- Projects image size up to 60 inches
- Utilizes DLP Pico technology
- LED light source lasts over 20,000 hours
- Recharge battery via USB or included AC charger
- Connects to:
a) iPod, iPhone, and iTouch with included bundled connection kit
b) Camcorders, DV-Cams, and Digital Cameras enabled with standard composite AV Out with included composite cable
c) DVD Players and other video players enable with standard composite AV Out with included composite cable
Note: This product does not connect to notebook computers, PCs, PDAs, cell phones, or other devices unless the device has composite output. Please make sure to consult your device's owner manual.
Are these for everyone? I would say no. The picture quality is decent, but it does not come close to larger projectors that don't cost a lot more than this does. My guess is that a lot of people will want this because it looks cool, but I'd bet that most people will not use it much once the newness wears off.
The image is decent when viewed in a very dark room. The lighter the room, the more the image gets washed out. It does not take much light either before the image is washed out and only usable if you are fairly close to the surface you are projecting the image on. Even in dark rooms, the image is on the dark side (whites will have a bluish tint). There is a built in speaker, but it's basically worthless so plan on connecting it to some sort of external speaker.
I realize that the review seems a little negative and I don't want you to think that we are not happy with these. Like I mentioned above, we have been very happy with what these can do. The media guys will not be using these to show HD video to clients, but they will get a lot of use. We have a number of people that travel a lot for training purposes. They usually have to pack around a laptop/dvd player, projector, external speakers, and all of the wires needed to connect everything together. They are usually in smaller rooms presenting to small groups. For this purpose, the projector is going to work very well.
Here is what we have put together. Instead of packing around the equipment mentioned above, our managers now have their iPhone or iTouch, the Optoma Pico Projector, and a set of mini speakers from a company called Grandmax (Grandmax.com). The speakers are powered from the iPhone and are not much bigger than the projector (the sound is excellent for the size). They are able to show videos, pictures, and PowerPoint presentations(you need a program to convert the PowerPoint presentation to a video to do this)and not have to pack a ton of equipment to do it.
It will be exciting to see where this technology goes in the future. However, as for now, this projector does a decent job as long as you can live with the shortcomings. It's not perfect and a lot of people will not be happy with the quality, but it has the potential to be a very worthwhile tool if you have a specific need that this projector can satisfy.
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I've had this for about a week now. I've watched about three movies on it, played Gears of War 2, and watched the Cotto/Pavlik fights off pay per view on this.We watched the boxing matches at my brother's apartment, we had the Pico on a tripod and connected to a 2.1 Logitech system. We were able to comfortably watch the fights on a 122 inch image on the wall! We actually could have gone bigger but didn't because of space restrictions. Mind you, the living room was about 90% dark, and the walls are light brown and not white. We were quite impressed!
What I've noticed though is that this thing is meant for VGA-type stuff. Yes, Gears of War 2 was playable, but it looked... like crap. This is the case when you try to play something that is meant to be played at 10801 or 1080p and view it through VGA. It's going to look bad.
I knew this before I bought the Pico. My main use for this is to watch DVD's and play Nintendo Wii off of it. So, if you are expecting high-definition off this thing, don't buy it. Only buy this if you're going to watch stuff on the go, and you understand its limitations. Yes, it is expensive, but it is the best of its kind, at least right now (until the Microvision Laser Pico come out, wow) and it doesn't feel like a 1st generation product.
Pros:
10 or 11 lumens... not that bad!
you can get a suprisingly huge image size!
I guess because of the DLP, the reds this produces are RED, like it glows red almost. You will notice this, trust me.
ultra portible, smaller than my Ipod Touch 2G and LG Voyager.
comes with 2nd battery, Ipod adapter... basically everything you need right out the box.
Cons:
EXPENSIVE (however, I got mine for $349 through Microsoft Live cashback).
You need a DARK, dark room to get the full effect
"Rainbow" effect due to the DLP, but it's not that bad really.
I have the feeling this is going to get outdated fast, since the technology is small enough to fit in cell phones.
You need to know and expect its limitations, if you can't don't waste your money.
***UPDATE: (11/27/10***
It has been quite some time since I have used this. Since the price has gone down so much, it is not even worth selling. However, there still will be many uses for this product. It is still very much fun to show movies outside in the dark. The perfect complimentary products would be the Epson Duet projection screen (fold out to 80" widescreen) and the Behringer EPA40 portable PA system. The speaker is LOUD, almost to the point of annoyance. Still, the battery lasts for 5-6 hours on a single charge (depending on how loud you crank it, less). All this on a dark night outside would give you a legit movie-theater experience.
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It works exactly as describe. Actually, it will output much larger than 60" without much distortion. As long as you don't compare it to the very large tabletop projectors or much more expensive models you will not be disappointed. The brightness over-all is better than another model that I seen of equal price, but you still need a rather dark room for it to be effective, as I imagine is the case for most projectors. I'm pleased with it and would recommend it for what it's worth. It's a 4 oz device, not a 60" plasma HDTV.Other devices are always "just around the corner", but if you aren't into waiting several months in hopes of prices to start lowering and with untested durability with new devices then this is a good choice. It's already been heavily tested and no malfunctions or defects or lifespan issues mentioned as of yet. However, the speaker is weak, and they probably should have left it off like many other projectors have done. Using a separate speaker system or headphones solves that issue.
As other posters have said, it does display a better image than others which are "suppose" to be better when comparing the listed specs.
Buy a cheap adapter so you can use your laptop with it...or just plug it into your phone like I do. It will work with any phone that has TV-Out. If you can see it on your phone, then you can see it with the projector. No conversions necessary. :)
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As a sales person who frequently does presentations to groups of 5 or smaller, I purchased this device thinking that it would be ideal for those quick PDF demo/product sheets that I often reference in my presentations and have stored on my iPhone.After receiving the device, I've since learned that all it projects is a solid blue screen unless you are in the iPod app. So it's only good for showing movies that's it.
Maybe some 3rd party apps will be written that can include this PDF projection functionality; for now, it's just a movie projector.
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If you bought this projector to work with your PC, you can still do it, with a S-video to TV out converter, connect the S-video to your computer and the TV out to the projector, you will have the image only, the audio will still go out from your speakers.Also I should mention that this is a very good projector, very decent quality for a projector of this size.
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