One of the downsides of the Apple iPhone or iPod for us at Our Picks is that you can’t share your videos easily. Ever seen a group of friends huddled around an iPod trying to watch the latest movie? Not exactly the cinemnatic experience they would be used to. But do not fear iPod huddlers, for Optoma have come to the resue with their iPhone/iPod docking station and video projector with speakers too! Whilst the Neo-i can’t be called a true home theatre system, for those of us on a budget or lacking space for a full-sized HT system then the Neo-i may just be what you are looking for.

Not only can you slot your iPhone or iPod into the Neo-i, but there are HDMI and VGA ports for all sorts of other devices, there’s even an optional iPad connection kit. Your video will then be displayed on a 2,000:1 contrast ratio display up to a diagonal size of 120 inches. Your audio will pumped out through a 16W stereo system with DSP and Bass Reflex technologies. Here’s the full list of specifications for the Optoma Neo-i protable projector.

* DLP Projection Type
* WVGA (854 x 480), WXGA (1280 x 800) through VGA Port; HD (1080i) through HDMI resolutions
* 50 ANSI Lumens
* 2000:1 contrast ratio
* Estimated LED light source life of over 20,000 Hours
* 1.8:1 throw ratio (Distance/Width)
* 8” to 188” projection distance
* 5” to 120” (16:9 Native) display size
* 16:9 Native, 4:3 Compatible aspect ratios
* 2x 8W speakers
* WXGA, XGA, SVGA, VGA, VESA, PC and Macintosh Compatible
* Universal iPod/iPhone Dock (30-Pin), HDMI, VGA-In, 2.5mm Jack AV Inputs
* 2.2 lbs (1kg)
* 12.8” x 3.1” x 8.9”; (324 x 79 x 227mm)
* 25db noise level

Here’s what other people are saying about the Optoma Neo-i from around the net

Reviewer	Rating	Pros	Cons
CNET	3.5 out of 5	Brighter image than most pico projectors, speakers play reasonably loud	Picture’s somewhat soft, fairly pricey, compact but not superportable
iLounge	B - recommended

All in all, not necessarily a great product, but the Optoma Neo-i does what it says on the box, and that’s project video from your iPhone or iPod.

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Small is beautiful, right? Well you may not necessarily say the Samsung SP-H03 pico projector is beautiful but it certainly is small and that inlcudes the $299 price tag. The DLP projector weighs in at a mere 210g and is only 7cm along its longest length, a great portable projector. Here’s the full set of details on the Samsung SP-H03

* Screen Format 16 : 9
* NTSC and PAL/SECAM
* Power Consumption 12 W
* Brightness 30ANSI
* Contrast Ratio 1000 : 1
* Lamp Life Time >30000 h
* Resolution WVGA (854 x 480)
* Scan System progressive
* Throw Dist (picture width x ) 0.35 ~ 3.0 m
* Image Size (Inches) 9.0″ ~ 80.0″
* Fan Noise 23 dB
* Speaker 1 W Mono
* Inputs Composite In, Component, PC (D-sub 15 Pin)
* USB Port
* 70.0 x 27.5 x 70.0 mm (without Battery)
* 96 x 96 x 220 mm (With Accessory)
* 0.21 kg (210 g) (With Battery)

There’s also a review of the SP-H03 over at Projector Central where it receives at least four out of five stars in all categories. They admit that the user would have to optimise light conditions when using the projector yet given size, weight and price the Samsung SP-H03 is ceratinly a very attractive pico projector option.

Availabe at Amazon for $299.

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NEC have a cost-sensitive pico projector out there, but the main thing that stands out about the NP115 is the specs are of a higher standard than your run-of-the-mill pico projector whilst the price tag is $400.

* Contrast 2,000:1
* 2500 lumens
* 2.5 kg
* 800×600 res
* 4:3 Aspect Ratio
* Lamp Life 3,500 Hrs
* Lamp Cost $179.00
* S-Video, Composite, RGB, RS232 connectivity
* Supports 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 576i, 576p Video Formats

We only managed to track down one review for the NEC NP115 projector over at Projector Central. They gave it at least four stars out of five across the board, going one further with Value. The NEC NP115 is available at Amazon for only $397.

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We stumbled across Sony’s flagship home theatre projector today, the VPL-VW85 and thought we’d let you know about it too. Unfortunately the price tag is a lttle extereme but the projector does sport 1080p full HD, 120,000:1 contrast ratio and Sony’s Motionflow technology to make those images super-smooth. So what is that price tag? Well, the VPL-VW85 will set you back around $8000. Still with us? Read on for a fuller set of specifications for the Sony BRAVIA VPL-VW85 projector.

