I asked for it, I got it - Wanbo Mozart 1 Pro projector test
Wanbo's flagship FHD projector, the Wanbo Mozart 1 Pro, is the subject of this test.
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Wanbo Mozart 1 Pro - Introduction
I'll start this article with a little anecdote, because the Wanbo Mozart 1 Pro has an interesting history with me. Let's start with the fact that your predecessor, Mozart 1, was the first to arrive in the country, then the distributor forgot to tell me that I could activate the article, so I was the last of the larger sites to see the test. At least I made a video for it.
The story won't be interesting here, the strange part begins when I asked the distributor to get together with the manufacturer, because I have an important question. Well, the question I asked was: Why doesn't Wanbo make Widevine L1 certified projectors? (here, in parenthesis, I note that the Wanbo TT received an L1 certificate, but in return it ran Linux, which meant that almost zero applications were available for it)
The answer was that because Wanbo claims that an old version 9 Android and full Play Store support is much better, because in this way the user can download and install any Android app on the projector.
I then asked what would be the better choice in the case of a projector, if all crap could be installed on it, or if we could enjoy the programs of streaming providers in FHD resolution? (again in brackets, because without the L1 certificate we can only watch movies in SD resolution, even though the projector is capable of FHD resolution).
I told them that in my opinion it was a projector, not a phone. I'm not going to install all the nonsense on it, but I want to watch movies on it in good quality, and if they think it's unreasonable, then I'll raise my hand.
The answer to this is: ok, we are thinking about it!
And this year the Wanbo Mozart 1 Pro arrived, and even the DaVinci, their latest machine, and lo and behold, both run Android TV and are both Widevine L1 certified. I don't claim that this is only due to me, but maybe my opinion weighed a little bit on me, so I see this as my own success somewhere.
Wanbo Mozart 1 Pro - Specification
It's good if you know right now, at the beginning of the article, that Wanbo Mozart 1 and Wanbo Mozart 1 Pro are almost identical, so I can increase the capabilities from the previous article. There are some differences, but I will cover them separately!
The Wanbo Mozart 1 Pro - together with the Mozart 1 - is the largest, but not the heaviest, projector from Wanbo to date. The external dimensions are 176 x 209 x 223 mm, the exact weight is 3,3 kilos. The Mozart 1 is 20 deka heavier than this, which is because it still has an internal power supply, while the Pro version has an external power supply, so the machine has become a little lighter.
In theory, the projector is available in white as well as dark blue, which I have not seen in any store so far. What is interesting is that the version without Pro is theoretically also available in dark blue, but you can only get it in white.
The machine, like all Wanbos, has a completely closed projection system. This means that no dust can enter the system, and the lenses do not need to be cleaned from the inside. If it's a lens. All Wanbo projectors are also characterized by using only glass lenses. This is good, because they are not eaten by UV and are not deformed by heat. The Wanbo Mozart 1 Pro uses a 5-element lens system.
Anyway, the projection takes place via an LCD panel, the real, i.e. native, resolution of which is FHD, i.e. 1920 x 1080 pixels, but it also consumes 2K and 4K content. The lighting is LED, and according to the manufacturer, it has a lifetime of 30 hours (for the Mozart 000, "only" 1 hours were given, so this has also changed). the luminous flux is 20 ANSI, the contrast ratio is 000:900. The aspect ratio of the projected image can be 3000:1 or 4:3. The projection distance can vary between 16 and 9 meters, and the diagonal of the image is between 1,5 and 4 inches, depending on the distance. The quality of the picture is further improved by the 55% coverage of the DCI-P120 color space and the support of HDR3.
The projection system is called Wanbo PixelPro, which is the PixelPro 1 version for the Wanbo Mozart 5.0 Pro. I should note that I probably got involved in the story at 4.0, which was already about 2 years ago, because LCD projection appeared at all at 3.0. The difference between 4.0 and 5.0 is that the former is called Full closed optical machine, while the latter is called Innovative full closed optical machine. In other words, there is almost no change, which no problem, 4.0 was also perfect.
The Android 9 operating system, 2 GB of system memory and 16 GB of storage, Wi-Fi5, Bluetooth 5.0, and 2 x 8 watt active speakers and their air-driven subwoofer are also worth mentioning among the capabilities.
I have to add here that, interestingly, in the case of the Wanbo Mozart 1, we also got double, that is, 32 GB of storage and WiFi6. The backup can also be explained by the fact that there is a good chance that less crap is installed on Android TV than on plain Android, but replacing WiFi6 with WiFi5 is incomprehensible. Not that it made any difference during use. My only tip is to save, because Android TV and Widevine L1 may have pushed the price up a bit.
We quickly covered this, but let's try to understand it, because there is something!
The closed projection system was essentially a given from the beginning, from the first Wanbo projectors, but the 900 ANSI luminous flux was considered the peak when the predecessor (Mozart 1) was released. As I wrote above, the manufacturer gave the package a sonorous name, which became PixelPro 5.0, but the point is not the name, but the quality of the projection, which is flawless.
