projector screen for my testing, which worked great. Of course, the smaller the screen, the better the clarity, contrast and vibrancy of colours.
With an impressive LED lifespan of 30,000 hours, the Neo ensures you can indulge in countless hours of entertainment without worrying about replacing the lamp.
The Neo has a ToF sensor that helps to projector automatically focus, correct keystones and resize the display to fit the screen. These are excellent user-friendly features, especially if you change your setup frequently. However, I recommend the manual controls for a more permanent setup because it gives you full control over everything to ensure you get the best image.
The Neo has two 6W Dolby Digital speakers built-in. These get reasonably loud, and the sound quality is good but not exceptional. I think many users will be happy with the sound from the Neo, but you have many other options. I tested the HDMI port by directly connecting the Neo to a soundbar supporting HDMI Arc. It worked, but I needed a long HDMI cable, which may not suit every setup.
The Neo also supports Bluetooth 5.0, so I could connect it to the soundbar via Bluetooth. The final option is to use the P/PDIF optical port, which requires a long cable to run from the projector to a speaker under the projector screen.
The Image quality of such a compact DLP projector with 540 ANSI lumens is impressive. It supports HDR10 and HLG and about 90% coverage of the DCI-P3 colour space. While it supports HDR10, I didn’t think it was bright enough to display HDR content at its best fully. This was particularly noticeable in dark scenes where details were lost in the shadows. However, most video content looked fantastic, with vibrant colours and clarity.
The Neo is powered by Linux, which is fast and efficient when loading apps and streaming content. It comes pre-loaded with Netflix and Prime Video, but not Disney +, Apple TV +, Paramount TV or even local TV streaming platform from Virgin or RTE. It does have an app store, but your choice of apps is limited.
If you’re happy with just Netflix and Prime Video, then great. If not, the easy solution to getting all your favourite streaming apps is to use a Chromecast with Google TV, Apple TV, Firestick or similar hardware. A Google TV with a remote costs €39.99 and has all the apps you’d need.
Casting is also limited to Miracast, with no Google Chromecast or Apple AirPlay support.
The Neo works surprisingly well as a gaming projector, albeit for casual gaming. The latency (30ms) is barely noticeable but enough to put off hard-core gamers. You can hook up your Switch, Xbox or Playstation using the HDMI input for awesome big-screen action with friends and family.
The Dangbei Neo is an impressive DLP projector with official licenses for popular streaming platforms. It delivers crisp 1080P visuals and boasts a sleek and refined design. While not suitable for daytime viewing, its brightness is sufficient for moderately lit rooms. The LED lifespan ensures long-lasting entertainment, and the built-in speakers offer good sound quality.
Overall, the Dangbei Neo offers a compelling home entertainment experience with a few minor limitations in software support.
The Dangbei Neo is available from Amazon.co.uk in black or white for €700
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