Best Optoma Pico PK101 Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals & Sales 2020:

The commercial grip of the Optico Pico projector (also known as PK101), is very attractive. The manufacturer invites you to share on the big screen, with your family or friends, the videos from your mobile phone (or your multimedia device) thanks to a pico projector that fits in your hand. Indeed, the dimensions of this device are very impressive: 50 x 103 x 15 mm for 115g. It’s the equivalent of a big cell phone.

Best Optoma Pico PK101 Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals & Sales 2020

1. Optoma EP-PK-101 Pico Pocket Projector

2. Optoma ML550 WXGA 500 Lumen 3D Ready Portable DLP LED Projector with MHL Enabled HDMI Port

3. Optoma LV130 Mini Projector, Bright and Ultra Portable LED Cinema in Your Pocket. 4.5 Hour Built-in Battery, HDMI, USB, DLP Projector with Amazing Colors

4. Optoma ML750 WXGA 700 Lumen 3D Ready Portable DLP LED Projector with MHL Enabled HDMI Port

5. Optoma Enhanced Short Throw Gaming Projector GT1080Darbee – + 1 Year Extended Warranty(Renewed)

Getting started, ergonomics

In the box, you will find: a tripod adapter, a mini USB / USB cable to recharge the pico projector (to plug into an AC adapter) and a 2.5 -> 3 RCA jack cable (composite + sound) to connect the pico to video sources. As a bonus, normally it’s optional, we also found a cable to connect an iPod.

This Optoma Pico PK101 does not have a zoom. The only possible adjustment concerns the focusing. To play on the size of the image you will have to move the device by approaching it to the wall to have a small image, or move it away to enlarge it. You will also not find a button dedicated to image adjustment (brightness, contrast etc.). To play on these components, you have to go through the source element (DVD player or other). Last point of ergonomics, the built-in speaker should not be pushed too high. The sound quickly becomes messy and unpleasant. It remains a booster device on the same level as mobile phone speakers.

On the question of brightness, we can continue to see the projected image by slightly opening the door of the room. On the other hand, if you turn on the light, you will only see the projected image if you are very close to the wall, and that you diffuse an image of 50 cm diagonal. Another interesting point, the noise level in operation: it is almost zero. It is necessary to put the ear above to hear an imperceptible sharp whistling from 30 centimeters.

Projected image

The recommended projection distances are between 0.25 and 2.6 meters. Projection is really possible from the maximum distance provided that you are completely in the dark. The image has significantly less distortion than the Aiptek and 3M models. The edges of the Pocket Cinema V10 and MPro 110 images are curved. Here, this is not the case. The image quality is surprising. Hard to imagine that it comes from a device that fits in the hand. In addition, the blacks are very deep (the distinction with the wall is barely noticeable) and the image does not have to fade in front of the Home Cinema projectors entry level of three or four years ago. Once the “good surprise” effect has passed, we put things into perspective because of the following:

  •  Lots of stair effects
  •  lack of overall finesse (the VGA does no miracles)
  •  need to be completely dark, or almost, from a certain distance
  •  image slightly stretched in height

DLP or LCoS

Compared to its direct competitor, the Aiptek Pocket Cinema V10 model, the Optoma Pico PK101 brings its share of good points. It is more compact and offers a less distorted image at the edges. Its colors are also more vivid (sometimes too much). On less advantageous points, it does not carry internal memory or a memory card reader. It is therefore very dependent on external sources. In autonomy, with the lamp on as much as possible, the projector held 1h05 against 1h10 for the Aiptek model.

Compared to the 3M model, the lack of image fishing is even more obvious. The image of the MPro 110 is dull. This product nevertheless has a major advantage for the professional world, a VGA input. Convenient to connect the projector to a laptop.

CONCLUSION

Seeing such a small device project an image of this quality is breathtaking. This, although superior to its LCoS competitors, is not without its faults. On the other hand, the Optoma Pico PK101 lacks autonomy since it does not have internal memory, and is therefore highly dependent on external video sources.

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