Yaber Ace K1 Review - PCMag

The Yaber Ace K1 is the astir ambitious location amusement projector we've yet seen that pairs a single-LCD spot with good-enough onboard audio to minimize the request for an outer dependable system. At $499.99, it's much costly than different models we've seen, but besides brighter, and it claims a sealed optical motor that prevents particulate falling connected the LCD. Yaber bills it arsenic the champion location projector nether $800, which invites comparisons with brighter models that connection amended representation quality, notably the Epson Home Cinema 1080. But adjacent compared with the Epson, the Ace K1 delivers much robust audio and a little price. Its main responsibility is simply a frustrating setup process.

One LCD Chip, But Zero Rainbow Artifacts

As with the Vankyo Performance V700W and the NexiGo PJ20, the Ace K1 avoids rainbow artifacts contempt being built astir a azygous chip. These artifacts, which look similar red/green/blue flashes, travel from rotating done the superior colors successful sequence, and are a occupation for single-chip DLP projectors. LCD models with 3 chips debar the occupation by devoting a abstracted spot to each superior colour and showing each 3 astatine once.

A Yaber typical would lone corroborate the full fig of LCD cells, without confirming the circumstantial matrix, but it's apt the aforesaid arsenic for different projectors with a azygous LCD: a 5,760-by-1,080-pixel LCD, with red, green, and bluish filters connected idiosyncratic cells (the 5,760 full pixel width is 1,920 times 3). In immoderate case, combining the 1 spot with a achromatic LED airy root puts 1,920 by 1,080 red-green-blue pixels connected surface astatine once. The LED is rated astatine 25,000 hours, which means it should past the beingness of the projector.

(Credit: Yaber)

The Ace K1 is some bigger and heavier than astir inexpensive single-LCD spot designs, astatine 8.6 pounds and 5.4 by 11.8 by 10.1 inches (HWD). However, it besides has much susceptible onboard audio, utilizing a 15-watt mono speaker. (The website says it's a stereo speaker, but Yaber confirmed that it's really mono.) More important, the dependable delivers high-quality audio for this size projector and impactful-enough measurement to capable a ample household room, making it a coagulated illustration of a low-cost room-to-room portable. If you privation still-higher prime oregon volume, you tin link to an outer dependable strategy utilizing the 3.5mm audio-out larboard oregon Bluetooth.

Setup is analyzable by an auto-keystone diagnostic that, successful testing, distorted the representation alternatively of squaring it off. The archetypal clip I turned the Ace K1 on, and each clip I moved it adjacent slightly, it automatically focused and adjusted keystone. The auto-focus worked nicely, but the automatic keystone didn't, making it intolerable to decently presumption the projector comparative to the surface until I turned the diagnostic off.

According to Yaber, the occupation I ran into was owed to a nonaccomplishment of calibration from unsmooth handling during shipping, truthful is an contented for lone immoderate units. Yaber suggests recalibrating the projector successful those cases—a somewhat finicky process that involves placing the projector 2 meters from a level partition and moving done a bid of steps that Yaber's enactment squad tin provide. After looking astatine the instructions, I decided it wasn't worthy the effort, since it's champion to debar utilizing keystone correction successful immoderate case. Using it volition little representation brightness and tin present artifacts.

(Credit: Yaber)

As with astir projectors successful its class, the Ace K1 lacks an optical zoom, which means the champion mode to set representation size is by moving the projector person to oregon farther from the screen. There is simply a integer zoom, but on with keystone, it's champion ignored, for the aforesaid reasons.

Connection options see 2 HDMI 1.4 ports, positive 2 USB Type-A ports for speechmaking files from a USB representation cardinal oregon powering a streaming HDMI dongle. Wireless options fto you reflector mobile devices, with casual transportation via Miracast for Android phones and tablets oregon AirPlay for Apple devices. In my tests with an Android phone, it worked arsenic promised.

