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Fast Forward: Picoprojectors

Tom Halfhill — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 14:00:12 -0600

In August, Nikon introduced the world’s first digicam with a built-in video projector. The Coolpix S1000pj has a tiny projector—called a picoprojector—that can display photos and videos at 640x480-pixel resolution. In a dark room, projected images are visible up to six feet away, up to 40 inches wide.

Although picoprojector technology has been appearing in small video projectors and a few other devices, the S1000pj moves this revolutionary technology into a mainstream consumer product. Soon, “embedded” picoprojectors will be everywhere.

An embedded picoprojector is one that’s built into a device other than a stand-alone video projector. Digital cameras, video camcorders, and camera-equipped cell phones are obvious candidates. Embedded picoprojectors will probably become as common as webcams in notebook computers. Hand-held videogames, media players, portable TVs, and ebook readers are additional possibilities. Picoprojectors will be used for advertising displays, vehicle entertainment systems, heads-up control panels, and other applications that can benefit from their space-saving properties.

Several companies have been working on picoprojector technology for years. Texas Instruments uses LEDs with millions of movable micromirrors to project the image by reflection. Microvision uses red, green, and blue lasers with an oscillating mirror to scan the image onto the screen. Nikon uses liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) technology instead of micromirrors, and LEDs instead of lasers. The picoprojector in the Coolpix S1000pj has a brightness rating of 10 lumens.

By comparison, my Kodak Carousel slide projector from the 1970s is rated at 525 lumens. It easily projects a 35mm slide onto a five-foot-wide screen from 20 feet away. But the bulb dissipates a scorching 300 watts—enough to melt the little Nikon camera in minutes.

Because picoprojectors rely on the much smaller, cooler light sources of LEDs or low-power lasers, they can’t yet match the brightness of old-fashioned projectors. But they have an advantage that, in time, will make up the difference—they concentrate all their light into a highly directional beam. A slide-projector bulb radiates light in all directions, wasting most of it.

Embedded picoprojectors are a game-changing technology, like LCD screens. Someday we’ll wonder how we ever lived without them.

Tom Halfhill was formerly a senior editor for Byte magazine and is now an analyst for Microprocessor Report.

Light Blue Optics Working on Pico Projector With Touch Interface

Andy Salisbury — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 16:25:36 -0500

Light Blue Optics recently announced that they’re working on a pico projector that features a complete touch interface.

While details are few and far between, they have stated that it could be available to OEMs as soon as the end of this year, and that it will be able to provide a WVGA or QVGA picture at 10 lumens. As for the touch interface, Light Blue Optics has only stated that it’ll require “additional product configuration.”

No word on pricing.

Image Credit: Light Blue Optics

Konica Minolta Developing Projector That's Smaller Than a Thumbdrive

Andy Salisbury — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:31:48 -0600

So you’re looking to get your hands on a tiny projector, but that Pico just isn’t small enough? Well, it looks like the folks at Konica Minolta have heeded your call, and are currently in the process of making a projector that’s no bigger than the average thumb dive.

The new projector is reportedly going to be a mere 1.6 inches long, .79 inch wide and a paltry .3 inch thick. What’s more, is the projector will be able to put up a 20-inch XGA color image from a distance of about two feet.

What makes it all possible is the use of laser beams and vibrating mirrors, as opposed to the traditional light bulb and lenses. Sadly though, you’ll have to wait until at least 2010 to pick up one of these bad boys. Konica Minolta is stating that they’ll be on the market in two or three years.

Image Credit: Konica Minolta

Super-Tiny DLP Pico Projector Gets a Release Date

Andy Salisbury — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:46:36 -0600

If watching movies on your iPod’s screen is getting a little old, your woes might be gone before you know it. Optoma is planning to release their ultra-compact DLP Pico Projector on December 1st, just in time for the holidays!

The Pico has been labeled as the world’s smallest and lightest DLP projector, measuring only 51mm x 105mm x 17mm, and weighing a negligible 120g. Optoma is planning to offer the device at Apple Stores for roughly $500.

Zune owners (really?) need not worry, because it’ll work with other media players as well. Packing up to two hours of batter life, and a built-in 0.5-watt speaker, you’ll be able to watch most of Titanic using just the projector. Lucky you!

Image Credit: Optoma

JVC Announces First Consumer Targeted Stereoscopic Projector

Andy Salisbury — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:07:05 -0600

3D displays aren’t high on the list of things probable to be the next major form of home entertainment, but that hasn’t bothered JVC one bit. They’ve just announced their first 3D projector designed for home theaters, the DLA-RS2.

The projector won’t require any glasses; instead it uses D-ILA projection and stereoscopic video processing to present a 1080p 3D adventure.

Details are few and far between on the projector at the moment, but it has been confirmed that SENSIO 3D technology is at the heart, and it will provide a 30,000:1 contrast ratio. While the projector will require 3D content to make 3D images, it will be also compatible with DVD and Blu-ray discs until those become more common.

No word yet on the price, but it will be ready to take home sometime in 2009.

