[REVIEW] Wanbo Mozart 1: Flagship model from the Chinese manufacturer with 900 ANSI lumens

Wanbo specializes exclusively in projectors, and its lineup includes many different models. The newest one is Wanbo Mozart 1, which impresses with high brightness up to 900 ANSI lumens.

In the review, we’ll of course focus on image quality, check whether its brightness is significantly better than other models, and also look at its setup, which is built on Android.

Where to buy Wanbo Mozart 1?

The Wanbo Mozart 1 projector is available via our partner Banggood.com, which exclusively runs the sale of this projector. The new model is even immediately available in the Czech warehouse with express delivery within 7 days. There’s also a discount coupon included.

Get the current coupons for Wanbo Mozart 1

Technical specifications

Packaging contents & quality

The Wanbo Mozart 1 projector was delivered to us by Packeta courier in a box measuring 27.5 x 28.5 x 31 cm and weighing 4.7 kg. As is typical for projectors from this brand, Mozart 1 comes in two boxes and is very well protected with foam inserts.

Besides the projector, the inner box contains only a remote control and a cable for connecting to the power grid. The packaging is therefore pretty minimal, but in practice you don’t need anything else for the projector. It’s a shame that the box doesn’t include batteries for the remote control.

Design and build quality

The design of this projector immediately tells us it’s one of the higher-end models. Its dimensions are noticeably larger than those of the other models we’ve had a chance to test so far. Specifically, it’s 176 x 209 x 223 mm with a weight of 3.5 kg.

On the front, a design grille for cooling draws attention, with an autofocus sensor behind it. Above the grille sits the lens in a glossy black plastic module.

The design is also complemented by a gold power button on the top, with the brand logo hidden inside. It lights up when you turn on the projector. On the side, you’ll find another design element with the text “Wanbo & Acoustics”, which however has no functionality.

The back of the projector is empty, and on the rear side you’ll traditionally find the power port, the second cooling grille, speakers, and a set of four ports. Specifically, HDMI 1.4, 2 x USB 2.0 and a 3.5 mm port for an audio jack.

On the bottom, there’s no tripod thread. Instead, there’s a flip-out foot that supports the projector at 7°. With this model, the Wanbo brand remains true to a vertical design with modified elements in a very stylish execution.

First power-on and the user interface

On first start, the projector prompts you to choose a language, time zone, and basic projection settings. After that comes the WiFi connection, gradually getting you to the main environment screen.

It runs on Android version 9 with its own custom UI. At the top you’ll see suggestions for multimedia content from streaming services; below that there’s a smaller menu with apps and another content selection.

On the left side, there’s the main menu where you switch between the home screen, searching, favorites, settings, and input selection.

The top status bar shows the current time, WiFi, Bluetooth, and the weather. We’re glad the interface is simple and clear—unlike the recently tested Wanbo T2 Max New, where the manufacturer went overboard with many links to install apps.

Automatic focus and corner correction

Just like with other newer Wanbo projectors, you won’t find any manual focus option on the Mozart 1 model because it features automatic focus. If you don’t like the automatic focus, you can sharpen the image using buttons on the remote control.

However, not every projector offers automatic correction of all four corners—so-called keystone correction. This feature is used when projecting in a position where the projector isn’t placed perfectly perpendicular to the wall, but is for example slightly off to the side.

In such a case, the image is distorted, and corner correction is used to adjust it. You can move each corner to any side until you get a nice quadrilateral. However, the Wanbo Mozart 1 has this feature automated and it works very well.

One smaller issue still remains: sharpness when projecting from the side. The edges of the image aren’t perfectly sharp, as with other projectors. The manufacturer recommends a maximum angle of 15°, although the projector should also handle a 40° angle.

Another new feature is automatic obstacle avoidance. If you have something on the wall, like a stand lamp or another object, the Wanbo Mozart 1 will shrink the image so that the object is out of view. However, this feature works only when turning on the projector. If we remove the obstacle later, the image won’t return to its original size.

