Micro-Projectors May Bring YouTube On-The-Go

An anonymous reader writes "A tiny portable projector, about the size of a pack of cards, may soon replace a ring tone as the most annoying thing on the train or bus. These technical innovations can project an image up to 50 inches in size in dark lighting, making them ideal for on-the-road business presentations. They can also be hooked up to cell phones or media devices, though, possibly introducing a whole new level of social intrusion into US culture. 'Digital projectors were once bulky. These new models, though, are small enough to fit into the pocket of consumers who want a big-screen experience from a small-screen device. Some of the models are expected to be on the market by year-end, or sooner. Prices have yet to be announced. Matthew S. Brennesholtz, an analyst at Insight Media, a marketing research firm in Norwalk, Conn., says he thinks the projectors will initially cost about $350, then quickly drop to less than $300.'"

Cool. What about tv?

[electrictroy (912290)]

Can I connect this thing to my HD DVD player? At $300 it's cheaper than buying a real 40 inch screen.

Re:Cool. What about tv?

[Jeff DeMaagd (2015)]

At $300, it's probably VGA or SVGA res, good enough for DVD, but blow it up too large and you'll be seeing the gaps between the pixels. HD projectors run over $1000. A good 1080p projector can be had for about $2000 now, and they're generally quite beautiful.

Re:

[Anne Thwacks (531696)]

At $300, it's probably VGA or SVGA res For youtube its probably QVGA (320x240) same as VHS, and good enough for a mobile phone.

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[Lumpy (12016)]

you also forgot to mention they have existed for several years now. you can buy one now at http://salestores.com/mitsub44.html [salestores.com]

They generally suck as sales people treat them like they are durable and they are in fact not in any way. they break easily. When i left Comcast the back room had 6 pocket projectors that were dead as hell from sales guys damaging them.

Re:Cool. What about tv?

[ah.clem (147626)]

I'm trying...

TCO

[pjt33 (739471)]

Before you buy into "$300" you want to ask what the bulb lifetime is and how much the replacements will cost - because it wouldn't surprise me if the replacement bulb were to cost more than the projector and last a year or two. Think ink cartridges: projectors follow a similar economic model.

Re:

[dtfusion (658871)]

They use lasers and lcds. The lifetime should be quite long. No bulbs to replace. They're even talking about fitting these things into smart phones eventually. With a market that size the cost should truly be under $300.

Re:Cool. What about tv?

[odin84gk (1162545)]

Some research dug this up:

The projector outputs images at 848 by 480 pixels (WVGA)

http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/006250.html [pcworld.com]

Just a question.

[Romancer (19668)]

How many mini projectors will have to "be comming soon" to get the editors to stop posting these stories?

Re:

[by Anonymous Coward]

42

Re:

[doc_doofus (1102559)]

Offtopic my hairy arse. How is answering a question, regardless of the answer or question, offtopic?
42 is afterall, THE answer.
Sheesh, turn in your mod points, you're no nerd.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Answer_to_Life,_the_Universe,_and_Everything [wikipedia.org] 42

Re:

[swb (14022)]

Wasn't some kind of laser-based model that could be embedded in a PDA or cell phone coming soon, too?

I seem to remember it being monochrome or possibly even color using multiple lasers or a colorwheel ala DLP.

I agree completely, though, that these seem to be hitting 10 on the BS meter since they never come out.

Convenient!

[Stanistani (808333)]

If one is used in a movie theater, it's just the right size to crush under one's heel.

Assuming that it isn't a 4/1 joke...

[Chabil Ha' (875116)]

I'd definitely get one of these to use at work. Sometimes I find myself in a meeting with a few people in a place with no projectors, so it'd be useful to be able to go over something that could be kept in my pocket, ready to sue at a moments notice. This is especially useful since my employer is stingy with the number of conference rooms with projectors.

Re:Assuming that it isn't a 4/1 joke...

[The_Wilschon (782534)]

ready to sue at a moments notice.

