We’re always checking out kickstarter and indiegogo for cool new projector technology looking for funding.  Recently a projector showed up that is definitely out of the ordinary.

The Beam, an android powered pico projector disguised as a lightbulb.  If you didn’t know what this product was you would almost look right past it.

The creators of beam skipped the usual battery requirement that is expected of most picos and instead gave it the ability to be screwed in and powered to any regular light bulb socket.  This gives the unit a constant 120v power source that doesn’t leave the user wishing that they were more mobile.  This goes well with the basic idea of the beam as the unit is meant to be stationary and almost forgotten like a light bulb is.  One of the main ways that they get away with this is the application that integrates with the android OS installed on the Beam.

As you can see, the beam has access to most of the same apps that you can get on any android device via the android market.  But more importantly you can see the app that integrates directly with the projector.

The projector works mostly through if/and statements just like in programming which allows you to make different scenarios that almost make it so that you don’t have to interface with the projector.

You can give it scenarios where there are certain people in the house (determined through bluetooth), certain times, etc that allow the projector to display relevant information without you even telling it to.

As shown in the image above, the beam also includes “LED mode” which lets the beam act as a normal light bulb and not interfere with your home’s lighting scheme.

Currently there are not specs released on the beam but as the unit is very small the performance is not amazing as you would expect from a lightbulb sized unit.

The usage for a unit of this power would most likely be for personal use in the dark or for information displays in offices, however we still think its really cool and also very honest of the company to show the true performance of a unit this size.

When more information on the beam is released we will update with another post on its full potential but until then check out their kickstarter page and consider backing this project to help make sure that it sees the light of day.

 https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/beamlabsinc/beam-the-smart-projector-that-fits-in-any-light-so?ref=nav_search

Altec Lansing has been around for a very long time (79 years to be exact) and we’re sure that almost everyone has had one of their speaker products at some point whether they were purchased at a store, included with a computer, or even put into a car stereo system.  This is why we were surprised when we caught wind that the same company was going to be releasing a pico projector, and one with a mono 1w speaker at that.  Today we’re going to be doing some coverage on this projector and giving you all the details about if this unit is worth it.

As you can see, the projector is very plain.  It’s a small white unit with buttons on the side which is a design we’ve seen from many other pico projector manufacturers.  A great example is the AAXA Technologies LED pico:

Code named the PJD-5134 the Altec Lansing made projector does have some impressive specifications for its size, despite its likelihood to the LED pico.  It sports a 135 lumen optical engine, 4000 MhA battery capable of 60 minutes, and a resolution of 854×480 which is actually starting to be considered low for pico projectors although at it’s small size we cannot complain.

Speaking of its small size, as you can see from the image above, the PJD-5134 is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, which also means that it will fit nicely into pockets, purses, briefcases, and laptop cases just as well.

Currently however all of these great features come at a pretty high cost of $449.  This is a price that we definitely think is going to need to come down for anyone to actually pick this product up off the shelf.  Especially when you can get up to 550 lumens off other models for that price.

We haven’t been able to get one of these units in yet to test but it’s definitely something that we’re looking to do in the future if possible. For now you can check it out for yourself by ordering over at Amazon.com, we’ll post a link below to the listing.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00S1K3A7G/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00S1K3A7G&linkCode=as2&tag=picoprojector-20&linkId=IITYJUWWZAH3C3DF

Incredisonic recently released a new projector on the market, the PMJ-400.  We don’t blame you if you haven’t heard of this brand of projectors before, although they’ve been manufacturing different electronics for awhile this is actually their first projector ever, and we have to say that it is a pretty good start.  To see how Incredisonics first ever projector compares to the rest of the market we have decided to do a showdown between it and one of the more popular pico projectors that has been on the market for some time now, the AAXA P300.  Both projectors are similar in size, specs, and features so we’re really interested in how this is going to go down, we’re going to be covering everything from brightness to boot-up time and also a detailed spec by spec break down to completely show how each of these projectors compare.

