Wemax Laser Projector for Mobile and Desktop Devices- Review

Nov 2021 – As a followup to when the rescheduled NAB event was to have taken place in Las Vegas, we had a chance to review the new Wemax Laser Projector for both Mobile and Desktop devices. Over the past few years we have tested a number of small portable projectors for cell phones and wireless devices, as well as several cable connected projectors targeted to the office solution space. The Wemax projector is actually designed to work in both environments.
Starting with the office /professional use models – the unit comes in self-contained carry case that has the projector, power cord and transformer and space for connectivity cables if needed. The case is designed to fit in a standard mobile laptop case or executive briefcase and provides either form-fitting hold for items like the power transformer or a band to hold the projector itself to be travel safe.
The unit uses a standard HMDI cable (V1.x is sufficient for the FHD output of the projector) which allows sources such as laptops, desktops and set top boxes. This makes the unit applicable for conference room use, traveling for presentations and also for trade show booth use. In addition to the cable input, the unit has a USB input (standard type A plug) which allows both still images and video to be transferred and played without the need for a support computer.
The projector has several control buttons on the top that allow for movement through the menus, playback (volume, fast forward, and rewind). These controls enhance the use in business environments where typically they are handled by a remote control, that is far to often misplaced due to multiple operators using the same equipment. The unit also has a unique on-off switch, which is the protecting door for the lens and laser system. In the closed position, the lens is covered and the unit is off. To turn on the unit, simply slide the door to the side to uncover the lens and the unit turns on. For trade show applications this simplicity is priceless. The system uses USB-C for the power connector. The unit is designed for stand alone power with a phone-style transformer, but will also operate off of a USB3.2 or higher specification (including TB4) for power.
On the mobile side there is a wireless connection to iOS devices and for android it simply is another endpoint display that can be connected by casting the video.
From the professional use model perspective, the key function is to present the image properly. The test unit had very good color representation across the Android, iOS and standard video Rec709 color. The image brightness and clarity was clear up to the 36” size we tested it at. Captioning, and in-video elements were not blurred out not did they have any missing elements or pixels. While this may sound like an obvious element, many of the projectors only push out content on a 4:2:0 chroma subsample even thought the content is 4:2:2 which has additional pixel information. On still images, and both short and long run (30min test length) video the unit did not shift color nor have any changes in pixel display characteristics. Many of the other projectors tested ended up pixel drop do to playout bit error rate targets for 29.97 fps video.
Overall the unit is a solid small projector that can be uses in office environments as well as group video playout from mobile phones. THe projector is available for orders via their campaign site at https://igg.me/at/wemaxgo