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Micro-Projectors May Bring YouTube On-The-Go
An anonymous reader writes "A tiny portable projector, about the size of a pack of cards, may soon replace a ring tone as the most annoying thing on the train or bus. These technical innovations can project an image up to 50 inches in size in dark lighting, making them ideal for on-the-road business presentations. They can also be hooked up to cell phones or media devices, though, possibly introducing a whole new level of social intrusion into US culture. 'Digital projectors were once bulky. These new models, though, are small enough to fit into the pocket of consumers who want a big-screen experience from a small-screen device. Some of the models are expected to be on the market by year-end, or sooner. Prices have yet to be announced. Matthew S. Brennesholtz, an analyst at Insight Media, a marketing research firm in Norwalk, Conn., says he thinks the projectors will initially cost about $350, then quickly drop to less than $300.'"
Can I connect this thing to my HD DVD player? At $300 it's cheaper than buying a real 40 inch screen.
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If one is used in a movie theater, it's just the right size to crush under one's heel.
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I'd definitely get one of these to use at work. Sometimes I find myself in a meeting with a few people in a place with no projectors, so it'd be useful to be able to go over something that could be kept in my pocket, ready to sue at a moments notice. This is especially useful since my employer is stingy with the number of conference rooms with projectors.
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The submitter could at least have linked to the YouTube Video of the projector prototype.
So, how hot will the bulbs in these pocket projectors get?
I smell a market for a project projector protector!
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Because nothing says professional like holding a sales meeting presentation on a manilla folder or a NAPKIN.
There is no reasonable defense against an idiot with an agenda
:wq
42
At $300, it's probably VGA or SVGA res, good enough for DVD, but blow it up too large and you'll be seeing the gaps between the pixels. HD projectors run over $1000. A good 1080p projector can be had for about $2000 now, and they're generally quite beautiful.
Until now, projectors needed ungodly amounts of light to project an image bright enough to be usable in a non-darkened room. Either these miniprojectors use some kind of superefficient light source, or that 60" image can only be seen in total darkness.
You can't break the laws of physics. If you want a bright image you need to draw a lot of power. Even if you go with very efficient LEDs, the battery life on these things is going to be terrible.
Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress at this period in history.
This has been out there since 2007 http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/08/hands-on-with-microvisions-itty-bitty-projector/
And even in 2006. http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2006/06/70942
At $300, it's probably VGA or SVGA res For youtube its probably QVGA (320x240) same as VHS, and good enough for a mobile phone.
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... what if it isn't ?
But
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Why that *IS* the April Fools joke silly!
Everybody was waiting for their April Fools day jokes only to find no jokes. Hah, April Fools !
No, dude - it's going to be endless manga and anime. I pity the poor high school teachers who will have to put up with that between classes and worse - during.
Offtopic my hairy arse. How is answering a question, regardless of the answer or question, offtopic?
42 is afterall, THE answer.
Sheesh, turn in your mod points, you're no nerd.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Answer_to_Life,_the_Universe,_and_Everything 42
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They use lasers and lcds. The lifetime should be quite long. No bulbs to replace. They're even talking about fitting these things into smart phones eventually. With a market that size the cost should truly be under $300.
bugger that.
what I want is its big brother that can project HD image on the opposite wall, bright enough for normal viewing and about the size of a large book so I can hide it in the bookshelves on one side of the room and have a discreet drop down on the other. a small wireless remote could control the whole shebang.
or maybe what I want is the projector built into the lid or case of my laptop so I can project an image for 21" use in my hotel room or presentation, why would I want to carry another gadget?
or maybe I want the low resolution table top clock that can also project information, headlines, travel and weather onto my bedroom ceiling on a spoken command.
perhaps I want the discreet projector that can shine instructions or notes onto the smoked glass door in my hi tech corporate office. or airport. or train station.
why would I not want my sat nav to project onto my windscreen HUD like and stop me dangerously craning my neck to look at a 3" screen when I should be driving. while its at it, it can show key dashboard information as well.
what I absolutely do *not* need is a phone that can project images when hooked up to a matchbox - its a phone, thats all.
I like the tech, I really do - but I think they could do more with it!
anybody else got any cool ideas about what to do with a dinky little laser projector........?
There is one more company that is making these and apparently they did a demo in CES this year.
See here http://www.lightblueoptics.com/ They have a nice set of 'artists impression' of their applications !
I'm trying...
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you also forgot to mention they have existed for several years now. you can buy one now at http://salestores.com/mitsub44.html
They generally suck as sales people treat them like they are durable and they are in fact not in any way. they break easily. When i left Comcast the back room had 6 pocket projectors that were dead as hell from sales guys damaging them.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Here's the company site. No mention of battery life issues.
This thing is a one-pixel display being scanned in 2D by a MEMS mirror. One pixel scanned displays have been tried before, and they're usually annoying. One of the neat things about LCD displays, plasma panels, and TI DLP mirror systems is that there's no flicker at all, because the display has full persistence. This brings back flicker, big time; all the persistence is in the eye. This idea has been tried before, in bigger displays, and abandoned. So this isn't going to look great, but it will have niche uses.
Brightness is 10 lumens, incidentally.
If someone starts annoying me on a bus or plane with small projected images distracting me, I see no reason why I should not then start demonstration of the awesome art of shadow puppetry until they desist.
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