On the distant horizon, an amorphous shape is slowly approaching. It holds a simple sign with the words "Black Friday deals" written on the front. Following behind is an army of products vying for your attention, tooting their horns and waving colourful flags.
Lucky for you, though, we can see through the noise and know which ones are worth your time during the Black Friday season.
Take the Nebula X1, for example, a 4K projector that impressed in our test room with its rich audio performance as well as a vibrant picture.
It's currently available for £2199 / $2999, placing it firmly in the premium end of the coffee table projector market.
While we are yet to see it drop to a proper bargain this deals season, I'm optimistic that the price tag will go down once Black Friday is in full swing. After all, the lowest it has dropped to in the past is an impressive £1800 which shaved £399 off its original price.
So what makes the Nebula X1 such a worthwhile model? First off, its audio quality is genuinely impressive considering the device's form factor, to the extent that we dubbed it "class-leading" in our full review.
Projectors often don't deliver particularly immersive or rich sound, so it is a breath of fresh air to find a model that provides a full-bodied performance through its 2.1 speaker system. We note in our review: “The Nebula X1’s audio makes it stand out from the crowd, as it is rare we have found a projector that can pack such a punch in terms of bass.”
In terms of picture performance, there's a lot to like as well. It presents an overall colourful image with enough depth to create an immersive, cinematic experience.
There is a fair amount of rainbow effect at times, which is when you catch glimpses of coloured light out of the corner of your eye, is slightly more noticeable with the Nebula than with some rivals including the BenQ X3100i.
Still, the Nebula reaches impressively deep black levels while boasting a claimed 3500 ANSI lumens of brightness to deliver a punchy overall image.
For your streaming needs, the X1 features the Google TV platform with Netflix built in. You can choose to download all the usual suspects, including Channel 4, Disney+, YouTube, Apple TV+, Netflix, ITVX and Amazon Prime Video. BBC iPlayer is not available, though you can at least cast it to the projector from your phone as a workaround if you are desperate.
It also offers an easy setup experience, with Nebula's AI Spatial Adaptation auto setup that includes real-time autofocus, keystone correction, ambient light adaptation, and wall colour adaptation.
All of this resulted in a four-star rating from us, making it a strong performer in the coffee table projector category. I'll certainly be keeping my eye on its price this Black Friday in hopes that a few hundred bucks can be shaved off its current price tag.
MORE:
Here's the full Nebula X1 review
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Black Friday quick links
- Amazon: browse all of today's best deals
- B&W speakers: save £200
- Bluetooth speaker: 48% off five-star JBL
- Bose QC Ultra Earbuds: save £100
- Bravia 8 TV: save 34% on 55in Sony TV
- Denon AV receiver: save £500
- Dolby Atmos soundbar: down to £299
- ELAC Debut 2: five-star speakers now £199
- Headphones: Sennheiser Momentum 4 now £169
- John Lewis: £500 off LG and Sony OLED TVs
- Richer Sounds: browse Black Friday deals
- Sevenoaks: £150 off Award-winning speakers
- TVs, movies, home cinema: browse the best deals
