In recent years, just as the rise of domestically produced new energy vehicles has reshaped the competitive landscape of the global automotive market, ultra-high brightness laser projectors launched by domestic manufacturers have significantly changed the projector industry. High-end, imported projectors, once unaffordable due to their exorbitant prices, are now facing increased competition and lowering their prices. Take, for example, the newly launched Dangbei F7 Pro projector. It has a pretty good brightness of 3600 CVIA lumens, which is about 6000 lumens in ISO brightness.
Five years ago, such brightness and 4K resolution would have been achieved only by imported projectors starting from around 50,000 yuan ($7,000), whereas today, the Dangbei F7 Pro has come to a price of 7,999 yuan (around $1,100)!
With this brightness, you can watch TV even during the day. Actually, the Dangbei F7 Pro might be the brightest 4K laser projector for less than 10,000 yuan, or about $1,400.
FYI
Most projectors on sale today use one of three main light sources: traditional bulbs, LEDs, or lasers.
- Bulbs have high brightness but a short life.
- LEDs have great color performance, but low brightness, barely reaching 2000 CVIA lumens. Laser light sources combine the brightness of bulbs with the vibrant color performance of LEDs and can last for up to 30,000 hours. However, they tend to be pricier.
- Laser technology itself can be divided into three categories: three-color lasers, ALPD lasers, and eye-protecting three-color lasers.
The Dangbei F7 Pro is equipped with an eye-protecting three-color laser, which has overcome common problems such as speckles and color fringing in subtitles when viewed with traditional three-color laser projectors. Most importantly, it eliminates blue light, so you can watch for extended periods without eye fatigue or strain.
Equipped with an eye-protection laser, the Dangbei F7 Pro achieves 3600 CVIA lumens of brightness, one of the brightest 4K projectors under 10,000 yuan ($1,400 approximately), which is not an artificially inflated figure but genuine brightness.
The F7 Pro uses a 0.47-inch DMD chip with 2.07 million built-in micromirrors, achieving true 4K resolution through dithering technology. It’s worth mentioning that projectors priced in the tens of thousands tend to use dithering to achieve 4K resolution.
In terms of hardware, the Dangbei F7 Pro is equipped with the powerful MT9679 chip, featuring four A73 cores and an independent AI processor (APU) capable of trillions of operations per second. This is one of the best chips available for mainstream projectors. With 4GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage, the projector guarantees smooth performance to enhance user experience.
Design
The design of the Dangbei F7 Pro represents a noticeable departure from previous models. It is more curvaceous and generally smooth, rounded in appearance.
Its sleek, all-black body, combined with a glossy, arc-shaped IMF panel on the front, exudes a high-end feel.
At the front, a large 4K projection lens uses a three-color laser light source for up to 3600 CVIA lumens brightness for excellent image quality even in well-lit conditions.
It features a CMOS focus lens and a 3D ToF laser sensor for fast and smooth autofocus and keystone correction.
For audio, the speakers are positioned on both sides, supporting Dolby and DTS:X sound effects, with a sound cavity capacity of 750CC. Additionally, a guide tube design enhances the low-frequency performance, offering an immersive audio experience, particularly when watching action-packed movies.
Equipped with a multi-directional gimbal bracket, the projector has a 135° pitch adjustment and 360° horizontal rotation. The upward-facing lens lets you project images onto the ceiling, which means you can watch movies while lying comfortably in bed.
Behind is a row of I/O ports above a big high-density hollow heat sink. Such a powerful cooling system cools down the device not only efficiently but also very quietly.
Looking closely at the rear interfaces, it shows 3.5mm audio output, USB 3.0, and two HDMI 2.1 for diverse connectivity options.
And it is well designed in the base, which adds much to its practicability.
The remote control is also revamped with more shortcut buttons added and now it supports point-and-click remote control technology. This will allow easy air gestures, tapping, dragging, and other convenient interactions on the big screen.
Image quality test
In the upper picture, the lights are off, while in the lower picture, the lights are turned on.
The first set:
The second set:
And the last one:
Finally, here is a more intuitive comparison:
In a pitch-black room, the picture quality of the Dangbei F7 Pro is comparable to that of a high-end 100-inch MiniLED TV. Even when blown up to 120 inches, the visual performance is still impressive.
When the window is open and the lights are on, there’s a slight decrease in color, brightness, and contrast, but the overall details are still clearly visible.
Under the same ambient lighting, this is how the viewing experience appears.
Here are a few more shots of the projector in lights-off mode:
Brightness Uniformity Test
We used a Testo TESTO540 illuminance meter, with a measurement range of 0-99999 Lux and an accuracy of ±3%.
Before measuring, we restored the projector to factory settings, fed a white field signal with its native resolution, and allowed it to warm up for over half an hour to stabilize its output performance. We adjusted the white field color temperature to a range of 6000K-10000K, after which we measured the screen light values at nine locations with the illuminance meter.
Actual test results as below:
The peak illuminance level is 878, lowest at 836, while average reading reached 853 Lux.
Max. Deviation: 3.1%, Average deviation at 1.7%. Once again this is the best result among mainstream projectors tested with us.
Conclusion
It is common for people to think that watching TV in the daytime with open windows and lighting is superior to a projector, but this is often not true.
Under a high amount of ambient light, TV panels tend to produce a lot of glare, which significantly reduces clarity. The surface of a projector screen or wall is diffusing, so this reflective effect is greatly reduced.
If you’re looking to project a 100-inch image in a well-lit room, a minimum of 2000 CVIA lumens is required for an optimal viewing experience. The Dangbei F7 Pro far exceeds this with both its nominal and actual brightness levels.
The powerful 3600 CVIA lumens of the Dangbei F7 Pro can pop out with impressively bright and clear images even in a bright environment with open windows and lights on. Its performance is competitive to many TVs and even surmounts several projectors when it is used in darker conditions.
Pairing the Dangbei F7 Pro with an anti-glare screen would yield a display quality equivalent to 100-inch smart TVs worth 30,000 yuan ($4,100).
More to know before buying
In the darkest settings, the F7 Pro can project a massive 130-inch screen, offering a truly immersive experience. This level of immersion is unmatched by the smaller screens found on most TVs.
It’s worth noting that the Dangbei F7 Pro’s eye-friendly three-color laser light source ensures comfortable viewing. This feature allows for extended movie sessions without causing eye strain or discomfort.
The other highlights of the Dangbei F7 Pro include, but are not limited to, a 6-second fast startup.
It has no startup ads, offering a smooth experience right from the beginning. It features a self-developed Quantum Engine 2.0, enabling 10x faster app installation. The projector includes an intuitive pointing remote control for easy navigation. It supports side projection giant screen mode for a flexible viewing experience. The 360° smart gimbal allows versatile positioning for optimal viewing angles. The Task Master feature enhances productivity and performance.For time’s sake, we couldn’t look deep into all of these.
Watch for a full in-depth review in the upcoming video from the Fast Technology Video channel.
