Features
Mobile Projectors
They're not just for professional presenters anymore.
By Kirk Linsky
LCD projectors have been around for years, but their high
prices made them unfeasible for most people. Those projectors
cost quite a bit less now, and they can do quite a bit more than
they used to, like double up as mobile (or even home) entertainment
devices.
Who
should look at a mobile projector? First, anyone who frequently
makes presentations. Having your own projector alleviates the
fear that an important presentation to a client may bomb because
they don't have a projector, or at least not one that works with
your computer. If you bring your own, you know it will work, and
you know how to operate it. Ditto for people who make presentations
to audiences, be it at trade conferences or during training sessions.
Such presentations often toggle between two or more input devices,
and so once again it comes in handy if you bring your own and
trusted equipment.
But
aren't projectors big and bulky? Not anymore. A modern projector
weighs no more than your average full-function notebook÷between
five and eight pounds. Some of them weigh even less÷under four
pounds. And almost all come with handy travel bags that hold the
projector and the cables. Taking such a setup with you on a trip
makes perfect sense.
And
as an additional benefit, this new breed of mobile projectors
can double up as a mobile entertainment/theater device, projecting
DVD and other video output on the wall, larger and brighter than
any TV.
So
what do these projectors offer? They come in different form factors.
Most are flat, square boxes, but some stand upright. Most have
very bright projection beams (1500 ANSI and more) and very high
contrast (100:1 and more). Most have a native resolution of 1024x768
pixels, and some go even higher (1280x1024 and 1600x1200). Almost
all have zoom lenses and multiple inputs for a variety of connections.
Some accept both analog and digital inputs whereas others are
limited to analog. All come with their own remote controls which
usually are programmable to also work with other devices.
The
Big Picture
Even very large TV screens cannot compete with the size of the
image these projectors can produce. You can easily do a presentation
with a ten foot diagonal screen size in a partially lit room and
even small text remains legible. In a dark room, you can enjoy
movies that can literally fill almost any wall. We're talking
a 150-inch diagonal picture and more÷imagine that. Other differentiators
are the native aspect ratio and zoom size. Most current projectors
use the standard 4:3 aspect ratio format, but with HDTV and ãwidescreenä
notebook computers becoming more common, some projectors now use
the 16:9 aspect ratio.
Zoom
becomes important when you use the projector in rooms of different
sizes. A 2:1 zoom lens obviously gives you much more control over
the size of the image than a 1.2:1 lens. A large zoom also means
you can place the projector much closer to a wall or projection
screen and still get a very large picture.
Also
important is a projector's ability to create a nice square picture
even if you're projecting the image from an angle. A correction
method called ãkeystoningä allows you to adjust the image. There
are different keystoning or ãsquaringä technologies, some digital
and some optical (more expensive), and not all work equally well.
Other
factors include the type of the lamp and its approximate life.
Lamps are usually rated around 2,000 hours and most projectors
have ãeconomy modesä for prolonged life. Why are the lamps important?
Not only are they responsible for a bright picture, they also
cost between $300 and $500 to replace! Needless to say, the huge,
ultra-bright pictures those bulbs can project also generate a
lot of heat. Which means the projectors need fans, which means
noise. Having a model that's quit enough so as not to disturb
a presentation or movie is important.
Since
all modern projectors can accept a variety of data inputs, it's
important that they can connect to the equipment you use. The
input/output panel of a projector looks like that of a large screen
TV: lots and lots of plugs and interfaces. Most support composite
and S-Video, analog data, and audio. Some also support digital
data and video.
Used
to be that you simply turned a projector on and off and it didn't
have many controls. That has changed. A modern projector is likely
to have an on-screen menu like a digital camera. And just as with
digital cameras, having a menu structure that makes sense is important
to avoid frustration. Projectors usually have some manual controls,
but they also use remote controls for setup and operation. There
are huge differences in ergonomics and what they can control.
Finally,
there are differences in features, picture quality and intangibles.
Each area can make or break the deal for you and only you can
decide what matters to the way you will use a projector. And how
much you want to spend.
To
get an idea of what these projectors can do we looked at two models,
the Casio XJ-450 and the Mitsubishi XD450U. These aren't low-end
machines and they also aren't particularly light, but we still
consider them mobile.
Mitsubishi
XD-450U
The
Mitsubishi XD450U XGA DLP Projector is part of the company's ãcross-functionalä
ultraportables line, which means it is powerful enough for professional
applications, but can also be used for entertainment. The Mitsu
has a street price of between $2,700 and $3,000. It is a relatively
large, conventionally styled unit that measures 11.8 x 9.7 inches,
is 3.5 inches tall, and weighs 6.5 pounds. Specifications are
impressive. Whereas your typical mobile projector has a brightness
of 1500-1800 ANSI and 1500:1 to 200:1 contrast, the XD450U is
considerably brighter with 2600 Lumens and 2200:1 contrast. Its
powerful 200-watt lamp has a rated life of 2,000 hours, which
translates into plenty of presentations (or about a thousand movies).
