New projectors seem to be all the rage in the run up to next month’s IFA 2024 show in Berlin, and the latest company to show off a new movie flinger is China’s Dangbei. The company’s newest device is called the Freedo, and its highly portable nature means it’s ideally suited to “set cinema free” by enabling aficionados to watch their favorite films in all their big-screen glory in any location.
This week, we’ve already seen new ultra-short throw projectors announced by the likes of Samsung Electronics and Formovie, but the Dangbei Freedo is nothing like as capable as those hefty models, as it’s all about freedom. It’s designed to take on Samsung’s The Freestyle projector, which is meant to be easy to carry around and set up for watching movies in the garden, at campsites, or simply while visiting friends.
Fortunately, Dangbei is well placed to rival Samsung in the portability stakes, as it has plenty of experience of making more mobile projectors, having previously launched the Dangbei Atom and Dangbei Mars Pro 2 earlier this year.
The Dangbei Freedo comes with a 60Wh battery and runs the Google TV operating system for simple streaming access, and it also has a shockproof carrying case for carrying it around. It can also be charged over USB-C, meaning you can bring along a few battery packs if you intend to take it out while camping.
Other features include an integrated stand with 100-degree tilt, which should help with setup, eliminating the need to prop it up at an awkward angle for outdoor viewing. Once the projector is in place, Dangbei’s InstanPro AI IMage Setup technology will immediately get to work, aided by its autofocus, auto-keystone correction, screen fit and obstacle avoidance functionality.
The company proclaims that the Freedo “packs a punch” in terms of image quality too, with 90% coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut, delivering 1080p Full HD visuals with support for HDR content. The maximum image size it projects is 120-inches, but one slightly concerning thing is that the company didn’t mention anything about how bright those images are, so it may not be such a great option for daytime viewing.
Dangbei does, however, make some interesting claims about the Freedo’s audio capabilities, with 360-degree surround sound aided by Dolby Audio helping to deliver "powerful sound” that will match the “impressive visuals”. The Dangbei Freedo can also double up as a simple Bluetooth speaker, which suggests the sound output should be decent, at least.
Dangbei said the Freedo will be on display at IFA 2024 next week, when we will hopefully get to find out how much it costs.
