As we approach the halfway mark of 2024, the projector market is becoming increasingly competitive, with most brands launching high-quality new models to cater to various needs. Especially for flagship models designed for living room use, compared to previous years, you can now get a significantly improved viewing experience at a lower price point. Recently, the Dangbei X5S and the JMGO N1S have been released. So, which one should you choose? From a perspective that values user experience, perhaps a practical comparison test will help you make a better decision!
When it comes to pursuing the best image quality for your living room projector, brightness is naturally the key focus. Both from a fundamental technology and practical experience perspective, it's easy to conclude that resolution, contrast, and color accuracy are all just talk when brightness falls short. The brightness of these two projectors is as follows: the XGIMI X5S is 2450 CVIA, while the JMGO N1S is 1200 CVIA.
CVIA is a brightness standard introduced by XGIMI last year in China, which not only eliminates false claims but also provides a more comparable reference value after standardization. In terms of price, both of these devices are priced at 4999 yuan. In terms of brightness per unit of money spent, XGIMI offers a brightness of 0.49 lumens, while JMGO only provides 0.24 lumens.
Therefore, by comparing these two projectors, you can probably understand why the BeX5S is called the machine that refreshes the brightness ceiling at the same price point. It is precisely under this brightness that the projector is truly not limited by time and space. Even in demanding conditions like a living room at home, using the BeX5S during the day poses absolutely no problem.
As for the resolution, it is quite obvious that the display chip size of these two projectors is the same. It is well known that under DLP display technology, this does not bring too much difference in clarity. Therefore, the BeX5S, which meets flagship standards in all aspects, is more conscientious than the Nut N1S, which may not support true 4K but could have allocated more costs to the overall machine.
2. Light Source Technology
When delving deeper into the core of brightness, the fundamental reason for the disparity between the two laser projectors may lie in the light source. As is well known, the Nut N1S adopts a three-color laser that, due to rough surface reflections or transmissions, generates numerous independent scattered waves, which then propagate with coherent superposition, resulting in many randomly irregular bright and dark spots.
Moreover, the use of a screen in the living room during projection adds to the issue by ensuring the flatness of the projection surface and resistance to ambient light absorption, thereby exacerbating the problem of the three-color laser, commonly known as speckle. When speckle occurs, it not only causes the image to appear hazy like frosted glass (particularly severe on solid color screens), but also significantly impacts the image quality and viewing experience.
With current technology, neither optical machine nor screen shaking can eliminate speckle. Only when the ALPD laser technology used by the BeX5S fundamentally achieves a completely speckle-free effect. Thanks to the introduction of nano-emitting rare earth materials, it can emit a large amount of incoherent light while mixing a very small amount of laser, allowing ALPD to generate speckle-free white light.
This operation of ALPD laser not only does not bring any negative effects, but also ensures good compatibility, lower cost, and still very high reliability. At the same time, with special processing, it achieves a natural light spectrum more suitable for the human eye. Therefore, ALPD laser can be used with anti-light screens in the living room during the day, providing bright and clear images that are not easily fatiguing even after long-term viewing.
The speckle of a laser projector can indeed be harmful to the eyes. Taking DCI standard white light as an example, when a laser projector generates light with an average intensity of I0 on the retina, different areas of the retina will experience varying light intensities due to speckle, with the maximum difference being up to nine times. The three-color laser naturally poses a risk to vision.
Therefore, when watching such a three-color laser projection, one may naturally feel discomfort due to the intensity of the light. Moreover, many consumers, especially those with myopia and astigmatism, may experience increased fatigue when watching the projector (similar to the principle of straining to see clearly in class during childhood, which can worsen myopia), ultimately affecting their vision.
So, for a healthier viewing experience with a living room projector, it is recommended to opt for projector models based on ALPD laser light sources. This technology, used not only in the X5S by XGIMI but also in several other models under the brand, continues to be iterated and optimized. With further improvements in uniform lighting systems, it may deliver a visual quality beyond imagination.
3. System Experience
Apart from the visual experience, one crucial aspect that cannot be overlooked after long-term use is the living room projection system. In this regard, DaBai, originating from the software field, undoubtedly holds a significant advantage. Built on the new Android 11 foundation, the DaBai X5S has officially upgraded to the comprehensive DaBai OS 4.1, covering a wide range of online resources, supporting customizable UI, and split-screen functionality. Additionally, the XSuper super-resolution feature enhances low-resolution images frame by frame to nearly 4K quality, significantly improving the visual effects of old movies.
In addition, Dangbei OS 4.1 has innovatively developed the "Quick Life" app, which can preset hundreds of usage scenarios. By setting multiple preset conditions and commands, users can achieve a variety of customized instructions. For example, you can preset third-party apps to start automatically at boot, and easily access favorite Bilibili content without manual operation. The child mode can automatically reduce brightness for eye protection at startup, while the elder mode can recommend square dancing, opera, and other content automatically, making it convenient and user-friendly for the whole family to use.
The Nut N1S is equipped with Bonfire OS 7.0, offering a fresh interactive and visual experience. The spatial music comes with an immersive sound system, and the rhythm space can provide a sleep assistant. However, these features are already fully covered by the atmosphere app in the Dangbei OS, so it doesn't really stand out or offer differentiation in terms of user experience.
4. Comparative Summary
Whether in terms of appearance or actual optical performance, the Nut N1S seems more like a slightly upgraded product under the N1 shell. In scenarios where portability is not a concern, such as in the living room, its cost-effectiveness is relatively low. On the other hand, the XGIMI X5S not only lacks the hard flaw of three-color laser speckle but also offers high-end flagship brightness at a super high cost-performance ratio, making it a suitable replacement for laser home theaters. Therefore, for living room projectors in 2024, the preferred choice is still the XGIMI X5S.
