hdmi-to-composite convert box for ~$38.

http://www.amazon.com/ViewHD-Universal-Composite-Converter-Standard/dp/B0080KN18K

Maybe the funniest write-up I have read on Woot.com to date... Had me LOLing.

I have Optoma PK210 and was debating if I should get this one, since it has built in camera. However, after seeing sample video from youtube of actual footage, I decide to pass.

yesmyok wrote:Oh woot, you evil temptress. I have an Optoma PK120 DLP, 18 Lumen Pico Projector and it works really well in a dark room. It works ok in a lightly lit room. I use it nightly to watch mind numbing sports until I drift off to sleep.

Should I or Shouldn't I?
Will I or Won't I?
hmmmm

The way the buttons light up remind me of the old electronic game Merlin.

Stupid question: Will I be able to project photos (JPEG) directly from my laptop? I plan to use this to project photos for drawing, so I don't need to make anything bigger than 30".

Not being able to connect this to my Mac is kind of an issue. Anyone know if a thunderbolt to RCA would work for output?

joancarlson wrote:Stupid question: Will I be able to project photos (JPEG) directly from my laptop? I plan to use this to project photos for drawing, so I don't need to make anything bigger than 30".

I'm wondering something similar for art application. It would be nice to know.

scifiak wrote:Nice walk-through\review:

Nice walk-through? Are you kidding me? This guy needs to take a serious class on shooting a videos.

It took him almost 45 seconds just to say WHAT he was GOING to say next.

And come on, saying a camcorder/projector is "a camcorder, and also a projector", besides being obvious and redundant, is especially annoying when taking 45 more seconds to say it?

Really? Good? I stopped watching after the first 60 seconds I was so frustrated waiting for him to actually say something of value.

No wonder it was a 10:25 second video. All that info could have been done in 3 minutes or so.

joancarlson wrote:Stupid question: Will I be able to project photos (JPEG) directly from my laptop? I plan to use this to project photos for drawing, so I don't need to make anything bigger than 30".

The easiest and best way to use this for that is to copy your JPGs to a MicroSD card at the computer, then put that MicroSD card in this camera/projector, to show the JPGs directly from the MicroSD card.

Otherwise, this projector only accepts standard video in, so you would need a VGA-to-video adapter ($25-$100) which would convert your laptop's computer screen signal to the video signal this unit needs as an external input. Some sharpness would be lost and color may distort a little.

If you can work the MicroSD card way, you would get much better projected sharpness and color - and you could take the unit completely away from your laptop.

Oh how I miss the Batch of Copies... I would hope to get a 3M HD Camcorder Projector in a Batch of Copies. On the plus side this is actually cheaper here than on amazon, not always the case

bwiderski wrote:From the manual:
"Note: When giving a presentation using PowerPoint/PDF documents,please save the PPT/PDF file into .jpeg format"

But that's if you transfer the file to the camcorder's memory. If you have the correct composite video out cable it sounds like you can play your PPT deck on your laptop and display via the projector.

At best you will get 640x480 resolution (assuming the composite input even accepts that res) which will make the text almost useless in most powerpoints. I would only attempt a powerpoint presentation by first rendering the (.jpg)images to this devices native resolution: 800x600 and be sure text is still legible.

alwlln wrote:Not being able to connect this to my Mac is kind of an issue. Anyone know if a thunderbolt to RCA would work for output?

Google was my friend. ;) $40
http://www.amazon.com/ViewHD-DisplayPort-Thunderbolt-Coverter-Composite/dp/B00713AA5E

Remote control source? It shows ir window in manual. Anyone, or a similar, like a code for a universal remote? My mount will be as permanent as the remote allows? I.e. If the only thing you can control remotely is on off, I'm still going to have to touch it to select source,folder,file, and or play/pause/next etc.
Ultimately wish to insert a 32 gb card with pre-converted video. I have many formats,mpeg,avi,mov,mp4 etc. I can figure out how to convert these to .mp4 for this. I am not sure about this .3gp that my android phone uses. If I have to convert that to "x" , so be it. I don't know. Yet. Thanks in advance, k2

cjako28 wrote:At best you will get 640x480 resolution (assuming the composite input even accepts that res) which will make the text almost useless in most powerpoints.

Tufte ("Cognitive Style of Power Point" says that the average Power Point presentation has a maximum of six lines with a maximum of six words per line. THAT is well within the resolution of this.
Or did you mean a GOOD Power Point (oxymoron) presentation.

Hi guys, I jumped on this offer myself.

Anyway, I am trying to generate MP4 files with Handbrake. Each file is not compatible...and freezes the device.

I used the software that was included and while it does generate a good looking video, the file is HUGE. I can't seem to lower the bitrate below 2500kpbs. 500MBs for about 25 mins of video. Anybody have better luck with MP4 conversions with Arcsoft or other program?

danmanx wrote:Hi guys, I jumped on this offer myself.

Anyway, I am trying to generate MP4 files with Handbrake. Each file is not compatible...and freezes the device.

I used the software that was included and while it does generate a good looking video, the file is HUGE. I can't seem to lower the bitrate below 2500kpbs. 500MBs for about 25 mins of video. Anybody have better luck with MP4 conversions with Arcsoft or other program?

