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Rating:

6/10

A home theater projector is a smart upgrade if you have the space for one of the often bulky and heavy machines. That is, unless you opt for a compact, portable model, like the Soundcore Nebula P1 from Anker. Weighing just 5.3 pounds and measuring about 11 inches tall and 5 inches wide, the P1 is much easier to move around than the highly capable but less portable Nebula X1 Pro. In fact, the P1 is one of the best portable, indoor-outdoor projectors I’ve tested since 2001 (and I have tested several dozen indoor and outdoor models). It includes two wireless speakers, a large handle, and even has an IP33 rating for splash resistance. And the $800 price is reasonable compared to high-end models that topple over four digits (including the X1 Pro).

Over a month, I tested the P1 in my living room and outside. While the just-OK 1080p picture quality and lack of advanced features—like media casting and a higher contrast ratio—might give you pause, its price and portability make it a nice affordable and portable projector.

Getting Started

At about 11 inches tall, with a canvas strap across the top, the Nebula P1 looks like a funky Bluetooth speaker. For the price, it’s not an impulse purchase by any means but still costs a few thousand less than a home-theater model by Epson, JVC, or Sony. That price break corresponds with the P1’s performance capability. Indeed, the P1 is designed for adaptability, not professional-grade quality.

Two wireless, battery-powered speakers sit on top of the P1 and will charge as long as you keep the main unit connected to a power source. Its two-channel audio isn’t ideal for movies and games; the main advantage here is that you can place the speakers about 20 feet from the projector for more immersive sound. The projector lens rotates 130 degrees up and down, which allows you to project onto a wall or the ceiling. You can also retract the lens fully down into the enclosure for safekeeping. When you do, the entire unit can withstand splashes and light rain, given the Nebula’s IP33 rating.

Auto key stoning and autofocus let the projector work instantly. As soon as you power up the P1, the device will prompt you to use the VisionFit feature on the NebulaConnect app. This process asks you to point your phone at your projector screen or wall so the P1 can automatically adjust. It worked perfectly during my testing, though if I accidentally bumped into the P1 after completing this process, the projector would offer to readjust the picture—at least until I disabled that feature.

The P1 runs on the Google TV operating system, which is super easy to use and doesn’t require that you bring along any sort of additional external devices to stream content or play games. I also loved the P1 remote, which is small enough to stash in your pocket, has intuitively placed buttons, and is backlit to save you from fumbling for buttons in a dark room.

Maxing out its brightness at ANSI 650 lumens and offering a 400:1 contrast ratio, this is not a home cinema model that will compete with your local cineplex. If that quality is what you’re looking for, consider that Soundcore also makes the Nebula X1 ($2,799) and the massive Nebula X1 Pro ($4,999) that both project at 3,500 lumens and have a crisper 5,000:1 contrast ratio.

To boost the sound or picture quality inside your house, you can connect the P1 to an AV receiver or a soundbar using the one HDMI port over eARC. But even so, the P1 can only do so much because it doesn't support 4K Ultra resolution, HDR10+ color quality, or even Dolby Atmos Audio using the included speakers. Its key feature is portability. (Dolby Atmos did work with an AV receiver connected using the one HDMI eARC port.)

Inside and Out

Aware of the P1’s specifications and its main purpose of portability, I kept my expectations in check as I started testing. I wasn’t looking for exceptional performance with the P1, but when I popped up a Houston Rockets game on YouTube TV in both my windowless testing room and in my family room (on a bright day, no less), I was impressed. The sheer size of the projected image (110 inches) made for an immersive experience.

That said, the game didn’t exactly look bright and had average contrast for a low-cost projector. Experimenting with the automated picture quality settings didn’t help too much, but a sports mode setting added some brightness and clarity.

Shifting over to a local news broadcast, the resolution had a slightly grainy look, even when I manually adjusted some of the brightness and contrast controls. While streaming Avatar: Fire and Ash over the Fandango at Home app, I noticed some good clarity and focus during battle scenes, but it didn't look quite cinematic. When I compared it to an Epson LS9000 projector, the same scenes looked realistically vivid, with a full color gamut.

The P1 projector performed OK on my other typical projector-testing benchmarks for visuals. I ran through dozens of sequences, including one with a fence in winter, but the background colors looked too brown when they should have been green. A sunset scene lacked contrast and color vibrancy, which is unsurprising for the price.

To test the sound capability of the two wireless speakers, I played the game Senua's Saga: Hellblade II on an Xbox Series X. An ocean scene with rain and thunder sounded convincing enough, but the ghostly voices that usually emanate around the room sounded dull and lifeless. During a battle scene in the movie Unbroken on Netflix, the two-channel mix was similarly dull, but the explosions were thunderous. This discrepancy wasn’t an issue with dialogue-heavy content without many audio special effects. When I watched The Smashing Machine, I found the story easy to follow.

I also tested the Nebula P1’s music-playing capability using the Tidal app—the song Divinize by Rosalía lacked tonal depth, but it did have some oomph.

For my outdoor tests, I positioned the P1 about halfway down my driveway on a small table and pointed the lens toward my two stall garage door. On a pitch black night with heavy cloud cover, the picture quality was similar to what I experienced in my windowless test room.

I did have some trouble with streaming from an iPhone and an iPad both indoors and out. The P1 only lets you mirror your screen, and when I tried playing a John Wick movie using both HBO Max and Hulu, a warning message appeared indicating it would be a digital rights violation. Soundcore reps suggested installing the apps on the projector instead. That’s a problem for outdoor movies because you might want to stream from a phone directly and not grab another streaming device. Outside, you might not have the power cables or want to risk damage to equipment that’s in your living room.

The good news is that movies and shows looked amazing on my driveway at about 200 inches diagonally. I watched the movie Relay on Netflix and the classic North by Northwest, and both looked spectacular at the massive size.

With the Nebula P1, you won’t get all of the bells and whistles a higher-end projector may offer, such as AirPlay streaming instead of mirroring, 4K display, or immersive surround sound. Even so, I loved the portability, the built-in apps, and the low price. There are a lot of trade-offs to make in terms of picture and audio quality, but the P1 worked well enough, particularly outside. I recommend it for those who want portability without the price of a home cinema model.