Mitsubishi Pocket Projector PK20

by Rich Malloy
Price as Reviewed: $899.00

A year ago, Mitsubishi invented this product category with its PK10. Now, in its second foray into this market, the Japanese giant has created a model that is practically identical to the Boxlight Bumblebee in terms of features, performance, and general design. The only real difference we see with the Mitsubishi Pocket Projector PK20 is that it comes with a screw-on tripod mount. This unusual feature may be necessary because like the Bumblebee, the PK20 does not elevate its image and therefore must be propped up to display a presentation in full view.

As with the Bumblebee, the PK20’s small carrying pouch is much too small to accommodate any of the needed cables, let alone the AC adapter. Also, there is no VGA cable for connecting to a laptop. For laptop-less operation, the PK20 relies on an SD Card slot. To use it, you must save your PowerPoint slideshow to an SD Card as a series of JPEG image files. We encountered similar problems with the PK20 as we did with the Bumblebee: The projector had trouble recognizing that an SD Card was present and was unable to show certain video files.

Our test unit did not come with a battery, so we could not measure performance with this accessory. An accessory we were provided with, however, was the same ill-conceived remote control that accompanied the Bumblebee. Again, the labels were impossible to read, the buttons hard to push, and the functionality just this side of useless. And on that rare occasion when you do have to use it, you must carefully aim the remote at the projector’s single infrared receiver on its back panel.

Mitsubishi deserves credit for being honest about this projector’s brightness, or lack thereof. In our performance tests, the PK20 produced only 23 lumens in its standard power mode; this is almost two orders of magnitude lower than many new AC-powered projectors, but surprisingly close to Mitsubishi’s claim of 25 lumens. The PK20 has a high-power mode, which increases the brightness by 20 percent and bumps up the fan noise considerably.

As with the Bumblebee, the PK20’s SD Card slot enables digital photographers to show off their work in darkened rooms. The Mitsubishi Pocket Projector PK20 is an improvement on the company’s early battery-powered models, but we’d rather wait for the next version.

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Toshiba TDP-FF1AU

By Rich Malloy
Current Price: $936.18 - $946.19

Mind you, we are still pretty much in the prehistoric era of battery-powered projector evolution, but our favorite among the current crop is the Toshiba TDP-FF1AU. Although it is markedly dimmer than the other models and hard to focus, we highly value its compact size, its superior remote control, and its USB input port. And who wouldn’t love its attractively low price?

This tiny projector is about the size of the Boxlight and Mitsubishi models, but its battery has a better design. Instead of sitting below the projector, it attaches to the unit’s rear panel, barely increasing the overall footprint. The battery is thus an integral yet detachable part of the device. More important, it is included in the projector’s already low price.

Besides the battery, the TDP-FF1AU comes with a number of other interesting features. It is, for example, the only battery-powered projector to have a lens cap, albeit an easily misplaced one owing to its lack of a tether. Also, it has a USB port rather than an SD Card slot. A VGA cable is included, enabling you to advance slides on your laptop via the remote control. Toshiba even throws in a foldable 23-inch diagonal projection screen.

The key strength of a battery-powered projector is the ability to use it alone, without a laptop. To make this possible, the TDP-FF1AU includes a USB Type A connector, which means you can run a presentation off a USB flash memory drive, or even from certain MP3 players. As with the other pint-size projectors, you must first save your presentation as a series of JPEG files.

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Epson PowerLite S4

by Rich Malloy
Current Price: $747.47

Because it practically invented the budget projector category, we’ve always had some fondness for the old Epson PowerLite S1. Unfortunately, it was not until Epson’s third try at this market segment when it debuted the PowerLite S3 (see LAPTOP, September 2005) that the company finally perfected the SVGA budget projector. Now, with the PowerLite S4, Epson has refreshed the S3 by increasing the brightness, adding a few features, and slashing the price to one of the lowest we have seen.

In size, weight, and general appearance, the new silver-clad S4 is practically identical to its older brother. The main external difference is a handy and sturdy sliding lens cover, which not only is impossible to lose, but will also automatically put the projector into standby mode when closed. No doubt owing to this superior lens cover, the S4 weighs slightly more than the older model, tipping the scales at an easily luggable 5.7 pounds.

Like Sony, Epson tends to favor LCD technology over DLP chips. Thus, like other Epson projectors, the S4 exploits the superior color accuracy provided by the 3LCD image engines. However, the images suffer from somewhat diminished contrast and a noticeable grid-like appearance.

As with the older S3, Epson clearly had to cut some corners to keep the price down. For example, this model has no optical zoom lens and comes with only a short six-foot AC cable. Compare this with Dell’s 1200MP, which offers a rich assortment of eight cables (including USB and component video) and a carrying case for about the same price. The S4 is one of the few projectors equipped with an extension cord–friendly two-prong plug.

