Optoma PK301plus, WVGA, 75 LED Lumens, Pico Pocket Projector

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Price: $324.99 Too low to display   

Product Feature

• Let your movies and media go where you do-Pocket-sized, lightweight rechargeable projector made to take anywhere
• Connect readily to most analog and digital devices with a comprehensive array of ports including HDMI and VGA
• Invest in LED light source for excellent color and long life
• Share movies, games and more with large, widescreen images of up to 120 inches
• 75 LED lumens

Product Description

Optoma's PK301+ Pico pocket projector gives you the freedom to share your best movies, games, pictures, documents and other visual media as a big image wherever you are. The palm-sized PK301+ combines 75 LED lumens brightness and widescreen WVGA resolution with 32GB of built-in storage to create easy and effective projection at home or on the road. HDMI ensures that you can successfully connect with the broadest range of sources, including iPhones, DVD players, laptop computers, set top boxes and more. This projector's eight-ounce size, battery powered design and simple controls set the standard for portable projection.

Optoma PK301plus, WVGA, 75 LED Lumens, Pico Pocket Projector Review

Having never owned a pico projector before, I was intrigued by the idea of them. My old projector has a blown bulb, and instead of spending another $300 for a new bulb I decided I would give this a whirl. I spend a lot of time at work or traveling, so I wanted something to have handy if I ever wanted to play a game or watch a video on the go. I just received my pk320 today and here are my initial impressions:

Pros
1) Very small
2) Lightweight
3) Still feels durable despite 1 and 2
4) Bright picture....this one shocked me. In my living room with the lights on (granted this took place at night) I could clearly see the picture when projected onto a wall across the room. I imagine the result with my projector screen will be better.
5) Built in card reader and decoder work well. I loaded some avi's onto a memory card to test out how this would work. Not only did it work quickly, it also was able to find the avi's I nested within a folder.
6) Built in speaker works surprisingly well
7) Seems like optoma listened to some of the feedback from earlier models and included a remote and some accessories with this model.
8) Padded case seems nice

Cons
1) There is no keystone adjustment feature. This is actually a large issue, in part because of the size of this unit. If you put this on a table/desk/furniture/etc... there's a high chance you will not be directly centered from where you are projecting the image. The tilt up/down/to the side causes very visible distortion in the image shape. It's still watchable, but this seems like a huge oversight for a projector that cost $400+
2) Fan is loud when on "bright" mode (100 lumens). Fan noise is most definitely audible when the projector is running at 100 lumens. This isn't a deal breaker, and honestly it's not terribly loud.
3) Even though the padded case seems nice, there is no spot to put your charger or any accessories.
4) Unit heats up quickly. I haven't had it on for prolonged periods yet, so I'm not sure how this will effect the picture quality or processing. I can tell you that during my 10-15 minute trial runs today it became warm to the touch. These were all during 100 lumen "bright mode" tests, so perhaps the effect is not as great on the normal mode.
5) Cords for accessories are short and move the projector if you are adjusting the input device position. To fix this (and help fix problem 4), I would recommend getting a good mini-tripod. I wouldn't skimp on something in the $1-2 range. I personally went with Joby GP1-A1EN Gorillapod Flexible Tripod (Grey and Black). It was still relatively cheap, and does an excellent job holding the projector firmly in position. I imagine that tripod will also come in handy when I want to bring the projector outdoors along with some external speakers to have a movie night with friends.
6) No lens cap for the projector. The lens appears to be made of plastic and is recessed, but this still seems like an area for concern. A small modification to add a lens cap, which I can't imagine would cost much, could have corrected this issue.

I'll try to do a more detailed review soon, and maybe a video review if I get enough time. Overall I am pleased with the projector, but I still have some other tests I want to do before rendering a final verdict. If you go into this purchase expecting to get high definition, movie theater quality images...you will be disappointed. If you go into this realizing you are trading off movie theater quality picture and a huge projector in exchange for ease of portability while still maintaining a good picture, you will likely be happy.

Initially I'd give this a 4/5.

*Update 3/10/2012*

After having some time to play around with this, I have some additional comments:
* The sound is not nearly as loud as I thought when you are in a large room. It is still better than nothing, but you will likely need an external speaker of some sort to fully enjoy this. Not a deal breaker though, this is a small projector so this shouldn't come as a shock.
* The unit is not as bright when played for a long time. This was expected, as Optoma has admitted their projector dims itself slightly if it gets too hot. Mainly mentioning this so others are aware this is normal behavior.
* I have had some severe problems when playing media directly off the projector (either via micro SD or internal memory). In a handful of cases, the audio is out of sync. In one case, the audio did not play at all. Other times when moving from one video file to another, the projector simply will not play the file. If I restart the projector, the file plays fine. These examples are all using files that meet the Optoma specifications for what the projector can play back. I thought that there may be a chance the firmware was outdated, but when I went to the Optoma site I couldn't even find firmware for this model. Seems to be a big oversight. I plan to call tech support tomorrow to find out what is going on.
* I'm going to do further testing on this issue, but yesterday I started up my projector and after the "Optoma" logo, I got a blank white screen. It did not take me to the menu. This continued several times until I plugged the projector into the charger. I'm not sure if this is normal behavior for when the unit is low on battery, or if there is a bigger issue. This is another item I plan to address with tech support tomorrow.

Overall I am still happy with this unit, but a lot will be riding on my interaction with Optoma tech support tomorrow. I'll keep this updated with the results. Also, I did get a chance to take some pictures in full fluorescent lighting as well as dim lighting. I'll post those in a future update.

*Update 3-18-2012*
I contacted Optoma tech support and they confirmed that my unit is faulty. They said it either has bad software, or a bad battery. Strangely, they advised me to return the unit to Amazon and have Amazon fulfill a new unit. Strange, specifically because the paper inside the box says "STOP! Call tech support and send your unit in for repair before returning it to your place of purchase".

At any rate, I have my new unit now and I'll be testing it out during the week.

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