Pk101

[koenigma]

First dive into Pico beamers with a PK101:

Got mine blind purchase on-line just to try a pico out.

I am using a large white blackout roller blind (£15 from Wilkinson's) as a screen in my bedroom which of course operates well as a screen while darkening my room at the same time. I am running it at a whopping 70 inches!!

At first using my stand alone DVD player to PJ on composite direct was a bit murkey in darker scenes at this size so I ordered a VGA converter and it has livened up the image a bit more. With a bit of fiddling in the ATI control panel I have managed to get even darker parts of images quite watch-able with great colour.

I can also navigate Windows Media centre (or anything with a 10ft interface) and even browse the web on the screen via MCE if I set the VGA 2nd monitor at 800x600. Only the smallest of text was unreadable from my bed some 10ft away, for instance I can see the text well enough on Youtube to navigate the titles of videos etc. Ultimately though I got this for T.V and movie watching in bed on the laptop and now with the VGA converter it does a very good job in the evening (or day with blind down)

The PK301 at 16:9 native with HDMI input which my laptop has is looking a might interesting ;-)
For the price these are currently going for it is a very capable little projector and it still makes me laugh how small it is at the same as my Nokia cellphone!

[woods]

Hi Koenimga,

Thanks for this post - It sounds like you are doing well with the pk101 - your points pretty much highlight that first generation of pico projectors - alright but not AMAZING. certainly awesome for the size of device though - a little miracle. Just think how good its going to be with 3rd and 4th generation pico projectors, MVIS could bring out a HD Laser pico projector before you know it! its going to be amazing.

800 x 600 is liveable but is it not downscaled in the 101? in newer generations this shouldnt be the case - I cant wait to see full hd pico projectors.

HDMI is the way forward for these devices - everything will spit out to hdmi - ps3 to pico projector? yes I think thats a good idea. Couple that with my little portable loudspeaker and you have a mobile gaming rig - pretty cool stuff eh?

If you get a 301 we would love to hear a review of that - maybe with some photo's? we can stick it on the homepage so it helps people make more informed buys of pico's for themselves!

cheers again for posting!

[koenigma]

I run it at 800x600 simply to squeeze a bit more on the screen from the laptop most text is readable for example on a youtube page I can read the text that is under the videos on the right hand column (similar videos column).

I can't seem to post a pic of the room with the PK101 working at 70 inch? Probably something to do with new poster settings?

Hi Koenimga,

Thanks for this post - It sounds like you are doing well with the pk101 - your points pretty much highlight that first generation of pico projectors - alright but not AMAZING. certainly awesome for the size of device though - a little miracle. Just think how good its going to be with 3rd and 4th generation pico projectors, MVIS could bring out a HD Laser pico projector before you know it! its going to be amazing.

800 x 600 is liveable but is it not downscaled in the 101? in newer generations this shouldnt be the case - I cant wait to see full hd pico projectors.

HDMI is the way forward for these devices - everything will spit out to hdmi - ps3 to pico projector? yes I think thats a good idea. Couple that with my little portable loudspeaker and you have a mobile gaming rig - pretty cool stuff eh?

If you get a 301 we would love to hear a review of that - maybe with some photo's? we can stick it on the homepage so it helps people make more informed buys of pico's for themselves!

cheers again for posting!

[woods]

Hi again,

Its good you can squeeze that much out of your pk101 - and using youtube is a great example - at res's higher than that on the pk101 I would guess theyd be unreadable? what else do you use it for at 800x600 out of interest - movies?

Don't know why it wouldn't let you post a pic of the pk101 @ 70 inch's - I will PM you an email address to send it too and I'll deal with it.

[koenigma]

Yeah I just sent you an image of my screen at the end of my bed using the PK101 AT 70 " The icon is working now but you cannot upload an image only link one :-(

I only have it at 800x600 to make the screen fit (desktop/browsers etc) without scrolling about too much. 99% of it's time is for watching Films though. The Image I sent is the actual image but ever so slightly correct with some contrast to make it as close as I can get it to what my eye actually sees. While the 101 is good enough for general film watching I am looking forward to something with higher res and a little more Lumens, the LG HX300 is on my list but current prices are a bit of a put off.

You can see the PK101 on the right near the wall mounted on a camera mount. The screen is a simple bright white £15 "blackout" roller blind from Wilkinsons which of course helps to cut down light from the Windows at the same time! Oh and I am using a VGA converter from ebay to take the VGA from the laptop to the composite input, this does seem to assist the overall quality of the image as does the bright white of the roller blond.

[woods]

Image added of your pk101 use - cheers for the photo!

Looks good - certainly hdmi and a higher res would help but like you say - for watching films it looks pretty awesome.