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The Dangbei Atom is a 1080p-resolution portable projector. Priced at $899 / £899 (with prices often falling to $699 / £699), it’s pricier than the Samsung Freestyle Gen 2 and similarly priced to the LG CineBeam Q, two of the best portable projectors available.
The Dangbei Atom uses a laser DLP light engine and supports the HDR10 and HLG HDR formats, but only via streaming and not through an HDMI or USB connection, which is a shame for those looking to connect one of the best 4K Blu-ray players. It has auto keystone and auto focus, although its manual keystone adjustment is more effective. It also comes with Google TV built in, providing access to some of the best streaming services such as Netflix and Disney Plus. Connections on the Atom consist of one HDMI 2.0 and one USB port.
Picture quality is a mixed bag with the Atom. Its bright image gives more colorful scenes a vivid enough look, contrast is decent and it handles sports motion well. However, given its struggles with black levels and darker scenes, its picture won’t beat the best projectors anytime soon. Sound quality is better than expected, with a solid punch, but is still limited by the projector’s size.
The Atom is light and compact with an appealing blue, square design. For those who want to take a projector with plenty of smart features and capabilities on-the-go, it’ll do the job and easily fit in most small bags.
Dangbei Atom projector review: Price & release date
- First released: February 2024
- Price: $899 / £899
The Dangbei Atom’s $899 / £899 list price puts it in a similar price bracket to other portable projectors such as the LG CineBeam Q and Samsung Freestyle Gen 2. Prices for the Atom have dropped to $699 / £699 since its release.
Dangbei Atom projector review: Specs
|
Screen sizes supported: |
up to 180 inches |
|
Brightness (specified): |
1200 ANSI Lumens |
|
HDR support: |
HDR10, HLG (streaming only) |
|
Optical technology: |
DLP laser/ALPD |
|
Smart TV: |
Google TV |
|
Connections: |
HDMI, USB |
|
Dimensions: |
7.6 x 7.6 x 1.8 inches (19.5 x 19.5 x 4.75 cm) |
|
Weight: |
2.2 pounds (0.9kg) |
Dangbei Atom review: Design & features
- Sleek, portable design
- Google TV smart platform
- Laser DLP (ALPD)
The Dangbei Atom is a slim, compact portable projector. It measures 7.6 x 7.6 x 1.8 inches (19.5 x 19.5 x 4.75 cm) and weighs 2.8lbs (900g). The Atom is mains-powered only, with no battery option.
The 1080p-res Atom’s DLP laser (ALPD – Advanced Laser Phosphor Display) light engine delivers a specified 1,200 ANSI lumens brightness. It can beam images up to 180 inches, which is impressive for a projector this small, and has both auto and manual keystone correction and focus. I found the auto focus to be very effective, but also found it best to use manual keystone correction.
The Atom’s Google TV smart platform features major streaming services including Netflix, Disney Plus and Prime Video. It has Google Voice Assistant for voice control and Chromecast for a wireless connection to phones and tablets. Physical connections include one HDMI port for video only and one USB-A port.
Both the HDR10 and HLG high dynamic range formats are supported, but only through the built-in streaming apps and not HDMI or USB. There is also support for 4K input, which is downscaled to the Atom’s native Full HD resolution. For audio, the Atom features 2 x 5W speakers.
Dangbei Atom projector review: Picture & sound quality
- Bright, colorful image
- Picture lacks detail
- Passably good sound
For my testing of the Atom, I used an 80-inch, 1.0 gain matte white Optoma screen. Measuring the Atom’s brightness on a 10% white window pattern, it hit 109 nits in Movie mode – a significant step-up compared to the LG CineBeam Q, which hit 60 nits in Filmmaker Mode, but lower than the JMGO N1S Pro 4K, which hit 161 nits.
The Atom’s main strength is its surprisingly bright out-of-the-box image, which served more colorful scenes well. Watching Elemental, streamed on Disney Plus in HD and HDR10, colors looked punchy, particularly in scenes where Ember created glass sculptures. In Star Wars: The Last Jedi’s throne room lightsaber fight, reds mostly looked accurate, but were slightly too vivid.
