I have been one of those people who say “I don't have a television” for a long time. Really my entire adult life, except for those times when I shared my living space with someone who brought theirs to the party.
My exact motivation is a little fuzzy all these years later, but at some point, it's a lifestyle you adapt to, one that can occasionally make your job as a hardware reviewer a bit complicated.
However, the truth is that the distinction between owning and not owning a television has become increasingly blurred over the last decade. Perhaps as blurry as the definition of television itself. Think of this cord cutter's journey as a kind of decoder. Ship of Theseus. Somewhere along the way, we cut our final ties first with terrestrial television and then with the cable companies.
Movies, live television, sports: all of these familiar paradigms have been adapted to the digital age. Ultimately, it is entirely up to you how much you want your home setup to resemble previous models. Personally, I have no loyalty to live television, and Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher has personally taken it upon himself to sever my primary connection to professional sports.
All the time I watched movies or TV at home I did so first on a laptop and then on a tablet. In the intervening years, any stance he might have initially taken against owning a television became effectively arbitrary, save for two things: space and money. Of course, the price of TVs has continued to drop over time, although that doesn't take into account things like sound systems and all the other ephemera. Space, on the other hand, will be a concern while living in a city like New York on a journalist's salary.
I have contemplated the lifespan of the projector over the years; I've also tried a few here and there. There's something very attractive about a large screen that you can store away when not in use. However, until recently, it seemed that price and ease of use were far behind compared to the much more popular TV option.
In the twelve years since its founding in Shenzhen, Anker has become an accessories powerhouse. Overall, the company has done a good job balancing price, quality, and creative design. I've recommended many of their products over the years and have been tempted to try an Anker Nebula projector for some time.
Just before the holidays, I contacted the company to check out a review unit and was looking for a decently priced projector screen. My initial goal was to buy something in the 70- to 80-inch range, not being entirely sure if something larger would fit in my living room and/or bedroom. Even the low end is significantly larger than the average TV, which ranges from 30 to 65 inches.
The story of how I ended up with a 100-inch projection screen in my bedroom is a completely boring combination of pricing, price comparison, and reading reviews. But here we are, from watching all my TV shows and movies on an iPad to having to walk around a movie screen every time I wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom.
However, screens are like so many other things in technology: once you get used to them, you suddenly wonder how you managed to survive so many years without them.
Released earlier this year, the Anker Nebula Capsule 3 is pretty much exactly what I was looking for in a projector. It's extremely compact (the company likens it to the size and shape of a soda can), easy to use, and extremely autonomous. The question of price is interesting here. The device sells for $800 (although you can usually find it for $50 less on places like Amazon).
You can find a 60-inch 1080p smart TV for a couple hundred. As with any major purchase, a cost-benefit analysis must be done here. A 100-inch TV will probably cost you over a thousand dollars, while the Capsule 3 produces a picture up to 120 inches. If you factor in the projector screen, it's another $70 in my case. Like many screens, mine is effectively a frame of PVC pipe holding a taut, silky white sheet.
The Capsule has a decent Bluetooth speaker and Chromecast built-in, which are points in its favor. However, against this is the fact that even with a laser projection system, the image only produces the desired effect in a completely dark room. It is also necessary to find the right place to place the projector that avoids possible obstacles. There is also a calibration process that you will have to deal with every time you move the projector or screen.
The latter is less discouraging than it seems. The system does a decent job of automatically calibrating itself and reducing the screen size to avoid obstacles. However, I often find myself using the included remote or the Nebula app to better fit my screen dimensions.
When it comes to compact design and portability, it doesn't get any better than the Nebula right now. I've used it exclusively at home, so it's pretty much plugged in. But it can play for around 2.5 hours on a charge, which will allow you to watch many movies that are not directed by Martin Scorsese. When the weather warms up, the idea of rolling up the screen and taking the projector outside is certainly appealing.
At $800, it should probably be considered more of a TV replacement than a secondary display. For many, the need for total darkness and the problems related to the calibration process are reasons enough to recommend against it. If you've been seriously considering purchasing a home projector and want something portable and easy to use without spending a fortune, the Capsule 3 is easily your best option.