RIAA, is that you?

Re:

[Anonymous Cowpat (788193)]

"so it'd be useful to be able to go over something that could be kept in my pocket, ready to sue at a moments notice."

Pocket lawyer!

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[Migrant Programmer (19727)]

Not an April fool's joke.. I saw one of these being demonstrated with an iPod at MWC this year (actually, at a restaurant on a napkin).

Re:

[rubycodez (864176)]

you are your co-workers worst nightmare, no doubt. someone who thinks everyone else *wants* to see your powerpoint presentations and listen to your prattling on about them.

Re:

[gl4ss (559668)]

talk of these projectors has been going on for a long time so it would make a crappy april fools joke.

would be fun on trips.. combined with modern cellphones with tv-out. quake on the go!(n95 has tvout and can play quake, though, a bluetooth keyboard is pretty much a must(can play ok quality video to tv too, h264).

Re:

[Minwee (522556)]

That's slander sir, and we have it on tape [snpp.com].

Never gonna give up my monitor

[Arnonymous Coward (1208208)]

The submitter could at least have linked to the YouTube Video [youtube.com] of the projector prototype.

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[cloricus (691063)]

My mouse hoverover saw what you did there. >.

Re:

[Jeff DeMaagd (2015)]

Seriously though, a projector isn't a substitute for a monitor, the same goes for the reverse too. It just depends on what you want to do with it.

Re:Never gonna give up my monitor

[TripMaster Monkey (862126)]

Idiot mods. Before you mod something up, at least check the link to make sure you're not being rickrolled.

Re:

[MBCook (132727)]

Perhaps that did check the link, and thought the Informative would be funnier than the Funny.

Re:

[UltraAyla (828879)]

Ahhh, I haven't memorized the rick astley youtube links yet. But when it came up, I did what any sane person should do and quickly turned on my speakers.

You really don't want to miss the opportunity when it happens. You never know when you will be rickrolled next!

Re:

[aproposofwhat (1019098)]

LOL - nice troll.

Given that it's Rick Astley, and there's an option to 'watch this video in higher quality' on the page, I take it that the high quality version has no Stock, Aitken, Waterman content :o)

Re:

[TripMaster Monkey (862126)]

ENOUGH ALREADY!

Exploding pockets 2.0

[techpawn (969834)]

So, how hot will the bulbs in these pocket projectors get?
I smell a market for a project projector protector!

any surface?

[Lxy (80823)]

Because nothing says professional like holding a sales meeting presentation on a manilla folder or a NAPKIN.

Re:

[JCSoRocks (1142053)]

woah woah woah, you've got it all wrong. That's not how you make sales. You make sales by bringing the hot new intern and projecting the presentation on her front / backside (depending upon the clients preference, of course).

Re:any surface?

[NeverVotedBush (1041088)]

Ohhh! The Tummy Projector (TM) !!!

And with appropriate image processing/stretching, you could have a normal image appear when it is projected on a form with, er, uh, protuberances!

Just key in her measurements instead of trying to adjust keystone and everyone has a great time!

I'm thinking something like that would sell... ;-)

wha?

[doti (966971)]

what does youtube has to do with this story?

there are plenty other better uses for this tech.

how much light?

[hcdejong (561314)]

Until now, projectors needed ungodly amounts of light to project an image bright enough to be usable in a non-darkened room. Either these miniprojectors use some kind of superefficient light source, or that 60" image can only be seen in total darkness.

Re:how much light?

[JCSoRocks (1142053)]

Weeeeell, that is part of the second paragraph of TFA. It says that the 60" image can only be seen in dark rooms while a 7"-20" image can be seen with some ambient light.

Physics

[dj245 (732906)]

You can't break the laws of physics. If you want a bright image you need to draw a lot of power. Even if you go with very efficient LEDs, the battery life on these things is going to be terrible.

Re:Physics

[Seraphim_72 (622457)]

You can't break the laws of physics.