3 more points of interest at the end. One is that the focus is automatic. The second is that the adjustment of the keystone correction is also automatic, and the third is that there is built-in obstacle avoidance.
The latter should be mentioned, because the first two abilities were already available, e.g. also in the Wanbo TT, but this obstacle is completely new. So, what we are talking about here is that if there is an obstacle in the way of the projection that casts a shadow on the image, or there is an object hanging on the wall, then the projector will try to change the size of the image in such a way that the interfering object is out of the image. Sounds good!
Let's see how the projector turned out!
Wanbo Mozart 1 Pro - External
Anyone who has seen Wanbo projectors will not be surprised by the shape. The older machines also looked similar, the design really suits me (it has so far), although the shape is pleasing to the eye and the materials are a bit fiddly in real life. Especially the glossy surface on the front is a real fingerprint magnet, so don't take it for granted!
I really like that the previous perforated speaker grille has been replaced by this striped solution, which can also be seen in the pictures, the effect is truly unique, almost artistic. The designer deserves a buck for it! The bottom, top, and back of the machine are not particularly interesting, at the back we find the usual connectors in the usual places, that is, there is a USB A, an HDMI and a headphone jack.
Here, too, we can discover a slight step back compared to the Wanbo Mozart 1, because both of them have a USB. The reason is simple, the connector of the external power supply takes up space, the second USB physically did not fit.
More interesting than this is the right (also better) side of the machine (viewed from the front), where we find a rather unusual thing, a large speaker. Well, it's not actually a speaker, that is, it's not an active speaker, it's "just" a membrane that is moved by the air vibrated inside the closed interior by the two 8-watt speakers built into the machine.
In other words, on the left we find a passive subwoofer, which is a very unusual solution for a projector.
What is also worth mentioning about the exterior is that there is no standard thread at the bottom that could be used to screw onto a tripod (I suspect due to the increased, net weight of almost 4 kilos), but there is a fold-out support that can be used to raise the front of the machine.
On the one hand, I'm happy about this, because so far it wouldn't have hurt anything similar to the Wanbo projectors, but on the other hand, I'm sad because I can no longer project from a simple tripod, I need a table or shelf to put the machine on.
It is fortunate that the standard four-point mounting threads can be found under the rubber feet, so it can at least be installed on a wall bracket or ceiling bracket.
I haven't told you about the remote control yet, but it's not really interesting either. It is true that it does not come with the usual white Wanbo remote, but a black one, which we have not seen with other Wanbo machines. I didn't expect to discover its faults, but it has some advantages.
One is that we got dedicated Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime and Youtube buttons, which means that you can start these four applications with one button press, you don't have to go through the menu. The other thing is that we got a separate button for the image settings, so you don't have to dig through the menu either, you're there right away with one button. There is no third.
Wanbo Mozart 1 Pro - Software
The thing is that I read everywhere that Android Tv is not a good, cheap, expired disk. And I love it. Why? Just because it's cheap. There is no unnecessary menu anywhere, no frills. It was designed to help me find the streaming app I like as quickly as possible and launch it. I see the list of the last watched (and abandoned) movies, and I can jump back to them with the press of a button. I see the recommended new products in a list. What more do you need? Nothing for me!
It is gratifying that in addition to the Widevine L1 certificate, we will of course also receive the entire available Google ecosystem. At the same time, fewer apps are available for Android TV than for normal Android, but the important ones needed for movies are there or can be installed. VLC is the best as a media player, but we can also install Kodi, through which we can also access Sport4, so the Wanbo Mozart 1 Pro will be good for watching European football matches as well.
I also have to highlight the settings menu of the Wanbo Mozart 1 Pro, which is not available within the standard Android TV settings, but on a separate interface. Thanks to this, we can completely customize the picture and the sound. This is missing from many projectors, here we get it!
Wanbo Mozart 1 Pro - The experience
I'll start with the things supported by Ai. I don't know how much artificial intelligence there is in this, but it's the buzzword now, so if there is or not, it should be in the prospectus. Well, what are the abilities that are supported by artificial intelligence in principle?
There are some automatic features like auto focus, auto keystone and auto obstacle avoidance. Of these, in Mozart 1 the focus was good, the trapezoid was sometimes good, the obstacle avoidance did not work. In comparison, the focus in the Pro version is good, the trapezoid is sometimes even worse, and the obstacle avoidance works!
I finally didn't have to adjust the focus even a little bit, so it tested perfectly for me. The trapezoidal correction is also solved with automatic screen alignment, which means that in principle the projector should "see" the screen and the image should be adjusted so that it fills the screen perfectly. Well, I tried this about 10 times, twice of which it was so straightforward that I didn't have to adjust anything, but in the remaining eight cases neither the alignment on the canvas nor the trapezoid was perfect. But it wasn't terrible, I had to correct it a bit by hand.