The remote control presents an interesting counterbalance of features. Its relatively small size fits nicely in the hand yet accommodates almost all the buttons you need, including those required for navigating through a PowerPoint slide show. The bad news is that there is no laser pointer (instead, you can display an arrow on the screen and move it around awkwardly with a four-way tilt button). Those PowerPoint navigation buttons do not work until you purchase a USB cable and connect the projector to your PC.

Such as it is in these larcenous times, many S4 users will appreciate the S4’s new theft-deterring password option. A key component of this feature is a prominent sticker advertising its presence.

In its default mode, the S4 was quite bright. We measured 1461 lumens, which while almost 20 percent below the 1800 claimed is good enough for almost all conference-room applications. In addition to the default Presentation color mode, the projector has five others. These modes let you tweak the color temperature for special applications, such as movies or games. The Dell 1200MP is brighter, at a claimed 2000 lumens, but because of its excellent colors, the S4 is better for photos or movies.

As with all LCD projectors, the S4 turned in a relatively low contrast ratio of 223:1 in our checkerboard test. This result is easily offset by two other factors: the huge image size (49 inches in diagonal at a screen distance of five feet) and the S4’s extremely quick warm-up and cool-down times (12 seconds and 3 seconds, respectively).

In our subjective entertainment tests, the S4 did quite well. The screen-door effect that is common among LCD projectors was visible but just barely so. We noticed more flicker than usual on some half-tone grays, but full-motion video was quite smooth, even for 1080i HDTV signals. One fault, however, was the fan noise, which in standard-power mode might be a bit too loud for home-entertainment applications. Fortunately, the low-power mode drops the noise substantially yet dims brightness by only 23 percent.

The Epson PowerLite S4 comes with a relatively generous two-year warranty, twice as long as that on all other budget projectors. The replacement lamp is also inexpensively priced at $199 and is said to last 2,000 hours.

While the Epson S4 may lack some of the features of the similarly priced Dell 1200MP, we would still choose it for multimedia and leave the Dell to business applications.

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Casio Super Slim XJ-S35

by Rich Malloy
Price as Reviewed: $1,799.00

One of the company’s two new models, the Casio Super Slim XJ-S35 weighs more than all three of the above battery-powered projectors combined. Nevertheless, this four-pound model certainly qualifies as a tiny projector because of its exceptionally low profile. At only 1.7 inches thick, its shape resembles a small notebook computer. This unique form factor should fit easily into almost any laptop carrying case.

In addition to its thinness, the XJ-S35 sports a number of interesting features. Its fold-down lens cap will be difficult to misplace, and most presenters will love the remote-controlled focus and optical zoom capabilities. In fact, the exceptionally large 2X zoom ratio gives presenters tremendous flexibility in where they place the projector. Unfortunately, the remote lacks a laser pointer or any type of mouse emulation. The XJ-S35 does, however, come with a USB input port for laptop-free presentations.

In our performance tests, the Casio pumped out 2091 lumens, actually outshining the advertised value of 2000. Its contrast ratio was 439:1, which while not exceptional for a DLP projector, is more than sufficient for most presentations. The cooling fan is a bit noisy, but the projector features an “Eco” mode, which drops the fan noise considerably and throttles back the brightness by only 25 percent.

The Casio Super Slim XJ-S35 includes a generous three-year warranty. A version without the USB port (XJ-30) sells for $100 less. If you want big-projector power in a sleek design, this is the one to get.

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Toshiba TDP-FF1AU

by Rich Malloy
Current Price: $936.18 - $946.19

Mind you, we are still pretty much in the prehistoric era of battery-powered projector evolution, but our favorite among the current crop is the Toshiba TDP-FF1AU. Although it is markedly dimmer than the other models and hard to focus, we highly value its compact size, its superior remote control, and its USB input port. And who wouldn’t love its attractively low price?

This tiny projector is about the size of the Boxlight and Mitsubishi models, but its battery has a better design. Instead of sitting below the projector, it attaches to the unit’s rear panel, barely increasing the overall footprint. The battery is thus an integral yet detachable part of the device. More important, it is included in the projector’s already low price.

Besides the battery, the TDP-FF1AU comes with a number of other interesting features. It is, for example, the only battery-powered projector to have a lens cap, albeit an easily misplaced one owing to its lack of a tether. Also, it has a USB port rather than an SD Card slot. A VGA cable is included, enabling you to advance slides on your laptop via the remote control. Toshiba even throws in a foldable 23-inch diagonal projection screen.

The key strength of a battery-powered projector is the ability to use it alone, without a laptop. To make this possible, the TDP-FF1AU includes a USB Type A connector, which means you can run a presentation off a USB flash memory drive, or even from certain MP3 players. As with the other pint-size projectors, you must first save your presentation as a series of JPEG files.

