Sorry Anker: JMGO now makes my favorite flagship portable projector.
Technology
How to get your TV game-ready for the Super Bowl
Get ready for the Super Bowl this Sunday as the San Francisco 49ers face the Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium on the Las Vegas strip.
You don’t want to settle for a mediocre TV experience.
So, it’s time to learn how to improve your current TV setup or upgrade to a new one before game day.
CHIEFS’ TRAVIS KELCE FOCUSED ON ONLY 1 RING HEADING INTO SUPER BOWL
Remote in hand in front of a flat screen (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
5 ways to enhance your current TV setup
If you’re already content with your current TV and setup and just want to gear up for the game, below are the top five ways to enhance your viewing experience:
1) Check your connection
Services like Paramount+ offer the ability to stream the Super Bowl this year. You’ll want to make sure you don’t lose the game in two ways:
Make sure you’re using a wired connection to the internet if possible. That way, you’re not depending on a Wi-Fi signal, which may be impacted by how many people are over at your home for the game and using your Wi-FI for their devices or who else is streaming elsewhere in your home. On that note, make sure you’re maximizing bandwidth by making sure your kids or spouse isn’t streaming in higher resolutions while the game is on.
MORE: BEST WI-FI RANGE EXTENDERS
Paramount+ promotion (Paramount)
2) Backup connection
The game is the most popular thing to watch that Sunday, so if you’ve got spotty coverage and are concerned about drops in service, you should have a way to broadcast the game traditionally (aka “over the air”), so keep an antenna ready.
3) Adjust the sound
While the picture quality often steals the show when it comes to watching the Super Bowl, sound quality can enhance or diminish the experience. Most TVs these days have audio settings, which, if adjusted, can really enhance the game experience in your home. If you’re more interested in the commentary, then you can adjust the sound to boost the dialogue.
In most TVs, you can usually find the audio presets and adjustments under “Setting,” then “Audio” or “Sound.”
There, you can play around with the treble, bass and equalizer. Some of the presets, such as “movie,” enhance dialogue or “standard” to level out the commentary. Sometimes, it is worth checking to make sure the bass is at optimal levels, as having it too high can cause distortion. On the other hand, if you prefer to hear every impact of every play, you can turn on the bass ‘just so’ to add to the drama.
TV showing setting adjustments for sound (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
MORE: TOP 10 SOUNDBARS TO ENHANCE YOUR TV AUDIO EXPERIENCE
4) Brighten the picture
To make sure that friends behind those huddled in front of the TV can enjoy the game just as much, check the picture quality of your set.
For LEDs, if it seems too dark or dim, turn up the backlight control, which can increase the brightness behind the LCD screen.
For OLEDs, instead of just turning up the brightness, turn up the OLED light setting. Additionally, make sure you turn off the energy saver or auto-brightness control settings before game day, as it can impact screen brightness.
TV showing settings for the picture quality (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
5) Keep the motion real
Some TVs come with smoothing or dejudder settings, sometimes referred to as the “Soap Opera effect.” It can be helpful to adjust this setting or turn it off or on, depending on your preference, before the game. On one hand, it could smooth out motions made on the field or create too much distraction by creating graphical trails from fast motions.
Auto Motion Plus Settings on a TV (Samsung)
Upgrade your current setup
If you were just waiting for an excuse to upgrade your TV setup for game day, delay no more. Here are five things to look for in a new TV.
1) Screen size and resolution: You want a TV that can display the game in high definition and has a large enough screen to enjoy the action from any angle. Look for TVs that have at least 4K resolution (3840 x 2160 pixels) and a screen size of 55 inches or more. Some TVs also offer 8K resolution (7680 x 4320 pixels) for even more detail, but they are more expensive and not widely available.
2) Refresh rate and motion handling: You want a TV that can handle fast-moving scenes without blurring or stuttering. Look for TVs that have a high refresh rate (the number of times the screen updates per second) and a low input lag (the time it takes for the TV to respond to your commands). A refresh rate of 120 Hz or more and an input lag of 15 ms or less are ideal for gaming and sports. Some TVs also have features like variable refresh rate (VRR) and auto low latency mode (ALLM) that can adjust the refresh rate and input lag dynamically according to the content.
3) HDR and color performance: You want a TV that can deliver vivid and realistic colors and contrast. Look for TVs that support high dynamic range (HDR) formats like HDR10, Dolby Vision, or HDR10+. These formats can enhance the brightness, contrast, and color range of the image. Also, look for TVs that have a wide color gamut (the range of colors the TV can produce) and high color accuracy (how close the colors are to the original source).
