The JMGO U2's TriColor laser light source can display an incredibly wide range of colors; however, just because JMGO's TriColor laser can display a massive range of colors does not mean this ability is utilized skillfully or accurately. I’m not saying the color looks bad but it is not incredibly accurate out of the box. I’m sure that many people buying this projector won’t be expecting for perfect color accuracy, especially at the JMGO U2’s price.
The Warm mode tended to introduce too much green into the picture. However, the Standard mode displayed blue hues.
One of the most impressive things about the JMGO U2 is that it offers a Tri-Color laser engine. However, unlike other 4K ultra-short-throw projectors I've recently reviewed, such as the Hisense L9G or Optoma CinemaX P2, JMGO does not appear to have spent much time working on the projector’s color accuracy. They also didn't provide custom color mapping for different color spaces. For example, SDR content appears to be mapped to the widest BT.2020 color gamut, displaying wildly inaccurate and oversaturated colors.
Since your room and screen material can have a major impact on the overall picture, I don’t recommend using someone else's calibration adjustments. If your room is brighter/darker or your walls are a different color, copying someone else's results can cause more harm than good. However below are the before and after results in my room.
To test the projector's color accuracy we use Portrait Displays Calman color calibration software.
Pre-Calibration Color Sweep and Grayscale
While the JMGO U2 includes a tri-color laser light source capable of reproducing a wide range of colors, the out-of-the-box, the color tracking of the projector was poor.
The projector's grayscale (RGB Balance) was worse than most Laser TVs that I have tested. Since the JMGO U2 does not include any way to adjust RGB grayscale, there was little we could do adjust the unit's accuracy.
When measured, the color temperature was about 7161K which was several hundred degrees off my target of 6500K.
The Rec. 709 color tracking out of the box was poor. With the exception of Blue, all colors were shifted and these issues could not be corrected because the projector lacked CMS adjustments. There was very little that could be done to adjust the color shift problem with the exception of the TINT control.
Picture Mode: USER
Color Temperature: 7161K
Average Grayscale dE: 33.0
Average Color dE: 9.04
Gamma: 1.02
Post-Calibration Grayscale
Since the JMGO U2 doesn't offer 2pt graycale adjustment or CMS controls, I only had BRIGHTNESS, COLOR and TINT setting available to fine-tune the image. Note that these picture adjustments are also only available in the USER picture preset.
We set he COLOR TEMP setting to Standard which deliver the most accurate color temperature.
There was wasn't a GAMMA adjustment to help achieve my gamma target of 2.2 on my ALR screen in my room.
However lowering the projector's BRIGHTNESS to 48 and CONTRAST to 49, reduced the amount of Grayscale luminance error which improved the projector's Average Grayscale dE. This also bought Gamma closer to my 2.2 target.
There was little that could be done to correct the unit's poor color tracking so the before and after measurements were nearly identical.
Picture Mode: USER
Color Temperature: 7024K
Average Grayscale dE: 10.2
Average Color dE: 8.89
Gamma: 1.94
Delta E, as a measure of grayscale/color accuracy, of 3 and under is considered ‘Excellent’ and imperceptible by the human eye. Before adjustment, the average grayscale dE was around 9 which is noticable and after adjustment, it only improved slightly.
The JMGO applies the same setting adjustments to both SDR and HDR. When viewing HDR in the USER mode I had to make the following adjustments.
Brightness 53
Contrast 70
Hue 50
Sharpnness 50
Saturation 67
JMGO only includes basic color adjustments, as well as some manual presets. Since there isn't white balance and CMS adjustments the ability to fine-tune the image is limited. The preset color temperature adjustments only helped a little with the inaccurately displayed colors.
Is this a deal-breaker? Maybe. At the projector’s $2,599 promotional price, perhaps JMGO figures for their target customers the lack of color calibration adjustments won’t be an issue.
