new projector

[Douglas999]

Could this be the answer to outside views?

I have just seen this new projector on a UK TV gaget show, called the optoma pico pocket projector. The first thing I thought about was would this work for out side views on the sim? They did not mention what resolution it was but did say the picture quality was very good and with LED light no expensive bulbs to blow. I did a quick search on the web and it looks like it will launch for £299 gbp so I expect that within 12-18 months that will be £199. This could be a posibility.:)


http://fwd.five.tv/videos/news-optoma-pico-pocket-projector

Douglas

[Matt Olieman]

Yes and soon, a laser projector same size, but much, much, much brighter :) :) :) don't know about the resolution, but you know it's going to get better......

Don't you love new technology????

Matt Olieman

[vcimmino]

Past week I gave a shot to the Samsung M400, that is a compact LED projector as well. 50 Ansi Lumen, 800x600 VGA in and composite video. No zooming, just the focus as the Optoma. It weights one pound and is slightly bigger then the optoma one, but watching the video I can say for sure that the samsung is really more usable in many situations, lighter and can be used for flight simming as well. Image is crisp and scaling at 1024x768 is almost perfect. Colours are neutral and really match reality (It seemed me greenish the optoma, isn't it?). Price tag is about 550€. I really was about to get one ex demo for myself, but I still have a Sanyo Z5 and I love it, so I'll wait for my cockpit to be almost ended to choice the right VPs for it.

[BHawthorne]

Just wish the lumens were at a reasonable brightness. The LED lifespan of 20,000 hours is killer though. 50 lumens vs 1000+ lumens is a lot of gap to bridge to compare to regular projectors though. If you are projecting in a room where the windows have shades pulled 50 lumens might be useable though. I had an old 200 lumens projector and the contrast using it was really bad compared to my 1100 lumens 720p projectors I now use.

The video showing it hooked up to an iphone/ipod was a cool example though. It shows that projector and player can all fit into your pocket now. I use my iphone to do video presentations with regular projectors at school. You can do 720p right out of your iphone with a $30 component cable.

[hurl2space]

I heard that after the u.s. thanksgiving holiday, you might be able to buy a 60 inch hdtv for about $350.00. I plan on buying 3 of them.

[Matt Olieman]

I heard that after the u.s. thanksgiving holiday, you might be able to buy a 60 inch hdtv for about $350.00. I plan on buying 3 of them.

For that price and depending on the resolution, I may be right there in line with you... :) :)

Matt Olieman

[BHawthorne]

Hrrrm 60" would almost guarantee it would have to be 1080p.

[oal331]

I'm afraid that big LCD screens/TVs will not be comfortable in eyes, that the projected image. Is yhis it truth?

Btw, a new projector, how much britgness and contrast is the best to have for our cockpit?
I have found many projectors for a nice price, having ~2000-2500 Ansi lumens and 2000 contrast, in 1024*768 resolution.
It's ok, something like that?

regards

Eddie

[AndyT]

I posted about this about a year ago now. Back then it had just come out in a new announcement about being in development. Now its made its way to market. Well, this is what we've been waiting for. Now we just have to wait for the lumensd and res to catch up.

[Matt Olieman]

I'm afraid that big LCD screens/TVs will not be comfortable in eyes, that the projected image. Is yhis it truth?

Btw, a new projector, how much britgness and contrast is the best to have for our cockpit?
I have found many projectors for a nice price, having ~2000-2500 Ansi lumens and 2000 contrast, in 1024*768 resolution.
It's ok, something like that?

regards

Eddie


You're right Eddie, there are limitations to the brightness, particularly to white screen, you get lot's of wash out from the brightness around the screen (particularly with 180 degree screens. Although some have developed the gray screen (can't recall the name of the paint, it's here somewhere).

It will be interesting to see the new technology at work.

Matt Olieman

[Tomlin]

You're right Eddie, there are limitations to the brightness, particularly to white screen, you get lot's of wash out from the brightness around the screen (particularly with 180 degree screens. Although some have developed the gray screen (can't recall the name of the paint, it's here somewhere).

It will be interesting to see the new technology at work.

Matt Olieman

Matt, are you referring to the Black Widow screen paint discussion? ( http://www.mycockpit.org/forums/showthread.php?t=11754&highlight=widow )

[Douglas999]

buy a 60 inch hdtv for about $350.00

For that size and price, never mind the sim I will find a place in my front room:) (postage from the US to UK would be a killer though.)

Douglas

[BHawthorne]

Any new progress on the front of pico projectors? I'm more interested in the LED light source aspect of these than the pico size. 20-30,000 hour bulb life I keep hearing sounds nice. Now just to find 720p LED projector that is true 720p and doesn't cost an arm and a leg. The only issue I see is it having to be projected in a dark room, but I could deal with that vs having to buy bulbs all the time.