First of all, this is a review for the Nebula Mars II Pro purchased from AnkerDirect (UK) fulfilled by Amazon (UK). I ordered this projector after hours of research with the main focus on 1) portability 2) noise level and 3) manufacturer reputation, and this product from Anker ticked all the boxes.
Reason for the negative feedback is mainly because of its hardware issues and poor packaging details.
Packaging details:
- No security seal or some sort. The lack of sellotape/seal on the outer packaging is always a worrying sign.
- The inner packaging is even worse in my opinion - it’s like someone has repackaged and sealed the main unit with a thin sellotape.
- Very cheap looking power supply, although there’s nothing wrong with it.
- Start guide is very minimalist, and confusing. Under “Charge your projector”, it says “charger is not provided”, with a picture apparently showing an Asia power unit. But we are in the UK, and the charger is indeed in the box.
- I am surprised this unit didn’t come in pre-charged. The guide does say “fully charge the built-in battery before using for the first time” so you cannot fault that.
Hardware issues:
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HDMI socket is somewhat misaligned. I have tried several known working HDMI cables but none of which would go in. And I am 100% sure I am using the right cables - they are type A 14mm standard HDMI.
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Fan noise is way louder than advertised. With “Decibel X” App running on my phone, it detects the fan giving a 45-50dB noise level when the phone running the App is at least 1 meter away from the back of the projector. For the 1 hour duration running the projector, the level of noise was at 45-50 range all the time. From Mars 2 Pro’s official (US) specification, the fan should be running under 32dB (https://www.anker.com/store/mars-ii-pro/D2323111). UK site doesn’t even have Mars 2 Pro’s specification.
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LED indicator is confusing. When the unit is charging and the front lens cover is shut (machine is off), LED indicator changes from 1 light when it was open, to 3 lights. I had assumed the LED lights were about battery level, but I am not sure now as it keeps changing when turning on/off the lens cover.
I wish I could spend more time testing and playing with it, but the fan noise was way too loud so I had to give up. I always liked Anker products, but this one truly let me down.
PS: by my measurement, if you have DC plugged in, you would struggle to plug in an Amazon Fire TV 4K stick. You would struggle more if you want DC, said stick and USB all plugged in at the same time.