Optoma PK201, VGA, 20 LED Lumens, Pico Pocket Projector

I'm in the tech field and I've been waiting for the pico projectors to come down in price. I just never expected one of this quality and feature set to sell for under $300.00. I've looked at the 3M ones and some of the others but none come close to this 20 lumens switch blade of a Pico projector. I got mine about 3 weeks ago and I've been using it constantly. Everyone who see's it is like "I'm so getting one of these". I like the fact that it came bundled with the cables required to connect your laptop. With other units this was extra as well as a case. I purchased the IPOD connector kit so I could hook up my Iphone. It looks awesome with video coming from my Iphone. Please note that the extra battery in the Ipod/Iphone connector kit is for the PK101/102 projectors and will not fit in the PK201. So bascially I'll ebay that battery. The Arcsoft media software I'm not so happy about. I tried converting a video to the PK201 profile settings in Arcsoft only to have it not work on the unit. If I convert the same file utilizing Arcsoft's PK101 profile (lower video bit rate) then the file will play on the PK201. I have a support case open with them about but its really an Arcsoft issue. I've worked around that anyway by utilzing other software to do the job. Long story short is that I've done a lot of research regarding the Pico Projectors, this is by far the best due to its brightness, input capabilities, resolution, and ability to play content on its own (built in media player). Those are some of the most important things to me when I was looking for a Pico Projector. Did I also mention it utilizes Micro SD so I you can have up to 16gb of storage. It's great just taking this unit out without having to hookup any wires and play a movie or project a powerpoint. I've never written a review before and I hope this helps you in selecting a Pico Proejctor.

Cheers

This little projector is a joy in the dark.

The ability to throw in a SD card and let it play is genius. It will even pick a piece of music off the card to play with your picture slide show.

Unfortunately, it is not bright enough to use in any but the darkest rooms. If you intend to use this on the road where you might not get a completely dark room, or you need to use it along with written materials, then this projector is not for you.

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Had the PK201 for about 3 weeks now. 4 1/2 stars. The brightness has much improved. I love that I can now connect just about anything to the PK201. Hopefully the rest of the cables/adapter will be available soon. Battery life is poor, at about an hour. But I mostly keep this plugged in all the time. I wish the screen was just a little bit bigger. 70" easy with good clarity. The focus wheel is much better, not loose like previous models. Great for travel and hotel rooms. Even with some light ambient lighting you can see the picture fine. Best with complete darkness.

**** Update **** After a lot of use I've noticed a few things when compared to other PK models. First the projection screen on the 201 has a smaller footprint on the wall. I'm unable to get the entire screen to focus. Areas remain blurry no matter what. 101 had better focus. Get the PK301, really impressed with that model. Bought one myself.

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1. VGA output from connection to portable laptop: Adequate due to focusing problems, i.e. unfocused image across the breadth of the projection which comes from a distance of approximately 12' in this case. Furthermore, focusing the image adequately with the focusing wheel is somewhat difficult. However, if the operator fiddles long enough with the focus, one can generally see a clear image over MOST of the projection if the projection is nearly perpendicular to the wall with minimal skew. Although 12' is outside the range suggested by the manufacturer, the Optoma PK201 has focusing problems even at shorter distances, e.g. 9'. The HDMI capability begs a user to connect the PK201 to a computer and project the desktop onto a wall as a replacement for a large screen TV. Currently, the latter process doesn't work well because not all quadrants of the projected image are in focus at the same time. Personally, I'd love to use this capability with my speech recognition system while browsing the InterNet, but a projected desktop consisting of text is very difficult to read. In order to read the fuzzier text, heavy use of the web browser's zoom capability is required which causes other problems. Optoma, you blew it here and I fully expect your next generation of micro projectors to precisely focus all quadrants of the projected image simultaneously. I won't be as forgiving if this problem reoccurs in succeeding generations. No excuses.

2. Thermal: A purchaser wouldn't want a micro projector producing greater heat. Personally, excessive heat might be playing a role in the focusing problems. With the current design, 20 lumens is about maximum for micro projectors using LED DLP (currently) and passive cooling. Employing laser diodes instead of LEDs is an option for micro projectors, but I'm unsure which option has the greatest luminosity per unit of thermal output.

3. Luminosity: The projector is barely acceptable at 20 lumens. Unless one restricts the usage of their micro projector to nighttime hours, don't buy a micro projector with a rated output less than 20 lumens. The projection from the PK201 can be seen in a room with some INDIRECT exterior light so the brightness is acceptable.

4. Battery life: Marginal at best. Buy another battery as a spare. You'll need it.

5. The power switch is too small.

6. One can replace the included conversion software with Handbrake if the user is willing to fiddle with the settings. Personally, I use AVIDemux 2 to convert video for the PK201, but Handbrake will work as well. Thanks to legondaree on the Handbrake forums for these selections for use with Handbrake:

a. Select the "iPhone & iPod Touch" preset.

b. Set output format to "MP4 file"

c. Set Video\Video codec to "H.264(x264)"

d. Set Video\Quality to "Average bitrate(kbps): 1500"

e. Set Advanced\B-Frames to "0"

f. Disable Advanced\CABAC Entropy Coding

g. Set Advanced\Motion Estimation Method to "Uneven Multi_Hexagon"

h. In "Picture Settings", select a maximum width of 720 and height of 480 and set Anamorphic to "None"

Although, I initially thought about returning the PK201 due to the difficulty in focusing and the minimal life of the battery, I've decided to keep it as one can get a readable image across MOST of the screen if the aforementioned precautions are followed and one can always purchase an additional battery. The PK201 is a good micro projector and worth $300, but the difficulty in focusing and the minimal life of the battery detract from its usefulness. Remember, technology will continually advance these micro projectors so one has to weigh various factors before deciding to purchase. Personally, I don't think either the PK201 or PK301 are mature enough yet although they are close. The next generation of these micro projectors will probably see much wider adoption of these devices. I suspect 30+ tested lumens will probably be the minimum output and at least 90 minutes of battery life before these devices see wide acceptance.

In conclusion, the PK201 will work nicely for displaying pictures and video as a slightly out of focus condition won't generally be noticeable in parts of the image. Furthermore, if the PK201 is used primarily in a room with INDIRECT light, e.g. ALL shades pulled during daylight hours, or at night, the brightness of the projected image is adequate. The PK201 can also be used to display text, but slightly out of focus text can be maddening after awhile. Personally, I'm able to use the PK201 to project my desktop while browsing the InterNet with my speech recognition system IF I heavily zoom my web browser to enlarge the text and precisely fiddle with the focus wheel. The latter can be done with some difficulty and the text is largely readable so all isn't lost. I've decided to bump my overall rating from 3 to 4. The PK201 is so close to meeting the requirements for many applications and it's a very good buy if the intended use is primarily for viewing pictures or watching video.

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I was so excited when finally my PK201 arrived. I read the manuals before actually used it, charged it, connected to my laptop and watched one 20-min tv series. At the end of the series, I realized that white spots started to appear at the bottom of my screen.

Now these white spots have multiplied and black spots are also appearing and multiplying themselves. All in a span of 1 hour since my first usage!!!

I wouldve loved this projector because it's what I thought it would be, it was bright enough for my room. But a huge turnoff on the white spots. :(

If anyone knows how to remove these, please let me know. I am from Singapore and would be a big hassle to return it and ask for replacement.