For People On The Move

Catering to the needs of people on the go, pico projectors project a large image from a small one. Today, these projectors have become so small that they are increasingly being embedded in mobile phones and cameras. Doing away with the need to carry other devices, a few standalone models also support internal memory.

Entertainment and produc­tivity literally reside in the pockets of business trave­lers, movie-buffs or even plain gadget enthusiasts these days. The fab trimming, belt-tightening trend has certainly engulfed projectors too, giving rise to a new breed called pico projectors.

When we say 'projectors,' the first thing that comes to our mind is a large, bulky device used in our offices and colleges for presentations. The continuous evolution of technology has now enabled us to get a cinema­-like video projection from a compact device. Welcome to the world of pico projectors!

Pico projectors for people on the move

Catering to the needs of people on the go, pico projectors project a large image from a small one. Today, these projectors have become so small they are increasingly being embedded in mobile phones and cameras. Doing away with the need to carry other de­vices, a few models also have internal memory. These projectors tend to be cheap. If you are one of those who always carry a laptop or tablet, this tiny device can be of some great utility.

Before delving further, the key thing to consider is that these projectors are not very bright. They require a 'complete­ly' dark room to display images decently. So don't go for these portable pups if you are hoping for a vivid image that comes out of a full-fledged large projector.

Choose the devices you wish to connect

Just like media players, these pro­jectors can comfortably pull video signals from a variety of devices like DVD players, laptops, mobile phones and cameras. If you have the latest models of these devices, you need not worry about their compatibility with your pico projector. The more inputs the projector has, the better. It would be wise to check which devices you are likely to pair before choosing a projec­tor. Among the most common inputs are VGA (laptop), A/V (RCA) and Composite. Addressing the demands of new-age consumers, a few projectors even support HDMI, Wi-Fi and iPod/ iPad connectors.

Pico projectors are USB-friendly

Aping smartphones, some projectors support USB connection only, which provides dual compatibility for both data and power. Usually, such models have no internal battery. These are often called the 'USB projectors.' These serve just like pico projectors, connec­tivity being the only difference.

Technologies used

Pico projectors have LEDs as light source, which implies these projectors have a long useful life due to efficient use of battery power. In most models, display technology is either DLP or LCoS.

Overall, there are four distinct technologies powering these portable projectors:

LCoS (liquid crystal on silicon)

It uses a small LCD panel to filter light from an LED source. Together with DLP, this is the most popular technol­ogy these days.

DLP (digital light processing)

It comprises tiny mirrors on a chip to direct light from an LED source. It is used by many companies including Optoma, LG and Samsung.

Laser-LCoS

It is the same as LCoS filter, with laser light source be­ing the only difference.

Laser-beam-steering

Being the latest one, there are only a few prod­ucts available with this technology. It uses lasers and a single tiny mirror (some models use two) to direct the light. The image is created one 'pixel' at a time. Lasers are bright, efficient and always in focus, but suffer from Speckle effect. A speckle is a sort of interference produced by random-intensity patterns occurring out of a set of wave fronts. In a general sense, it implies to shiny metal­lic dots visible all over the image.

Cabling requirements

Pico projectors come with the conveni­ence of reduced space requirements. It is not that tough to find a good place for them to project where you want to. But when you add those entangled cables from another gadget, these projectors might give you a headache. Some pro­jectors support internal memory and/or memory cards, so they can play content without the need for another device. Some can play videos and images, while others also support office documents.

Battery life

Majority of these projectors can run for about an hour on their rechargeable battery. This run time limit can actually play spoilsport in watching full-length movies. So look out for models that of­fer external batteries. You can buy these batteries along with the projector.

Weight

Pico projectors usually weigh 150 to 250 grams. Moving up the price lad­der, some projectors are really light at around 85 grams, but these do not include a battery and must be powered using a USB cable.

Some popular models in the market

3M MP180

Price: $550

3M MP180

Features:

·         Resolution: 800x600

·         Type: LCoS

·         SD card support: Yes

BenQ Joybee GP2

Price: $720

BenQ Joybee GP2

Features:

·         Resolution: Up to 1200x800

·         Type: LCoS

·         SD card support: Yes

Portronics POR315

Price: $423

Portronics POR315

Features:

·         Resolution: 1024x600

·         Type: LCoS

·         SD card support: Yes

Acer C110

Price: $295

Acer C110

Features:

·         Resolution: Up to 1280x800

·         Type: LCoS

·         SD card support: No (Only USB)