INTRODUCTION

   Growing up in the 80's and 90's meant that the only way to really experience the magic of movies was going to the cinemas something which wasn't always convenient, especially for a child. When the very first home theater projectors made their appearance in the early 2000's i was very excited but after putting everything down it turned out that building your very own movie room was nothing short of a dream for most of us, primarily due to extremely high cost. Today, well it's a different era and so thanks to a very large number of projectors and projection screens available for all pockets you can easily make your very own home theater and even though i don't think anything can compete with an 1500" cinema screen you can now come very close to that. WEMAX is probably i name you've seen quite a bit if you're looking for a new high-performance compact projector and today with me i have their Dice model.

   WEMAX®, INC. is a NY-based technology company since 2019 with the mission to provide shared rich, visual experiences wherever you go. We provide one-stop solutions to deliver visual applications like ALPD® laser projectors, portable projectors, LED projectors and more, that are intelligently connected with your home and business. WEMAX®, INC. is the sub-company of Appotronics®, who is an international tech group, the listed company in China and famous for ALPD® laser technology with over 2000+ Intelligent Patents and Properties since 2006. ALPD®, namely the fluorescent laser technology, is used for image display based on the laser-excited fluorescent materials and mixed multi-color laser lines.

   The Dice Mini Projector by WEMAX is based on the Android TV 9.0 operating system and uses four-channel (RGB+BP) TI-DLP technology (0.33" OSRAM LED) to deliver Full HD (1080p) resolution together with an NTSC color gamut greater than 85% (100% Rec.709). It also sports a brightness of 700 ANSI lumens, 350:1 contrast ratio and diffuse reflection principle for reduced eye fatigue and as for features well it comes ready with a 4-Point keystone correction (auto/manual), autofocus (auto/manual) and support for HDR10 content and Chromecast for Android mirroring. As for what WEMAX has squeezed inside the body of the Dice here we find the Amlogic T962X-H Media Processor SoC (Quad core ARM Cortex-A53 @ 1.5GHz CPU), 2GB DDR3 RAM, 16GB flash, Bluetooth v4.1, 2.4/5GHz Wi-Fi, 60.68Wh (16000mAh) rechargeable battery pack and two 5W (10W total) Dolby Audio and DTS-HD Speakers. Moving to wired connectivity WEMAX has equipped the Dice with an HDMI v2.0 port, USB 2.0 port (both for media playback and device charging) and a 3.5mm aux port. Unfortunately, the Dice does not feature a zoom-in/out function and so since this is a 1.2:1 throw ratio model it can project 100" from just 2.5m away (40-200" by adjusting the distance). So, time to see whether or not the WEMAX Dice Mini Projector delivers.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

WEMAX uses a white box to ship the Dice inside the front of which is typically taken by their logo, large product picture and the Google Assistant logo.

The main product features are listed on the left side whereas on the right we find some product specifications.

Packing is surprisingly well with the Dice wrapped inside a synthetic bag and placed between two thick pieces of foam.

Along with the Dice Mini Projector and its power adapter and cable inside the box you'll also find a remote, cleaning cloth and the user manual.

THE DICE

Measuring 155mm in length, 125mm in width and 160mm in height the 2.2Kg heavy Dice is one of the smallest projectors available today (WEMAX calls this color space gray).

Even though compact the WEMAX Dice is still nowhere close to the Capsule 3 Laser by Nebula.

At the front we find the 4-point keystone correction and auto-focus sensor and the lens the cover of which can be removed for easier cleaning.

The on/off power button and LED are located at the top of the projector.

WEMAX has added Dolby Audio and DTS-HD support via two full-range 5W speakers located on the left and right of the enclosure (10W total).

At the rear we find the Formovie logo and yes, WEMAX and Formovie are sister brands under Appotronics.

All of the ports (DC in, 3.5mm aux, USB 2.0, HDMI v2.0) are also located at the rear (a reset button is also placed right next to the HDMI port).

The somewhat elastic handle placed on top of the Dice is a very convenient feature.

Turning the Dice over we find 4 round rubber feet and the usual hole for a tripod-stand.

The bundled remote control is quite robust and very easy to use.

AUDIO / VIDEO QUALITY

Recently i swapped my 100" Vankyo screen for one by VividStorm (review soon) so this is what I’ll be using for long throw projectors (along with the Max Vision 4K media player by HD Dune).

The lack of zoom function means that the Dice which sat almost 3 meters away from the screen could display a larger area (so some picture “spilled left and right”). With that out of the way however the main screen of the Dice includes shortcuts for ESPN, CBS News, TED, YouTube and others (at least in my location). Just like with the Capsule 3 Laser in order to use Netflix you will need to manually install it via APK (again i don't use Netflix so i didn't test that function).

Here you can see the various screen settings the Dice has.

In the above picture you can see what apps the Dice comes loaded with by default.

Moving to image quality things are really good, perhaps not quite on par with the Capsule 3 Laser in terms of detail but very close in everything else from brightness to colors and movement. Once again 700 lumens are not quite enough for dark scenes but it’s not like we can ask for more from rather affordable models. As for audio quality the two Dolby Audio and DTS-HD speakers do a very good job and even though they do drain battery life faster than the single one used in the Capsule 3 Laser the larger battery pack makes up for that (short video is now available on YouTube and TikTok).

SCORE

Since many of you asked i decided to make a quick chart based on my objective opinion for each projector i test. This of course is my opinion based on what i see  and my personal experience so just like other similar charts you should take this with a grain of salt (i do stand by my charts but in all likelihood some will not agree).

CONCLUSION

   Prior to actually speaking with people at WEMAX the Dice Mini Projector was not a model i had on my radar and after spending over 2 weeks with it I’m really glad i got it in the lab. Overall performance is very good so whether its picture or audio quality (actually here it does better in terms of volume) the Dice does extremely well and comes within an inch from the performance of the Capsule 3 Laser. Yes, the lack of a zoom function did make things harder for me since the place where i put all projectors is pretty much fixed and this feature is extremely convenient for me (and my guess is for many others too) but we can’t always have it all. In terms of battery life WEMAX reports up to 3 hours of playback but during my tests i never recorded over 2 hours and 40 minutes and that was with the speakers set at roughly 30%. Still even 2 hours and 30-40 minutes is a very good number and even though it may not be quite enough for very long movies it’s plenty for most. Finally, i did try both the WiFi and Bluetooth wireless connections of the Dice and for the most part i had no issues with either of them. Bluetooth connectivity did cut-off a few times during the 2+ weeks of testing but other than that i can’t say that i encountered any significant connection issues.

   With a current retail price set at USD499.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 549.07Euros inside the EU (Wemax.com – 120” portable projector screen and tripod bundle) the Dice Mini Projector by WEMAX hits a very good price/performance ratio. Yes, it’s not the perfect projector (you’d need to spend much more to get that if we’re being honest) but it offers very good audio and video quality, is portable, has very good battery life and is currently priced better than expected which is why the Golden Award is in order.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Compact Size (Portable)
- Native 1080p (Four Channel DLP)
- WiFi 2.4/5GHz & Bluetooth v4.1 Connectivity
- Built In Media Player
- Auto & Manual Focus & Keystone Correction
- Dolby Audio & DTS HD Speakers
- Built In Battery (Up To 3 Hours)
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Lack Of Zoom Function
- Brightness Levels
- Slight Bluetooth Connectivity Issues