Optoma PK102 PICO Pocket Projector

OK I can't believe I am the first to review this little guy. I got mine yesterday and have been very happy with it. If you read carefully, it does everything it says it will in the specs. It was packaged great, and included three adapters - one VGA, one USB, and one composite video and audio cable. It was brighter than I expected and easily hooked up to my laptop running Vista with no problems. The included Video Encoder worked as advertised (though I am not sure why it can't just play standard MP4 video...) and photos loaded fine. The interface is very intuitive. I did purchase a cheap tripod (~12 bucks) with it and I am glad I did - this thing is so small it would be hard to get it pointed exactly right without. Let's face it - this isn't great for someone working on a projector all day every day - you need better resolution and more lumens. But for the average geek at home this thing is perfect. For occasional use with laptop, or videos, or just still photo slide shows. The unit was even smaller than I expected when I got my hands on it. To say it's the size of a cell phone is no exaggeration. For a $250 this is one gadget you might consider in your arsenal!

I really get into Electronics. I purchased this Optoma PK102 in 12/09 and have had some fun displaying images and videos on different surfaces and watching movies (via a Laptop) on an outside screen. The issues I have deal with the design. First off, the tripod adaptor reduces the standard thread on most tripods to about half size. This makes for a very weak connection which will break if not giving the upmost care. Mine did. Second, the VGA to Pico cable (model# BC-VGUNXX01) will break if used often due to its cheap design .Mine did. The cable will cost you $50 to replace. You have a 60 or 90 day warranty on the accessories and 1 year on the projector. I attempted to contact Optoma on two different occasions via their website, where they state that they will contact you within 48 hours. That didn't happen. After a week or so, I decided to Call Optoma. Typical wait time for tech support. I was switched around a few times before getting to someone who gave me the bad news. Thirdly, Built-in speaker is almost, if not completely, useless. Fourthly, the controls should be on top front where they can be comfortable used, not on the sides where you have to contort your hand. Fifthly, the focus is too sensitive. Sixthly, battery life dies off fairly quickly after a couple months use. Overall, I think they got a good thing going, however they need to do much more R&D to have a really good product.

I bought this projector with the intention of watching movies from my computer on my bedroom wall. In theory it should be a great product, but in actuality it is far from it. There are several reasons I gave this product only one star. First, it is not Mac compatible even though the web site says that it is. The projector can project from the Mac (by mirroring the computer display), but data cannot be transferred to the projector so the on-board memory is completely worthless. The company says that data needs to be converted to Xvid format via their proprietary software that is only for use with PC. Videos already encoded as Xvid will not play. Second, the battery life is very poor. I was not able to watch a single (approx 8o minute) movie on it freshly charged. Third, it is very cumbersome only being able to use the projector connected to both the computer (would not work through the included USB and VGA cables, need to buy an additional DVI adapter to get it to work at all) and plugged in. Even with the tripod, it was very unsteady and difficult to get it a straight projection. Fourth, the projection quality was very poor. Even though the room was dark, the darker shots in the movie were impossible to see. I was not able to enlarge the picture to my desired size- about 42". The largest size I was able to project to with a clear picture was about 25". Even at this small size, the picture was not as clear as I would have expected. I was not able to get it to focus clearly on text at any size. Lastly, the "owners manual" is virtually non existent. None of the literature that comes with the product is very useful in operating the product.

Purchased this for its portability. I have struggled to a) To get screen to display from my laptop- I have not succeeded as of now 8 hours later. I was under the impression it was laptop compatible. The product blurb says so. b) Instruction manual is extremely poor and difficult for me to understand. c) Cables are too short and therefore difficult to place projector adequately to focus picture on surface. This is the 1st piece of electronic equipment I have ever had so much difficulty setting up. I would not recommend purchasing this item if you are expecting ease of use. Apart from portability I can see no advantage to owning it. Unless I solve my issues in the next 16 hours I am returning it. Life is to short to struggle