JMGO N1 Ultra 4K Triple Laser Projector Review

The N1 Ultra is the newest 4K, 4,000 ANSI lumen, Triple Laser, HDR projector from JMGO, a company building increasingly high-performance, feature-rich video projectors that give consumers compelling alternatives to the products provided by today’s mainstream manufacturers.

The N1 Ultra is now available for pre-order on Kickstarter at a very impressive, not to mention aggressive MSRP of $2,299, with the company estimating deliveries starting in May 2023.

Is the new JMGO N1 Ultra worth your consideration? Let’s get into the details and find out.

JMGO N1 Ultra Specs
Price	$2,299 MSRP
Technology	Triple Laser DLP
Native Resolution	1920x1080x4 (3840x2160)
Brightness (Manufacturer Claim)	4000
Contrast	1600:1
Zoom Lens Ratio
Lens Shift	No
Lamp Life	30,000
Weight	9.92lbs. (4.49 Kg)
Warranty	1-Year Manufacturer Warranty

OVERVIEW

Over the past ten years, JMGO (pronounced J.M. Go) has brought a range of projectors to market, including two ultra-short-throw projectors I have reviewed, the JMGO 01 PRO and the JMGO U2. Check out the reviews by clicking on the model number links.

The JMGO N1 Ultra is the company's most powerful and feature-rich projector. The N1 Ultra also continues JMGO’s efforts to create projectors with visually compelling designs that stand out from mainstream projection offerings and enhance the user experience.

The N1 Ultra projector features integrated gimbal solutions for optimum adaptability. Its Ultra-Thin 2-axis Gimbal System allows up to 135° vertical adjustment and 360° horizontal adjustment. I cover this more in the HARDWARE section of this review, but this projector offers an attractive and functional design that I like very much.

The N1 Ultra is a Digital Light Processing (DLP) projector using a 0.47-inch Texas Instruments Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) with Extended Pixel Resolution (XPR) technology. The DLP chip is a (1920 x 1080 x4) imager and can display a 4K image. 

The N1 Ultra also fully supports 3D for both movies and gaming as long as the user has a compatible pair of 3D glasses which JMGO sells as an option.

The N1 Ultra features a discrete RGB triple laser light source called NUMB12T. This high-tech laser was developed In collaboration with Nichia using an industry-leading 9-chip laser, the first of its kind to successfully integrate multiple RGB laser light sources. Compared to existing 14 or 28-chip lasers, the NUMB12T offers higher optical efficiency, a 40% smaller package size, and better heat dissipation at a 30% lower cost.

This new laser, combined with the JMGO-developed Microstructure Adaptive Laser Control (MALC) and Triple-Color Laser Optics, provides a premium audio-visual experience. The MALC optics use a modularized laser stacking technology for enhanced optical efficiency, smaller size, and improved heat dissipation performance. 

The N1 Ultra features a quad-layered diffuser for improved brightness uniformity and a dynamic light speckle reducer (LSR), cutting specular artifacts caused by the lasers by 96%.

I can’t talk about light sources without discussing brightness and contrast. JMGO rates this projector at 4,000 ANSI lumens; it looks incredibly bright out-of-the-box. JMGO lists the projector's estimated light source life up to 30,000 hours. I will measure to test JMGO’s brightness claims later in the review.

Along with a bright picture, the N1 Ultra provides a native contrast ratio of 1,600:1, which shows. I’ll get into more detail in the PERFORMANCE section of the review but suffice it to say that this projector’s black levels are some of the best I’ve seen in its class and higher. The details visible in the darkest areas of the picture are insanely good, and the same for the brighter areas as well.

The N1 Ultra is fully compatible with HDR content, offering HDR10 and HLG compatibility, which I will go into more detail about in the PERFORMANCE section of this review. I like that JMGO has an HDR on/off control in the menu instead of locking the projector into auto-detect like most HDR projectors. With the N1 Ultra, I don’t have to disable HDR at the source like I usually do for my Apple TV 4K or 4K UHD Blu-ray player.

The colors this projector is capable of displaying are impressive. JMGO claims the N1 Ultra can display 110% of the BT.2020 color gamut and offers a 10-bit color depth.

The JMGO N1 Ultra is a smart projector powered by a fully integrated Android TV 11 operating system. Anyone who has read my reviews knows I think an integrated OS experience is critical for all smart projectors and a better user experience than hybrid menu systems. There is currently no better interface experience for projectors than Android TV with the Google Play app store. There are other non-hybrid projection operating systems but not ones open to other manufacturers, so Android TV is the best game in town for most of the industry. Along with Android comes key Google features like Google Assistant and Google Chromecast and, as mentioned above, access to most Android TV applications on the Google Play store and, more importantly, the best guarantee of compatibility, safety, and security of any Android application market. 

The N1 Ultra has 3D TOF Sensors, CMOS Hi-res Cameras, and smart adjustment features, including Auto Screen Fitting, Smart Object Avoidance, and Smart Eye Protection. Here’s my advice, turn off the Auto screen fitting and Smart Object Avoidance and square the projector to the screen manually, taking advantage of the very cool and helpful built-in gimbal and tilt functions JMGO has provided. Once you have the projector set up how you want it, save the settings in the N1 Ultra’s preset memory.

The JMGO N1 Ultra comes with a sound system co-created by Dynaudio, a leading Danish loudspeaker manufacturer. The system consists of two 10W speakers and offers 45Hz bass. I won’t pretend this is a sub-woofer, but this sound system performs better than some ultra-short-throw projector sound systems I’ve reviewed. The JMGO N1 Ultra’s sound system has received certification from both Dolby and DTS.