Mitsubishi takes pride in a couple of proprietary technologies.
The
ColorView Natural Color Matrix makes for particularly rich and
vivid colors, and the CineView extended definition processing
technology makes for very smooth video performance free of artifacts.
A sRGB color profile enables standard, uniform color reproduction.
You can also do a neat picture-in-picture video playback on a
computer background. The XD450U's native resolution is 1024 x
768 or 600 video lines. In 
compressed
mode you can go as high as 1280 x 1024. You can use the Mitsu
for anything from a 40-inch diagonal picture with the projector
four to five feet away, all the way to a gigantic 300-inch diagonal
display with the projector 30 feet away. The XD450U has powerful
vertical and horizontal digital keystone adjustment, which means
you'll be able to see a perfectly rectangular picture under most
circumstances. Zoom, however, is only 1.2X. On the input and output
side you get two RGB in and one out, a digital DVI-D jack, composite
video, RS-232, S-Video, audio in and audio out. The Mitsubishi
comes with a universal learning remote that can be programmed
to control DVD players and video recorders. It can function as
a computer cursor control device and also contains a laser pointer÷a
nice and useful touch. The remote can be used both from behind
and in front of the projector as it has two IR receivers. Zoom
and focus can be operated both manually and electronically. The
manual mode comes in handy for quick adjustments.
With
its very powerful lamp, awesome contrast, excellent connectivity
and numerous features, there's little the Mitsubishi XD450U can't
do. It is relatively large and heavy and costs more than most
high end notebooks, so this is a solution for people who need
all that power and nothing less.
Casio
XJ-450
Anyone
who wants maximum projection power but not the size and weight
of a more conventional projector should look at Casio's latest
mobile projectors. Unlike Mitsubishi, which clothed its powerful
XD450U in a large and relatively conventional enclosure, Casio
went for maximum mobility and the smallest size possible. The
sleek device measures just 10.9 x 7.6 inches and is only 2.5 inches
tall. It is a sleek matte-silver and very high-tech looking box
that weighs just over five pounds. Very mobile indeed. Casio,
of course, is very skilled at miniaturizing technologies, as evidenced
in its digital cameras (and also their Pocket PCs, which we no
longer get in the US). The XJ-450 uses what Casio calls an inverse
meniscus condenser lens to reduce lens size and an Acornic Reflector
lamp to increase brightness but not size.
Thanks
to these and other innovations, Casio achieved a high degree of
mobility without making any concessions to power. The XJ-450 has
a very bright 250- watt high-pressure Mercury bulb rated at 2800
Lumens and a l
ife
of 2,000 hours. Projection screen size is from 15 inches all the
way to a massive 300 inches. A full 2X zoom adds flexibility in
the positioning of the projector (you can get a huge picture from
much closer), as does +/- 30 degree vertical and horizontal keystone
adjustment. Native resolution is 1024x768 pixels but the Casio
also offers a 1600x1200 compressed pixel mode.
In
the input/output area Casio offers less than the Mitsubishi. There
is analog RGB video, regular and S-Video, audio and a USB jack.
This means there is somewhat less flexibility in connecting input
devices.
The
Casio makes up for this with a number of clever design touches.
Important controls like Zoom, auto adjustment and input source
are right on top. An additional menu panel for keystone adjustment,
focus, and menu control flips out from the back of the machine.
The remote includes a laser pointer, computer cursor control,
and all aspects of the projector, but you can't use it to control
additional devices. Another design element that emphasizes the
mobile nature of this device is a springloaded panel on the front
that acts as a lens cover and also includes the second IR port.
The
high-end Casio XJ-450 has a street price of between $3,000 and
$3,300 and is perfect for those who need maximum power at minimum
size.
A
new and exciting field
If you're new to the world of portable and mobile projectors,
we hope this article has given you some insights. To some extent,
this field is new to us at Handheld Computing Magazine as well,
but mobile projectors have become part of the mobile landscape,
and so we are now including them in our coverage. We think the
projector industry needs to do a better job differentiating between
professional high end models and the less expensive consumer models
that may do double duty as home theater projectors. We also think
that most current models get too hot and many are too loud. And
the bulbs cost too much to replace. Still, the image quality of
a good LCD projector is absolutely amazing. The two models we
reviewed for you in this issue are on the higher end, but should
give you an idea of what these machines can do. Both Casio and
Mitsubishi make less expensive models, and many other manufacturers
are, too. In fact, this is a highly competitive field, and you,
the customer, benefit from that.
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