I received my ShowWx Laser Pico Projector from Device Plus in Madrid, Spain about a month ago. I had to get it there because it was not for sale yet in the U.S. It is an absolutely mind-blowing projector that easily hooks up to a myriad of devices, including iPods, iPhones, digital cameras (with video out function), and laptops (with the optional VGA Dock). It is very small and lightweight truly pocket-sized and can project video and pictures with stunning clarity and color.Because it is a laser device, there is never any need to focus the display. You can project on uneven surfaces, around corners, on ceilings or clothing or a sandy beach at night. The size of the image depends upon the distance between the projector and the surface it is projecting on in a demo I did on YouTube, I projected onto a white wall in a dark room from a distance of 8 feet, and the diagonal size of the projection was 8 feet in other words, the equivalent of a 96-inch screen! Even at 8 feet, the picture was still amazing (if you'd like to see, just go to YouTube and search on "ShowWxDemoMar2010.wmv." I think your jaw will drop!
The battery life on the ShowWx is advertised to be about an hour and 40 minutes, give or take. I haven't tested it but others have and, dependent on what's being displayed and the brightness setting, they have found it to be between 105 and 110 minutes. The ShowWx comes with a USB as well as a wall charger, plus all the cables for hooking up to various devices. You will have to purchase a VGA Dock if you want to project with a laptop, and that costs around $50.
While road warriors and lecturers will find the ShowWx to come in very handy for presentations, I think the best thing about the ShowWx is its WOW Factor. It comes out of your pocket and throws a vivid, bright, always in-focus image on any available surface. Of course it works best in a totally dark room, particularly when going large with the image, and it's best on a white surface, but even in higher lighting, you can still get an amazing picture as you draw nearer to the projection surface. I have blown some people's minds projecting a music video on an 8x11 sheet of paper in a brightly lit environment. I think teens and young people will flock to this technology at least, well-to-do young people, since it is pricey at $549. But the ShowWx puts many other projectors to shame, and you can slip it in your pocket.
It is not a perfect product, seeing as there is a slight "bowtie" effect where the edges of the projection bow ever-so-slightly in on the four sides. There is also an occasional line of light that displays below the image I've been told is some sort of calibration effect, but I've only seen it once or twice, it's not very bright and, given the brilliant display, it is hardly noticeable. Other discussions of the ShowWx by the few who actually HAVE one differ on whether this calibration line is there at all some say they've seen it, others say they haven't. I say it's not a big deal at all.
But the image put out by this projector is stunning it's not HD, but it is WVGA (848 x 480). It won't replace your high-def t.v., but it is absolutely the coolest thing you can pull out of your pocket. You can watch movies on your ceiling, show pictures of your family on a restaurant wall, or give a presentation in an elevator or on a plane. It doesn't have any speakers you can plug in with ear buds for your own entertainment or hook it up to a sound dock if many people are watching. I have to say, it is a really mind-boggling product and you simply won't believe that something this small can produce images this big, clear and bright. I highly recommend it.
Despite not putting the product through a more than 1 day test, I can say that this projector is FAR superior than anything LED based. The contrast ratio is said to be "greater than 5000:1" and although I don't have a viable way to check, it seems much higher than that of my LED-based pico projector which states "1000:1."
BRIGHTNESS: The light output is said to be ~ 10 lumens, about the same as the LED-based projectors. HOWEVER, in practice this laser projector seems way brighter. my educated guess is that maybe laser-based light sources do not disperse as much of the light to waste while traveling to the surface projected on.
Overall I'm very happy. I'll try to take some decent photos and/or videos and post them here.
P.S. This projector can readily connect to any TV-out or VGA source (such as a laptop.) I plan to try this soon.
Buy MicroVision SHOWWX Classic Laser Pico Projector for iPod Now
took a lot of time trying to decide which one is better.. ended up buying both .. ya i know..ShowWX..Brightness: 4/5, Color 5/5, picture quality 2/5
PK301..Brightness: 3/5, Color 4/5, picture quality 5/5
------
what i liked most about the ShowWX: smaller size, can recharge from USB, better battery life, no focus required
what i didnt like: no flash memory (can only play off of a source), no VGA, need to buy the add-on which takes away the size advantage, is not good for reading text (blurry, just not clear, and gave me a headache just to look at it)
------
what i like most about PK301: VGA out of the box, has built in memory and can take up to 8GB of memory (maybe more), monitor like text quality, you can easily use this as a PC monitor, read clear text, and way better to watch movies.
what i didnt like about it: the buttons.. will need to move the projector every time you need to press a button
-----
Bottom line.. PK301 clear winner in all aspects .. especially if you want to watch movies with or without a PC.. and its cheaper. ShowWX.. sorry the technology is not ready yet. Hope this helps.
Read Best Reviews of MicroVision SHOWWX Classic Laser Pico Projector for iPod Here
My ShowWX review hooked to my iPhone 3GSAll video displayed was streaming via YouTube.
The packaging is first rate. Excellent presentation. Unpacked my Show, batteries (yes I ordered a second) assorted cables, wrist strap, carry sack and the instructions. As with other electronics, these days, I found the instruction to be OK. I am an experienced tech savvy guy who would still like to see a more robust set of written instructions and suggestions on use, with my devices. I am sure less technical users would appreciate them as well. Old school I guess. The Show's instructions were however clearly written and laid out. Plugged in the charger and proceeded to charge as per instruction, until the light turns green from orange. About 2 hrs. I got very excited when the light turned green. Seems like I had been starring at it the whole time it was charging.