Obstacle avoidance is what no projector has been good at so far, but here it is. I show it in the video along with the other functions, check it out!
The manufacturer says that there are automatic image correction functions, I can neither confirm nor deny this, because they cannot be turned off, so I cannot compare what it would be like without them.
The mistakes are over here, now the good things can come, because the Wanbo Mozart 1 Pro turned out to be a pretty good projector! It's the first Wanbo that, with a little exaggeration, can even replace a TV. At least if the room is dark enough. Of course, it's best if you darken it completely, but with this projector, you can watch movies with a cheap screen and only half-darkened, if we can't solve it any other way. In 2024, I would definitely like to buy a more expensive screen myself, because the newer projectors, like the Mozart 1, would already deserve to spend a little more on that as well.
Game. The pre-installed 3DMark is also part of the software package, of course it can be deleted. It's worth it, because there's no point in watching a tech demo at 1-1 fps on the Wanbo Mozart 2 Pro. The result is quite depressing, but many of the Play Store games run beautifully on the machine. So it's not so bad, you need a Bluetooth controller, then you can push the car and platform games, so to speak.
Movies. With this projector, it's no longer a problem if the movie takes place in space or on the lower deck of a ship. Understand that the dark details will no longer disappear! Due to the technology, the sharpness of the image is not pin-sharp across the entire surface, but this is really not the fault of Mozart 1 or Wanbo. With LCD projectors, if you do not project from the center, one part of the image will always be a little more blurry, while other parts will be sharper.
However, in the case of the Wanbo Mozart 1 Pro, even this technical error is not particularly noticeable, maybe because of the higher brightness or the better LCD, I don't know.
So the projected image is colorful and close to perfect, as far as an LCD+LED projector can be perfect, even HDR has a noticeable effect at this brightness. Of course, it still can't compete with an expensive DLP (e.g. Xiaomi MI Smart Projector 2 or MI Smart Projector 2 Pro) or laser projector, but what we get is still plenty good.
However, what doesn't just touch perfection is the sound! Mozart 1 lived up to its name. During the movies, we get the performance of a smaller soundbar thanks to the 2 8-watt radiators and the subwoofer. In other words, even if you don't have an external sound system, you will enjoy enjoyable, cinema-like sound. But I'll go on, the device even works for listening to music, I watched a concert film on it, it was really good too!
Regarding the sound, it is also important to mention that in the case of many projectors, the cooling is not so loud, the sound of the movies can drown it out. Well, the Wanbo Mozart 1 Pro doesn't need such an excuse, the sound of the cooling is really quiet. It's also rustling, it doesn't change the tone, it doesn't jump, the volume goes up and down, so you can hardly hear it even when the movie has not even started. When the action starts, the subwoofer absolutely takes over the room!
Wanbo Mozart 1 Pro - Conclusion
In the case of Wanbo Mozart 1, I closed the experience chapter as follows:
"In short, in terms of projection quality and sound, the Mozart 1 has truly become a perfect projector. I would risk that the quality of the image, even though LCD only rivals the quality of some DLP projectors, only the stuff costs less than those. Just that crappy software…”
In the case of the Wanbo Mozart 1 Pro, I can no longer complain about the software either. The machine and the iron itself were a given, I think the Mozart 1 is one of, if not the best Wanbo (the X5 is slightly better in terms of brightness), so it's no wonder that the Pro version is as well. The good features remained, the automatic settings were improved, and last but not least, the software was replaced with Android TV, and we got the coveted Widevine L1 certification!
I am quoting again from the Wanbo Mozart 1 article:
"I think the hardware is already strong enough to run an Android TV on it, so I feel like we really just need to get the Widevine L1, and if that's the case, I'll buy that machine and that'll be the my home projector. Until I win the lottery and buy a laser projector.”
Maybe you can understand why I had to cut this quote here. Then I said that if there was a Widevine L1, if there was an Android TV, then I would buy this machine for myself. I mean, I bought it. I mean, according to my current thinking, this is really going to be my projector until I scrape together the money for a much more serious structure. Let's say for a laser projector with an ultra-short projection distance and a screen, which alone is approx. it will cost as much as the Wanbo Mozart 1 Pro.
That's about it, the price at the end. Unfortunately, due to Android TV and Widevine L1 - at least I suspect that this is why - the Wanbo Mozart 1 Pro projector has become more expensive than the Mozart 1. In practice, this means that with a coupon the price is currently over HUF 130. That said, I think it's worth the money, as a projector is not a two-week investment. It is certain that I will be watching the summer matches on this, and even if Düne 2 arrives for streaming, it will also be on a big screen, with a three-meter screen diagonal!
You can order the projector from an EU, or to be more precise, Polish warehouse, the price is NNNWBMOZT1P HUF 138 with a coupon code by clicking on the link below:
Wanbo Mozart 1 Pro Projector
