Peter's MVIS Blog: PicoPro

Showing posts with label PicoPro. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

From the Gainesville Sun

More at the source

Today’s devices pack enough juice to get see you through to the credits. Many also are incorporating Miracast and AirPlay technology so you can stream directly from your mobile device via Wi-Fi, which means a totally untangled, cordless experience. Since so much of today’s content is streaming, there are no more optical discs or ripping DVDs to make your content digital, just log in to Netflix or Hulu. Essentially the cultural shift from the living room to mobile makes the idea of a small device that projects a large image on a wall or screen even more relevant.

Celluon PicoPro ($399) — At roughly the size and weight of a smartphone, this device not only can fit in your pants pocket but also in a shirt pocket. Instead of using a traditional bulb, the PicoPro uses a laser, which creates uniform brightness from edge to edge. One of the most important aspects of a projector is the lumens or strength of light that is emitted. The device is rated at a low 32 lumens but because of laser technology it's essentially perceived as closer to 60 lumens. It is also able to auto-focus. For Android users, you can easily connect wirelessly to the device with Miracast technology.

Saturday, June 11, 2016

Puget Sound Business Journal -- UPDATED

I left my notes at the other office, but thought that many of you would like to see the Puget Sound Business Journal Cover. -- Taken at my local library.

The article is about the fastest growing public companies in the Seattle area. Microvision shows up at #11 of 24 in their survey, behind Omeros, Zillow, Heritage Financial, and others, and ahead of Papa Murphy's, Amazon, Starbucks and Microsoft.

It's about growth rate, not size. Some of the larger companies have fairly saturated markets.

The reporter from Puget Sound Business Journal interviewed people from a number of different companies when compiling this report, and the editorial decision was made to put Microvision and Tokman on the cover. -- in an area that hosts Amazon, Zillow, Expedia, Starbucks, Microsoft and others.

From the article:

"Microvision, Inc, a Redmond company that has been developing a laser-based technology to project large images from small devices, has been depending on the region's software and hardware strengths to get to market.

'In Redmond we do a lot od experimental development, a lot of prototyping,' said Microvision CEO Alexander Tokman. 'We have Microvision-unique components that only we know how to do.'

That uniqueness is part of what has made the Eastside manufacturing industry so successful. It's also likely to put the region on the global map, one niche market at a time.

'We are one of the best states,' Department of Commerce's Young said, 'for focusing this technology (and providing it) to the rest of the world.'"

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Big news coming from Celluon

Celluon Twitter

‏@celluon

Big news coming this month from Celluon!
Stay tuned!

RETWEETS 4
LIKES 6

5:31 PM - 4 Apr 2016

Sunday, December 6, 2015

Four Pocket Projectors - One fits in a pocket

Cheatsheet

Small projectors and projection tech in general keeps getting more attention. So, of the four "pocket" projectors in this article only one actually fits in a pocket. Check it out at the source, linked above.

Best rated is the Celluon PicoPro.

4 Pocket Projectors That Give You a Portable Home Theater

Picture this: It’s game-day and you’re hosting the boys for the afternoon. You’ve got the craft brewskis chilling and the cheese dip ready. But instead of viewing the big game on just another flat screen TV, you’re about to impress your pals with the prowess of a Pico projector. What, you ask? Pico projectors, also known as handheld or pocket projectors, are the latest craze to hit the tech world. And with good reason: They’re light, compact, and connect to your tablet, phone, or computer to project crisp, crystal-clear quality picture to any wall (or ceiling!) in your man cave. Whether you’re considering buying one for yourself to have the movie theater experience from the comfort of your couch, or as a holiday gift, read on for four solid performers.

Best for Android and Windows users (you can connect wirelessly via Miracast or DLNA), this HD projector is as sleek and compact as it is functional. With a lengthy battery life, it also boasts a built-in speaker and laser projection technology to deliver first-rate brightness and image quality. Did we mention it’s always in-focus (you won’t need that archaic focus wheel) and ships complete with a holding mount, MHL cable, Samsung adapter, and carrying pouch?

