essarty wrote:Is this capable of charging while playing videos?

No, according to page 10 of the manual. However, you can still use the AC adapter to power on the device, just not charge it at the same time.

The specs on this projector seem to contradict themselves. The specs mention displaying content on a screen from 6" to 200" ... but how? This thing throws out a whopping 10 lumens. The brightness of any image over (guessing) 20" ina VERY dark room would be very dim. A picture at 100" or more would be undescribably dim.

I have two (2) projectors, a DLP and LCD. Both have 2 modes, a "weaker", bulb-life extending mode at about 1,500 lumens and full brightness at 2,000 lumens+. I could just imagine what a projected image would look like at 10 lumens ...

chessoperaking wrote:Will it mount on a tripod?

I have used it on a gorillapod and a standard aluminum tripod without any problems. My wife uses it for arts and crafts at times to transfer logo's and pictures for projects.

Kate Gosselin shouldn't be mentioned in a write-up. Ever. I am not even sure that bringing up Henry Rollins later on offers enough redemption.

Do you think I could project my girls naked body onto the side of the Empire State Building with this? She's Really BIG!

I always wanted to use one of these to do a DIY heads up display in my car...I might just have to bite on this.

Ok, in for 1. we'll see how it works for showing knot-tying videos during Scout campouts. Hopefully better than 8 squirrelly boys trying to crowd around the ipod.

There are demos on YouTube, seems like a decent little projector for the price.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQMmMzV3WD0

I have the Sharp SP-H03 that is 30 lumens and its not bright enough in most situations. there is no way this is usable at 10 lumens unless you happen to have it with you when the mine you are in collapses...I will repeat what someone else said...A candle is 12 lumens. Think about it....

Is this a COLOR image or BLACK and WHITE?

I own two of these - an original ShowWx and a ShowWx plus model. In fact, that YouTube video of the demo that someone posted here is mine - I made it after receiving the ShowWx from Spain in March last year - they weren't available here in the U.S. yet.
I'm a huge fan of the ShowWx. Yes, they work best in a totally dark room, but as you saw in the video, they produce a nice picture in lighted situations, but you have to downsize the image (move it closer to the reflecting surface. Still a big inprovement over a 4.5 inch Ipod or cell phone screen. I have literally stopped traffic on my street by projecting on the side of my house at night. This projector is a lot of fun.
The battery life is around 100 - 110 minutes. I use the projector primarily with my iPod nano, coupled with the ShowWx they weigh literally nothing. I had a lot of fun projecting home movies on the pull-down window shade on a night flight I was on.
This is a great price for absolutely amazing technology.

How would this work for showing video clips off a laptop in a classroom with windows? It would greatly help out my music classes to have a portable projector but the classroom is pretty bright, even with the lights off.

Have any of the folks who have flippantly dismissed the 10 lumens watched the demo video posted near the beginning of the discussion? Unless the videographer is scamming us, this device works well in lit and partially lit rooms.

Of course, the more lighting in a room, the smaller the image that would be effectively viewable, and this projector would not be comparable to a $2000 projector, but, for its size and price, this projector is impressive.

In for one.

For the curious, here's a video illustrating how it works. Simple, but you'll get the point. http://www.microvision.com/pico_projector_displays/howitworks.html

Imagine the precision required in moving that tiny little mirror around for each pixel...crazy!

hendersonbay wrote:I own two of these - an original ShowWx and a ShowWx plus model. In fact, that YouTube video of the demo that someone posted here is mine - I made it after receiving the ShowWx from Spain in March last year - they weren't available here in the U.S. yet.
I'm a huge fan of the ShowWx. Yes, they work best in a totally dark room, but as you saw in the video, they produce a nice picture in lighted situations, but you have to downsize the image (move it closer to the reflecting surface. Still a big inprovement over a 4.5 inch Ipod or cell phone screen. I have literally stopped traffic on my street by projecting on the side of my house at night. This projector is a lot of fun.
The battery life is around 100 - 110 minutes. I use the projector primarily with my iPod nano, coupled with the ShowWx they weigh literally nothing. I had a lot of fun projecting home movies on the pull-down window shade on a night flight I was on.
This is a great price for absolutely amazing technology.

Thanks for the video. It kinda puts speculation to rest and provides a definitive review. Your video helped me make my decision.

neonenergy wrote:Here's a nice video demonstration

why is the white line running through the picture?

The 200" is not the size of an image. It is the maximum distance that the device can be focused on. It says from 6-200 inches AWAY...

I've read one of the reviews linked here and read most of the comments. I think you have to look at the reviews and forget the spec of 10 lumens. I don't think it equates to what you will see in practice. I got the impression from the reviews that while a darkened room is preferable, it is not necessary if the size is kept to around 60 inches. There are other Pico projectors out there with bighter output and more features but the price-point being offered here is untouchable. Just decide whether it suits your needs.

skou wrote:By definition, a lumen (or 1 candlepower) is 1 candle at 1 foot.

steve

They could be talking about a Roman Candle

does this have a USB to hook directly up to a computer

Chadzero wrote:I dare you to find use for a 10 lumen projector anywhere besides a pitch black room.

I have to agree. I have one that I picked up at Target on clearance for less then 50.00. It's 10 also and in a all but pitch black room, it's useless. I use it for training videos only and it's small. Don't get me wrong, it can be useful as mine isn't battery powered as this one is. But for 100.00, I think I'll stop "trying" out and just live with what I have. The utube video (thanks for that by the way) showed me all I needed to see. A home theather it's not.

karamark wrote:why is the white line running through the picture?

