For more than a decade, projectors have been one of the fastest growing segments of consumer electronics. This is due to several objective reasons, including the development of wireless technologies that provide video content for projectors, highly efficient ALR screens, UST (Ultra Short Throw) models, etc. But, of course, the rapid improvement of SSL (Solid State Lightsource) has become one of the main factors. Today, companies are increasingly using LED and laser light engines, reducing the range of lamp projectors. Essentially, a laser LED is an LED with an optical cavity that provides more powerful coherent radiation.
ALPD technology
As known, the light source directly affects the color accuracy, color gamut and projector brightness. In turn, these specs largely determine the image quality.
Modern SSL-based light engines use Advanced Laser Phosphor Display technology. ALPD was developed in 2007 by the Chinese Appotronics Corp, founded in 2006. Today it has headquarters and a large research center in Shenzhen, as well as subsidiaries and offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and North America. Its projectors successfully compete under the brands Wemax, Formovie (Fengmi in the Chinese market), etc. For reference, popular Formovie is a joint venture between Xiaomi and Appotronics.
In fact, ALPD is a fluorescent laser technology that uses multi-color laser beams and disks coated with fluorescent materials. Its evolution is based on using different components in light engines, including LEDs, lasers and fluorescent disks. The technology has successfully solved several major problems of traditional tube light sources.
Firstly, the high efficiency eliminated the problem of the projector overheating.
Eliminating the need for heat dissipation has allowed designers to radically reduce the size of projectors and cooling fans.
Secondly, it provided a significant increase in brightness.
Finally, ADLP has significantly expanded the color gamut, which in modern projectors already reaches 107% of the ultra-wide BT.2020 color space.
The latest ALPD 5.0-based light engine in the new Dangbei X5 Ultra 4K projector has become one of the main innovations of 2023 in this segment.
ADLP evolution
The speed of ADLP evolution is impressive. In just a decade and a half, Appotronics has already presented 5 generations of this technology. Its implementation began in 2007.
High efficiency due to combining phosphor and laser became a good incentive for its development. Already in 2012, the company introduced an improved, brighter version of ADLP 2.0.
Three years later, Appotronics developed ALPD 3.0. This version was intended for cinemas, used the red and blue 2-color lasers in combination with a phosphor disk.
This scheme increased light source efficiency by ~20% and expanded the color gamut to DCI P3 (cinematic color standard in the film industry). Not stopping there, already in 2018 the company introduced ALPD 4.0.
Color gamut of 98.5% for Rec.2020 (BT.2020), increased contrast of 2,500:1 and light efficiency increased by 30% became the main pros of the new generation.
ALPD 5.0 was officially released at the 2022 DLP Technology Innovation Application Symposium, which was organized by Texas Instruments. Appotronics announced Pro and Lite platforms of newest ALPD 5.0 version. According to the developer, the new version should solve several problems of the triple-laser RGB scheme in ALPD 4.0, including the problem of chromatic aberration and speckles due to beams interference, their high cost and power consumption. The new scheme uses three colors of laser light sources and three colors of LED light sources. The algorithms of advanced dynamic modulation improve color accuracy by pre-analyzes the color gamut standards required for video playback.
Moreover, the company announced the implementation of the new technology for 2023 and fulfilled its promise. Dangbei X5 Ultra 4K model became the first projector with ALPD 5.0-based light engine. Today, it’s priced at 9,300 yuan (~$ 1,315) on the company’s website.
Dangbei X5
To be fair, other companies are also actively improving light engines. For example, XGIMI Horizon Ultra 4K projector uses a new high-tech hybrid Dual Light (LED + laser) light engine. In fact, it’s an RGBB light source with an additional red laser to enhance the brightness and saturation of the red. This light engine uses a red laser, a red LED, a blue pump LED, a green LED and a dynamic color filter to adjust the color gamut.
The projector covers 95.5% DCI-P3 and delivers unprecedented DeltaE < 1 color accuracy 'out of the box'. For reference, DeltaE < 3 is considered ideal.
But the color gamut of Dangbei X5 with ALPD 5.0 is much wider. As known, today the display industry uses 3 tiers of gamut standards.
– Rec.709 for most monitors;
– DCI-P3 or Hollywood gamut (it’s applied to digital film technology);
– Rec.2020 (BT.2020).
It’s the color gamut standard of 4K digital display for ultra-high-definition TV. Rec.2020 is designed to be displayed with the help of three primary color systems and includes resolution, frame rate, bit depth, and gamut. ALPD versions consistently expand the color gamut.
Of course, the claimed 120% (Rec.2020), 165% (DCI-P3) and 210% (Rec.709) are amazing. In fact, they correspond to maximum visible color gamut for human eyes.
For reference, Dangbei Network Technology Co was founded in 2013 and is located in Binjiang District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province. The list of most popular Dangbei projectors includes mid-focal Dangbei F1, B1, C1, D1, F3, Mars Pro 4K and DBX3. But Dangbei X5 claims to be the first sensation under this brand.