(Credit: Yaber)

You tin besides usage Wi-Fi to articulation an internet-connected web to update the firmware. Unfortunately, the Wi-Fi transportation surface lacks immoderate evident mode to determination betwixt fields and the onscreen keyboard, oregon adjacent to springiness an Enter bid erstwhile you're finished typing the password. It took maine respective frustrating tries to larn however participate the accusation without accidentally deleting the laboriously entered SSID and password. There was besides nary contiguous denotation that I succeeded successful making the connection. I had to spell to different surface to spot that it was active.

Note besides that the Yaber website implies that the Ace K1 supports streaming, listing "Connection to APPs" arsenic 1 of its features, with images of YouTube, Netflix, and different app icons. But what the tract really means is that you tin plug successful a streaming instrumentality oregon different instrumentality to show the worldly the different instrumentality is streaming.

Testing the Ace K1: Good Brightness, Acceptable Color Accuracy

The Ace K1's menus see six predefined colour modes and 1 User mode. Each of the predefined modes shows options for Contrast, Brightness, Color Saturation, Sharpness, and Color Temperature, but if you marque immoderate changes, the changed mentation instantly becomes the caller User mode, which you tin past set further.

Some of the modes are acold much usable than others, and nary handles shadiness item well. After immoderate preliminary experimentation, I started with Game mode, raised the colour saturation slightly, and boosted brightness a interaction to amended shadiness detail. I besides adjusted colour somesthesia to lessen the bluish bias, which wasn't an contented for watching video, but it was capable to announcement erstwhile watching movies. The last effect delivered decent opposition for viewing 1080p SDR movies, on with colour accuracy that's champion described arsenic adjacent capable for astir radical to see acceptable and for those with a captious oculus to find tolerable.

(Credit: Yaber)

The projector tin besides judge 4K HDR input. Unfortunately, it doesn't grip HDR well. It has nary representation modes specifically for HDR, and the aforesaid modes and settings that handled 1080p SDR reasonably good were acheronian overall, adjacent successful agleam scenes. I was capable to get a watchable representation by adjusting opposition successful User mode to a overmuch higher setting. However, considering that you inactive upwind up with 1080p solution connected the screen, and there's lone 1 User mode (which you would person to readjust each clip you power betwixt SDR and HDR input), I'd urge limiting connections to 1080p SDR and letting the video root grip the conversion from 4K HDR to a 1080p SDR signal. Note besides that there's nary 3D support.

Input lag is suitable for casual gaming. Using a Bodnar meter, I measured it astatine 46 milliseconds for 1080p/60Hz input. Serious gamers volition privation a lag measurement that's astir a 3rd arsenic long, astatine most.

Image brightness was accordant with the rating. Even astatine the settings I used, the projector filled my 16:9, 1.0-gain, 90-inch surface with a agleam representation and nicely saturated color, some successful a acheronian country and successful a debased level of ambient light. In a household country astatine nighttime with lights on, it was agleam capable to airy up my 80-inch, 1.0-gain screen, and it besides delivered a watchable (though washed-out) representation successful daytime.

Verdict: A Reasonable Option Falls Just a Bit Short

The Ace K1's operation of brightness, representation quality, robust audio, and promised dustproof optical motor are capable to marque it worthy considering. The debased terms is simply a large plus, too, and a institution typical noted that the MSRP is really an even-cheaper $399.99. (Both Amazon and the Yaber website presently amusement it arsenic $499.99, though with Amazon offering a $150 "coupon" discount astatine this writing.) However, problems with car keystone adjustment, a poorly implemented Wi-Fi transportation screen, and different interface issues support it from being arsenic casual to usage arsenic it should be.

If you don't privation to hazard having to lick puzzles to acceptable up your projector, some the V700W and PJ20 connection akin single-LCD spot designs and are easier to acceptable up and use. However, neither matches the Ace K1 for brightness oregon onboard audio quality, and neither is dustproof, leaving it to you to cleanable occasional particulate specks from their LCDs. Between the two, the V700W offers the higher brightness and much robust audio astatine a higher price.

If you're consenting to agelong your fund a bit, see stepping up to the Epson Home Cinema 1080. It doesn't connection peculiarly awesome onboard audio, but it does present amended colour accuracy than immoderate of the different models mentioned here, on with overmuch higher brightness, and its three-chip plan besides guarantees it won't amusement immoderate rainbow artifacts.