To see what it’s like to have a cinematic experience at your fingertips, check out this video. The image size is over 200 inches in optimal lighting, and there’s practically no internal sound coming from the system (like you might experience with some models); trust us, you won’t be disappointed.

Monday, November 30, 2015

Best Buy

We've been waiting for MicroVision's tech to be seen at "big-box" stores in the states.

Here it is. In time for Christmas. It's on the website so far, we'll see if it makes it onto the shelves. I think the chances are pretty good.

Find it here: Best Buy PicoPro

Also at SEARS

Also at NewEgg

Thursday, October 15, 2015

MP-CL1 Reviews begin

9to5Mac Review of MP-CL1 -- much more at the source

Review: Sony’s MP-CL1 updates a proven HD pico projector with a thin, Apple-friendly shell

PicoPro’s projection system was MicroVision-developed and laser-sharp, requiring no manual focus knob — an advantage over rival projectors such as the otherwise more powerful AAXA P700 and ST200, which I subsequently reviewed and liked.

This week, Sony is entering the pico projector market with MP-CL1 ($350), which uses the same MicroVision laser projector found in PicoPro. Sporting the same 1920×720 resolution and putative 32-lumen brightness/80,000:1 contrast ratio as PicoPro, MP-CL1 promises to create a 40-inch TV image at 4-foot distances, an 80-inch image at 8-foot distances, or a (very dim) 120-inch image at 12-foot distances. Sony has pitched it as a “take it anywhere” big screen display for the iPad, iPhone, and PlayStation 4; it’s equally viable for Apple TVs and HDMI-ready Macs. So which is the better value: MP-CL1 or PicoPro?…

MicroVision’s projection engine automatically projects perfectly sharp images regardless of its distance from a wall, a major setup and usability advantage over rival pico projectors where manual knob turning is required to achieve sharpness.

Saturday, September 12, 2015

Best Portable Projectors of 2015 (So Far)

Android Authority

Next up is the PicoPro by Celluon, another projector that is beautifully designed, is also one of the thinnest projectors on this list, with a thickness of just half an inch. The device is also very portable, and should be able to comfortably fit in most pockets, with its length of 6 inches, and weighing just 181 grams. It also a has a very interesting design, giving an appearance of two bricks being stuck together, even though it is just one solid body. It also comes with a stand offering 360-degree rotation, which makes it very easy to find a surface for the projector to rest.

The projector light is rated at 32 lumens, which is the lowest on this list, but the PicoPro can get plenty bright, and offers fantastic quality as well, with its 720p resolution. It also comes with a infinite auto focus feature, which means that you don't ever have to worry about fiddling with the focus, and it works just as well as the laser auto focus of the UO Smart Beam projector. The picture is always very clear, and the image doesn't go out of focus up to a screen size of 250 inches.

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Projector Central Review

Good review of the first PicoP powered product. They had an interesting thing that other reviews haven't done yet: how large can the screen be in different light conditions.

That shows that even in a directly lit room, you still get a screen that FAR exceeds that of your phone -- very suitable for comfortable viewing and sharing.

Check it out at the source. there's a lot more.

Projector Central

Performance

Features

Ease of Use

Value

Everyone's tolerance for image quality varies, but our rough estimations of image diagonal for satisfactory image brightness, contrast, and black level are as follows:

Darkened room - 96"
Dimly lit room - 48"
Indirect sunlit room - 36"
Direct sunlit room - 24"

These diagonals were determined using a 1:1 gain pop-up screen, so the above estimates will decrease if projecting on surfaces like colored walls, painted brick, or bed sheets.

Friday, August 21, 2015

PicoP vs 4K TV -- the value question

PicoP Will Outperform 4K

I've been watching the emergence of 4k with some interest. If my memory serves me, I saw a 4k TV the first time last fall. What is happening is very interesting, and gives me more confidence than ever about the future of PicoP. People will prefer portability over high-resolution.

