If any 4K ultra-short-throw (UST) laser-phosphor projector qualifies as entry level for the category (“low cost” and “4K UST” are far from synonyms), the Wemax Nova 4K UHD Projector is it, listing at $2,699 and often paired with substantial discount coupons. Thanks to integrated Android TV, the Nova delivers more-than-acceptable image quality for streaming and live TV, but it stumbles a bit showing the same movies from disc. That leaves the $2,499 Xgimi Aura in place as our Editors’ Choice award winner for the category, but the Nova is still a solid option for replacing a smart TV in your family room.
Setup Simplicity
The Nova pairs a laser-phosphor light source with a single 1,920-by-1,080 DLP chip that uses TI’s fast-shift pixel shifting to put 3,840 by 2,160 pixels on screen. As is standard for solid-state light sources, the laser-phosphor light is meant to last the life of the projector, with a rating of 25,000 hours in View mode. (There is no rating for the high-brightness mode.)
The Nova is both lighter and more compact than most of its competition, at 16.5 pounds and 3.6 by 18 by 12.1 inches (HWD), which makes it easy to handle during setup. Connect the power cord, optionally connect HMDI cables to one or more devices, and connect to an internet-connected network. The panel facing the screen includes an Ethernet connector and three HDMI 2.0 ports; Wi-Fi is also supported. Android TV setup is standard.
Like most UST models, the Nova doesn’t have optical zoom, so you’ll need to adjust the position to match the image size to your screen. An eight-point geometric adjustment is available if needed, but I recommend avoiding it, since it can introduce artifacts and lower image brightness. I found the powered focus easy to adjust to give a suitably sharp image. Note that the recommended range for the screen size is 80 to 150 inches, at distances of roughly 5.5 to 19.3 inches from the screen.
The rating of 2,100 ANSI lumens is bright enough to light up a roughly 110-inch, 1.0 gain, 16:9 screen in moderate ambient light, which is a comfortably large size for a home entertainment projector serving as a TV in a family room.
I was pleasantly surprised by the onboard sound system, complete with Dolby audio and DTS-HD. The two 10-watt full-range speakers and two 5-watt tweeters deliver good audio for a projector and easily sufficient volume to fill a large family room. For higher volume or better quality, you can connect an external audio system to the 3.5mm audio out or the S/PDIF optical audio out. You can also use the Nova as a Bluetooth speaker.
Streams Look Lovely; Blu-ray, Not So Much
If movies on disc were all we considered in our testing, I would have given the Nova poor marks for image quality. However, for streaming projectors, we also look at streaming video and film, which the Nova seems to have been tuned for. Even the same movie watched both ways looked far better in streaming format. If you use the projector solely for streaming, you should be more than happy with the picture quality.
With movies on disc, the Nova appeared to adjust its tone mapping for the overall image brightness of each frame. This worked in some ways. In the darkest scenes in our test suite, which I’ve watched hundreds of times, I saw shadow detail that I have never seen before with any projector. To show that level of detail, however, the Nova brightened up images by so much that they looked washed out and lacked drama. It’s hard to call that an improvement.
In scenes where there was no additional detail to bring out, the result was posterized. In one case, an orange color was added to shadowed areas. The issue showed up both 1080p SDR and 4K HDR versions of the same movies, but was more extreme with the 1080p versions. I reported the problem to a Wemax representative, who said the company would look into it. As of this writing, Wemax has not made any comment or provided suggestions for a settings change that might solve the issue.
The good news is that I didn’t see the problem at all with anything but movies on Blu-ray discs. The image looked so much better with streaming that I hunted up the movies in our test suite to compare them, and they looked fine. This issue is unique to the way the Nova handles disc input.
When streaming movies and video, the Nova delivered saturated color, more-than-acceptable color accuracy by most people’s standards, appropriate detail for the resolution, and good contrast for both video and film in brightly lit scenes. It lost some shadow detail in dark scenes, but still retained enough to make out what was happening in even the most challenging scenes I viewed, and it retained the dramatic visual impact that those dark scenes should have.
The menus list five predefined picture modes with no settings available and one User mode that lets you adjust a few basics, including brightness and contrast. Most people will consider any of the predefined modes usable for casual viewing. Of the lot, Movie mode has the most accurate color, but User mode is a close second for accuracy and shows the best shadow detail, making it my preferred choice even without adjustments.
None of the modes offers frame interpolation for smoothing motion, which is a common feature in competing UST models.
Game mode has the shortest input lag, but it is not a great choice for gaming. I measured it with a Bodnar meter at 60ms for 1080p 60Hz input and 73ms for 4K 60Hz, which is a little too long even for casual gamers. Note also that there’s no support for 3D or HLG HDR, the emerging standard for live and broadcast video.
Like any single-chip projector, the Nova can show rainbow artifacts (flashes of red, green, and blue), but I see these artifacts easily, and while testing the Nova I saw them infrequently. Unless you’re particularly sensitive to them, they shouldn’t be a problem with this projector. As always, our advice is that if you find rainbow artifacts bothersome, you should buy the projector from a dealer that accepts returns without a restocking fee, so you can test it out for yourself.
A Good Choice for Streaming and Live TV
If movies on 1080p and 4K discs are even a small part of what you want to watch, the Nova is likely a poor a choice because of the problems I saw with dark scenes. However, note that it handled brightly lit scenes in our tests nicely, which covers most animated movies and most scenes in live-action movies. Among the lower-cost tier of 4K UST laser models, the $2,999.99 JMGO U2 and the Editors’ Choice–winning Xgimi Aura both do a better job with disc-based material. Pricier models, including the $3,499 BenQ V7050i, offer an even bigger boost in image quality.
That said, if movies on disc are not part of your video diet, the Nova has a lot to offer, starting with more-than-acceptable image quality for casual viewing and fewer rainbow artifacts than much of the competition. Its list price is a bit higher than the Aura’s, but if you find a good coupon or deal, it will be a more cost-effective choice for a TV substitute. Just be prepared to go without Blu-ray.