Changed the settings on my iPhone to allow for video out. Turned my ShowWX on before plugging in the cable, for which the instructions are very very clear about the order of connections (I have a slight problem with this which I will explain).
You must wait for the blinking blue light to stop flashing. No problem figuring out when it is ready, because in a darkened room, the Splash Page appears big and bright as can be. Somewhat shocking at first. Next step is to hook up your iPhone (iPod) cable to the Show and then your iPhone.
***My slight problem with the order of connections required for the Show to detect connections is the fact that the splash page is beaming away constantly while making those connections. There should be a way to turn the unit off, without projecting a beam. The only way right now, is to block the front of the unit. Minor issue but I am sure that will addressed with next generation builds. After all this is just an interim device that was built to facilitate the ramp.
The Splash Page was so vibrant and color saturated I felt confined by my living room and felt I needed a larger space to play so I immediately moved the Show outdoors. Projecting the Splash Page on the side of our four story townhomes, is some sight to behold. Like a neon billboard. The picture gets big fast. It is amazing how big the picture is just several feet away from a surface. Let me tell you 200" is big. Makes your big screen 55" living room TV appear confined and extremely small.
Wrote this last night on first impressions "First thing to do when you get your ShowWX is go outside at night and throw the splash page up on the side of a building. Impressive attention getter. Now that you have their undivided attention play a YouTube video of Stevie Windwood and Eric Clapton concert footage performing Can't Find My Way Home. Had portable speakers hooked to the iPhone while streaming the video on the side of my garage door. The block was ready to break out the popcorn and watch a movie.
The splash page retains its vivid color and sharp picture qualities and gets big fast. That's what truly is impressive to me is how fast the picture gets big just a few feet from the projection unit. The throw ratio is excellent. At night it looks like a neon billboard. A 150"-200" picture is a breeze and is astounding when you realize how you are doing it. "
After my neighborhood Show I went back indoors. Sitting on my couch at the far end of my living room streaming/projecting towards the opposite end of the room on the ceiling has an unusual effect. Bruce Springsteen performing All Along the Watchtower appeared like video screens high up on a concert stage. Sort of like he was just floating there. It also produced a trapezoid effect to the picture which gave it a feeling of depth. Very cool.
All my playing last night was handheld projection. About 75 minutes. The unit is extremely light and easy to hold steady. No problem watching and enjoying handheld which I thought may be a potential issue and is certainly not. No focus is a must. No doubt about it. The unit was in my hand the whole time and never got more then slightly warm to the touch, which went completely unnoticed after a short period of time. When you first start play, as others have stated, you are acutely aware of every detail. Those heightened senses disappear very quickly with use.
Video Resolution, especially from a PDA, iPod/iPhone or any present day smartphone. I have not hooked my Show to a PC yet, which is a much better source of video resolution, but unfortunately a handheld device, at this point in time is not. A good comparison is a 4x5 or 5x6 low resolution photo, shot with a Kodak instamatic camera, blown up to 11x14. It isn't the ideal sharpest image for viewing but still very impressive. The same for a 3Meg digital photo when you blow it up to 40, 50 or 200", it doesn't look very sharp.
That being said, despite the weakness of a present day handheld video source, a 24"-30" projected picture is surprisingly good. Very impressed by the image. The problem is, you get spoiled very quickly and want to go BIG.
Want MicroVision SHOWWX Classic Laser Pico Projector for iPod Discount?
I bought one of these projectors, partly because I wanted to see what the cutting edge technology was like, and partly because I have a room that can easily be made pitch black, and no space for a noisy traditional projector. The pros are obvious. The cons need more explaining:Pros:
* Very small
* Zero noise (no moving parts)
* Always focused
* Vivid colours
* Cool new technology!
Cons:
* Laser speckle.
If you've ever seen a reasonably powerful laser, you'll know what this is. Basically it is a pattern of bright points, that are *always in focus*. Due to physics (it's complicated), no matter what distance you are focussing on, these points will still be focused. This can make it a bit tricky to focus on the projection, but that might just be my eyes. They also move when you move your head, but I haven't found that to be distracting at all. Due to the three coloured lasers used, it basically looks like you are watching things on a dirty screen. This also only happens with bright white scenes. I would say this is a moderate con.
* Not very bright.
Obviously I knew this before I bought it. It isn't very bright, true. And it is only properly good in a near-pitch black room (depending on the size of your projection). A minor con.
* Composite input only.
Ok, the laser speckle and brightness are excusable, since they are inherent limits of the new technology, but composite input only? First of all this limits the resolution to ... well pretty shoddy. Think VHS. I think the actual hardware is capable of more, because the internally-generated splash-screen is better quality than what you get from the video input.
Secondly, who uses composite? Seriously the only thing that generates composite is the iPhone. Most other mobiles are HDMI, and even Apple's own laptops are incapable of generating composite outputs (you need a reasonably expensive (£40) active converter).
* Doesn't run off mains.
Ok, this is just stupid. If the battery is empty, you can't just plug it into usb and run it off that. You have to charge the battery above some level before it will work. Very annoying.
Ok this is a pretty negative sounding review. I actually think it is pretty awesome, it's just a shame it has such bad connectivity.
0 comments:
Post a Comment