Hasta La Gadget!

We’ve seen some strange and interesting projects hit Kickstarter over the years. A new project has turned up that reminds me of the slide projectors from elementary school combined with my trusty Viewmaster. The project is called Projecteo.

Projecteo is a tiny projector that shines your Instagram images on the wall or other surface. The Instagram photos have to be turned into tiny little wheels of 35 mm slide film to be used in the projector. The tiny projector would have adjustable focus, and the projector wheels can be removed and replaced allowing you to see more images.

The team behind the project says that it works best in the dark, and they’ve been able to shine images up to 2 1/2 feet wide in a completely dark room. Since slide film doesn’t use pixels, the images are just as clear as the originals. It appears the power for the little projector comes from three little circular watch batteries.

You will be able to select the pictures you want to place into your slide wheel using an application. The photos would be sent to a developer in the US the converts them to 35mm film to make the wheel. The entire Projecteo device is designed to be easy to disassemble and hackable. The first 50 backers will be able to get their own Projecteo and create wheel for $15. After the first 50 are sold, another 150 units will be available for $20. The standard price for the device and one wheel on Kickstarter will be $25. The project is seeking $18,000 and has raised a little more than $1000 with 34 days to go.

Projecteo is like a tiny Viewmaster projector for Instagram is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

NEC has announced a new digital projector aimed at movie theaters with small screens called the NC900C. This digital cinema projector uses Texas Instruments DLP technology. The projector offers 2K DCI-compliant cinema quality meaning it has a brightness rating of 14-foot lumens for screens up to 30 feet wide.

NEC says that the projector uses the new Texas Instruments S2K chip making it the most compact 2K DCI-certified digital cinema projector on the market. It also two terabytes of RAID5 storage via a storage server and has an integrated Media Block. The projector uses a three-chip DMD reflection method.

The native resolution of the projector is 2048 x 1080, and it uses dual 350 W lamp bulbs. The projector also has multiple bayonet lens options allowing for easy installation and motorized zoom, focus, and shift capabilities. The projector is 3-D compatible and can be mounted on the floor or the ceiling with no exhaust system required.

The projector has dual HDSDI 3G interfaces and has advanced networking features. The director is cooled by air and has a dust-preventing electrostatic filter. The projector weighs 97 pounds and is expected to be available in December for $29,999 including the projector, lens, and IMS system.

NEC NC900C Digital Cinema Projector for small theaters is $30,000 is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

When we talk about pico projectors, this particular niche market seems to be having trouble of breaking into mainstream consciousness. The thing is, how many of us actually need to make presentations to a small group of people in a room at a whim? If that is the case, carrying a pico projector makes sense, but a tablet would also be able to serve its purpose – albeit less effectively than having information on your presentation projected onto the wall or a viewable surface. The thing is, pico projectors lack the brightness level and battery life to last the distance, and the AAXA P300 pico projector intends to address at least one of the issues mentioned.

For starters, the AAXA P300 pico projector will feature a 300 lumens brightness which places it at the higher echelon for its device segment, not to mention carrying the ability to throw out images and videos at a far higher resolution count that most of the other pico projectors. I am referring to a 720p resolution, although its 75 minute battery life does leave plenty to be desired despite being in line of expectations for a pico projector. Still, it can be said to be an achievement considering how the brightness level has increased.

At point of publishing, the AAXA P300 from AAXA Technologies is deemed to be the “world’s brightest battery-powered pico projector” – anyone out there willing to dispute this statement? Share your thoughts in the comments below. What about the hardware specifications crammed into the AAXA P300? Well, it will come with a revolutionary new pico optical engine that does 300 peak lumens at a high definition (HD) resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels, running on Texas Instruments’ DLP Technology.

Not only that, the Vibrant Color LED technology which is used to deliver dazzling color quality also touts an operating life of over 15,000 hours, where is said to be able to generate a viewing experience of up to 120”. A robust ARM processor runs underneath the hood, allowing it to handle high resolution 720p video, picture, and picture slide-show playback. We would advise you to hook this up to a power supply if you intend to watch movies with it, in addition to connecting a decent sound system since the dual 1-watt speakers would not be able to fill up a room with tub-thumping audio. So, any takers?

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[ AAXA P300 pico projector comes with superior specifications copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

A group of engineers from Disney Research have crafted a new method to create interactive objects using 3D printers. Referred to as “printed optics,” the lure of this technology is the ability to transform inert 3D models into interactive subjects by embedding 3D printed light piping into an object with minimal electronic components. Illuminated by LEDs and mobile projectors, this new breakthrough in optics has the potential to replace LCD and LED screens to display information on smaller interactive devices. If you find yourself scratching your head trying to visualize such a mojo in action, then check out the video after the break. It will enlighten you.

Continue reading Seeing is believing, Disney crafts 3D printed optics (video)

Filed under: Misc, Peripherals, Alt

Seeing is believing, Disney crafts 3D printed optics (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Oct 2012 21:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[CEATEC 2012] Panasonic demoed a laser projector at CEATEC 2012 that is the world’s thinnest at 7.5mm thick. For comparison, an iPhone 5–the world’s “thinnest” smartphone–is 7.6 mm thick. Pocket-sized projectors aren’t a huge market at the moment, but when they get small enough and cheap enough to fit into standard smartphones, then their usage will explode. Panasonic’s projector is an important step on the way to having a projector in your pocket.  (more…)

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