Specs:

So as you can see, these projectors are very similar in almost every aspect, it looks like the incredisonic is claiming a slightly higher lumen count than the AAXA and the P300 is claiming better sound and a smaller package.  Specs aren’t everything though, we wanted to see how these two units really performed so we brought one of each in and put them head to head in a test to see which unit actually looked better.

Comparison:

The first thing that we noticed right out of the box about the two units is how equal in size they are.  When set next to each other its almost hard to determine which unit is actually smaller however from the spec sheet we know that the AAXA is negligibly smaller.  Another thing we noticed was weight difference.  You wouldn’t think that .2 of a pound would make a large difference in how heavy the unit feels but we found that it really does when its in your hand.  Is it going to stop you from throwing either one in your bag and taking it with you?  Definitely not and we doubt you would notice the difference however when you’re holding each one the incredisonic is definitely heavier.  As far as cosmetic details go we really liked both designs, the black on white P300 has a certain classy-ness to it while the gold on black design of the incredisonic paired well with each other,  both have glossy tops and similar button layouts.

Both units included the cables we needed to hook it up to basically anything we needed minus an HDMI cable, however it is very common for projectors not to include an HDMI cable now-a-days so thats not something that bothered us.  We wanted to see exactly how the picture of these two units compared so we put them on their tripods and loaded up the new Star Wars trailer onto USB sticks and set them to see just what they looked like.

As you can see, although these projectors are close in specifications, they do not even come close to producing the same image.

Before anyone says that that the projectors are at different angles, we would like to state that they are actually at exactly the same distance from the wall in this image.  The AAXA P300 has a slightly better throw ratio which allows it to create a larger image at the same distance as the PMJ-400.

In addition, the color temperature on the PMJ-400 seems to have bit too much green in it which is especially noticeable in the skin tones of the actor and in the sand.  Now, to be fair, these tests were conducted straight out of the box with no calibration, we’re sure that the Incredisonic could look better given some adjustments but we were impressed that the AAXA “just worked” right out of the box.  The Contrast ratio seems to be very similar and we’re thinking that both units are correct in their claim of 2000:1.

The sound quality of the units are almost identical, the AAXA has two 1 watt speakers which do offer high quality audio but at a low volume and the incredisonic has one 3 watt speaker that allows for slightly higher volume but reduced audio quality.  All in all wed say that the audio for either unit is not a selling point.

Lastly, the brightness, even on the menu it’s clear that these two units are very, very close in brightness.  We actually already know that the P300’s claim at 300 lumens is accurate as we have previously reviewed this unit and put it up to the light meter test, that being said we’re pretty sure that the incredisonic’s claim of 400 lumens can’t be fully correct.  When you put two projectors with different brightness-es next to each other the difference between the two becomes very obvious, as you can see in the picture the brightness looks almost the same between the two units.  Since we have confirmed the brightness of the P300 we can safely assume that the PMJ-400 is actually closer to 300 lumens than it is 400.

Other than that the units were both very easy to use and had similar start-up times of about 7-10 seconds which is very impressive, our only gripe was that the PMJ-400 does not have a dedicated “back” button for use in the media player and menus, this was easy to work around by using the remote or navigating to the menu and then out of it but we thought having the button would have been a nice touch.

We made a video comparing the video quality of both units so that you can see them in action both with a live action video and animation for yourself.

Pros and Cons:

PMJ-400:

Pros:

– Higher Volume

– Focus knob instead of wheel

-Automatic Keystone

Cons:

– Color Temperature needs to be adjusted out of the box

– Brightness is lower than expected

– Lower audio quality

– No SD card support

P300:

Pros:

-Better audio quality

-Color temperatures are realistic out of the box

-Has a “back” button for ease of use

-Supports SD Cards

Cons:

-Quieter audio

-Manual Keystone

Summary:

After reviewing both of these projectors we have to say that we can’t find a whole lot that is different about them.  The AAXA does seem to have a slightly better image quality and a better throw ratio but the PMJ-400 is not bad by any means.  The PMJ-400 does feature full-sized inputs which is nice but since AAXA includes all needed cables to use the projector we didn’t find the smaller ports on the P300 to be an issue.  The sound quality, build quality, weight, and size of the units all seem to be almost identical.

