So, another member of the Wanbo family is in our hands - the X5. It started its journey from the EU warehouse in Germany. In the beginning, parcels were handled by DHL courier service, and later in Lithuania, as usual, by Itella. The parcel arrived successfully without any damage within 6 days to the post office. All that was left was to take it from him. 

Unboxing

After opening the package, its contents are as follows: projector, power cable with so-called "mickey mouse" connector, remote control, user manual. The power supply unit is already integrated into the projector itself.

Assembly quality

Wanbo X5 body is rectangular. The color is matte white, from the front, the body and the edge of the lens each have a golden strip. A thin protective cap was placed over the lens when unpacked. Ventilation holes on the sides of the case.

Viewed from the rear, in the lower part of the left side is the air filter. In front of the inscription - focus camera, in the back 2x 5W speakers and connections: 2x USB, headphones, AV, HDMI. There is also an indicator light installed next to these connectors, which lights up red when it is off and blue when it is on.

In the upper part, control buttons: up / down, left / right, "Back", "Ok" and on / off. These buttons are fully sufficient for controlling the projector, if the remote control wants to disappear somewhere (lost).

There is no thread for the tripod in the lower part, but after removing the small rubber feet, you can see special threads for screwing on the walls of the brackets for projectors that can be fixed on the ceiling. If the projector will "lie" on the table and you need to raise the front of the projector a little, it can be done by folding the small leg at the bottom, which has two different height positions.

Functionality

When the projector is turned on, the system shows the manufacturer's logo while loading, followed by loading the main menu and then calibrating the screen. All this takes about 1 minute each time you turn it on.

The projector is able to calibrate the image by itself, to make additional changes you can press the "Ok" button on the control panel immediately after the calibration and the trapezoidal image control will be activated immediately. For other image calibration changes, you will have to go to the main image adjustment settings. Can control: keystone, digital zoom and focus.

For color rendering, you can choose from already existing styles or adjust according to your own. Thanks to the Full HD resolution and the brightness of 1100 ANSI lumens, the image is very clear, contrasting to every projected edge.

All the main APPs like Youtube, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Spotify are visible at once on the main screen. Since the operating system of the Wanbo X5 projector is Android, the choice of apps in the app store is abundant. At the top of the screen, you can choose between the following categories: Search, Home, Apps, Video, Music, Settings.

There is no point in going into the main settings menu, but one of the most relevant options would be the language setting. Since it is an Android system, the Lithuanian (LT) language is in the list. Although there is a part of the text that will not be translated, the essence can be fully understood. Also in this settings menu, you can change settings such as which input to turn on the projector, be it HDMI, USB or AV. Every time the projector is turned on, it silently checks for any updates to the operating system.

Miracast, iMirror - possibility to rebroadcast the image and sound of the device. Thanks to Wifi 6 technology, the rebroadcast image has minimal "delay". Can be rebroadcasted (stream) both from Android, from computers with the Windows system, and from iOS. You just need to choose the app accordingly, iMirror will be for iOS systems, for all others you should choose Miracast.

Speaker mode. When this app is selected, the projector switches to BT speaker mode. After pairing with the device, the projector lamp goes out, but the fan continues to work, but this is not a big problem, since it is not very loud, the sound level is ~ 35dB. 2x 5W built-in speakers are perfect for quiet background music, a romantic movie or similar genre. When using it as an external column, you shouldn't expect big miracles. It is enough to mention that the sound is clean, no crackling or buzzing is heard. Low frequencies are also slightly noticeable.

As usual, the remote control works with 2x AAA batteries, which must be purchased separately, they were not included. The body is white matte, just like the projector itself, the buttons are black - rubber, which likes to collect a little dust. There are no buttons for your favorite apps. It has a separate button to switch to control in "mouse" mode, which is not controlled by the gyroscope, but simply by the control buttons below.

The control pad has focus buttons. It is convenient when the screen does not find the right focus during daylight hours, in which case you can quickly adjust it yourself.

Physical buttons on the projector itself. It's not a problem if the remote control is lost. All desired changes can be made with these buttons. There are no volume buttons, but the volume can be changed by going to settings. Thus, the "path" to the desired volume is further than with the remote control, but it is there.

What we didn't like?

To move the Wanbo X5 to another location, grabbing the left side often opens the air filter cover, as it is exactly where you want to grab the projector. A bit annoying. Cover from a small click - opens and pulls out.

The HDMI connection is for video reception only. Surround sound cannot be obtained. To connect an external speaker, this can be done via the BT connection or via the headphone jack. The projector has a function to act as a BT speaker. When this function is enabled, the fan does not stop working and continues to hum.

The "back" button on the controller is a little too low from the control buttons, to go back you have to bend your finger a lot lower to find it. Some discomfort. And of course, in daylight / with better lighting - the image is quite dim, but it would probably be naive to expect from a €200 device.

Comparison with other models

Over the past few months, we've tested 3 budget projectors: the Wanbo TT, the Wanbo X5 and the Wanbo Mozart 1. Let's take a look at which category each won.

View. Of all the models tested, the Wanbo X5 projector showed the sharpest image results. The ANSI of this projector is as high as 1100. Yes, of course it will not match the projectors that are specially designed for home cinema, but when you think that there are budget classes here, everything becomes understandable. For example, if it is cloudy or raining outside the window during the day, when this model is turned on, the displayed image will be bright enough to view the desired video content.

Second place goes to the Mozart 1 model, which has 900 ANSI. The difference in the brightness parameter of this model is not big from the X5, but it is already slightly noticeable. The last place went to the TT model, as its ANSI is only 650. This projector needs total darkness for comfortable viewing.

Sound. In this category, the clear winner is the Mozart 1. This is due to the built-in more powerful speakers and the passive woofer on the side of the case. This projector can be safely used as a wireless speaker or for watching action movies and concerts. The sound of the Wanbo TT and X5 models is identical, without the rich, bright low frequency. These models would be perfect for nothing more than watching sports.

Management. In the handling category, the winner would be the Wanbo TT. The layout of the buttons on his remote control is clear, convenient, simple, with separate buttons for the most relevant apps. The controls on other projectors we've tested are too simplistic.

Also, it is worth noting that the OS menu is easier to understand than Mozart 1 or X5. Yes, this model does not have an Android system, but the projectors that have it are somewhat "covered" with unnecessary options, e.g. in all kinds of separate app categories: Music, Video and the like.

Functionality. The winner in the automatic image calibration category is Mozart 1. Its calibration algorithms work the smoothest. Sometimes you have to adjust the image yourself a little bit before it's perfect. The other two models, X5 and TT, often do not find the right projection, and the image becomes diamond-like. Then it remains only to adjust manually.

Verdict

Knowing that the Wanbo X5 costs around €200, its capabilities and specifications really surprised me. With its 1100ANSI brightness, it surpasses not only the Wanbo TT model, but also its more expensive brother, the Wanbo Mozart 1. The image quality is really good for a budget model, 1080P resolution, edges do not blur, colors can be adjusted according to your needs. Android also runs pretty fast without any major lags.

And although there are some small things to cling to, e.g. the remote control is not as convenient as on the Wanbo TT, the air filter can pull out when you pick it up from the side, the integrated speakers are weak, but overall, looking at the price/quality/parameters ratio, it would definitely be our TOP1 choice up to €200. Well, if you want an option with better sound quality, you should choose Mozart 1.