Damn it Scotty, I need 6000 lumens on the side of this mountain playing Moulin Rouge. I don't care how you do it but get me those lumens mister, that's an order. Kirk out.

Re:

[garett_spencley (193892)]

"You can't break the laws of physics."

Prove it.

Re:

[NeverVotedBush (1041088)]

Hey, I went faster than the speed of light tomorrow.

Now I just have to wait for all of the rest of the world to catch up.

Old news.

[odin84gk (1162545)]

I will believe it when I see it at Best Buy.

This has been out there since 2007 http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/08/hands-on-with-microvisions-itty-bitty-projector/ [engadget.com]

And even in 2006. http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2006/06/70942 [wired.com]

what makes 'em possible? half-bit encoding.

[swschrad (312009)]

no other way to get all those half-bit movies that are being released into that small amount of memory, except using half-bit encoding.

only problem is, the tiny projectors play 'em half-fast.

Small enough to embed descreetly in a small droid?

[Starturtle (1148659)]

Help me Obi-wan Kenobi you're my only hope.

bugger that.

[apodyopsis (1048476)]

bugger that.

what I want is its big brother that can project HD image on the opposite wall, bright enough for normal viewing and about the size of a large book so I can hide it in the bookshelves on one side of the room and have a discreet drop down on the other. a small wireless remote could control the whole shebang.

or maybe what I want is the projector built into the lid or case of my laptop so I can project an image for 21" use in my hotel room or presentation, why would I want to carry another gadget?

or maybe I want the low resolution table top clock that can also project information, headlines, travel and weather onto my bedroom ceiling on a spoken command.

perhaps I want the discreet projector that can shine instructions or notes onto the smoked glass door in my hi tech corporate office. or airport. or train station.

why would I not want my sat nav to project onto my windscreen HUD like and stop me dangerously craning my neck to look at a 3" screen when I should be driving. while its at it, it can show key dashboard information as well.

what I absolutely do *not* need is a phone that can project images when hooked up to a matchbox - its a phone, thats all.

I like the tech, I really do - but I think they could do more with it!

anybody else got any cool ideas about what to do with a dinky little laser projector........?

Battery life? Flicker?

[Animats (122034)]

Here's the company site. [microvision.com] No mention of battery life issues.

This thing is a one-pixel display being scanned in 2D by a MEMS mirror. One pixel scanned displays have been tried before, and they're usually annoying. One of the neat things about LCD displays, plasma panels, and TI DLP mirror systems is that there's no flicker at all, because the display has full persistence. This brings back flicker, big time; all the persistence is in the eye. This idea has been tried before, in bigger displays, and abandoned. So this isn't going to look great, but it will have niche uses.

Brightness is 10 lumens, incidentally.

The Cure

[SuperKendall (25149)]

If someone starts annoying me on a bus or plane with small projected images distracting me, I see no reason why I should not then start demonstration of the awesome art of shadow puppetry until they desist.

Re:

[Chabil Ha' (875116)]

...and whatever else I want with me all for the size of a couple of packs of cigs

Gee, I heard you can trade cigs like money in prison because you held a public viewing of copyrighted movies.

Just sayin'...

Re:

[garett_spencley (193892)]

"The Internet will still be there when you get home."

But ... what if it isn't ?

My world would fall apart if I missed the next Obama Girl video. I can't risk it. Sorry.

Re:

[NeverVotedBush (1041088)]

No, dude - it's going to be endless manga and anime. I pity the poor high school teachers who will have to put up with that between classes and worse - during.

Re:April fool's day?

[garett_spencley (193892)]

"What happened to typical slashdot April Fool's Day?"

Why that *IS* the April Fools joke silly!

Everybody was waiting for their April Fools day jokes only to find no jokes. Hah, April Fools !

Re:

[Skreems (598317)]

The actual article linked to is dated the 30th, so unless it's now SOP to disguise your april fools jokes by faking a date, this is probably for real.