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ViewSonic PJ258D

by Rich Malloy
Current Price: $549.99 - $1,399.99

Among the hordes of new iPod accessories on the market, perhaps the most intriguing is the $999 ViewSonic PJ258D projector-and it's a pretty powerful one at that. Under its slick, glossy black exterior beats the heart of a business projector that might outshine much of its competition. Although it weighs less than four pounds, the manufacturer claims it can beam out 2000 ANSI lumens, and on our lab test, we saw no fewer than 2265 lumens.

But the PJ258D is focused more on Pirates of the Caribbean than on PowerPoint. Just insert a video iPod into the oversized dock on the projector's top panel and you can start watching your video in a size limited only by the dimensions of your walls. The projector's remote has control buttons that relay directly to the iPod. The process works extremely well, considering there was no laptop or DVD player involved. The only problems we saw were some slight motion artifacts caused no doubt by the iPod.

We watched parts of Pirates of the Caribbean and some of Gone in 60 Seconds. The image was very clear for both movies when blown up on a 60-inch screen, although Johnny Depp's makeup became very noticeable at this size-a testament to the quality of the projector. We never did get to the point where the image was too big to enjoy. At 10 feet, you'll get an 88-inch display, and at 20 feet, the image is more than 8 feet in height, which maxed out our testing facility. You'll want to dim the lights for such a big display, but the image is still plenty bright for movies at that size.

Unfortunately, the PJ258D does not incorporate all of the iPod design philosophy, which focuses not only on visual design but also on the user experience. The projector's control panel is hidden on the rear panel, and its buttons are small and poorly labeled. The all-important power button is particularly hard to find. Obviously, presenters are meant to use the remote control, which includes a prominent power button as well as a handy laser pointer. Business users, however, might bemoan the remote's lack of buttons for controlling a presentation on their laptops. Our advice: Save your PowerPoint slideshows as JPEGs and transfer them to the iPod.

The PJ258D is also surprisingly hot and noisy. After 30 minutes, the right side of the projector was too hot to touch, and the fan noise was too loud for enjoyable viewing. To get the noise down to acceptable levels, we reset the projector to the lowest of its four power settings, which still provided plenty of light (about 1700 lumens). Speaking of noise, we were surprised to find that this movie-oriented projector has only a single one-watt speaker. For most videos, you'll want to connect a pair of small computer speakers.

Despite some flaws, the ViewSonic PJ258D is a groundbreaking entertainment projector that also happens to offer an enviable combination of power, portability, and price. And its three-year warranty (with one year on the lamp) is one of the best in the industry. Still, its rough edges might cause some to wait for the sequel.

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Optoma EP727

by Rich Malloy
Current Price: $689.00 - $866.86

Shhh. If you listen carefully, you can hear an entire category of low-resolution SVGA projectors going extinct. Their low-budget niche has been invaded by the amazing Optoma EP727, which boasts XGA resolution, a highly portable design, and a price tag of just $699.

Good Performance and Features for the Price

If that’s not enough, check out the full-featured remote (which includes both a laser pointer and a set of mouse pointer controls) and the relatively wide range of inputs. Not only is there a VGA-out connector for users of obsolete desktops, but there is also a choice of two VGA inputs, using the traditional VGA and the newer DVI connectors (which can be used simultaneously for quick handoffs from one presenter to another). We also like the Velcro straps on the VGA and USB cables for neat and easy stowage.

On our tests, the EP727 presented sharp images and was adequately bright for most applications (1,466 ANSI lumens versus the 2,200 advertised). The contrast ratio was a very impressive 591:1, thanks to its DLP imaging engine. However, like many DLP models, its yellows looked a bit too much like deli mustard. The projector shut down in a sprightly 18 seconds (although it was still warm to the touch) but needed a leisurely 40 seconds to warm up. Even though we had a difficult time doing it, we liked that you can shift EP727 into low-power mode, which for this unit means less noise from the cooling fan and a longer life for the lamp (3,000 hours vs. 2,000 in Bright mode), and a 12 percent decrease in brightness.

A Few Weaknesses

Sure, a couple of aspects of the EP727 could be improved. Although the remote control has an impressive set of features (including numeric keys for inputting a theft-deterring password), most of the buttons are arranged poorly and could easily confuse a nervous presenter. Likewise, the Power button on the top panel of the projector is difficult to identify. Also, the menu structure is a bit more complicated than it needs to be. Finally, the back panel has a surprising omission: an RCA-style video connector, which is usurped by the S-Video connector.

Verdict

The above are minor quibbles, however, especially for a $700 XGA projector that is sure to kill off an entire species of low-resolution budget models. Yes, there are certainly brighter projectors available, but none has the impressive combination of price and features available in the Optoma EP727.

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