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Fengmi V10 (VX): test / review

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Published on: 19-09-2022 / Modified: 01-10-2023
Fengmi is a Chinese company specializing in the production of projectors that has been around since 2016 but is not yet well known in the European market. Fengmi has built a solid reputation with some of these laser-like models that have been unanimously accepted by those who have purchased it. I had been very tempted by the purchase of the Fengmi Formovie C2 but I finally chose the Xiaomi Laser Cinema 2 and I did not want to spend more than 2000€ for another projector of this type. With the arrival of the Fengmi V10 (or also called VX), I asked myself the question again because this projector is in the same price category as the Xgimi Horizon Pro but still has some interesting assets that the Xgimi does not have. . It couldn't have been better in terms of timing because I was also looking for a replacement for my good old Nebula Cosmos Max 4k which has been on my projection cabinet for almost 2 years.

Special offer

You can buy the Fengmi V10 in Europe with a European warranty and an unbeatable price here: Fengmi V10 1190€ / NothingButLabel

For that price you should not miss your chance to buy it, it beats the Xgimi Horizon Pro on price.

Manufacturer web site:
https://www.formovie.com/
Site where I have bought or received the Fengmi V10: https://www.banggood...

Price Fengmi V10

The list below shows the prices for the Fengmi V10 from more than 50 sites around the world. If you are not satisfied with any price, you can subscribe to a price alert to be the first to be notified when the price drops.

Timeline

September 18, 2022: order Fengmi V10 on Banggood.com
October 03, 2022: package received, test can start

Why this projector?

Projectors are one of those products that I really like to test because they are entertainment products and they are always more fun to test than a vacuum cleaner. I've been testing projectors for a few years now, I don't consider myself the greatest expert in this field (far from it) but with experience I can get a better idea of each projector's strengths and weaknesses. I test entry-level as well as high-end, there are interesting products in each category. I had wanted to test a Fengmi for a long time but since the price is just as important for me as for a normal buyer, I had to wait until the arrival of this projector.

Why is it interesting? First because I was looking for a replacement for a projector to place at the back of my projection room but I didn't want to replace it with the first comer, I needed a good projector and this Fengmi could well do the affair. Why? Beyond 4k (probably in XPR), the sound system looks interesting, the high frequency and the MEMC will avoid image lag and tearing, the color coverage is quite wide,...this Fengmi could well become a good alternative to the Xgimi Horizon Pro.

Unpacking

The box of the Fengmi V10 is made up of 2 parts, there is the visible part which includes the whole box and on which you can see the projector and this part slides up to reveal the second box which does not exceed 25% of the height of the base box. I was surprised to see that these two boxes were not attached, so they can slip out of your hands when unboxing. Although the projector is well protected, you will probably have the same reaction as me when unpacking, the lower part of the box is very thin and can unbalance the projector when opened. The projector is also placed upside down in the box, no doubt to better protect the optical unit.

The box shows that the Fengmi V10 is a successful product, Fengmi is not a small brand starting out on the projector market and this can be seen on the box which immediately inspires confidence . The box contains the bare minimum with the projector, a remote control, a transformer (quite heavy and imposing), a US cable, a manual, a remote control and a cloth to clean the optical unit.

The remote control is quite ordinary, it is entirely made of plastic and it feels to the touch, it is not a very premium experience. The 2 AAA batteries are not supplied with the projector. There are the usual buttons, the remote control looks quite similar to that of the Xiaomi Laser Cinema 2.

Operating system

The Fengmi runs on Fengmi OS and Fengmi OS is a Chinese operating system. The interface is therefore completely in Chinese but it is possible to change the language from the settings, this will allow you to find your way back without translating the basic screens which will always be filled with content in Chinese. This type of projector should ideally be used in combination with an external HDMI solution such as an Amazon Fire TV Stick or an Nvidia Shield (this is my case).

Starting a projector in Chinese is not a complicated thing when you know where to click, I will tell you what to do to access the settings and change the language .