* High Contrast Ratio – 120,000: 1 with Advanced Iris 3 technology
* Crisp, Smooth Action with Motionflow with Dark Frame Insertion
* 1080p Full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080
* Digital Picture Processing - BRAVIA ENGINE 2
* Panel Alignment Function
* High Resolution All Range Crisp Focus (ARC-F) Lens
* Superb Low Fan Noise “20dB”
* 1.6x lens zoom ratio
* 2.50 – 3.40 / 18.5 – 29.6mm lens
* 800 ANSI Lumen
* LMP-H201 200W UHP lamp
* 40” - 300” / 1m-7.6m Screen Size (16:9 diagonal)
* 1.2m -14.1m Throwing Distance
* 1.47 - 2.18 Throw Ratio (16:9 diagonal)
* Inputs HDMI, Component, S-Video, Composite
* 3,000 Hours Lamp Life
* Every 1,500 Hours Filter Cleaning Time
* 470 x 179.2 x 482.4 mm
* 12kg

So it certainly has everything you’d expect for that price tag but what’s it really like? We decided to track down a few reviews for you to find out for yourself

Projector Central give the VPL-VW85 5 out of 5 for performance and ease of use and 4 for features and value, stating ‘It has some digital noise and a less-than-perfect frame interpolation system’ as negatives
The unit is a ‘Top Pick’ at Home Theatre Mag whose only criticism is ‘Color management system could be more effective’
Finally Trusted Reviews weighed in with scores between 8 and 9 out of 10 in various categories and a ‘Recommended’ tag

So while there are some concerns over image quality, the reviewers gave the Sony BRAVIA VPL-VW85 a big thumbs up even with its big price tag. If you actually have one of these at home, please do let us know what you think.

Update: Amazon have the VPL-VW85 projector for only $6347

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Sanyo have just lifted the lid or may be the lens cap on a couple of short-focus projectors, the PDG-DWL2500 and PDG-DXL2000. Each of these models can toss up a large image whilst being only a short distance from the display screen using a newly developed ultra short-focus mirror projection optical unit. The DWL2500 can manage an 80 inch image at only 12.6 inches whilst the DXL2000 requires to be 15.1 inches away for a similar sized image. But wait there’s more, these Sanyo projectors are also 3D ready. Here are the full details on these short-focus projectors

DWL2500

* 16:10 Aspect Ratio
* 1280×800 res
* 2,500 lumens
* 2,000:1 contrast ratio
* 60” – 110” screen size
* Inputs - HDMI 1.3a (with Deep Color support); D-sub 15 pin x2 (RGB or Component input with adaptor); S-video; Composite RCA
* 12.6 (W) x 6.7 (H) x 15.2 (D) inches
* 14.3 lbs.

DXL2000

* 4:3 aspect ratio
* 1024×768 res
* 2,000 lumens
* 2,000:1 contrast ratio
* 55” – 90” screen size
* Inputs - HDMI 1.3a (with Deep Color support); D-sub 15 pin x2 (RGB or Component input with adaptor); S-video; Composite RCA
* 12.6 (W) x 6.7 (H) x 15.2 (D) inches
* 14.3 lbs.

These puppies aren’t available until July but when they hit the shelves they’ll have the following price tags $1795 (PDG-DXL2000) and $1995 (PDG-DWL2500). Not cheap but then the projectors are compact and sport great features. It’ll be interesting to see how they stack up against other projectors.

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Whilst Vivitek’s SVGA DLP projector, the D510, may be primarily aimed at the corporate market, with a price tag of close to $470 at Amazon it could be considered as a cheap home entertainment unit. Of course it lacks a few bells and whistles that the higher end of the HE projector market sports but as a compact projector it’s not a bad unit. Here are the numbers on Vivitek’s D510 DLP projector

* Brightness (Lumens) 2600 ANSI
* Contrast 2300:1
* Audible Noise 31.0 dB
* 1.9 kg
* 8 x 26 x 20 cm
* Manual Focus
* Handles 720p, 1080i, EDTV/480p, SDTV/480i
* Component Video, HDMI and computer inputs
* Native - 800×600 res
* Maximum - 1600×1200 res
* Aspect Ratio 4:3 (SVGA)
* 180W lamp
* Lamp Life 3000 hours
* Speakers 1.0W Mono
* RS232 Port
* USB Port

The D510 has only been available for a couple of months now yet is already on discount at Amazon as mentioned. We’re not sure whether that’s a good thing or not, but with the specs and price tag combo, the Vivitek D510 DLP projector looks a bargain to us.

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“3D Ready” seems to be the buzz phrase right now, so for those of you keen to go three dimensional and are after a projector, you just might want to take a look at the Optoma HD66 720p 3D ready model. As well as providing 3D in 720p HD res, the HD66 boasts BrilliantColor technology to

produce accurate and vibrant colors on the screen. The HD66 multi-color processing system features a 5-segment color wheel coated with an advanced material that achieves superb color saturation. This saturation and color accuracy is paramount to a quality image.

Here are the full stats on Optoma’s HD66 3D ready projector

* Resolution HD (1280×720)
* 2500 ANSI Lumens
* 4000:1 contrast ratio
* Lamp Life 4000/3000 Hours (STD/Bright)
* Throw Ratio 1.55 to 1.7 (Distance/Width)
* Projection Distance 1.0 to 10m
* 27.2” to 301” diagonal display range
* 2-Watt Speaker
* PC and Macintosh Compatible
* Handles NTSC, PAL, SECAM, SDTV (480i), EDTV(480p), HDTV (720p, 1080i/p)
* Projection Lens F=2.41-2.55, f=21.8-24mm, 1.1x Manual Zoom and Focus
* HDMI, VGA-In, S-Video, Composite Video, Stereo Audio-In and RS-232
* 2.31kg
* 287 x 101 x 193 mm

The really good news is that the HD66 3D projector is available at Amazon where they have it on offer at $670. Not a bad price for a capable 3D projector.

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