Chinese electronics firm JMGO is heading to Kickstarter, where its pitching a compact plug-and-play style laser projector that’s powered by a tri-colour laser engine, with the promise of “true-to-life” UHD visuals.
JMGO’s N1 Ultra DLP projector has quite a few unique features, being mounted on a gimbal and powered by a Microstructure Adaptive Laser Control engine that enables its triple-colour laser light source to put out an impressive 4,000 lumens of brightness. That’s more than enough to make daytime watching possible, and the company says it should last for up to 30,000 hours of use. It can deliver 4K UHD image resolution at up to 150-inches, with 10-but colour depth. What’s more, it supports 110% of the BT.2020 colour gamut, and can render visual in HDR10, with contrast at 1,600:1.
There’s also a digital zoom capability and something called Modular Laser Stacking that is said to enable “enhanced optical efficiency, smaller size and improved heat dissipation performance.” Meanwhile, the N1 Ultra DLP’s diffuser setup and speckle reduction technology should ensure uniform brightness, the company says in its pitch.
Under the hood, there’s a MediaTek MT9629 system-on-chip and 2GB of RAM, plus 32GB of storage space. Connectivity options include Bluetooth 5.0 and Wi-Fi 6, and the system is powered by Android TV 11, ensuring access to hundreds of apps like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and more. Chromecast is also built-in, and it features two HDMI 2.1 ports, meaning it can be hooked up to a console, Blu-ray player or something else.
As for the sound system, this is built by Dynaudio and is based on a pair of Dolby Atmos-supporting 10 watt speakers that also support DTS:X audio. Private listening is possible through a headphone jack.
The design is solid too, with the unit measuring 24 x 20.2 x 23.5 cm and weighing just 4.5 kgs, meaning it is fairly portable, albeit not pocket-sized. There’s no internal battery though, so a power outlet is required.
The N1 Ultra DLP projector sits on a dual-axis gimbal that allows for simple adjustment “up to 135° vertical and 360° horizontal", meaning lots of flexibility in terms of setting things up. Moreover, it is equipped with 3D ToF sensors and CMOS cameras that work with onboard algorithms to automatically adjust the outputted image, adapt brightness based on the ambient conditions and fit the image to a projector screen.
JMGO has already surpassed its goal of raising $20,015 on Kickstarter with more than $1.4 million pledged so far. It’s currently up for grabs for the early bird price of just $1,299, with shipping estimated to begin in May. Once it goes on sale, JMGO is planning to increase the retail price to $2,299.
