Whatever happened to the ‘%’ projector concept? Those small, portable projectors have been everywhere at the flip of the last decade until being roundly dumped.
I wager I should not be amazed. While portable and functional, these mini beamers lacked the important thing characteristic any projector needs: mild.
Now on sale for $399 / £449 / AU$535, the all-new Sony MP-CD1 tries to exchange all that using dramatically boosting brightness from 32 ANSI lumens to one zero five ANSI lumens. The exchange-off for all that greater brightness, however, is that Sony has also slashed resolution from 1920×720 to paltry 854×480 pixels. So, we ask, can much less really be greater? Read on to find out.
Design
At just 280g (nine. Nine oz), the MP-CD1 is portability defined. It’s barely any bigger than a six-inch smartphone, measuring 83x16x150mm, and has four rubber feet for staying nonetheless (small projectors can, without problems, get tugged about via cables).
On the facet is a 3.5mm jack for attaching the MP-CD1 to a small speaker (Bluetooth would be nicer because all small speakers have it), although there may be additionally a mono as a substitute loudspeaker built-in. It’s pretty terrible and satisfactorily prevented … Though; it truly is often impossible because MP-CD1 absolutely lacks a quantity button. That standby button is likewise used to replace vibrant and everyday picture modes, though the distinction is diffused.
Also, at the side is an HDMI slot to attach the MP-CD1 to a computer and perhaps an occasional games console or disc spinner. It can be stressed out as much as something thru an adapter (it’s MHL-friendly, so it performs fine with telephones and capsules). It can also be fitted with a non-compulsory HDMI dongle that lets in wireless streaming and sharing, and crucially, the wi-fi mirroring of smartphones and capsules.
Setup
Positioning the MP-CD1 turned into now not easy. It’s designed to mission a maximum of one hundred twenty-inch sixteen: nine-factor ratio snapshots at a distance of about 3.5m. That sounds extraordinary in theory; however, the image wishes to be smaller and higher than feasible from coffee tables in exercise. There is a few computerized keystone correction software that rights any awry photograph in seconds. However, it’s hit-and-omit and leaves one side looking wonky.
Moving the MP-CD1 even an inch resets the keystone software, which in flip resets the focus. There is a guide attention slider, but it is very diffused, and focusing can be painstaking as its slider is way too small. If you need some peak – and you nearly actually will – percent a pocket-sized tripod because the MP-CD1 does have a wellknown tripod thread off-middle on its undercarriage.
During our checking out, we used one to create a nice 60-inch image from around 1.5m from a screen, with an 80-inch image viable from 2.3m. Go any higher, and the picture fades and looks pixelated, even in a blackout.
The MP-CD1 also has a 5,000mAh capacity battery, which ran for simply shy of three hours in our check. That’s the magic wide variety for a portable projector like this because even though it’s not designed for watching films, it does permit something to be watched without having to reflect onconsideration on how lengthy it’s going to last.
However, that USB-C slot at the facet can be attached to any portable smartphone/pill energy financial institution, which at a stroke means no one ever has to take a proprietary AC adaptor around the sector. Rejoice! In the box is a USB-C-micro USB adaptor.
However, the silver lining to all this – and what we favored maximum approximately the MP-CD1’s setup – became that it changed into powered-on and right to move in just a few seconds.
Performance
Before we get hyper-essential, let’s don’t forget what the MP-CD1 is – a straightforward, transportable projector that is ordinarily approximately convenient. No one will be looking at many movies at the MP-CD1 unless it springs a huge surprise.
It would not.
It might be three times brighter than the MP-CD1; however, the MP-CD1’s 105 lumens get used via its 854×480 pixel snapshots pretty quick. Does that suggest the still pictures and spreadsheets we attempted extremely specified? Of course not. Nor are the colors particularly nuanced; however, DLP IntelliBright tech looks like doing something suitable through retaining the whole lot pretty much brilliant enough to compete.
It’s excellent used in a blackout, of course, but this is now not probably in a situation in which the MP-CD1 is casually used to reveal pictures or tremendous-size a presentation deck. So to compensate, we stored the curtains cracked open to mimic a dingy motel space or workplace, and the MP-CD1 rose to the undertaking quite nicely.
It turns out that the MP-CD1’s loss of pixels is genuinely a sensible way to max out its brightness, but handiest in case you preserve matters small. You can get the MP-CD1 to place one hundred twenty inches on a wall. However, it’s a miles higher, tighter and brighter photograph if you limit it to 80-inches. Of course, we are getting into large TV territory there, but best at this size (or smaller), it is a punch.
Used for watching a movie in a total blackout, the MP-CD1 produced a fairly bright eighty-inch photograph photo that rather lacked comparison. However, I didn’t note any troubles with movement blurring or noise.
There is one surprise in that the MP-CD1’s battery can also be used to recharge any cellphone or pill. That’s a clever play to sneak the MP-CD1 onto each business trip irrespective of the need for an impromptu presentation.
Verdict
If % projectors had been an idea beforehand of their time again in 2009, not a excellent deal has changed. The MP-CD1 is pretty much shiny enough, however simplest at the fee of slashing the decision, and the upsized battery could be inconsequential to maximum users (in case your presentation is over an hour, it’s certainly too lengthy!). It’s also rather atypical that Sony has gone with both DLP tech and a low decision sensor whilst its MP-CL1A boasts a laser mild supply and 720p HD detail.
Setup is not as simple as it may be, and the lack of a quantity rocker is bizarre, but the MP-CD1 produces fairly impactful eighty-inch nonetheless photographs and watchable movies. Does it do enough for the money? Probably not, however, in case you do provide impromptu displays. You do not need to depend upon the nice tech you locate in workplaces and resorts, the MP-CD1 (preferably pimped-up with a small transportable speaker and a wireless dongle) will do the process.