Due to the video camera taking the video, not the projector. It's a normal thing.

jmkitchings wrote:Ok, in for 1. we'll see how it works for showing knot-tying videos during Scout campouts. Hopefully better than 8 squirrelly boys trying to crowd around the ipod.

Seriously? Try showing them by tying the knots yourself. That's what scouts is about, not about iPods.

photoshopace wrote:The 200" is not the size of an image. It is the maximum distance that the device can be focused on. It says from 6-200 inches AWAY...

If you look at the specs, it also says the throw ratio is 1:1. This means that from 6 inches away, the image will be six inches in size, diagonally. From 200 inches away, the image will be 200 inches diagonal.

Would be awesome if you could use this to make a surface table.. but yeah..that would probably turn out horribly lol (but i could be wrong!)

Does anyone know how long the laser might last and if it might work as a monitor for like 30"?

karamark wrote:why is the white line running through the picture?

This is due to a slight mismatch between the frame rates of the camera shooting the video and the projector. It's the same reason you sometimes see car wheels in movies moving backwards.

bhiller05 wrote:After doing a little research I found out that this wouldn't work for the purpose I would like to use it for; showing Netflix off my ipod touch.

The reason for this has nothing to do with the projector, apparently only the ipod touch 4th generation will output video from anything other then the built-in ipod video app or the photo viewing app.

Mine is only 3rd generation. :o(

I thought I would mention this here, in case anyone else finds the info useful.

Edited: to reduce confusion.

I think this is wrong. I used mine fine with my iPhone 3G and it works no problem. I recently upgraded to the 4 and that obviously works too. I think it is the same with the corresponding touch devices.
In fact the website says it works with 1st gen touch.




Ok...that image is not viewable white-on-white...here is the link though:
http://www.microvision.com/showwx/compatibility.html

Narg wrote:Seriously? Try showing them by tying the knots yourself. That's what scouts is about, not about iPods.

While I agree with your sentiment, i have to tell you that Narg is more correct than you might think.

As a 7-year veteran scoutmaster, and now scoutmaster for National Youth Leadership Training and a 6-course Wood Badge staffer (so I believe I am coming at this from an informed viewpoint) we teach Scouts a lot of things, and we do it in ways that work best for their success and for the concept involved. Not just their success in LEARNING the skill, but for their ability to teach it to others and lead others effectively.

Challenges are placed before Scouts so that they can overcome them, gain confidence, and lead others in their learning. Knot tying is both a challenge that supports this process as well as a practical skill for use in the outdoors.

If the only way Narg knows to teach the knot is to show a video, then I agree with you, but animated knots are a tremendous teaching tool that augment personal assistance and guidance.

As to the projector, I want one, but I just bought the Acer LED-light source mini projector (200 lumens and loving it) and can't justify another purchase just now.

socks.mark wrote:That... was beautiful.

But still useless.

If I want to compare things to a candle it would be a similarly radiating source = not a projected one. The whip it out contest was amusing but offered little applications specific information says this engineer. I have this same problem with my optics expert - need to keep 'em focused (shameless pun) on the application relevant speak not just on rattling off rehearsed units of measure differences.

Here's an application of this technology: you wear one around your neck, and it displays information useful to you on the environment around you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfV4R4x2SK0

details:
http://www.pranavmistry.com/projects/sixthsense/

dsrichmond wrote:For the curious, here's a video illustrating how it works. Simple, but you'll get the point. http://www.microvision.com/pico_projector_displays/howitworks.html

So, am I the only one who saw the last part of this video (where it shows the image being drawn row-by-row) and thought "TRON!"?

I have one of these and I use it as a 140" TV. Think of it as a drive-in theater. You can start watching it at dusk. Yes, a smaller image is brighter and yes, you can't have the lights on. But do you really need the lights on when you are watching a movie on your 140" screen for this price.

Looks like a nice little projector for Halloween. Maybe I'll do that Madame Leota display after all.

I have this projector already. I bought it for $435 two years ago. I use with my laptop. I can easily watch a movie at 60 to 100 inches in a dark room. In daylight the best image is probably no bigger than 12". It is compatible with my iPod Touch where I can easily watch streaming Netflic on it. You can't recharge and watch a movie at the same time, but you can watch indefinitely while it is plugged in. For $99 this a great deal- the colors are amazing and it has infinite focus on any surface, anywhere. I have already bought the next generation -the ShowWX plus. This is a great gift.

rudedawg92 wrote:And these are not regular lumens...these are LASER lumens. They are supposed to be brighter and sharper. Normal projector images are bright in the middle and lose contrast the further you get from the center.

Laser Lumens... no such thing.

Laser light is collimated to that the light is can be directed precisely which makes it appear brighter... but a lumen is still a lumen.

nvr2old2rcknrll wrote:How would this work for showing video clips off a laptop in a classroom with windows? It would greatly help out my music classes to have a portable projector but the classroom is pretty bright, even with the lights off.

I'd love to know this too. How is the text quality? My classroom is pretty small - I'd need maybe a 40 inch screen. I have very little light in the room.

I'd mainly use this to display notes in Keynote (iPad) or Powerpoint from my computer. Thanks!

After all the statements about Lumen, my DLP 40L is ok in a REALLY dim room. Like I said, I use it for training so it's ok and for under 50 bucks when I got it, it was worth it. Made by brightboxe model TPJ-100. Laser or not, 10 lumens isn't very bright. I do have a home project that's an epson made for movies. People buying this thing for movies will find it ok for a dark room or as a present for a kid (slumber party) but for everyday use, forget it.

donaldpratt wrote:So, am I the only one who saw the last part of this video (where it shows the image being drawn row-by-row) and thought "TRON!"?

Nope, it was more than you that thought that.