4) Sound quality and features: You want a TV that can produce clear and immersive sound. Look for TVs that have a good sound system with multiple speakers and a subwoofer. Some TVs also have features like Dolby Atmos or DTS:X that can create a surround sound effect with overhead and directional audio. Alternatively, you can also connect your TV to a soundbar or a home theater system for a better audio experience.
5) Smart features and connectivity: You want a TV that can stream your favorite apps and services and connect to your other devices. Look for TVs that have a smart platform like Android TV, Roku TV, Fire TV, or webOS. These platforms can offer a variety of apps and services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Paramount+, Max, Disney+, YouTube and more.
Also, look for TVs that have multiple HDMI ports and USB ports to connect your gaming consoles, streaming devices, soundbars, and other peripherals. Some TVs also have features like voice control, AirPlay, Chromecast or Miracast that can let you control your TV or cast content from your smartphone or tablet.
Check out how to score a great deal on a TV before the Super Bowl.
Kurt’s key takeaways
There is really no bad way to enjoy the big game this year, but if you want to maximize your game viewing experience, there are many ways to enhance your current setup. And, of course, if you need an excuse to splurge, there are some top contenders that fit the bill. If you are splurging, do remember that the cost of these units doesn’t include the cost of installation. Some of these TVs need to be mounted for best viewing, which might incur additional costs.
Do you pay attention to all these details before game day, or do you just turn on the set and get lost in the game no matter what? What are your plans for this year’s Super Bowl game? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.
For more of my tech tips & security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.
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Copyright 2024 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.
The N3 Ultimate is an excellent portable 4K projector that defeats moderate ambient light at severe placement angles and can rival more expensive home theater installations at night. After a few weeks of testing, I think the raw adaptability exhibited by the JMGO’s N3 Ultimate justifies its current $2,399 price ($500 off its $2,999 list).
Modern all-in-one projectors built around Google TV are already super accommodating when it comes to placement. Set one down on a living room table or campsite rock and it will begin searching for a screen or blank wall while avoiding obstacles to project a focused, color-corrected image that’s properly aligned. But these techniques typically resort to digital optimizations that degrade image brightness, resolution, and responsiveness. To avoid this, it’s always best to place a projector directly in front of the projection surface.
JMGO’s N3 Ultimate projector promises “lossless placement” by mounting it on a motorized gimbal that rotates horizontally and vertically. That, combined with optical zoom and generous lens shift, increases off-center placement flexibility without resorting to digital trickery. You can even drag the image Wiimote-style to the exact spot you want it using the included remote control. Handy!
The N3 Ultimate doesn’t live up to all of its marketing hype, however. It’s pitched as a 5800 ISO lumen projector that I found to be unwatchable in its brightest mode for reasons I will explain later. In modes you can actually use, you’re getting about 4,600 ISO lumens, which drops to 3,000 ISO lumens if you want more accurate colors — that’s noticeably brighter than Anker’s Nebula X1 flagship 4K portable running in comparable modes.
Even though the N3 Ultimate misses the advertised ceiling, its class-leading brightness and impressive picture could make this a television replacement for some.
$2399
The Good
- Unbeatable physical placement options that preserve image quality
- Incredibly bright, daylight-ready output
- Excellent out-of-the-box color reproduction
- Very good sound for a portable
- Snappy menu navigation and native Netflix support
The Bad
- Horribly green and loud at max brightness
- Automatic eye protection is wonky and slow to react
- Clumsy menus required to swap into Bluetooth speaker mode
- It’s portable, so where’s the handle?
The first spec I look at on portable projectors is the lumen rating. If the number is listed as anything other than ANSI or ISO, I just assume they are lying. JMGO isn’t exactly lying with its 5800 ISO lumen spec, but it’s not being completely transparent, either.
The N3 Ultimate only comes close to hitting that incredibly bright mark (I measured closer to 5,200 ISO lumens) when running in Dynamic mode, which skews the colors horribly green and causes the cooling fans to roar. The colors produced by this triple-laser RGB DLP projector are most accurate in Movie mode, but at almost half the advertised brightness.
Display Mode |
Calculated ISO Lumens |
|---|---|
| Movie | 3,066 |
| Office | 4,209 |
| Vivid | 4,624 |
| Dynamic | 5,216 |
Out of the box, I found the colors and tones produced by the N3 Ultimate’s factory tuning to be more true to life than many projectors in this class. Typically, I’d select Vivid during the day and then switch to Movie mode in darkened rooms. Sometimes I’d forget because the differences weren’t always obvious. The projector’s brightness allows its Dolby Vision support to meaningfully improve picture quality in both dark and not-so-dark rooms.