Whenever I see 4K televisions displayed, I try to take a look. When I imagine one in my living room, I don't get all that excited about it. I haven't seen much of the content that I watch on a 4K TV yet. I don't think it will particularly enhance the experience. (they play some trailers from "House of Cards")

When I look at a 4K display of video content that is common now, I get frustrated. I'm sure it's because they flash to the next scene while I'm still absorbing detail from the picture. The 4K display shows more in a picture than I can absorb. The scenes progress from one to another faster than I can take them in.

When I see 4K pictures, I want to study the pictures - I'm not looking at it for the reasons I tune into regular video.

I watch video to see the story, to be involved in it, to be entertained, to laugh or learn. 4K doesn't enhance that.

The VALUE QUESTION -- why do I want a display?

4K Display Value

I want a display to see the CONTENT that is being presented to me. It doesn't have to dazzle me -- when I watch video I'm watching it to experience the story, it makes me laugh, it appeals to my emotions -- I'm not there to study the resolution of the display. I will gain little if anything from 4K resolution when I'm watching the kind of content I currently enjoy.

If we change the kind of content, and show more still pictures, detailed information, and slow the scenes, I think 4K may gain some legs. When current filming techniques are used, I get frustrated - because I'm looking at additional details of a scene and it flashes to a new one.

PicoP Display Value

PicoP's value is in its portability. It's at the near sweet-spot for resolution -- we can see the content well, and enjoy the content for the reasons we enjoy it with an immersive "big screen" display -- with a portable pocket-sized package.

SHARED experience. The display from PicoP is big enough to have a shared media experience with others. We WANT that.

Portability: We carry little computer/communication/media devices around with us. We like them a lot. More than a Billion of them are sold annually. PicoP is the portable accessory (currently) and future embedded solution that makes them significantly more valuable.

Bigger Screen, smaller device: There are two value criteria that mobile companies know Everyone wants a BIGGER screen with their portable device, and they also want the device that has it to be SMALLER. These are very inconsistent desires that are perfectly consistent when PicoP is available.

In my own home, I will use the PicoPro over my higher-resolution television if I'm more comfortable in a different place. Higher resolution isn't worth the 13 steps it takes to get from the comfort of my bed to the alternate comfort of my living room.

Ecosystem Readiness

4K ecosystem isn't ready.

The current state of 4K TV must be frustrating to 4K screen brands -- there is so little content for them that it makes little sense to purchase one unless the television you are using now breaks or is destroyed. It took a decade for traditional HDTV to come down in price this far. Yesterday at a Walmart, I saw a 20% price rollback on a 4K TV (amazing display, I must admit!). You don't discount things that are seeing huge demand, not by that much. There isn't even a player I could find that plays content in 4K or any media to play on one if you had it. I think I saw a DVD player (very expensive) that would up-scale traditional DVD media. I suspect trying to divide each pixel into four pieces and show it will cause some funky looking video.

PicoP ecosystem is ready to go.

Virtually every mobile phone sold now has screen-mirroring capabilities, either wireless or through mini-HDMI connections (and soon with USB-C).

Content is widely available -- people are "cutting the cord" and going with internet and mobile deliverable content.

Wireless Carriers are Ready: they are primed with advertising, and mobile content. ATT bought DirecTV for it's content and content delivery, Verizon purchased AOL for it's video advertising capabilities. (Verizon and ATT see Huge Opportunity for Mobile Video)

I think we're onto the sleeper investment of a lifetime.

technological leaps

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

PCMAG - Top Ten Projectors of 2015

PCMAG

Celluon PicoPro listed first.

The Celluon PicoPro ($379.99) is one of the most portable projectors on the planet. It weighs just 7 ounces complete with batteries, and it's small enough to fit comfortably in a shirt pocket. It lacks some features that are common for pico projectors, like the ability to show images stored in memory. However, it more than makes up for that by letting you easily project images from a cell phone or tablet, and it offers some neat tricks of its own, including eliminating the need to focus. Most important, it offers enough to make it our Editors' Choice pico projector.