I bought the Nebula Solar Portable for daily use. I felt that a high quality projector would fit my lifestyle better than an actual TV, as I live in a small, 3rd floor apt and travel on a weekly basis.
I’ll start with the positive feedback. I am very impressed by the brightness. 400 ANSI lumen vs 100 (I also own the Capsule) makes a tremendous difference. I am able to watch comfortably, during daylight hours, in my living room which only has wood blinds. My point being that you don’t need a blacked out room to use the Solar. Most colors appear quite rich to me, even during the day.
My primary reason for purchasing the Solar is the quadrilateral keystone correction. It was getting old having to ensure my Capsule was perfectly perpendicular to the wall which leads to a mess of cords everywhere. I wanted a clean look in my living room since this is replacing my want for a TV. I am very happy with this feature when it works (more on my gripes later). I have the unit sitting on a corner shelf next to my couch and I am able to perfectly center the image over my credenza.
Now for some negative feedback. Blues and cooler tones do appear to be washed out at times, even in a pitch black room. This is not a dealbreaker for me. I am projecting directly onto very light grey walls so I’m sure this is a contributing factor. Maybe someday I will splurge on the screen. For now, this works!
Its best feature is also its most frustrating. I didn’t realize when I bought this that the quadrilateral correction is not automatic. I don’t feel like this was advertised clearly. Now it does correct automatically in the vertical plane, but so does my Capsule. The manual adjustment is not difficult, so once again, this con is not a dealbreaker. However, every time the unit is turned off, your adjustment settings are reset. THIS might be a dealbreaker. Since I’m trying to use this almost daily, it’s incredibly frustrating that there isn’t a way to save your settings so that the unit is ready to go when turned on after having remained in the same spot.
Another gripe is the fact that even while plugged in with the provided Anker charging cable and USB-C, the unit appears to consume power at a rate that exceeds the charger’s ability to replenish it. So after about 2-3 hours of continuous use, it will die and have to be left off and allowed to charge back up. This makes no sense to me since the advertised battery life in standard mode is 2 hours. So I can’t charge and use the unit at the same time?! With my capsule, I have never had an issue playing and charging simultaneously so this was is a very surprising flaw in the Solar and is another reason I might return it.
In summary, I went into this purchase with the expectation that a projector in this price range will never exceed the picture quality and true-to-life color pallet of a modern UHD TV. With that in mind, this little guy has surpassed my expectations. At night, I honestly forget that it is a projector sometimes. I don’t miss having a TV and I don’t find myself longing for better picture quality. Embedded speakers on a unit like this will never provide the same experience as a theater system, but they’re not bad at all. I will eventually get a soundbar if I keep this thing. As for the charging/battery issue- I recognize that I purchased the portable version and that there is a stationery version which would eliminate this issue. I went portable because I travel so frequently and will often make use of the battery feature. At a price point $80 higher, this thing should be able to do everything the stationery version does + more right? Especially since older units can play and charge at the same time.
I own a ton of Anker products from charging cables to powerbanks and I love them all for their quality and longevity. I have had the Nebula Capsule for nearly 4 years and have been very happy with it, hence this upgrade. I my impression of Anker products is that their design is well thought out and detail oriented. This is why the 2 major flaws I have addressed are so surprising to me. I am currently on the fence about whether or not I’ll keep this thing. I’m not sure it’s enough of an upgrade from my old Capsule to justify.
**the photo is an example of ~110” projection from a distance of 11ft and an angle of about 15 degrees during daylight hours.
| Brand Name | NEBULA |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 2.8 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 7.56 x 7.57 x 2.15 inches |
| Item model number | D2131121 |
| Batteries | 1 Lithium Ion batteries required. (included) |
| Color Name | White |
| Special Features | 400 ANSI Lumen (1100 Lumen), 4K Supported, Autofocus, Keystone Correction , Built-in Stand, Up to 3Hr Video Playtime, Outdoor projector, portable, built-in battery,1080P |
| Speaker Type | Built-In |
