TheNebula Mars 3 Airis an impressive portable projector with outstanding picture quality, a decent battery life for its size, and numerous quality of life features. However, sacrifices made in the name of portability may make buyers think twice.
Nebula Mars 3 Air
The Nebula Mars 3 Air Projector is a superb device in video quality, ease of use, compatibility with streaming services and media, ands flexibility. Offering 1080p HDR video, Dolby Audio, a decent battery life, and convenient auto-framing for its display, this projector has numerous thoughtful design features, though its battery life is too short for longer viewing sessions, and it has some additional quirks that hold it back, such as a shallow mounting thread and no USB-C port.
Pricing and Availability
Nebula came in swinging with the thoughtfulness of the Mars 3 Air’s features, all at a reasonably affordable retail price tag of $599.99, and often significantly lower when on sale.
Specifications
The Mars 3 Air Has Phenomenal Video Quality
Even in imperfect conditions, such as with dim ambient light or on a textured wall, the projector’s video is clear and sharp. While it is limited to 400 ANSI lumens in terms of brightness, that is more than enough for this projector to present crisp, clear, and bright video even in imperfect darkness conditions. That said, it will not be sufficient for projection in a well-lit room.
Its resolution is limited to 1080p, but it can also display HDR video, which is an impressive feat considering its brightness level, which is quite high for a portable projector.
The Mars 3 Air has additional picture modes and advanced video settings to further dial into your desired video appearance, such as aMoviepicture setting and advanced adjustments forDNR(Digital Noise Reduction). That said, the out-of-box video settings will likely more than suffice for most users.
Audio Quality Is Better Than Expected
This projector features impressive audio for the size, with dual 8W speakers stacked with Dolby Audio. In my testing, the audio was clear and rich in its depth, which is likely due to how frankly large the speakers on each side of the projector are.
The volume goes so high, in fact, that I did not exceed 30% volume for testing indoors for casual viewing.
Battery Life is Impressive for the Specs
The Mars 3 Air boasts 2.5 hours of battery life for video playback and 8 hours of audio. Considering the picture and audio quality, these are quite impressive battery specs. Additionally, the battery only takes 3 hours to charge from zero, and you can operate the device while charging it, though this may lengthen charge time.
That said, 2.5 hours is still a relatively short time when considering movie lengths. You won’t be able to binge entire TV seasons or watch more than one standard-length film on one charge.
Built-In Compatibility With Streaming Services Is a Plus
The Mars 3 Air boasts a huge amount of built-in compatibility with streaming services, largely thanks to its implementation of Google TV for operation. As such, you should be able to access just about any streaming service.
Additionally, the Mars 3 Air is advertised as licensed by Netflix, and while this may be more of a PR button than a feature, Netflix does work seamlessly on this device. It’s especially convenient to log in via your smartphone using a QR code instead of manually typing your login details.
In addition to direct access to streaming services, any device or service with Chromecast functionality can also stream content to the Mars 3 Air
Hardware Connections Are Helpful, Yet Not Ideal
In addition to all its digital streaming compatibility, the Mars 3 Air additionally has a few useful ports on its rear for more connectivity options:
With streaming media dominating how we consume content, it is nice to see the option to utilize hardware connections too. That said, including USB-C—potentially via a combination port including display, data, and fast charging—would help future-proof this device.
Its Smartphone App Is Surprisingly Helpful
The Mars 3 Air comes with a dedicated remote that requires AAA batteries, but you can also perform all the remote’s functions using Nebula’s app using a phone connected via Bluetooth. This app has the added function of allowing you to type using a smartphone keyboard rather than remote navigation.
While the remote and its tactile buttons certainly are most pleasing to use, many users are likely to lose their remotes considering the portable nature of this projector. As such, allowing your phone to function as a remote is a great backup option in case you either lose your remote or would prefer not to lose it and keep it at home.
The projector itself has buttons for control without a remote, but adding redundancy for remote functionality is certainly nice to have.
Quarter Inch Mounting Is Convenient
At the bottom of the Mars 3 Air projector, there is a quarter inch mounting thread. This means the projector is theoretically compatible with just about any tripod and most standard mounting systems.
Unfortunately, this port is quite shallow, and the projector is highly prone to wobbling when mounted.
The Mars 3 Air Is Incredibly Easy to Set Up
First, the Mars 3 Air has numerous features to make the framing the display incredibly simple. Point it at a wall or screen, and press theAuto Focusbutton. Press enter, and the projector will use its myriad of features includingObject Avoidance,Keystone Correction,Autofocus, andScreen Fitto perfectly position the screen on whatever you point it at.
We tested on a subpar spot—a bedroom wall with some clutter and cabinets—and even with imperfect positioning as well, it managed to fill out the largest, clearest section of the wall while avoiding obstacles. While this level of ease of use is increasingly standard in projectors, it remains incredibly convenient to have.
Setup Is Slower Without a Google TV Account
After the ease of display setup, we encountered a small hurdle on the software side.
This projector primarily uses Google TV to facilitate its access to streaming and YouTube, and users with a Google TV account can set it up more quickly via connecting to their smartphone app.
However, I tested the setup length without already having a Google TV account established, and it’s a longer process. Without an existing Google TV account, there are additional processes to click and wait through, one of which took around 8 minutes of waiting. Outside of this, other than brief load times, the setup process was smooth.
Considering setup is generally a one-time process for devices like a projector, the slowness of software setup is not a major drawback, and if you already have a Google TV account setup, you will likely have a faster experience.