Apps and options to add more

Selected apps are shown right away on the home screen. From the factory, there’s a link to all apps, an app store (not Google Play), Netflix, YouTube, and a button with the “+” symbol for adding more.

If we go to all apps, you’ll also find the official Google Play store. Besides that, there are apps like Prime Video, Netflix, Miracast, Chrome, iMirror, EShareServer, Explorer, BTSPeaker, and YouTube.

The selection of pre-installed apps is the same as in the recently tested Wanbo T2 Max New. To avoid repeating ourselves, we’ll only briefly talk about the less well-known apps.

EShareServer is used to transfer the image from a smartphone, but you need the EShare app on the phone as well. There’s also the Miracast app for the same purpose. BTSPeaker turns the projector into a Bluetooth speaker, which you can pair like a standard Bluetooth speaker.

A few links to install different apps can be found among favorites, but mostly they’re apps we don’t recognize at all. You can install additional apps via the official Google Play, or also through the App Store found on the home screen.

Unfortunately, the popular Netflix app doesn’t support high resolution, likely because there’s no official certification here.

Hardware, image quality, and smoothness of the interface

As for the display technology, the manufacturer has completely refreshed the series of five lenses designed to deliver a significantly better image. The technology is called PixelPro 5.0. Brightness is also excellent—900 ANSI lumens—which makes the image visibly clearer even during the day.

Of course, we still can’t expect the image to be perfectly visible on a wall that’s close to a window. However, compared to weaker projectors, the difference is clearly noticeable.

While with the new Wanbo T2 Max New (450 ANSI) we had to pull down the blinds and the curtains at the wall by the window, and the image still wasn’t the best, here you only need to slightly pull the blinds and the image is good. Of course, heavier shading brings richer colors and especially deeper blacks, but a projector with 900 ANSI lumens is already usable even during the day.

If we look at the image size, at a distance of 1.5 m from the wall the image is 55″, at 2.1 m it’s 80″, at 2.6 m it’s 100″, and at 3.1 m it’s 120″.

When it comes to the hardware, the manufacturer doesn’t provide full specifications. We only know this much: the RAM has 2 GB, and the projector comes with storage capacity of 32 GB. However, the system is very smooth and fast, with no major stuttering.

You’ll also appreciate dual-band WiFi support 6.

Settings menu

The settings are split into several categories: network settings, projection settings, Bluetooth, language, general settings, and device information.

In the projection category, you’ll find all settings related to the image—its colors, color intensity, orientation, focus, and obstacle avoidance. For a better idea, we recorded a video that presents the entire projector system, including the settings:

Sound and remote control

The remote control is identical to several other Wanbo models. Its dimensions are XXX cm and it has rounded edges, so it feels comfortable in your hand. We also like the rubberized buttons, which have a light response and react quickly.

The remote control is simple and doesn’t include any unnecessary buttons. Besides the standard power on/off button, you’ll also find a button for turning the cursor on, a shortcut button to open the quick image settings menu, directional buttons with confirmation in the center, volume control, focus control, mute button, a button to go to settings, and buttons to go back and to the home screen.

As for the sound, the Wanbo Mozart 1 has two 8 W speakers in the back. They play surprisingly well—definitely the best among the Wanbo projectors we’ve tested so far. The speakers have clear sound and don’t lack bass, so the overall audio is very well balanced.

Wanbo Mozart 1: Final assessment

Wanbo Mozart 1 is the brand’s flagship model with brightness up to 900 ANSI lumens. Thanks to the brightness, it’s usable even in daylight with only slight room darkening, and unlike cheaper models it offers significant improvements.

You’ll also be pleased with features like automatic image focusing, automatic corner adjustment (keystone), and obstacle avoidance in the picture. It also surprises with excellent speaker quality, which sounds truly good.

Its only minor downside is perhaps its size, since it’s no longer a small, compact projector that you could mount on a tripod.