Here is the first screen: This screen allows you to choose between automatic or manual image correction. Simply click on the third possibility to go to the next screen.
You then have the wifi configuration screen where you must choose the network and enter the corresponding password. Fortunately the keyboard is already in English, so you can enter your password without further manipulation.
You then arrive on a screen with a QR code, you can skip this screen by clicking on the button on the right below the QR code. This will take you to the home screen. As you can see, getting started is therefore quite simple.

How to configure Fengmi OS in English? Here is the procedure in a few steps:
1. Press the settings access button on the remote control (horizontal lines at the bottom right)
2. A menu with icons appears on the left from the screen, choose the cogwheel
3. Choose the right-pointing triangle symbol (it's the second symbol, the one after wifi)
4. Go down the list up to the line where there are two Chinese symbols in the title and 8 Chinese symbols in the explanation
5. Use the arrows on the remote control to go to the right and English will appear.

Finish

The Fengmi V10 is not a projector like the others, it should be seen as a speaker in which a projector has been installed. The projector therefore resembles a large fabric-covered bluetooth speaker that diffuses sound in all directions and this speaker is only interrupted at the front by the optical unit and at the rear by the various connectivity options.

At the back there is a huge grid to evacuate the heat and the different connection possibilities. The projector is equipped with an ethernet port, a headphone output, two USB 2.0 ports and two HDMI 2.1 inputs/outputs with an ARC compatible output. On the upper part, there is an imitation of a wooden circle which reinforces the warm side of the projector. This wooden circle is not only decorative, it is also used to control the projector through illuminated buttons. These buttons are not useful if you are using the remote control. The originality of this projector is not limited to its shape, there is also a loudspeaker with the membrane visible below the projector. This will exclude any use of a tripod or a ceiling hanging system because the loudspeaker occupies almost the entire surface.
The optical unit is quite imposing but is almost forgotten, so much the rest of the projector looks like a loudspeaker. This projector is really pretty, the level of finish is impeccable, nothing has been left to chance and you can easily place this projector in a living room because it can blend into the decor.

Projection room

My projection room is rectangular, 4.6m by 2.9m (height 2.2m). I have two projection walls, one white wall 2.9m wide with just white paint with a possible 4m setback. I then have a 133 inch ALR screen on another wall with a possible setback of 2.8m. I mainly use the ALR screen except when the layout or type of projector is not suitable for this situation.

Battery autonomy

The Fengmi V10 does not have a battery.

Power consumption

I measured a consumption of 167W at the outlet, regardless of the image settings. I thought I could reduce consumption by lowering the brightness but it is not so, whether the brightness is at 0 or 100, the consumption is the same. The office mode for brightness even increases consumption by a few watts. During my measurements, I sometimes saw the consumption go down to 150W but it never went below. The consumption is therefore quite high compared to other projectors of this type, I go down to 70W with my Nebula Cosmos Max by reducing the brightness a little. This projector is very bright and this is paid for in terms of consumption, but this level of consumption remains much lower than what I obtained with the Xiaomi Laser Cinema 2 for more or less similar brightness.

Operating noise

The Fengmi V10 has a slight operating noise, I measured around 45db near the projector, so the noise is audible if you are near the projector. Since this projector sits at the back of the projection room, you shouldn't notice this noise too much (especially if you're watching a movie).

Connectivity

The projector is equipped with the following connections:
- headphone output
- 2x USB 2.0
- 2x HDMI 2.1 (including one with ARC)
- port ethernet RJ45

Image settings
The Fengmi V10 offers an array of image adjustments that should allow this projector to be properly calibrated. These are the same settings as on the Xiaomi Laser Cinema 2 and this is normal because both projectors run under FengOS. If you use the interface in Chinese, you must enter the settings (settings buttons) and then choose image to access the settings. If you are using an external solution (ex: Nvidia Shield), just press the settings button on the remote to access the menu.