We think the biggest con here is that the PMJ-400 comes in at $80 over the P300, and with the brightness being almost identical we don’t if it would be worth the price.  Don’t get us wrong, for incredisonic’s first venture into the market of projectors it was a great first try and we’re excited to see what they come out with in the future although we do think that for this product to be able to compete in the market it definitely needs to be priced lower.

Audio/Visual presentations in the past were things that you not only needed large bulky equipment for but also something that had a very limited use and needed someone to run while the presenter was up giving the presentation.  More recently things like Bluetooth remotes and smart mice have allowed presenters to at least control the input source for the presentation remotely reducing the need for a person sitting at a desk running the whole thing.  The ODIN smart projector however takes these problems and provides a solution to every one of them in a compact, battery powered package that can easily be taken anywhere you need to go to make your presentation.

The first thing we’d like to point out is that the ODIN is not the first android powered Pico projector, in fact it’s far from it.  There have been a handful of android powered Pico projectors that have been offered in multiple levels of brightness and portability.   Some of the more notable ones would be the AAXA LED Android which is a unit that sports the highest brightness by far at 550 lumens but does lack a battery and therefore is not as portable, the FAVI A3-Wifi which does have a battery and is ultraportable, however is LCOS and only runs at 30 lumens therefor making it very dim, and lastly the “Lightplay” smart Pico projector which is only slightly brighter than the A3 at 50 lumens, but has a larger body.  All of these smart projectors give you a similar experience where you can use the projector to download apps from the google play store, connect a mouse or keyboard, and has things like Bluetooth and WIFI connectivity.  Another thing they all have in common is that they tend to sport slower hardware similar to older tablets, making the android experience a bit laggy on all of the models we have tried out.

So, what makes the ODIN different?  Well first of all, the ODIN uses DLP technology from Texas Instruments just like the LED android from AAXA.  This is generally considered a higher quality imaging source than LCOS because it is very sharp and has a good vibration reduction which allows the image to stay sharp even if there are vibrations around the projector and also help keep moving images more in focus.  Most of the time DLP is used in larger projectors just due to the size of the imaging unit and due to the fact that LCOS is cheaper and easier to accomplish in small applications, using DLP in a extremely mobile projector like the ODIN is nice because it still gives you that awesome picture experience that DLP offers but in a small easy to carry, battery powered package.

Another thing that is really cool about the ODIN is it’s built in stand.  This stand allows you to basically have the ODIN at any angle when you are using it, you can stand it up vertically, or even just adjust the height of the image while it’s horizontal.  Although a stand on a projector also is not news they are generally small screw like units that you need to manually adjust to get the image at the right level position.  With the ODIN there is no adjusting of feet or anything like that, you simply lift the projector to where you need it and that’s it.  Although the stand that it offers is impressive, one major downside to the ODIN is the lack of a 1/4” screw mount on the bottom for hooking it up to a projector.  I know you may be thinking why would you need a tripod mount on a projector that already has such a nice stand and our answer to that is no matter how good the stand is on the projector, odds are you’re going to run into a situation during its usage where you need to put it in a position that the built in stand can’t support and you’ll be wishing you could just hook it up to a tripod and go.

The ODIN also claims to be even more multi-functional by declaring that it is also a Bluetooth speaker.  While we do understand that the functionality is there for it to act as one we’re more interested in the actual quality of the sound.  With two 4 watt speakers and no sub we’re wondering if the ODIN is really going to sound better than a cellphone when playing music.  Either way it’s definitely a cool feature and innovative use of the Bluetooth functionality in the projector but it’s definitely not going to offer anywhere near the same sound quality as the beats pill or something of the sorts.

