The Chinese Anker Innovations Co., Ltd, is based in Changsha, Hunan. It has long and successfully produced a wide range of mobile chargers, headphones, speakers, data hubs, 3D printers, charging cables, flashlights, etc. Several years ago, company expanded its business with portable smart projectors under the Nebula brand. Today this line includes the Mars, Capsule and Cosmos series.
Nebula Cosmos Laser 4K vs Cosmos 4K SE
In 2022, the company introduced Nebula Cosmos 4K projector with ALPD 3.0-based Laser Phosphor light engine.
Today, it costs ~ $ 1,600.
This year, the company introduced the Anker Nebula Cosmos 4K SE model, which can be positioned as its new cheaper version. Despite the identical design and almost the same name, the new projector is significantly different.
Cosmos Laser vs Cosmos SE:
– price ~ $ 1,600 vs $ 1,300;
– optical engine – DLP + Laser vs DLP + HybridBeam (Laser+LED);
– brightness – 2,200 ANSI Lumens vs 1,800 ANSI Lumens;
– contrast ratio – 1,000:1 vs 400:1;
– projection Size – 60″ – 150″ vs 20″-200″;
– color gamut – 108.57%@BT.709, 73.85%@DCI-P3, 49.95%@BT.2020 vs 123.3%@BT.709, 88.9%@DCI-P3, 76.3%/BT.2020;
– audio – 2x10W + 2x5W (Dolby Audio) vs 2x15W (Dolby Audio);
– input lag – 50-110 ms vs 35ms in Game Mode Standard, and 18.5ms in Game Mode Extreme;
– smart OS – Android TV 10.0 (Dongle) vs Google TV (Official Netflix);
– image correction – IEA 2.0 vs IEA 4.0;
– weight – 4,9 kg / 10.7 lbs vs 4.5 kg / 9.9 lbs.
Unlike Nebula laser 4K, Cosmos 4K SE is compatible with HDR10, HLG, and Dolby Vision HDR content. Unfortunately, both projectors do not have a built-in battery.
The previous model is brighter and has more contrast. The new version is cheaper, lighter, better for gaming, offers Google TV with Netflix, improved IEA 4.0, expanded color gamut and focusing range up to 200″ diagonally.
The company does not disclose the meaning of the letter combination SE in the name, but by analogy with the iPhone SE, it can be deciphered as Special Edition.
Main specs
The hybrid RGBB light engine uses an extra blue ‘pump’ LED to increase brightness, and a red laser, which boosts red saturation and expands color gamut.
The model has a 0.47-inch native 1080p micromirror DLP chip It uses four-phase pixel shifting of TI’s Xpanded Pixel Resolution (XPR) technology to play 4K content. In fact, the projector divides 8 million pixels of 4K content into four parts and sequentially display them with the 2 million 1080p chipset micromirrors, shifting images half a pixel relative to each other. Of course, the projector displays only one 1080p image at any time. But the vision and brain perceive them as one picture with a higher resolution due to the high frequency.
The pixel shift is carried out by tilting the lens using 4 XPR module magnets.
A fixed 1.2:1 lens without optical zoom creates a projection from 60″ to 200″ diagonal (100″@2.6m/8.73 ft). But of course, the optimal image size for acceptable image quality depends on the ambient light.
The impressive color management system (CMS) in the Picture menu offers RGBCMY color point setting for color space and 11-point white balance correction. In addition, the projector has controls for adjusting black level / contrast / saturation / hue / sharpness. To be fair, the model demonstrates a fairly good color ‘out of the box’, including the brightest Conference. But this is unlikely to stop perfectionists striving for the ideal.
Like most modern devices, the model has no controls and is controlled using remote control or the Nebula Control app.
Smart, IEA and audio
Almost all specs correspond to premium level.
The Google TV home screen provides access to almost all popular streaming services, including Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, Max, Apple TV, Tubi, YouTube / YouTube TV, YouTube Music, Twitch, FreeTV Channels, Starz, Live TV, Nebula Life / Nebula Play and more. In fact, Google only requires setting up voice recognition and selecting your subscription services.
Chromecast and AirPlay provide screen mirror iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac devices. But this feature requires downloading the Nebula Cast app. Unfortunately, during screen casting testing, audio playback sometimes became out of sync.
IEA 4.0 Intelligent Setup is rightfully considered one of the best in the industry.
Using a Time-Of-Flight (TOF) sensor, it provides auto obstacle avoidance and screen fit. In addition, the list of its functions includes:
– ambient light adaptation (brightness optimization depending on viewing conditions);
– real-time focus and keystone correction;
– Wall Color Adaptation (color calibration feature for non-white surfaces);
– Eye Guard (reducing power when the IR sensor detects an object).
The developers paid a lot of attention to audio and their efforts were not in vain. The 5.1ch Dolby Digital audio system uses 2x 15W speakers and offers 3 preset modes, including Movie, Music and Outdoors.
They perfectly matches the genre, providing an accurate and rich audio scene. The Custom equalizer option provides manual adjustments for bass, mids, and treble. Of course, Cosmos can connect to a Bluetooth speaker or soundbar, including via the HDMI eARC connector. Perhaps music lovers with absolute pitch will prefer connecting to an external audio system, but most can save money on its purchase with a clear conscience.