Dangbei’s projector did a solid job displaying sports. The Standard mode provided the best picture and motion handling when I watched a football game streamed from Prime Video – a welcome result as there are no motion adjustments to work with in the setup menu.
The Atom struggled with dark movies. Watching a 4K Blu-ray of The Batman revealed an acceptable balance between light and dark tones, but black levels were raised, looking more gray than black. (I measured the Atom’s contrast ratio at 181:1.) Shadow detail was solid overall, with elements in clothing such as Batman’s chest plate still visible.
The Atom also struggled with textures. Throughout most viewing in Movie mode, these appeared soft, even by portable projector standards. In other picture modes, textures appeared too sharp, giving them a fake look, with few picture settings available to fix this.
The Atom’s dual 5W speakers don’t create a room-filling sound, but are solid enough considering the projector’s size. Watching the Batmobile/Penguin chase scene in The Batman, the sound was clear, and there was some impact during explosions and car crashes. However, the soundstage was narrow, and the bass was limited.
The Atom has a game mode for gaming, but that’s the only related feature. Playing Battlefield V was a perfectly fine experience, but some lag was noticeable. When I measured it, the Atom’s input lag was 60.4ms, an average score for a portable projector that’s not specifically designed for gaming.
- Picture and sound quality: 3.5/5
Dangbei Atom projector review: Value
- Smart features
- Sleek design
- Better priced rivals
Priced at $899 / £899 upon release, the Atom is nearly double the price of the Samsung Freestyle Gen 2 in the UK but doesn’t deliver twice the performance. (It’s similarly priced in the US.) Even the LG CineBeam Q, a 4K portable projector, can be found for $799 / £799.
The Atom’s price has since dropped to $699 / £699, which is more palatable for the smart features and performance it offers. LG’s CineBeam Q and Samsung’s Freestyle Gen 2 are still better value overall, but the Atom is still a decent enough portable projector.
Should I buy the Dangbei Atom projector?
|
Attributes |
Notes |
Rating |
|---|---|---|
|
Design and features |
Google TV smart interface and features; light, portable design |
4/5 |
|
Picture quality & sound quality |
Bright, colorful picture but only passable contrast and inconsistent textures. Sound is fine for the size, but still lacking |
3.5/5 |
|
Value |
A perfectly fine portable projector for a palatable price, but rival LG and Samsung projectors are better value |
3.5/5 |
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
Also consider
| Header Cell – Column 0 |
Dangbei Atom |
LG CineBeam Q |
Samsung The Freestyle 2nd Gen |
Xgimi MoGo 3 Pro |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Price: |
$899/£899 |
$799/£749 |
$799/£549 |
$449 / £429 / AU$1,099 |
|
Screen sizes supported: |
up to 180 inches |
50-120 inches |
30 to 130 inches |
40 to 200 inches |
|
Brightness (specified): |
1200 ANSI lumens |
500 ANSI lumens |
230 ANSI lumens |
450 ANSI lumens |
|
HDR support |
HDR/HLG (streaming only) |
HDR10, HLG |
HDR10+, HDR10, HLG |
HDR10, HLG |
|
Optical technology: |
DLP laser |
RGB laser DLP |
LED, DLP |
LED, DLP |
|
Smart TV: |
Google TV |
webOS |
Tizen |
Google TV |
|
Connections: |
HDMI x1, USB x1 |
HDMI, USB-C (display, power) |
Micro-HDMI, USB-C (power) |
Micro-HDMI, USB-A, USB-C (power), Bluetooth 5.1 |
How I tested the Dangbei Atom projector
- Tested with an Optoma 80-inch, 1.0 gain matte white screen
- Tested using Blu-ray, streaming sources
- Measurements taken using Portrait Displays’ Calman calibration software
To test the Dangbei Atom, I used streaming and disc sources. Watching reference scenes, I tested the Atom’s picture quality, focusing on color accuracy, black levels, brightness and contrast, and textures.
To record measurements for color and grayscale accuracy, brightness, and contrast ratio, I used a colorimeter, test pattern generator and Portrait Displays’ Calman color calibration software.
The Atom was primarily tested in pitch-black conditions in TechRadar’s testing room. It was also tested in varying lighting conditions to see how it would handle ambient light in other viewing situations.
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james.davidson@futurenet.com (James Davidson)