The image settings allow you to select one of the predefined modes (movie, standard, sport, game,...) or go to the "custom" menu which will allow you to modify the brightness, contrast, sharpness, saturation, tone and color temperature (with individual adjustment of the three basic RGB colors). Each preconfigured mode has its specificities and some really jump out because the colors are sometimes very cold and sometimes very warm. After a first passage of the probe, it is the childish and movie modes that obtain the best scores in colorimetry, but I will come back to this point later.

The image adjustments are not limited to what I have just described, this projector also has automatic image correction according to the projector tilt and this mechanism works quite well. Image adaptation is very fast, the projector quickly finds focus and adapts the shape of the image to the projection surface. This type of correction works well up to a point because if the angle to be corrected is too large or if the projection surface is too irregular, you will have to apply manual changes. I must also remind those who have never had a projector with this type of correction that you should not abuse this type of adjustment too much because it can deteriorate the quality of the image and cause large areas to appear. gray around the image.

I must also point out that this projector is designed to be placed on its feet...this may seem normal to you, but this is not necessarily the case for everyone. I usually put my projectors on top of a cabinet at the back of my room, that's not possible with this projector. The bottom of the optical unit corresponds to the bottom of the image, so it should be used upside down and this projector is not designed for that because it is not equipped with a fastening system for the use it upside down (because of the loudspeaker below the projector) and also because of the presence of a control button on the top of the projector. This projector is therefore designed for "low" use, it is an important element to know before buying!

Image quality

I now use movie trailers to illustrate picture quality because the videos I used to use are now copyrighted and I can no longer use them as I want.

First test: Top Gun Maverick trailer

Top Gun trailer includes both cold and hot footage with quick movements. Overall the projector is doing very well, I had used the "movie" mode for all the videos in this paragraph and although the coloring is a little too warm, the image is overall quite good . The weakness in contrast of the movie mode is quite visible in dark scenes where certain areas that should be visible are drowned in a dark gray. It's something you have to be able to accept for projectors of this type and it's never been a big problem for me.

Second test: Batman trailer

This trailer is clearly darker and the presence of gray is more visible. The contrast metering is quite bright, the contrast is not high enough to render all dark scenes. Third test: Fast & Furious 9 trailer

This type of film works quite well on this type of projector because most of the scenes are quite bright and the projector does very well with fast movements (it has motion compensation, see below). The "movie" mode is again a little too warm but if you prefer cooler colors, other modes are available.

There is no perfect scenario for this projector, the settings make it possible to obtain a pleasant colorimetry but with either an image that is too warm or an image that is too cold without being able to find the right balance . Depending on the type of film, you may need to switch modes to find the ideal mode.

Colorimetry

The colorimetry is measured with a probe in order to evaluate the accuracy of the colors used, the measurements are represented by a colorimetric difference also called delta E (dE). Ideally, a dE of less than 3 must be obtained to consider that the colorimetry is good. We can therefore say that an image is pretty because it is very saturated, for example, but that does not mean that the colorimetry is good.

I tested the different preconfigured modes available in the images settings and got quite different results from one mode to another. I got a dE between 6 and 7 on a white wall with the "child" and "movie" modes, while with some modes like eye care I got a dE above 12. As with the Xiaomi Laser Cinema 2, I will spend some time trying to calibrate this projector to get a better result and I will test different types of canvas to measure the result as well.

Here is the colorimetry level in detail for each mode:
Child, dE 6.92 (biggest difference on blue)
Display dE 9.16 (big difference on blue, red, magenta)
Eye care dE 15.08 (the image is really bad in this mode and is not designed for watching movies)
Game dE 9.65 (very cold image with a white at 8711k)
Movie dE 6.98 (difference on blue, warmer image with a white at 6806K)
Showy dE 11.43 (image much too cold)
Sport dE 9.62 (rather cold image)
Standard 9.51 (rather cold image)

Here is the graph for "Movie" mode:

We can see that the space of colors goes beyond the REC709 and the white in "movie" mode is quite close to perfect white.

