Dangbei Mars Pro 2 review: Big and bright

I loved Dangbei’s small Atom projector — giving it a near perfect review as the tiny but mighty device successfully provided sharp, bright, and colorful images at a sub-$1K price point. However impressive, it compromised on some more “premium” projector features like a full setting suite and lacked a stand.

So, with summer around the corner and wanting to curate outdoor movie nights, I’ve been searching for the perfect 4K projector and decided to test Dangbei’s bigger, more expensive, flagship model: the DBOXO2 — also dubbed the Mars Pro 2.

Read on for my full review.

Dangbei DBOX02

Recommended

The Dangbei DBOX02 is a premium 4K laser projector which offers up to 2450 ISO lumens in brightness and built-in speakers, plus Google TV functionality. It delivers great picture quality, good looks and versatile performance for a price that undercuts some of the competition, particularly from XGIMI and Anker.  

Pros

• Bright, colorful image
• Premium design
• Google TV

Cons

• Half-baked software features
• Not the best speakers
• Very big

Price, availability and specs

The Dangbei DBOX2 is available now for prices starting at $1499.99, direct from Amazon, and it’s only offered in black.

From the start, when unboxing the DBOX02, I was abundantly aware of one thing: its size. Now size is a trade off when going premium, fancy projectors need cooling fans and plenty of space inside for speakers, but the DBOX02 is a large device.

Finished in metal all across and in matte black, it looks good, and has an ample selection of ports on the rear. I was also sent a stand with my review unit and highly recommend it as it helps with multiple viewing angles and balance.

The size and weight become a little bit of an issue when it comes to easily positioning the device. Again, not a problem if you have a stand. If, however you are buying this as a first projector, don’t expect it to be easy to move and reposition. It’s really intended to sit in a single spot, or on a tripod.

That aside, this is a classy and well constructed projector. The port selection is relatively generous, with two HDMI inputs, two USB-A ports, and an ethernet jack.

Happily, the DBOX02 also comes with a Bluetooth remote, which connected easily and worked quickly and accurately.

What I liked about the Dangbei Mars Pro 2

Bright, bold and beautiful

Moving to picture quality, to start, this is a laser projector which crucially means that it is bright. That said, when I stared directly at it I thought my eyeballs might melt. In nearly all conditions, apart from a bright sunny day, it was sufficient to use indoors with the curtains open. It can reach up to 2450 ISO lumens of brightness, which is impressive, though I’d take this with a little pinch of salt. Lumens are the measure of brightness in a projector, but different places have different takes on how they work.

The industry standard measure is ANSI, while ISO is lesser known. One ISO lumen equals roughly 0.8 ANSI lumens, so 2450 ISO lumens translates to 1960 ANSI lumens, less sexy but still impressive. Dangbei has also been in a bit of hot water over allegedly cooking its figures a little. Regardless, in the real world and away from geeky numbers, this is a bright projector.

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And oh boy, is it sharp too. From 80 inches up to its full projection width, content looked very crisp and naturally detailed. Of course 4K video looked best, but if you like the most detail you can reasonably get, this is a good option. The colors too, true to general lazer performance, are great. They are saturated and pleasant without being overbearing and there’s barely any noise in the shadows. As a whole, the picture quality offered here is excellent for the price.

Additionally, the projector provides HDR10 compatibility, meaning that supported content is extra bright and clear, and well worth using where it’s available.

Watching Eurovision 2024 with a white screen was a treat, the colors of the crazy performers were brought nicely to life while the speakers kept up with the daft vocals with no issue.

Full fat Google TV with most of your favorite apps

Google TV

Ease of use

High

Smart assistants

Google Assistant

Ad presence

Moderate

App availability

Very wide

Notable features

AI-curated content; Chromecast built-in

Moving onto software, the picture is equally positive with some large caveats. Rather than run its own custom Android skin as it has done at times in the past, Dangbei has loaded up the DBOX02 with Google TV.

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That means access to the Play Store and nearly any streaming app you can think of. Downloading an app is a simple process, and once you have it, provided you use your Google account to log in, quickly accessing each app becomes an easy ask. Additionally, the projector has Netflix available and fully licensed which is, something which can’t be said for some of the competition.

What I didn’t like about the Dangbei Mars Pro 2

Software caveats

While the Dangbei is an accomplished projector by most metrics, it has some mainly software-based flaws that are nonetheless a significant problem.

First of these is software reliability. I was able to outright crash the projector on occasions by selecting a single software option. In one case selecting ‘3D projection’ simply caused the screen to turn purple and jagged. Only a hard reset resolved the issue. When the outlay is above $1K, at the very least you are expecting rock solid stability.

Another issue was app availvility. So, while Google TV offers wide access to nearly any service in existence, there’s no guarantee that they’ll be able to install on the projector.

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Then there’s accessing projector features. The clue is in the name, Google TV is designed for TVs first and foremost. Accessing a function like keystoning, something you’ll be doing regularly if you change your projection surface, requires a relatively deep dive into system settings in order to access it, which is definitely more complicated than necessary.

Maybe too big?

While the DBOX02 is a premium projector and sized accordingly, it is very, very big. You won’t want to move it around the house, once you’ve chosen a position it will likely remain stationary. For that reason, if you are buying this either as a first projector or a first premium projector, the issue is then of whether it might be simply too much for your living situation.

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Despite the size, the speakers fail to make much of an impression. While bass is powerful, mids and trebles tend to become drowned somewhat in movies, meaning that speech can be harder to hear than might otherwise be expected. This is again not brilliant given the price point.

Should I buy the Dangbei DBOX02?

If you want a powerful, premium option that works well, has fantastic picture quality and which has an easy interface, the DBOX02 is an excellent option.

The real question is whether you need it. There are projectors which have similar mainstream appeal for less than $1K, and there are also many TVs which achieve the same. At nearly $2K it is approaching luxury territory, and it might be more than many find they actually want.

Dangbei DBOX02

Recommended

Moreover, it’s also large and heavy. If you are a first time projector buyer or want something you can easily move throughout the home, this isn’t it. The DBOX02 isn’t petite, it isn’t portable, and it makes no pretense of being either.

There’s a reason it has a little junk in the trunk, and that’s picture quality. Boasting a 4K resolution, with brightness to spare and colors that pop, it makes movies sing. The included speakers do a decent job of bringing a little stereo sound to your setup. Last but not least, there’s Google TV integration too, meaning all of your favorite apps are present and correct, the interface is easy to navigate and finding your favorite movies and TV shows is a cinch.