picoprojectors
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DLP's IntelliBright tech promises brighter pico projection at no extra power
Most portable projectors are tasked with striking a delicate balance between power consumption and picture quality. With this in mind, Texas Instruments' DLP arm has unveiled a new system at MWC known as IntelliBright, which is intended to improve the brightness of pico projectors without making hardware hungrier. It's no fancy set of circuits, though, but a pair of algorithms which tinker with image brightness and contrast to produce a more radiant picture. What's more, the algorithms can be tweaked separately by hardware manufacturers for any desired result, and can incorporate data from ambient light sensors to increase projector efficiency. DLP recently introduced its new Tilt & Roll Pixel chip architecture at CES, which is also designed to make pictures brighter and batteries happier in the next generation of pico products. All we hope is the developments inspire Samsung to create a Galaxy Beam II, just with more focus on the phone part this time
Researchers turn your smartphone into a virtual projector
Pico projectors are an easy way to increase the screen real estate of your mobile phone, but what if you'd rather not carry one around in your pocket or bulk up your phone's slim profile with a slip on solution? Well, a team of intrepid researchers may have come up with an elegant solution to your problem that can work with any smartphone and external display: virtual projection. The system works by using a central server that constantly takes screenshots of the external display and compares them with the images from the phone's camera to track its location. It then replicates what's on the handset's screen, while allowing you to add multiple image windows and position and rotate them as you see fit. Additionally, multiple users can collaborate and virtually project pictures or videos onscreen at the same time. Intrigued? See it in action for yourself in the video after the break.
Microvision PicoMagic touch interactive projector eyes-on
We're often resistant to pico-projectors purely because we've been there, you know? That's why this interactive kit from Microvision is so special. We took a quick look at the prototype of the forthcoming Touch Interactive projector, which senses the interruption pattern of its laser light (think: radar) in order to calculate where you're controlling the device. It makes gesture-based presentation capable without the sort of complicated Kinect setup we've shown you before and, if it works as well outside of the demo environment, (due to arrive at the end of this year) then we'd be pretty impressed with the results. Take a look at the very short video (it's a limited demo at this point) that we've got for you after the break.Dana Murph contributed to this report.
Optoma outs two tiny pico projectors, empowers execs on the go
Optoma's giving the shrink ray treatment to two of its latest pico projectors, debuting at CES 2012 today. The pocket-friendly PK320 comes in at a slight eight ounces and outputs 16:9 images at up to 150-inches in 854 x 480 resolution. Its micro stablemate, the ML300, weighs in at a heavier 1.4lbs, but ups the widescreen format quality to 1280 x 800, in addition to bumping display size to 160-inches and delivering 300 lumens of brightness. Both of the company's mini offerings pack 2GB of storage (expandable to 32GB via microSD), an IR remote, charger, carry pouch and offer support for MS Office, as well as an array of ports -- like mini-HDMI, VGA-in, composite A/V and micro-USB. They're ready for the taking right now, priced at $450 and $500, respectively. Peep the official presser after the break for the extended deets.
Sanwa pico projector also charges your iPhone
Apple's been making inroads with enterprise users for some time, and now Sanwa's giving the iPhone some serious presentation chops with its new pico projector. The 400-PRJ011 is compatible with both the iPhone 4 and the 4S, powered by its own 2,100mAh battery and also charges your iPhone's battery whenever you turn the projector function off. It's got a five hour charge time, can provide 2.5 hours of steady projection and throws images on the wall up to 65-inches in size at 640 × 360 resolution and a 1,000:1 contrast ratio. A global release date has yet to be announced, but our Japanese friends can pick one up for ¥19,800 ($260).
SideBySide makes tiny projectors fun again (video)
Kids these days just don't get thrilled by tiny projectors the way they used to. Disney Research is hoping to address the problem with its new SideBySide prototype, a pico projector that interacts with images projected nearby. The device outputs both visible and infrared light, while a built-in sensor detects the latter, allowing it to react to the image. The team showed off a handful of applications for the technology, including a few games, drag and drop file sharing and the ability to change perspectives on a 3D model. Non-interactive video after the jump.
Optoma announces PK201, PK301 pico projectors
Optoma's been courting the bargain crowd with its pico projectors as of late, but it's going back after those with slightly deeper pockets with its latest pair of pocketables, which dial up both the model names and the price tags. Coming in at $299 and $399, respectively, the PK201 and PK301 each pack the same 854 X 480 resolution, but the latter packs a supposedly best in class 50 lumens of brightness, along with an optional battery bank for an extra two hours of use in bright mode. Otherwise, each will give you the same 2,000:1 contrast ratio, a microSD card slot, HDMI input, and a roughly similar form factor (though the PK201 is close to half an inch slimmer -- head on past the break for a shot of it).
HYPOLED develops mega-tiny VGA projector display, has a tiny coin in the photo to prove it
HYPOLED, an 18-month-old project tasked with creating OLED microdisplays for upcoming pico projectors, has just released a report of its recent progress. Among the advances is a Fraunhofer IPMS-designed all digital VGA, full color OLED microdisplay backplane with matching pico projector optics. The display measures just 0.18-mm thick and is already in prototype manufacturing. The super miniscule display is connected to a MediaBox enabling it to operate via WiFi. Fraunhofer is now expected to begin developing a prototype of the full projector, meaning that with any luck, our picos should be getting a teensy, tiny bit cooler in the near future. [Via About Projectors]
Texas Instruments unleashes pico projector dev kit on the world
Pico projectors have been multiplying like gerbils over the past year and a half, so it was probably only a matter of time until we saw a developer's kit released upon the market, right? Right. Well, Texas Instruments has announced it's doing just that -- released through Digi-Key Corporation. The kit will contain an HVGA resolution DLP projection device, a three color LED, a power supply, and a video cable connected to a BeagleBoard which boasts an OMAP35x processor, supported by Linux. The kit costs $349 and it's available now, so all you would-be miniature projector designers, get to it: the world is waiting.[Via About Projectors]
