A projector can be a cost effective alternative to getting a large flat TV screen, especially a mini projector like the Nebula Capsule Max that also doubles as an Android box for streaming YouTube videos and Netflix movies from anywhere!
The Capsule Max projector has the same IR remote control you get in other projectors like the Mars 2 Pro, which it's an infrared remote that has to be pointed directly at the IR receiver, unlike radio frequency (RF) remote controls, which are multi-directional.
The IR receiver on the Capsule Max is located on the back so, you won't be able to operate it properly if you're sitting right in front of the projector. To solve that problem, the Capsule Max has been equipped with a mobile app (the Nebula app) that lets you control the Capsule Max no matter where you are sitting.
On top of the Capsule Max, you find a directional control pad, along with volume buttons and a back button. The control pad buttons integrate leds so, they light up, which is useful for low light situations.
The Nebula Capsule Max projector buttons have responsive feedback with a digital tone that can be disabled from the settings should you want silent button presses.
The body of the Nebula Capsule Max is made of a perforated metal sheet of aluminium, making the projector even more lightweight at 726 grams. The perforations on the body of the Capsule Max aren't just for looks as they let air and sound pass-through from the front and the back of it where the single 8 watt speaker is located.
The sound produced by the Capsule Max speaker is comparable to that of the portable Icon speaker so, you get decent volume sound to engulf an 100 square feet area. Being a projector, the speaker driver has been tweaked to favor more the midrange, which helps the clarity of movie dialogue. The treble and bass are also present although you can get better bass by connecting an external speaker. Be mindful that the built-in speaker gets disabled.
Speaking of portable, the Capsule Max is very portable and can be carried effortlessly with one hand as it weighs as much as a tub of butter. The narrow cylindrical shape makes the Capsule Max easy to fit anywhere, even inside a deep pocket of a jacket. You can also attach the Capsule Max to a smartphone tripod, thanks to the gold plated female camera thread on the bottom base of the projector.
The base of the Capsule Max consists of a hard plastic section that houses the connectivity ports of the Capsule Max projector, which include the DC in port, USB 2.0 port, HDMI 1.4 port and Aux port.
The very base of the Capsule Max projector has a circular rubber base that makes the actual feet of the projector. There is no ventilation on the bottom of the Capsule Max. The air intake is located on the front of the projector, while the air exhaust outlet is located behind the projector at the very top. The exhaust outlet measures 2 inches long by 1 inches wide.
The exhaust outlet of the Capsule Max projector is hidden seamlessly behind the perforated body so, the exhaust grill isn't visible like on the original Capsule projector. Aesthetically, the design of the Capsule Max retains much of the look of the original Capsule, just slightly beefier in weight and size. The Capsule Max is taller and wider, measuring 15cm tall and 8cm in diameter.
There are also improvements made to the actual hardware of the Capsule Max, featuring useful upgrades such as USB connectivity so, you can also play content from a USB flash drive, as well as HDMI devices such as TV sticks, DVD players or gaming consoles with a maximum bandwidth of 1080p, which has been limited since the HDMI port on the Capsule Max runs version 1.4, which is capable of 4K at 24 frames per second. With USB playback, the Capsule Max supports FAT32, NTFS and exFAT formats.
There is automatic focus built-in to the Capsule Max; hence the focus of the lens isn't done manually via a dial like on the original Capsule. The automatic focus on the Capsule Max is a fast one and, provided that the projector is placed within 60cm and 3 meters, the rangefinder sensor (located next to the lens) doesn't have any issues focusing the clarity of the projection.
A properly shaped rectangular projection without blurriness can be achieved with the Capsule Max, thanks to automatic vertical keystone correction (up to 40-degree angle) and manual horizontal keystoning (up to 40-degree angle), as well as quadrilateral keystone correction.
The Nebula Capsule Max has a fixed angle lens but can also be hung from a ceiling via front or rear projection, meaning you can put the projector behind a screen, which works great for controlling and containing the ambient light hitting the back of the projection screen.
Having a fixed angle lens, the image offset is more often than not, going to be greater than 100%. In the case of the Capsule Max, the image offset is 100%, meaning the bottom of the projected image is at the center line of the lens, as opposed to over the center line of the lens like you get with 125% image offset.
The throw ratio has also been improved with the Capsule Max, enabling you now to be able to get a perfect 100-inch projection from a 3 meter distance. The minimum distance for clear image is approximately 1 meter, which produces a 40 inch projection.
The aspect ratio remains the same, 16:9 and so is the lamp life at 30, 000 hours. The brightness has been upgraded to 200 ANSI lumens so, the Capsule Max is twice as bright now, displaying better image overall, thanks to the integration of a larger and better quality chip (0.3-in HD DLP), giving the Capsule Max a native 720p resolution (1280 x 720).
The Nebula Capsule Max runs Android version 8.1.0 with 16GB of available storage and 2GB of memory. The Nebula Capsule Max supports a variety of video and audio files, including H.264, H.265, VP8, VP9, DivX 4x/5x/6x, as well as MPEG-4 AAC, MPEG-4 HE-AAC, MPEG-4 HE, AACv2, AAC ELD, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, FLAC, MP3, MIDI, Vorbis, PCM/WAVE, Opus.
Video playback is set to 1080p at 60fps, which the Capsule Max handles with ease, thanks to the integration of the Qualcomm Adreno 506, which is a very good mobile graphics card for gaming. You can also install VLC to play mkv files but sometimes mkv files won't play from a USB stick unless you copy them locally before playing them. Keeping the VLC app up to date does seem to help.
Screen mirroring is supported for both Android and iOS devices via Bluetooth, Miracast and AirPlay and lets you wirelessly cast content from a smartphone. The Capsule Max is Wifi-enabled, supporting 2.4GHz and 5Ghz, allowing you to connect to the Internet without any cables. You can use the Capsule Max in two modes: projector mode and bluetooth speaker mode, which turns the Capsule Max into a standalone bluetooth speaker capable of 6 hours of playtime via bluetooth 4.2.
Bluetooth battery life could have been longer had the Capsule Max been integrated with bluetooth 5.0, which provides much better power consumption. A good example of how efficient bluetooth 5.0 is compared to bluetooth 4.2 it's with the Soundcore Icon speaker, which only has a 2600mAh battery capacity yet, it can deliver anywhere from 9 to 12 hours of playtime. This is pretty good going for the Icon speaker, considering the size of the Capsule Max internal lithium polymer battery (9700mAh).
The addition of DC charging to the Capsule Max doesn't offer an improvement over the original Capsule, despite the fact DC charging delivers 15V/3A and that the Capsule Max has a larger 9,700mAh battery. With that said, the Capsule Max uses DC barrel charging connection, whereas the original Capsule uses micro USB charging, which is a little bit more fiddly.
The Capsule Max projector fully charges in 2.5 hours, delivering up to 4 hours of playtime in Battery mode, which is the same as the original Capsule but, then again, you get twice more brightness with the Capsule Max.
There is a 15V/3A power adapter included with the Capsule Max that has a travel plug form factor, featuring the ability to change plugs from US 2 pin plug to UK 3 pin plug. A user guide is included too, as well as warranty. Check out the review of the new Nebula Solar Portable projector and the Nebula Astro projector - the smallest in the line up.