The colorimetry of the Fengmi v10 is therefore quite different depending on the mode and it is the "movie" mode which offers the most exact colorimetry but the Fengmi will not rank among the best projectors in the color level.

It should be added to that that the contrast varies quite strongly from one mode to another but I will come back to this point later so that you can choose the mode that suits you best .

Brightness

In "view mode" and with the brightness at 50%, I obtain a brightness of 760 lumens and with the "office" mode and the brightness at 50%, I obtain a brightness of 1404 lumens. Depending on the mode selected and the settings, the brightness can therefore increase, but I did not manage to obtain the 2500 lumens announced by the manufacturer. Increasing the brightness is not necessarily a good idea because with the light at 100%, the brightness is indeed stronger but the image quality is degraded, so you have to find a compromise between good brightness and good image quality. With calibration, I should be able to find that balance.

Sharpness

The sharpness of the image is good with the basic settings (50 for sharpness). With the different test images that I use, the different lines can be distinguished very well without these lines showing any anomalies. The sharpness is fair enough, it is not too pronounced as on other Chinese projectors.

Contrast

As for colorimetry, I measured the contrast for each available mode and got the following results:
Child 370:1
Display 455:1
Eye care 599 :1
Game 456:1
Movie 296:1
Showy 504:1
Sport 455:1
Standard 456:1

These values don't really surprise me, most of the DLPs I tested offer a contrast between 400 and 500:1. Unfortunately the modes with high contrast do not offer good colorimetry, so you have to find a compromise between colorimetry and contrast, it is the "Child" mode that offers the best contrast with good colorimetry. If you opt for the "movie" mode and you watch a dark film, you will probably not be able to see all the details, the result will already be better with the "Child" mode.

Motion compensation

The Fengmi V10 suffers from image jerkiness for fast horizontal movements but fortunately it is equipped with a motion compensation mechanism which eliminates the problem. When the compensation is deactivated, you can clearly see the top block tearing when it moves and this tearing fades when you activate the compensation. The video still shows a bit of jerkiness with the highest level of compensation, but this problem comes from the video capture, the projector manages to correct the problem perfectly.

However, this feature should be used in moderation because the compensation is very visible in fast movies and it causes a "soap opera" effect like in the TV series of the 80s.

Image size and projection distance

The Fengmi V10 has a throw ratio of 1.2 and this translates to the following dimensions:
At 1 meter away I have an 83cm wide image with a gray edge of around 1cm. With this image width, I get a height of 47cm. To estimate the image size at another distance, just use a rule of 3, so you will get an image of 166cm wide for a distance of 2 meters and an image of 232cm for a distance of 3 meters. It's a good throw ratio that will allow you to get a big picture without having to step back too much.

If you can't control your throw distance and you get an image that is too big for your screen, you can use the digital zoom in the settings to reduce the image by 100% down to 60% but be careful, do not overdo it because you will degrade the quality of the image.

Audio quality

The fengmi v10 is a projector designed around the concept of a speaker, its shape seems to be designed to promote good sound reproduction. I don't have a device or studio to measure the quality of sound produced by a loudspeaker, so I only have my subjective judgment to give an opinion. There is a subjective feeling of quality from the Fengmi V10 and this is probably related to its format and design. So I expected to be positively surprised by the sound quality, but that wasn't really the case. I think the sound is good but I don't think it stands out much from what I've heard on other projectors.

I find that the sound is quite warm, the rendering of the voices is not deteriorated by the music but you have to turn up the volume high enough for the sound to start to be really immersive but unfortunately I find that the sound at full volume loses a little in quality. I started this video at a volume of 50 and then quickly ramped up to 100 where I felt a bit of saturation. The sound is not excessively powerful because I have never exceeded 90 dB where under the same conditions an Xgimi Horizon can easily exceed 100 dB.