I tested the N3 Ultimate for an unhealthy number of hours on displays as large as 110 inches and as small as 32 inches; on painted walls, a glossy tabletop, a matte-white screen that increased the intensity, and a gray Ambient Light Rejecting (ALR) screen that boosted the contrast. It adapted admirably to each scenario with little intervention.
Typically the projector ran whisper quiet — I had to strain to hear it. In warmer rooms and with adaptive brightness turned on, I could hear the fans kick up a notch to about 30dB from their usual 26dB, at a distance of one meter. At max brightness, the fans peaked at a very distracting 50dB.
Optimizing image placement is a little tricky at first due to all the menu options and descriptions that aren’t exactly consumer friendly. Fortunately, there’s an optimization button right on the remote that removes the guesswork. Hold it down and you can drag the projected image around the room to center it wherever you want. Double-click the button and you’re presented with four menus that guide you through image-tuning options for Lossless Lens Shift, Gimbal Motion, Zoom, and Rotate. It’s very well done and makes the projector fast and easy to set up at new locations.
The sound is decent for a portable all-in-one of this size. It’s essentially an Anker Nebula X1 turned on its side, but lacking the optional satellite speakers that make Anker’s portable projector unbeatable for sound. Without those satellites, however, the Anker and JMGO sound roughly the same. The N3 Ultimate produced clear, detailed, room-filling sound with a respectable amount of bass. So, it’s a shame that JMGO doesn’t make it easy to quickly switch the projector into Bluetooth speaker mode from the shutdown screen like many portables — instead, you have to clumsily enable it through the settings menu.
The N3 Ultimate runs Netflix out of the box and menu navigation is snappy — two things you can’t take for granted with portable Google TV projectors. The one thing missing is an integrated handle, which makes this a two-handed portable. Fortunately, JMGO does ship the N3 Ultimate inside a reusable carrying case that came in handy when transporting it by car.
1/18
I also found the projector’s automatic eye protection feature to be wonky. Even at the default sensitivity, it can be triggered for no reason. Worse, it’s slow to respond when eyeballs are actually at risk from the laser optics. And besides an on / off button, the N3 Ultimate lacks on-device controls — don’t lose the remote!
“Ultimate” is a dangerously high bar to set when naming your projector, but JMGO gets close to the mark. If audio quality is your absolute highest priority, Anker’s bulkier Nebula X1 speaker bundle remains a tempting alternative — though it will cost you significantly more cash. But if you are looking for class-leading brightness and unmatched physical placement flexibility from a 4K all-in-one projector, the JMGO N3 Ultimate at $2,399 is the way to go.
Listed Specs: JMGO N3 Ultimate
Display & Picture Quality
- Light Source: MALC 5.0 Pure Triple Laser / RGB Laser
- Resolution: 4K UHD
- Brightness: 5800 ISO Lumens
- Contrast Ratio: 20000:1
- Color Gamut: 110% BT.2020
- Color Accuracy: ΔE ≈ 0.7
- HDR Formats: Dolby Vision, HDR10
- Image Size: 40 to 300 inches
- Display Technology: DLP
Optical & Placement System
- Throw Ratio: 0.88–1.7:1
- 3-in-1 Projection: Combines Optical Zoom, Lens Shift, and an AI Gimbal base
- Projection Types: Front, Rear, Front Ceiling, Rear Ceiling
Smart Software & AI Features
- Operating System: Google TV with native Netflix integration
- Smart Features: Auto Screen Fitting, Auto Keystone, Auto Focus, Adaptive Brightness, and Wall Color Adaptation, Eye Protection
- Custom Memory: AI Spatial Memory System to remember preferred walls, zoom levels, and shortcuts
- Processor: MediaTek MT9679 chipset
- Memory: 4GB RAM
- Storage: 64GB ROM
- Motion Tech: MEMC motion compensation
- Speakers: Dual 12.5W stereo speakers (25W total output)
- Sound Enhancement: Dolby Audio
- Refresh Rate: Up to 240Hz
- Input Lag: 1ms ultra-low latency
- Extra Features: Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) support and specialized game modes
- Wireless: Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2
- Wired Ports: 2x HDMI 2.1 (with one port supporting eARC) and 1x USB 3.0
- Dimensions: 308.3 x 229.85 x 274.13mm
- Weight: 6.95kg
- Power Consumption: up to 300W
Photography by Thomas Ricker / The Verge
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Technology
Fox News AI Newsletter: Sanders bill would seize 50% of stock in OpenAI, Anthropic for sovereign wealth fund
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Welcome to Fox News’ Artificial Intelligence newsletter with the latest AI technology advancements.