Specs
Specs
– DLP type;
– 2,500 CVIA Lumens (~ 4,200 ANSI Lumens) brightness.
Due to the large impact of brightness on image quality, many companies use this spec for marketing purposes, focusing consumers’ attention on the pros of their models. As a result, projector specs often contain information in different units according to different standards, including:
– ANSI Lumens (American National Standards Institute) – the most popular, measures the luminous flux at nine points on the screen;
– Lux – illumination of one square meter of the screen;
– ISO Lumens (ISO 21118 from International Organization for Standardization; 1 ANSI Lumen ~ 0.8 ISO Lumens);
– LED Lumens (Helmholtz-Kohlrausch effect takes into account the influence of color saturation on their perception; 1,000 LED Lumens ~ 417 ANSI Lumens);
– Color Light Output (Epson) – is always equal to the white brightness in 3LCD projectors due to the absence of losses on the color wheel.
To bring order to this chaos, in October 2022, the China Electronics Video Industry Association (CVIA) developed a new group standard (1,000 CVIA lumens ~ 1,700 ANSI Lumens). Given the significant share of Chinese companies in this segment, it will be able to improve the situation;
– 4K UHD (3,840 x 2,160) resolution with .47″ DMD chip;
– 206% Rec.709 / 152% DCI-P3 / 110% Rec.2020 color gamut with ALPD 5.0.
– 60″- 200″ Image Size from 1,2m – 4m distance at 1.27:1 Throw Ratio;
– MT9679 processing chip (AI Ruihua engine), 6G (DDR4) +128G (eMMC 5.1) storage, Dangbei OS 4.0, WiFi6, Bluetooth 5.2;
– HDR10+ and HLG support;
– Android 11 OS (pair with KD3 Android TV Stick);
– Hi-Fi subwoofer stereo speaker, Dolby Audio + DTS X;
– Motion Estimation and Motion Compensation.
Key features
The model supports almost all the most innovative technologies. For example, the AI Ruihua engine provides intelligent color optimization, providing unprecedented DeltaE < 1 color accuracy 'out of the box'. For comparison, DeltaE < 3 is considered good.
In addition, the projector uses hardware-level XSuper super-resolution technology and AI Pixel algorithm, which frame-by-frame optimizes settings depending on the content type.
Dangbei X5Ultra supports HDR10+HLG high dynamic dual decoding technology, which increases the clarity of the light and shade.
Moreover, the model supports global motion compensation (GMC) using 3D ToF laser lens and CMOS camera module, ensuring superb smooth motion. With this technology, the image is panned, rotated and zoomed in accordance with GMC warp points. The algorithm then calculates the following predicted frame and generates the appropriate correction.
The model offers an almost complete set of image settings, max simplifying the projector installation.
It includes:
– 10,800-point 3D ToF module (instant, very precise correction of the projection image);
– autofocus;
– auto keystone correction;
– auto screen entry;
– screen obstacle avoidance.
In addition, projector also supports remote control, screen splitting, and far-field voice.
Its specs and price are very close to JmGO N1 Ultra. For $ 1,650, it offers brightness ~2200 CVIA lumens (~4,000 ANSI Lumens) and 110% BT.2020 color gamut with ALPD 4.0-based triple-laser RGB light engine. But the Dangbei X5 is cheaper (~$ 1,315 vs $ 1,650) and brighter (2,500 CVIA lumens vs 2,200 CVIA lumens).
XGIMI Horizon Ultra with innovative hybrid laser-LED light engine is also a worthy competitor. But it’s more expensive (~$ 1,600 vs $ 1,315) and significantly inferior in brightness (2,300 ISO Lumens vs 4,200 ANSI Lumens).
Conclusion
Just a few years ago, a price of up to $1500 for a projector with a brightness of 4000 ANSI Lumens and a color gamut of ~110% in the BT.2020 color space could be positioned as dumping. Of course, JVC, Epson, BenQ, Optoma and other industry leaders offered premium projectors with great specs, but their prices ranged from several thousand and up. By using the innovative ALPD 5.0-based light engine, Dangbei X5 Ultra has broken through the psychological barrier by offering premium specs in the sub-$ 1,500 price segment.
To be fair, the mid-focal design slightly limits its positioning as an alternative to TV in the living room. Indeed, unlike popular ultra-short throw (UST) projectors, which form an image from a distance of several inches and are placed next to the screen, the mid-focal Dangbei X5 Ultra is placed closer to the center of the room and creates the problem of wires on the floor. Of course, it can be solved using a ceiling mount, but this solution is costly and radically reduces the projector mobility. However, the premium specs and relatively low price provide the superb price-quality ratio, which is quite an acceptable compensation for the inconvenience.
In general, the model has excellent marketing prospects and has already secured its place among the bestsellers of the year.
This video demonstrates the Dangbei X5 Ultra 4K laser ALPD 5.0 projector.