I repeat, the sound is not bad but this projector projects a positive aura for the sound but I didn't find it to be really exceptional sound.

Video games

I filmed a game with the game Chase Horizon Turbo, I use this game because you have to react quickly and the projectors which have a high input lag do not allow you to play correctly . I didn't experience any lag problems with this projector, the experience is excellent and the image is extremely fluid.

This projector is able to detect the frequency and go up to 240hz for perfect fluidity, but this is done at the cost of the resolution which will decrease depending on the frequency used. You will therefore not be able to play in 4k at 240hz.

I measured the input lag separately and in most of the preconfigured modes the input lag is greater than 100. So you have to use the "game" mode to benefit from an image more fluid. I measured the input lag with the gaming mode and I nevertheless obtained an input lag higher than what is announced by the manufacturer (12 ms) but I will redo a test from a device where I can control the frequency.

Encoutered bugs

Not yet available / tested

ALR/CLR Projection screen

Are you looking for a good ALR/CLR screen for your projector? I may have what you need:
ALR/CLR NothingProjector Screen

Test / Review conclusion

If I had to classify this projector in a category, I would rather classify it in the high end DLP/LED and I would put it in competition with the XGIMI Horizon Pro. The Fengmi V10 is a product that is designed to please at first glance, it stands out very clearly from its competitors with its warm exterior appearance. On the more technical elements, the Fengmi is distinguished by its refresh rate of 240hz in 1080p which will appeal to gamers but on most other elements, it offers a service equivalent to an XGIMI Horizon Pro.

The image is subjectively beautiful and the settings allow you to adapt the image tonality according to your tastes but from a purely technical point of view I would have hoped to obtain better colorimetry or in any case more effective adjustment possibilities. Out of the box, the colorimetry is very similar to an XGIMI Horizon Pro but the latter allows finer calibration to obtain more accurate colors. The contrast represents a weakness like most projectors of this type, it is an inherent weakness in the technology used but to find better you have to go for a laser projector. On the other hand, the image is very clear without having to modify the settings and the autofocus is fast and efficient.

The Fengmi V10 offers several levels of motion compensation like the Xiaomi Laser Cinema 2 (it's the same operating system) and it helps reduce image tearing in the rapid lateral movements. Simply disabling this option will demonstrate to you the usefulness of this feature.

The sound produced by the Fengmi V10 is good but I was left unsatisfied without being able to use an objective argument to reinforce my opinion. I find that the sound is very soft and warm but it lacks a little relief and the volume management is not linear, so you have to go up fairly quickly in volume to feel the benefit. I find the sound produced by the XGIMI Horizon to be richer and more powerful.

The brightness is good but not enough for daytime use because even if technically the projector is capable of producing a very bright image, in reality you have to reduce the brightness to avoid burning the picture completely. This brightness has no influence on consumption, it is something that I also noticed on the Xiaomi Laser Cinema 2 which uses the same operating system. I obtained a consumption of about 170W regardless of the light used.

How does the Fengmi defend against the XGIMI Horizon Pro? I would say that Fengmi offers a fairly similar experience to the XGIMI but I would give the XGIMI the winner because the settings achieve better image quality but most buyers will probably see very little difference, I also prefer the quality sound of the XGIMI. The XGIMI also does better at the operating system level (Android TV) and it is also less power-hungry. At a similar price level, I therefore prefer the XGIMI, if the Fengmi were a little cheaper, I would probably hesitate a little more.

Update: The Fengmi v10 is available for 1190€ at NothingButLabel (EU guarantee), at this price, the comparison of the Fengmi compared to the XGIMI is more favorable to the XGIMI which costs more of 1600€.

Fengmi V10 1190€ / NothingButLabel

Strengths

- aesthetics
- image quality
- sharpness
- warm sound
- effective motion compensation
- automatic image adjustments fast
- high frequency

Weaknesses

- energy consumption above average
- sound lacks a bit of
- not designed for use at height
- settings not efficient enough to adjust the picture