IN TODAY’S NEWSLETTER:
– Bernie Sanders unveils plan to take 50% stake in AI companies for government wealth fund
– College grads expect to earn $80,000 a year, but the math isn’t mathing
– Jensen Huang says Nvidia’s new RTX Spark chip will reinvent the PC
Sen. Bernie Sanders reacts to questions from a Fox News Digital reporter about Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner’s resurfaced Reddit posts while walking through the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
SOCIALIST SHARE-UP: Democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is arguing that the federal government should establish a sovereign wealth fund that’s financed by taking possession of half of the stock in AI giants like OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI, among others.
PAPER CHASE: If you want to understand what’s broken about higher education in America, look no further than one statistic.
According to a recent survey, the average college student expects to earn $80,000 a year shortly after graduation. The reality? The average starting salary is closer to $56,000. That’s a 30% gap between expectation and reality before a graduate even receives their first paycheck.
THE AGENTIC ERA: Nvidia on Monday unveiled a new chip that will bring artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities onto laptops and desktop computers.
The new AI chip, known as RTX Spark, was built as part of a collaboration between Nvidia and Microsoft to make personal computers that are built to power AI tools.
A student walks across the campus grounds at Harvard University. (Zhu Ziyu/VCG via Getty Images)
CRACKED IN DAYS: Apple devices have earned a reputation for being tough to break into. That comes from Apple’s tight control over the hardware, software and many of the protections standing between you and an attacker. However, a new claim from security startup Calif shows how quickly the cybersecurity world may be changing.
FINANCIAL DYNAMITE: Billionaire Jeff Bezos just detonated a financial hand grenade in the middle of America’s tax debate.
The Amazon founder recently suggested that the bottom half of American earners should pay zero federal income tax. Not lower taxes. Not a temporary rebate. Zero.
BIG BROTHER BOSS: The NewsGuild of New York has accused The New York Times of using artificial intelligence technology to monitor and surveil the performance of unionized tech workers in violation of their collective bargaining agreement.
The New York Times Building is shown in Midtown Manhattan. (Joshua Comins/Fox News)
Subscribe now to get the Fox News Artificial Intelligence Newsletter in your inbox.
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Fellow Traveller, the publisher behind games like Titanium Court and 1000xResist, just wrapped up its Story-Rich Showcase, which featured a bunch of narrative-driven indie games. With more than 20 games on display, there was a lot to follow, but we’ve pulled together some of the most notable announcements below. You can also catch the full show on Fellow Traveller’s YouTube channel.
Ambrosia Sky is getting its second and final episode
Ambrosia Sky, a sci-fi game about death where you have to clean up alien fungi, will be getting its second act as a free update on August 6th. The game was originally planned to have three acts, but developer Soft Rains announced in March that it would be brought down to two. When Act Two launches, the game’s price will go up from $14.99 to $24.99.
The Citizen Sleeper games are coming to Nintendo Switch 2
The sci-fi RPGs Citizen Sleeper and Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector are getting Switch 2 versions on June 25th. If you already own them on the original Switch, you can play the Switch 2 versions at no extra charge. Developer Gareth Damian Martin also says they will be revealing their next game during Sunday’s PC Gaming Show.
Desktop Explorer, a spooky game about looking through an old computer, launches in July
This trailer for Desktop Explorer, a horror puzzle game where you click through a creepy version of an old, Windows-like operating system, might be the scariest way to use a computer. It’s launching on July 17th.
Demonschool is getting DLC and will launch on the Switch 2
The upcoming paid DLC for Demonschool, a tactical RPG from Necrosoft that channels Buffy and Persona, has a focus on “puzzle battles” where players work to clear out enemies using certain characters in one turn. Both the DLC and the Switch 2 version (which includes mouse support and an improved frame rate) will launch sometime this year.
The developers of a point-and-click thriller are making a fantasy game
Powerhoof, the studio behind last year’s retro-styled mystery game The Drifter, is now working on The Telwynium, a “fantasy adventure epic.” “Book One” of the game is now available on Steam, though you can also grab it from Itch.io if you prefer.
The Mermaid Mask, a new detective game, is launching in July
SFB Games, the studio that made games like Tangle Tower and Crow Country, is releasing its next game, The Mermaid Mask, on July 16th. It’s a locked-door mystery that’s fully voice-acted and features hand-drawn animations — looks like a great story to settle into this summer.
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