Try lowering the H.264 profile. It probably can't play High profile content.

Whenever mine gets around to shipping, and arrives, I'll investigate what formats it supports playing, and what profile it records to.

kode54 wrote:Try lowering the H.264 profile. It probably can't play High profile content.

Whenever mine gets around to shipping, and arrives, I'll investigate what formats it supports playing, and what profile it records to.

I look forward to mastering the perfect settings for this specific conversion also. Please share your results, differences , or if the included arc software is adequate. And bump.. STILL haven't located confirmation of remote operation,remote control,ir universal remote code... Or schematic. Thanks.

Got the "Your Woot has shipped" e-mail on Saturday morning, USPS tracking didn't show anything until "Electronic Shipping Info Received" on Monday, and the unit was delivered on Tuesday.

It's for a birthday present, but that's in two months time, so I broke the seal and tested the unit. Had to charge it up for an hour before I could use it, but I was pleasantly surprised by the output - it looked fine for casual sharing of photos projected on the wall. The room wasn't brightly lit, but it wasn't terribly dark either.

But the User Interface feels like it was written in 2003. To switch from the Internal memory to a memory card is a multi-step process, and the touch panel is so-so at best.

The gift is for a person in their 70's who used to take slides and home movies back in the day, and who enjoys dabbling with digital photography - he's not a "serious" photographer, he's gotten a lot more fun playing with a 3D Bloggie than most people would from a DSLR, and the very notion of a projector that he can put in his pocket will please him no end, compared to the projection gear he remembers from back in the day.

Now that I've checked this projector out, I'm sure he'll enjoy it, and he might even use the camera too!

danmanx wrote:Anyway, I am trying to generate MP4 files with Handbrake. Each file is not compatible...and freezes the device.

Take a short clip with the camera, and see what the characteristics of that video are - bit-rate, frame-rate, etc, and see if you can find a Handbrake profile that matches what the Camera produces.

ripwave wrote:Take a short clip with the camera, and see what the characteristics of that video are - bit-rate, frame-rate, etc, and see if you can find a Handbrake profile that matches what the Camera produces.

My bitrates were ULTRA low compared to the 2500kps, mine were about 300kps-600kps, I believe. Video was EXACTLY 640x480, just to make sure projector could handle that and not have problems with a 2/4/8/16 pixel difference. Audio quality was AAC downmixed into DD Pro Logic II. Changed that to mono. Still doesn't work and FREEZES the unit...

I turned off pretty much everything that handbrake said wouldn't be compatible (B-Frames, etc) with handhelds/lower devices [Tried 5G iPod compatibility even] and to still no avail.

The framerate for videos is 30 FPS with the included program. Handbrake only generates 29.97 FPS?? Could that be the problem?

I'm pretty sure there must be some sort of "flag" or something. I swear, the files I'm generating should be fully H264 MPEG4 compatible. Didn't think this would be much of a problem.

However, I'm impressed with the software provided. Drag & Drop and just encode. No crashing or problems....yet. I'm ripping YouTube videos into bigger, yet compatible files.

I'm going to record a video of it in action at least and put it on YouTube soon...since there's literally nil information on it...

And I watched my first video clip in the shower. (No, it was not that, it was about video games)

danmanx wrote:My bitrates were ULTRA low compared to the 2500kps, mine were about 300kps-600kps, I believe. Video was EXACTLY 640x480, just to make sure projector could handle that and not have problems with a 2/4/8/16 pixel difference. Audio quality was AAC downmixed into DD Pro Logic II. Changed that to mono. Still doesn't work and FREEZES the unit...

I turned off pretty much everything that handbrake said wouldn't be compatible (B-Frames, etc) with handhelds/lower devices [Tried 5G iPod compatibility even] and to still no avail.

The framerate for videos is 30 FPS with the included program. Handbrake only generates 29.97 FPS?? Could that be the problem?

I'm pretty sure there must be some sort of "flag" or something. I swear, the files I'm generating should be fully H264 MPEG4 compatible. Didn't think this would be much of a problem.

However, I'm impressed with the software provided. Drag & Drop and just encode. No crashing or problems....yet. I'm ripping YouTube videos into bigger, yet compatible files.

I'm going to record a video of it in action at least and put it on YouTube soon...since there's literally nil information on it...

And I watched my first video clip in the shower. (No, it was not that, it was about video games)

k2flash wrote:

Oops.

Projectacam was delivered today.
after a 2 hour charge I recorded several minutes of video to the internal memory.
tested daylight,dusk,dark
indoor/outdoor
several still shots.
at dark thirty I tested the projector.
a tiny bit surprised, I was sure it would be worthless unless totally dark. Nope-
in an average sized room a good hour before dark, and the light from a 60 watt fluorescent and a 61" projection tv in the room, I was able to show multiple video clips, projected on wall,ceiling,poster board,well after dark.
impressed me and the neighbors!
Havent tried a/v input yet,or ext sd.
i will, and report. All in all? I regret not buying two. Quick questions- still no trace of a remote. Im going to start aiming random remotes and pushing buttons and hope.
main complaint so far is I havent found how to turn up the volume. The menu clicks/dings are much louder than video output sounds. If there is volume, I havent found it..
also, the led light is very bright, I found it useful. But is there no FLASH of light for photos, or just steady on bright light?
seems like I read the outer edge of lens FLASHED, not steady on- still very pleased overall. Interested in any hacks/mods/easter eggs now! Thanks for reading/posting. K2

k2flash wrote:

Oops.

