Modernity, the Japanese distributor for Philips-branded projectors, has started selling four NeoPix Smart models in Japan at tax-included list prices of ¥44,800 to ¥109,800, Phile Web reported on November 2. Sales began on October 30 and roll out model by model through Modernity’s online shop and its Amazon Japan storefront. All four are single-panel LCD, native 1080p machines with an LED light source rated for up to 30,000 hours.
Modernity’s own store showed the two cheaper models available and the two larger ones not yet purchasable on November 2. It also already had the NeoPix 160 Smart at ¥39,800, ¥5,000 under list.
| Model | List price (with tax) | Roughly, before tax | Brightness | Contrast | Throw ratio | Max image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NeoPix 160 Smart | ¥44,800 | $259 | 250 ANSI | 1,000:1 | 1.15:1 | 100″ |
| NeoPix 460 Smart | ¥64,800 | $374 | 500 ANSI | 2,400:1 | 1.19:1 | 100″ |
| NeoPix 760 Smart | ¥89,800 | $518 | 800 lumens | 2,400:1 | 1.08:1 | 140″ |
| NeoPix 960 Smart | ¥109,800 | $634 | 1,000 ANSI | 2,400:1 | 1.3:1 | 150″ |
The dollar column removes Japan’s 10 percent consumption tax and converts at about ¥157.5, so it can be set against American shelf prices, which exclude sales tax. The 800-lumen figure for the 760 comes from Modernity’s product page; Phile Web gives no brightness for that model.
The range climbs in the features as well as the lumens. The 160 has autofocus and four-point correction on a simple tilting stand. The 460 adds an all-glass lens and automatic vertical keystone. The 760 brings automatic horizontal and vertical keystone, screen fit and obstacle avoidance on a stand that rotates 180 degrees, and the 960 keeps that stand and moves up to 8W stereo speakers.
Phile Web, working from the launch material, describes all four as carrying Google TV, and most shoppers would read that as an operating system inside the machine. Modernity’s spec sheets are more careful. The NeoPix 460 Smart page describes a Google TV streaming device that comes with the projector and lists the Android OS as none.
Philips says the same thing elsewhere. Its U.S. page for the NeoPix 160 Smart reads “Google TV dongle included”, and the American Amazon listing refers to “the included Google TV streaming device”. European coverage has often missed it: Clubic wrote in April that Google TV was native and that no extra box was needed.
That is a sensible way to keep the projector’s own electronics simple, and a dongle can be swapped when it ages. It also gives a Netflix-capable Google TV route on a low-cost LCD chassis. The trade-off is that the spec sheet lists one HDMI port and one USB-A port, and none of the pages we read says how the stick connects. If it occupies that lone HDMI input, a game console or disc player would mean unplugging it. We would want to see that answered on a real unit before calling the 160 a finished package.
The Japanese launch also exposes some loose paperwork. Phile Web lists the NeoPix 160 Smart at about 1.2kg with one 5W speaker, which matches Philips’ 1.23kg and “5 Watt audio system”. Modernity’s shop page says 2.1kg and 2x5W, and the Amazon U.S. title also claims 2x5W stereo. The 960 Smart has the same problem at the other end of the range: 4.3kg and 258 x 223 x 227mm in Phile Web, 3.5kg and 249 x 222 x 299mm on the store page. Buyers planning a ceiling shelf for the larger model should check before ordering.
The 160 Smart is the one model we could compare directly. Amazon U.S. had it on November 2 for $99, sold by Philips Projection and shipped by Amazon, against a typical price of $119. Japan’s ¥39,800 launch price works out to about $230 before tax, more than double. The listing averages 2.9 stars, although that rests on just 19 ratings.
Inside Japan the 160 walks straight into XGIMI’s Nova Air, another 250-lumen, 1080p LCD that went on sale the same day at ¥36,900. That is ¥2,900 under the discounted Philips at about the same 1.2kg, and XGIMI answers the streaming question with its own XGIMI OS instead of an included stick. China’s entry point is lower again: the REDMI Projector 3C went on sale October 30 at 799 yuan, or about $106 before China’s 13 percent VAT, with a 300 CVIA rating, a 1.2:1 throw ratio and 32GB of storage, though its content is built around Xiaomi’s domestic services.
The American comparison that matters is the Dangbei N2 mini, which sold for $199 on November 2 with a 4.4-star average across 271 ratings. It is also a 1080p LCD on a tilting stand, rated at 200 ISO lumens, and it reaches Netflix differently from the Philips: licensed Netflix, YouTube and Prime Video run in the projector’s own system, with automatic focus and keystone, one remote and no stick to find a port for. Its HDMI input stays free for a console. For someone who wants streaming to simply be there when the projector powers on, that is the cleaner design at this size, and we have compared it with other LCD rivals before.
The more interesting number in the Modernity lineup may be the top one. At about $634 before tax, the 1,000-lumen 960 Smart runs into the Dangbei N3 Max, a 1080p LCD rated at 1,000 ISO lumens that sold for $449.99 on November 2. ISO and ANSI figures are not the same test, but the two belong in the same class, and the Dangbei costs about $184 less with licensed Netflix in its VIDAA system, automatic focus and keystone, and 12W Dolby Audio.
Philips still has the brand recognition in Japan, and single-panel LCD keeps moving up the price ladder, a trend that also runs through our guide to the best LCD projectors. Whether a 960 Smart holds its claimed 2,400:1 contrast at full brightness is the question a review unit should settle first.