A mini projector that packs HD image quality, Dolby sound, and an uber-durable rechargeable battery into a body roughly the size of a tall-boy soda is a pretty good buy for $530. But when it’s just $360 after a 32% price drop during Amazon’s Big Spring Sale — like the Nebula Capsule 3 — it gets vaulted into the “what are you waiting for?” category.
The traditional knock on mini projectors has always been the tradeoff between size and picture quality. Nebula has been one of the few brands chipping away at that problem, and the Capsule 3 is the most polished version of their argument yet. It weighs just 2.1 pounds, and fits in a backpack without rearranging anything. That’s the obvious pitch, but the execution is what really makes it worth paying attention to, especially while it’s $170 off in price.
Overperforming Image Quality
Mini projectors have been notorious for blurry, washed-out image quality if you attempt to show them on anything but a very small screen area, but the Capsule 3’s 1080p full HD resolution with DLP projection and 400:1 contrast ratio produces sharp, accurate colors on walls or other surfaces as large as 10 feet. At 200 ANSI lumens, it performs best in a dark or dimly lit room, which is where any projector does its best work anyway. This isn’t a unit you’ll fight the afternoon sun with, but for a bedroom wall, a hotel ceiling, or a backyard setup after dark, the picture holds up well, and you can’t beat it for portability.
The Capsule 3 is officially licensed by Netflix, which means It runs Google TV with official Netflix licensing built in — not a workaround, not a side-loaded app that breaks on updates. Open the box, press play, and you’re watching Netflix on a wall. YouTube, Prime Video, and the full Google TV app library are right there too, and Chromecast is built in for anything you’d rather cast from your phone. The included voice remote runs Google Assistant, so you can skip the hunt-and-peck navigation entirely.
Out of the Box, Onto the Wall
For unboxing-to-streaming speed and ease of setup, the Nebula Capsule 3 is hard to beat. IEA 3.0 technology handles autofocus, keystone correction, screen fit, and obstacle avoidance in under three seconds. Set it on a nightstand, coffee table, or picnic blanket and it calibrates itself. The built-in 45Wh battery runs about 2.5 hours of video on a charge — enough for most movies — and doubles as a Bluetooth speaker for up to 10 hours of music playback in ECO mode, which is a legitimately useful secondary function for outdoor use. Or you can run the Capsule 3 while it’s charging through its USB-C port.
A portable, fully self-contained 1080p projector with native Netflix and Google TV support at this size and weight is a hard combination to find at any price. Amazon’s Big Spring Sale makes the math so much easier, and lands this $360 deal on the Nebula Capsule 3 on the must-have list.