Texas Instruments' Pico projector prototype caught on tape

Our friends at Engadget Spanish got a look at Texas Instruments' DLP Pico projector, which both Optoma and Toshiba have expressed interest in. The little unit pumps out a WVGA (we think) 1000:1 image, which they found quite satisfactory, in addition to 0.5 watts of sound. The built-in battery should run the thing for a couple of hours. Action-packed video after the break, en español!

[Matt Hudson @ Aug 31st 2008 10:18AM]

Nice !

[Shinigami @ Aug 31st 2008 1:57PM]

+1
Looks nice indeed, too bad the battery dies too soon.

[Level 5 @ Aug 31st 2008 10:08AM]

Meh.. I'd rather save pennies for the real deal.

[thedesolate1 @ Sep 1st 2008 1:15AM]

think of the wonders this will do if it gets implemented in mobile phones...

[Muhammed @ Aug 31st 2008 10:10AM]

How about seeing it in bigger size ? is the quality affected ?

[v3xx @ Aug 31st 2008 9:22PM]

obviously.

your avatar shows my facial expression btw.

[Sven @ Sep 12th 2008 8:27PM]

You can size it up to 60 inches if you got a very, very dark room. So we ar talking about 7 to 10 lumens.

Sven

[Yevon @ Aug 31st 2008 10:13AM]

No habla. Anyone got a translation?

[Blackstar @ Aug 31st 2008 10:34AM]

Mucho Dinero. = You are going to pay through the nose for this.

Loco en La Cabeza. = Crazy in the head.

Policia, abre la puerta por favor. = You busted and going inside for a long time.

[SOOPERGOOMAN @ Aug 31st 2008 11:47AM]

where did your avatar pic come from? Retwaq?

[Yevon @ Aug 31st 2008 12:16PM]

@SOOPERGOOMAN
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_Emblem

[The Dude @ Aug 31st 2008 7:34PM]

Looks like tic-tac-toe to me.

[Willhelnyder @ Sep 1st 2008 6:25AM]

A1:The guy doesn't say much, in fact he's just trying to verbalize a coherent phrase in spanish during the hole video... and does not succeed. :(

A2:IMO, on a bigger screen the main problem will brightness, and not image quality.

[iEye @ Aug 31st 2008 10:26AM]

oooh Pron-2-Go!
Its convenient size allows one to Whip it out when the occasion calls!

[Davedrastic @ Aug 31st 2008 10:48AM]

yeah, but you're not going to be able to keep the projector stable

[Freakin Ijit @ Aug 31st 2008 10:41AM]

Is that a real photo of the device in action complete with VERY bright background (where the guys are standing talking)!?

Wow.

Or is that thing in the hand a remote and the actual device making that display is off-photo?...

[meist3r @ Aug 31st 2008 10:45AM]

Watch the video. then ask again ...

[Charles Lee @ Aug 31st 2008 10:50AM]

Did you see the video? The image moved as he moved the unit... it's definitely projecting on the screen from his hand.

I think this is so cool... the next generation of PMPs and Cell Phones could start using this. It's definitely more rewarding than looking at a tiny screen all the time (and the projected image could be much higher resolution than the LCD display). Now if only there was a way to project the sound at a descent volume without having to come from headphones or tiny speakers.

[morcheeba @ Aug 31st 2008 1:38PM]

Yes, the background is very bright. But that's kinda irrelevant because they are projecting it on to a much darker surface. From the photo, I measured a contrast of 3.75:1 ... if everything was linear (and it isn't!), then projecting on to that bright surface would have produced a contrast of 1.6:1. I don't even know why they bother trying to say "1000:1"... that might be achievable only in a very large, painted black room.

[Sven @ Sep 12th 2008 8:35PM]

I promise it is a real video because I was the guy who was presenting the pico projector on the Texas Instruments booth. There was a real bright light from all directions like on all booth's and it have never been faked it's a real picture.

[meist3r @ Aug 31st 2008 10:44AM]

I don't understand a word but the tech is pretty cool. I'd like to have something like that in my phone. Or at least a phone sized computer with a screen like that. iPhone Pro anyone? (Pro standing for projector of course)

[Malaycobra @ Aug 31st 2008 10:59AM]

Wow. That and my new E71...no more laptop.

[Dorville @ Aug 31st 2008 10:04PM]

Claro que tiene que ser en Espanol :P

[Almadi @ Aug 31st 2008 11:47AM]

Incorporate this into the next Creative Zen and if it dont sell with:
- X-Fi
- Speaker
- 128 GB Flash
- Crystal clear 3 inch 800x480 screen
- 5 MP Camera
- Wi-Fi
- FM radio
- Voice recorder
- AND mini projector
All in the same credit card form factor with brushed gold back and pure diamond buttons...

...when that dont sell for $199 then people will start to get scared of Apple

[andres @ Aug 31st 2008 12:05PM]

seems like the parts would cost more than your selling price.

[dghughes @ Aug 31st 2008 1:20PM]

Those specs are pretty darn close to my N95.

[konshuss @ Aug 31st 2008 1:23PM]

why would they make the demo screen narrower than the image...

[Randall @ Aug 31st 2008 2:08PM]

you mean why would they make the image wider than the demo screen?
Its a projector, the farther away you are the bigger the image gets.

[Carl M @ Aug 31st 2008 2:04PM]

A feature needed by all these handheld projectors: optical image stabilization.

[Michael Nelson @ Aug 31st 2008 2:36PM]

I think I'll wait until I can get a clear 105" picture on a stucco wall in broad daylight and TrueHD 7.1 surround sound from my phone for under $200 before I start worrying about this.

[Jason @ Sep 1st 2008 12:36AM]

Okay, whatever...

[TareX @ Aug 31st 2008 3:13PM]

Tremor amplifier....

[Jon Doe. @ Aug 31st 2008 3:22PM]

Sold. I do enough traveling where I would love to watch a few movies in my hotel room. sadly many hotels lock down their TV's so there are no accessible jacks to output to. This would rock. Now how much. Anything over $300 is a no go by a long shot.

[Rickard @ Aug 31st 2008 3:55PM]

Any word on how hot this thing gets after a couple of hours of running?

[ypctx @ Aug 31st 2008 5:32PM]

anyone remembers the scene from The Island when Evan McGregor used his Nokia phone with a projector to make a video call? Seemed a distant future back then. I guess we're getting closer.

[sredlums @ Aug 31st 2008 7:23PM]

@dghuges: euhrm....I think it scores 4 out of 9.
Not 'pretty darn close' in my book...

[rita hainsworth @ Aug 31st 2008 6:32PM]

Im waiting for the holodeck version.

[Gurly @ Aug 31st 2008 7:28PM]

So what's taking TI and Microvision so long in getting these things to the market?

[Dorville @ Aug 31st 2008 10:05PM]

Claro que tiene que ser en Espanol :P

[Jason @ Sep 1st 2008 12:42AM]

They're probably waiting until they can slap this into the back side of the keyboard half of a netbook sans screen.

[Mahmoud Kabalan @ Sep 1st 2008 6:54AM]

Looks nice!

http://www.ee-lu.com

[kevin @ Sep 1st 2008 3:16PM]

Tic, toc, tic, toc, tic, toc,,,,,,,,,,,,,THE FUTURE IS COMING PEOPLE.

LED PROJECTORS ON THE WAY......FULL HD.

STAY TUNED.

[chris @ Sep 6th 2008 11:49PM]

is their an eta on the pico, honestly i cant wait to have a really mobile projector, its long overdue

[Sven @ Sep 12th 2008 8:40PM]

Optoma will go on market at November 2008 with a price at 299 EUR