BRIGHTNESS
The JMGO U2 Laser TV has a rated brightness of 2,400 lumens. JMGO does list another brightness number for when the projector is used with their high gain 100" ALR screen that boosts the brightness to what JMGO says is 3,600 lumens. This is because the 1.5 gain screen will theoretically boost the brightness of the projector by 50%.
Here at projectors reviews, we determine the brightness of a projector by measuring the light directly from the projector. What I'm saying is that we measure native brightness. We don't measure off the screen and we don't do LED lumens or any other manufacturer-created methods.
I set the projector to its brightest mode, which is the laser's maximum output. I then took three to four readings about 15-20% out from the center of the lens.
The U2 measured 2401 lumens in the projectors User mode with the lamp output set to maximum. This is exactly where JMGO rated the native brightness of the U2 so good for you JMGO.
Since the U2 utilizes an RGB laser light source, it can easily reproduce DCI-P3 color space commonly used in HDR content without a color filter, so you don't have to choose between wider color gamut reproduction and brightness. The benefit is that the U2 can display brighter, more saturated colors which are very visible in the images I posted in the color section above.
BLACK LEVEL AND SHADOW DETAIL
As is typical of many DLP projectors, the blacks displayed were darker gray, not deep black. This was obvious when watching darker scenes. Overall, viewing the dark scenes in my testing room wasn't bad, but a serious home theater enthusiast will want better blacks. The U2 did an above-average job with blacks and shadow detail but compared to other RGB Laser TV projectors I've reviewed it could have performed better.
Several home projectors in the U2 price point may display better black level and shadow detail, but they are generally not as bright, nor are they ultra-short-throw units. I think the U2's shadow detail will be acceptable to the majority of users especially considering this projector's price point and use case.
HDTV AND SPORTS
Motion Estimation Motion Compensation (MEMC) technology uses an advanced, algorithmic technique to predict where a frame is in video content and, through the algorithm, insert an additional frame between each of the originals. MEMC is a type of frame interpolation technology designed to smooth out the blur when watching content that requires a clearer image, like sports and video games.
As far as upscaling from HD the JMGO U2 upscaling is above average. Whether I watched 720p sports or 1080p Blu-ray content, it all looked good.
SOUND
Big, loud, and deeper bass
The sound quality on the JMGO U2 is big, loud, and deeper than other Laser TV projectors I have reviewed. When it comes to bass performance, the U2 goes deeper than I expected mainly because JMGO and Dynaudio have maximized every inch of available space on the projector's larger chassis to produce a bigger sound. The U2 actually rumbles.
The U2 features four audio preset modes: Standard, Music, Cinema, and Sports.
The U2 cabinet holds 15-watt x 2 full-range speakers and 2 x 10W tweeter speakers co-created by Dynaudio, a leading Danish loudspeaker manufacturer. Utilizing Omnidirectional Stereo Compensation Technology (OSCT) to create an immersive surround sound experience has earned U2 dual certification from Dolby and DTS. JMGO makes very effective use of the amplifier's power providing users a sound system that has a better range than many soundbars available for sale today.
When it comes to surround effects, I found the JMGO U2 lacking. Honestly, I've heard far better, simulated surround modes from Optoma, Hisense, and BenQ Laser TV projectors.
NOISE
28 dB noise. So quiet
We don't measure ambient noise here at projector reviews as a practice. How loud a projector is or is not is a reporting of my opinion. So here's my opinion. The JMGO U2 ultra-short-throw projector is the quietest Laser TV projector I have reviewed to date. In an attempt to push the projector I cranked the output on every feature I felt would contribute to an increase in the projector's operating temperature. Regardless of my efforts, the U2's noise output was barely audible when sitting within two free of the projectors and inaudible when sitting further away. This projector is really quiet. By the time you turn up the U2 Dynaudio sound system you are not going to hear any noise the projector may create regardless of the distance you are sitting from the projector. Way to go JMGO!