Projectacam was delivered today.
after a 2 hour charge I recorded several minutes of video to the internal memory.
tested daylight,dusk,dark
indoor/outdoor
several still shots.
at dark thirty I tested the projector.
a tiny bit surprised, I was sure it would be worthless unless totally dark. Nope-
in an average sized room a good hour before dark, and the light from a 60 watt fluorescent and a 61" projection tv in the room, I was able to show multiple video clips, projected on wall,ceiling,poster board,well after dark.
impressed me and the neighbors!
Havent tried a/v input yet,or ext sd.
i will, and report. All in all? I regret not buying two. Quick questions- still no trace of a remote. Im going to start aiming random remotes and pushing buttons and hope.
main complaint so far is I havent found how to turn up the volume. The menu clicks/dings are much louder than video output sounds. If there is volume, I havent found it..
also, the led light is very bright, I found it useful. But is there no FLASH of light for photos, or just steady on bright light?
seems like I read the outer edge of lens FLASHED, not steady on- still very pleased overall. Interested in any hacks/mods/easter eggs now! Thanks for reading/posting. K2

my unit's buttons were defective. 3M is replacing it.
Otherwise a quality unit. Great fun.

The remote that supposedly works with the CP45 is the "3M Streaming Projector Remote", SKU: 78-6972-0124-8



Alas, though I can see what the remote looks like, I cannot find any information about it (specs, MSRP, etc) on 3M's site.

Here's the link to the CP45's accessories page:
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/ConsumerProjectors/Home/Product/Accessories/

I received my projector recently and have also been having trouble finding the correct MP4 container to convert these videos.

I'm sure I'm making compatible MP4 video conversions, but they always cause the player to freeze or the video is garbled. It does play the sound but I have not been able to play video from my own conversions after MANY various formatting attempts.

It plays recorded video just fine, so I ran that through G-Spot in hopes to create a conversion with the exact same formatting:

VIDEO
Codec: avc1
Name: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC
MSNV: MPEG-4 (.MP4) for SonyPSP
-mp42: MP4 v2 (ISO 14496-14)
-siom: MP4 Base Media v1 (ISO 14496-12:2003)
1280X720
7369kbps
29.971fps

AUDIO
Codec: mp4a: MPEG-4 AAC LC
48000Hz, 64kb/s, Stereo

I'll keep checking here until someone finds a good conversion technique, or if I find the answer myself. There's not much other info elsewhere.

Just got mine today and camera button is not working. All other buttons function fine... Send me a new one Woot...

k2flash wrote:

I called tech support last Friday and they were extremely helpful, even going so far to call me back personally to make sure everything was working. I was impressed.

Either way, for converted video files to work they must be converted with the included Arcsoft Media Converter v2.5 or v3, NOTHING ELSE. I was using v8 and the results were incompatible no matter what selections I made.

V2.5 and v3 are old enough now that many common media files are not supported, such as MKV. For these I had to do a double conversion; first in v8 to create a compatible file, then in v3 to make usable on the CP45.

Beyond that slight hiccup I am very pleased with this unit. It has proven to be very fun. Sometimes we use it to watch TV shows in bed....on the ceiling.

is there a way i can connect the laptop to it to watch online movies thru the projector? which VGA cable works the best? thanks

ripwave wrote:Got the "Your Woot has shipped" e-mail on Saturday morning, USPS tracking didn't show anything until "Electronic Shipping Info Received" on Monday, and the unit was delivered on Tuesday.

Mine showed "Electronic Shipping Info Received" on Thursday the 28th, and then nothing until "Picked up by shipping partner" from Federal Way, WA, on the 4th. And there it still is, still haven't received it yet.

Maybe I would have received more prompt service if I had ordered a couple thousand dollars worth of merchandise for my $5 shipping.

Closest I got to something working is this: ffmpeg -i infile -s 1280x720 -vcodec libx264 -preset fast -tune fastdecode -profile main -crf 20 -bf 16 -threads 0 outfile.mp4

it gives me a screen a garble but there is audio and it doesn't crash. anyone else make any progress? if we can crack this, it would make this thing quite useful....

something funny i noticed is when I attempt to play this file, any subsequent attempts to play files, even the ones recorded by the camera get jumbled and I have to reboot the stupid thing to get it to work again.


(osx mountain lion, ffmpeg installed with brew)

Yes,You must purchase a Serial covertor to RCA, is a small box. And also buy MAC AVL connector (cable) to Serial
and ready .... you can project all ..

eugeniocalderon wrote:Yes,You must purchase a Serial covertor to RCA, is a small box. And also buy MAC AVL connector (cable) to Serial
and ready .... you can project all ..

thank you, can you point me a link please?