NEW, FUTURE or RETRO: new
PREVIEW or REVIEW: review
HOW GOOD IT IS: There are a few things about this projector that don't immediately sink in to the brain when you first see it pictured on this page.
First, it's hard to appreciate how EXTREMELY small it is from the photo. It is impossibly small! Ridiculously small! Having given business presentations for which I had to lug a projector the size of a suitcase with me, I would have given anything for a projector this small.
The other thing that seems like just another spec on paper is the bulb life ... 20,000 hours. Simple math says that if you left it on 24 hours a day, every day of the year the lamp would last about 3 years. In practicality that probably means it will likely last as long as you do. That's because it's an LED bulb. Typical video projectors use bulbs that cost around $200 - $400 to replace and typically get about 200 hours of life. If you have any qualms at all about paying over $400 for this projector, think about that and your lips will form the words "no brainer".
At 300 lumens I got a great picture in a fully-lit room at the typical screen size one would use at a business meeting. With the room lights dimmed, the image on a 100" screen is very satisfactory. Colors are rich and sharp and motion images are free from blur.
Surprisingly the projector includes not only a standard VGA input (adapter cable included), but a USB input and, very appreciated, an HDMI input so you can run it from a variety of high resolution sources in 16:9 ratio at 1080p. There's also a slot for a Micro SD card. The final input is called an "AV input" ... it looks like a mini stereo plug but the cable has standard RCA connectors for audio and video.
There are not many things you would not be able to connect to this projector, and get this; it even has internal memory so you can pre-load some types of content. The projector even includes a tiny, but adequate, audio speaker if just a few people are gathered around.
Not played up in the specs are the fact that this projector also includes some "universal" AC cords that permit it to be used in a very high percentage of countries outside the U.S. Now, that's classy!
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| Compared to an average-size housecat |
The user controls are very simple, clearly marked and tactile. They thoughtfully put a standard tripod socket in the bottom (think how many times you've seen a projector at a meeting that needed a table set up in the middle of the aisle and you can imagine how useful that tripod socket can be). Like any quality projector, this one features a keystone adjustment to help you fill the screen with a fully squared-off image.
SIMILAR TO: the market is saturated with portable video projectors, but few of them are this small (and those that are can be so dim as to be useless). Look for brand names such as Epson, InFocus, ViewSonic, Acer and Optoma which are some of the top-selling brands.
DO YOU NEED IT: If you ever travel and do business presentations to 5 - 200 people, yes. If you like to have backyard barbecues and show movies or music videos, yes (with little fear that you're wearing out a $400 projector bulb).
HOW IT IMPACTS YOU: this thing is a "marvel of miniaturization". I see very few applications that would require one of those big, heavy projectors that are commonplace in so many meeting rooms.
COMMENTS: I really couldn't find anything significantly "wrong" with this projector, but I do have a couple of very minor observations. One is that 3M could have rocked the industry by putting a little more style into it, you know, the way Apple does things. As it is, frankly the white plastic box looks a little cheesy for a product in its price range. That has nothing to do with its performance and it didn't lose it any stars but I'm surprised that their other model introduced at the same time looks like something out of Star Trek and this one is so, um, bland. The other thing that gave me an "oh come on" moment is to discover that the simple cheap remote control is not included. Really? For such a pricey projector they couldn't have thrown in a $2 remote control? That's just wrong.
TECH TOY WIZARD RATING: 4/5
WEBSITE: Official 3M product website
BUYING OPTIONS: Buy it at Amazon
SEE IT IN MOTION: Which one for you?
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is the audio good enough for watching films in the bedroom? Without an audio out, I worry that the in built speaker will be too weak
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