Image Credit: JVC

Toshiba's TLP-X200U is the World's First Talking Projector

Paul Lilly — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 08:55:05 -0600

Toshiba's TLP-X200U might not have the same novelty appeal as Mio's Knight Rider GPS giving out personalized driving directions in the voice of William Daniels (KITT), but it does qualify as the world's first talking projector. The mobile projector's being billed as "ideal for non-technical people," a claim the device seeks to with voice-guided operating instructions and spoken system alerts.

Closed-captioning also comes as part of the package, as does both wireless and wired networking. Other pertinent specs include a native resolution of 1024x768 (XGA), 4:3 aspect ratio, 600:1 contrast ratio, 3000 ANSI lumens, and HDMI support. Toshiba claims a lamp life of up 2000 hours, or up to 3000 hours in Eco mode.

The 4.4-pound projector is available now with an MSRP set at $1,740.

Image Credit: Toshiba

Toshiba Introduces Prototype for Ultra Compact Projector

Florence Ion — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 18:55:13 -0500

There seems to be no other device more inane than a pocket-sized projector. But then again, the only thing that could save a swanky cocktail party from total failure is whipping out that compact projector and flaunting last Wednesday’s financial report you so diligently put together. Everyone in attendance will be so impressed by your Powerpoint skills (look at the way that text swivels!). And fortunately for you and the rest of those lackluster cocktail parties you’re sure to attend, Toshiba plans on releasing an ultra compact projector the size of an iPod, so it’ll be easier to take your presentations with you on the go.

The prototype was on display earlier this month at Berlin’s IFA 2008, one of the biggest consumer electronics trade shows. The projector is small enough to fit comfortably inside any pants pocket and runs solely on battery. The device radiates a luminance of about 7lm and can display images as big as 50 inches.

Toshiba hopes that it will be successful at introducing the product in 2009. Afterwards, the company can focus on increasing the specs of the projector, gearing it up with more power and more capabilities. The projector may cost an upwards of $400 USD. Specifications may change before the device’s official release.

Accell’s UltraAV HDMI 4:2 Switch

Michael Brown — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:11:55 -0500

When we first reviewed Accell’s UltraAV HDMI 4:2 Audio/Video Switch, we described it as a Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde home-theater product. If you intended to use it with a PC, we recommended calling the company to find out which personality would manifest itself to you. But if your plan was to use it only with a consumer-electronics products (e.g., a standalone Blu-ray player), you didn't need to worry--it was a solid product.

Fortunately, that's all changed now--just be sure the box you pick up sports a sticker that reads "Works with PCs." This version has newer firmware that can read a PC's EDID profile properly; the original version of the product didn't and you can't update its firmware.

Accell's switch would be a great solution for folks with multiple HDMI sources and multiple HDMI displays--too bad Accell can't guarantee it'll work with your PC.

When we integrated the original version of the powered switch—which has four HDMI inputs and two HDMI outputs—into our entertainment system, we discovered a bug in its firmware that prevents it from establishing a proper handshake between some PC videocards on one side and display devices on the other. The switch worked fine when the PC was first booted up, but if we switched to another input and switched back to the PC, our two displays (a ViewSonic n4280 HDTV and an Epson PowerLite Cinema 500 projector) went black. The switch wouldn’t work at all when connected to the HDMI output of an HP Pavilion HDX notebook PC.

Accell tells us the bug did’t affect every videocard, and that it doesn’t affect consumer-electronics devices at all. Indeed, when we tested the device with a stand-alone DVD player, it worked like a charm. The problem apparently resides with the firmware’s inability to correctly serve an EDID (Extended Display Identification Data) profile to the PC’s videocard. The EDID informs the videocard of the display’s basic capabilities, including the timings that the display will sync to. If the switch fails to pass the EDID to the videocard, as in our experience, you won’t get a picture.

The new version of Accell's 4:2 HDMI switch includes updated firmware that renders it compatibile with PCs; unfortunately, the old version cannot be udpated.

It’s an unfortunate problem for Accell, because the switch is an otherwise excellent value. The $175 device can not only switch between four HDMI inputs, it sends audio and video to both its HDMI outputs (at resolutions up to 1080p) at the same time. An onboard signal booster enables you to send an HDMI signal much further than the 32 feet the HDMI spec supports (Accell claims a maximum cable length of 82 feet). In our scenario, we connected our playback device to the switch using a three-foot cable, and then ran a six foot cable from the switch to a wall-mounted HDMI jack. This jack is connected to a 32-foot in-wall cable. We then used another three-foot cable to connect the projector.

An infrared remote control is included, and the switch has an IR extender jack and a five-foot cable, so you can hide the box away in an equipment closet. But for all the features and excellent performance the switch delivered with consumer-electronics devices, there’s no way we could recommend the original device; the version with the new firmware works flawlessly.

Editor's note: This review, including its verdict, has been updated to reflect our experience with a newer version of the product with revised firmware. Consumers can tell the two products apart by looking for a sticker on teh box that reads "Works With PCs." Our opinion of the original product (which doesn't have this sticker) has not changed and our "4" verdict stands.