As for the specs of the projector, they are really nothing too special, it has a Quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 running at 1.6GHz and 2GB of DDR memory which again is a lot less than even the common cellphone has.  Obviously we haven’t tested this to confirm but we feel it’s going to require a light android build for it to remain snappy and functional to offer an enjoyable android experience.  Even if it is laggy however having the android OS built into the projector does bring about some awesome possibilities.  People who use computers lightly or just for office work may find that a product like this could literally replace their computer and allow them to have a functional CPU that they can take anywhere and display much larger than any laptop you could buy.  Here is a full list of the specs that the projector offers so that you can compare them with other models for yourself:

OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY

• Display Technology: 0.3″ DMD (Direct Micromirror Display)
• Light Source: LED (RGB)
• Resolution: WVGA (854 x 480)
• Contrast Ratio: 1000:1
• Throw Ratio: 1.66:1 (meter)
• Refresh Rate: 60 Hz
• LED Life: 20,000 hours
• 115 Lumens ANSI
• Size: 25″ @ 1 yard to Infinity
• Manual focus

INTERNALS

• Quad-core ARM Cortex-A9, 1.6GHz
• Android Operating System 4.4 KitKat
• 2GB DDR RAM
• Wi-Fi (B/G/N)
• Bluetooth 4.0
• 16GB Internal Memory

All of the technical stuff aside, the ODIN seems like a great product that is definitely going to make room for its self in the Pico market.  The price-point may be a bit high at $525 for pre-order and $675 once it’s fully in production so we’re curious to see how many people will actually go out and buy one of these.  Especially when you can get a model like the LED android for only $449 and while you may be sacrificing sound quality and battery power you would be getting a unit over 5 times brighter.  Once the ODIN is out we will most likely be doing a full review on it so stay tuned to see more on this awesome product.

When it comes to pico projectors, Texas Instrument’s DLP technology dominates the market.  Although technologies like LCOS and Laser are still available, most major companies are making the move over to DLP due to reduced cost, increased image quality, and increased brightness.  As far as pico projectors go Texas instruments uses the same type of chip used in their cinema projectors just scaled down majorly to fit into a pico projector, this architecture is called TRP.   TRP has been around for a while but for a good amount of time now has only been capable of producing a 720p image, which needed to be scaled if the projector was going to produce a 1080p image.  The new TRP Full-HD chip can display 1080p natively without any scaling and is still the same size as the older chip.  To give you an idea of what kind of sizes we are talking about, here is a TRP chip next to a DLP chip for a cinema projector:

And to give you even more size comparison, here is the same chip next to some everyday objects:

The 0.47” TRP full HD chip doesn’t only bring new image resolutions to the game, it also can work up to 100 percent brighter and up to 50 percent more power efficient than its predecessor.  Talk about a jump in specs the new chip is already lined up to be the main chip used in all pico projectors by 2015.  Currently TI has a proprietary optical engine that includes the TRP Full-HD chip available but as with all of TI’s other optical engines; it does come at an increased price.

Third party companies are already starting to produce optical engines using the new chip and are all slated to start rolling out some time in 2015.  For the average user or small company, the chip will start being available on the TI store in smaller evaluation quantities and in larger quantities from TI authorized dealers in early 2015 which means that by 2016 we’re most likely going to see a jump in pico projectors from lower resolutions to mostly 1080p.

Now for the detailed stuff, the .47-inch chip sports a 1920×1080 array of aluminum mirrors in what’s called an “orthogonal layout” which is a fancy way of saying that all of the mirrors are at right angles to each-other.  On a flat surface, each mirror has a tilt range of 5.4 microns; this small movement is what allows the chip to control the color of the pixels in the image.  The movement of the mirrors are controlled by electrical signals and move on tiny hinges and yokes that allow the 5.4 microns of movement, with small cushions on the edges to protect them:

The chip features side illumination for efficiency in brightness and to reduce the physical size of the chip.  All of the mirrors are polarized, which allows for less glare and better light management. There is also a 32-bit SubLVDS data bus available to the imaging unit for fast transfer speeds.  It’s really crazy to think that all of these features are packed into tiny mirrors that individually are less than the size of a human hair.

So as you can see, Texas instruments has taken all factors into account with this chip and improved it in ways that we didn’t even know were possible.  We’re really excited to see what kinds of products this chip can help make and also where this will take the Pico projector market.  This also opens up the door to even higher definition chips that are clearly in the future for Texas instruments.  It most likely won’t be long before we see the first 2k or 4k pico projector chip on its way out of production from TI, but until then, enjoy the new line of smaller, brighter, and more efficient 1080p pico projectors that are on their way out of development.