Color modes
The projector has Conference, NebulaMaster, Standard, Vivid, Sport, Movie and Game color modes. The same modes with ‘HDR10’ in the title are intended for HDR10 content. In fact, in these modes the projector uses tone-mapping. Dolby Vision content is reproduced using one of three additional modes, including Dolby Vision Bright / Dark / Vivid.
Bright NebulaMaster, Vivid and Standard modes are ideal for daytime viewing of streaming content. According to the company, algorithms of NebulaMaster analyze the picture scene-by-scene, determine highlights and shadows, and adjust dynamic contrast according the industry-standard 2.2 gamma curve.
Standard offers warmer tones.
Sport, Movie and Game modes are ideal for these genres. Movie mode has near-perfect color accuracy out of the box for SDR content in Rec.709. Game mode offers Standard and Extreme sub modes. The second option max reduces response time by disabling keystone correction.
In testing, the brightest Conference mode actually achieves 1,800 ANSI lumens. Unfortunately, it has the traditional green bias. However, this mode is intended only for viewing in fairly bright ambient light. The brightness of other modes ranges from 1,300 to 1,450 ANSI lumens.
Color modes for Dolby Vision content display very accurate and rich colors. In fact, Dolby Vision Bright / Dark / Vivid use different color temperatures. Accordingly, Bright has warmer tones, cooler Vivid offers superb black levels and dark shadow detail, Dark is a compromise between them.
Testing showed overly aggressive MEMC (frame interpolation), which sometimes visually speeds up the object movement. But changing the setting from MEMC to Low in the Picture menu fixes this problem.
Competitors
Mid-focal XGIMI Horizon S Pro is its closest competitor.
It also costs $ 1,300, uses a hybrid laser/LED light engine, delivering 1,800 ISO lumens, and supports Dolby Vision.
But XGIMI uses light source with LED and a triple-laser RGB design, which covers up to 110% of the ultra-wide BT.2020 color space. The Cosmos SE’s light engine provides color gamut just up to 123% Rec.709 or ~ 95% for DCI-P3 standard. To be fair, this difference may only be visible when playing some HDR scenes. Besides, an easy-carry handle, and Google TV OS with an approved Netflix app is more than enough compensation.
The price and specs of the new gaming BenQ X300G are also very close.
Priced at ~$ 1,500, it uses an LED light engine (up to 2,000 ANSI lumen brightness, but color gamut only ~83% of the DCI-P3 color space), and offers an internally Android TV dongle with the Netflix app. Like all latest BenQ gaming models, it provides superb input lag, including 16ms for 4K@60Hz, 8ms for 1440p@120Hz and 4.16ms for 1080p@240Hz. Unfortunately, its light output during testing is more than 20% lower than the declared one.
Last year, Dangbei X5 Ultra 4K projector became the first model with ALPD 5.0 – based light engine.
It delivers up to 2,500 CVIA Lumens and costs ~$ 1,500. The new light engine scheme uses three colors of laser light sources and three colors of LED light sources, providing unprecedented color gamut of 120%@BT.2020, 165%@DCI-P3 and 210%@BT.709.
JmGO N1 Ultra is also on the list of its closest competitors.
At $ 1,400, its triple-laser light enine delivers ~2,200 CVIA lumens, 110% BT.2020 color gamut and superb 1,600:1 (full on/off) contrast ratio.
Conclusion
Pros
– inovative solid-state hybrid laser/LED light engine;
– Google TV OS with integrated 4K Netflix (no external dongles needed);
– Dolby Vision;
– superb color accuracy DeltaE < 1 'out-of-box';
– IEA 4.0 Intelligent Setup;
– NebulaMaster Image Engine;
– input lag up to 19 ms;
– 30W built-in sound, Dolby Audio support and eARC connector for digital audio transmission to an external soundbar.
Cons
– no built-in battery;
– contrast ratio of 400:1 only;
– requires cinematic lighting (without daylight);
– no sync with iOS and macOS screen mirroring.
In fact, the Nebula Cosmos 4K SE does not replace the Cosmos Laser, but rather expands the Nebula Cosmos line. Of course, the higher brightness and contrast of the previous model significantly affect the image quality. In particular, the sharpness and saturation of colors directly depend on the contrast. The higher brightness reduces the requirements for ambient light, providing acceptable quality for 100″ projection and above even in diffused daylight. Although, for example, evening viewing radically reduces the importance of this aspect. However, the Cosmos Laser’s image quality is objectively superior. But the lower price ($1,300 vs $1,600), Google TV with Netflix, wider color gamut, improved IEA 4.0 and better gaming with 18.5ms in Game Mode Extreme seem to be more than enough compensation.
Of course, the list of mid-focal 4K projectors is quite wide, including, for example, HORIOZN S Pro, BenQ X300G, Dangbei X5 Ultra, JmGO N1 Ultra, etc. But the good price-quality ratio promises Nebula Cosmos 4K SE quite bright marketing prospects.
The video demonstrates entertainment with NEBULA Cosmos 4K SE outdoors.