3M MPro120

Introduction

The 3M MPro120 is a second generation pico projector. Its older sibling, the MPro110, was one of the original pico projectors, which I’m considering 1st generation. The latest pico projector from 3M is the MPro150 (3rd generation).

The 3M MPro120 is a fine example of a pico projector. It’s handsome, has a small form factor and is battery powered. The only reason it isn’t the quintessential pico projector is due to the lack of internal memory.

I reviewed the MPro120 along side the Optoma PK102 and the AAXA M1+ and draw comparisons between them often, so you may want to read those reviews as well (as soon as they are posted, that is!).

Package Contents

MPro120
Internal Battery
Mini Tripod
VGA + 3.5mm audio to miniHDMI-like connector
Composite Video + Stereo RCA connectors to miniHDMI-like connector
International Power Adapter with multiple plugs
Three Female-to-Female RCA connectors
Carry pouch
Product Warranty and Safety Guide
Quick Start Guide

Look & Feel

I like the look of this projector very much. It is has elegant rounded sides, artful grill pattern (for speakers and heat dissipation), nicely integrated controls along the top and a great feeling rubbery finish. It is still small enough to have a wow-factor and just heavy enough to be able to sit by itself. Some projectors, like the Optoma PK102, are so light you have to set something heavy on top to keep them in place against the force of the cable.

The controls on top look kind of like an iPod control wheel, except that it doesn’t spin and the buttons are fixed. Up and Down are Volume, right is Battery Check and left is Brightness (High/Low). Pushing the center for about 2 seconds turns the projector on and off.

The controls are very simple and all work well. The easy-to-understand symbols are lit from the bottom, so they are very easy to see even in total darkness. I wish that you didn’t have to hold the on/off button down so long, but that is a minor nit and all the other buttons react instantly.

The focus wheel is on the front, next to the lens, and works well. I did have to look at the front each time, just to make sure I wasn’t going to accidentally touch the lens, but I’m sure I would get used to that quickly. Also, because it is near the lens, it is also very easy to see in the dark.

There is a regular size tripod mount on the bottom. The power and A/V inputs are on the back.

Case

The included case is a small leather-like pouch. It will project the projector against dust and minor scratches, but offers little in the way of protection against drops or rough handling. It also doesn’t have room for any cables or other accessories.

Tripod

The included desktop tripod is great. It has three flexible feet and can be bent easily, but is firm enough to hold its shape once you let go.The feet are rubber, so they stick quite well to most surfaces. It has a regular-size mounting screw and a textured pad to hold the projector securely in place. There is a little clip on the side, but I’m not quite sure what it is for.

Cables and Connectors

The A/V input is a miniHDMI input, at least in terms of the physical connector. I tried using my MacBook Pro with an HDMI adapter and an HDMI to miniHDMI cable, but could not get the projector working at 640×480 or 800×600. I also tried my Sony SR-1 HD Camcorder with an HDMI to miniHDMI cable, but didn’t see anything. This leads me to believe that it might be a custom connector that only leverages the miniHDMI form-factor, but not its functionality.

There is a cable that has a VGA and a 3.5mm audio plug at one end and the miniHDMI on the other. This is very clever and worked great.
For most other sources, there is a cable with three male RCA-style connectors on one end and the miniHDMI on the other. There is also a set of three female-to-female RCA adapters, so you can connect to things like DVD players or to cables that come from portable DVD players.

There is no iPod/iPhone connector. Bummer.

Sound

There are two built-in speakers, but I actually thought it was just one until I read the spec sheet again. The idea of getting stereo output from a pico projector does not make that much sense to me. Since it is radiating from a single point, unless you have it sitting right in front of you, there would really be no way to experience stereo.

3M has place a speaker on each side, which does make sense, because that way you can hear no matter where you are in relation to the projector. There are four sound levels you can easily to control from the top-mounted buttons.

You can read the measurements in the Performance section, but my bottom line is that the sound from the MPro120 is just not loud enough. It ends up competing with the fan and just doesn’t rise enough above for my taste.

Fan

The MPro120 has a fan. It starts with no fan, but as it warms up, the fan starts and then increases in speed (and therefore volume). If you compare it to any larger projector, it may seem silent. But, if you compare it to Optoma’s PK102, which has no moving parts at all, it may seem loud.

Temperature

This projector never did get very hot to the touch. You can read the data below for yourself, but subjectively, it’s not hot.

Throw

The MPro120 has a shorter throw than the other two projectors I have tested so far. Throw is calculated by measuring the distance from the lens to the screen and dividing it by the width. So, the greater the throw ratio, the further back the projector has to be to achieve a given image size. In practical terms, it simply means that this projector make a bigger image than the others if they are the same distance from the screen. For pico projectors, I think 3M made the right call.

Projected Image

Finally, the projected image; unquestionably the most important property of any projector. Pico projectors are just not very bright. This is the Achilles heel of all picos and will be hard to solve because of the small size, power consumption and heat generation issues.

Subjectively, the image is not very bright. It’s much more apparent when watching a movie or a TV show and isn’t too bad when looking at PowerPoint. To get a big image (say over 40”), the room needs to be DARK. Not just movie theatre dark with all the lighted isles and emergency exit signs, but dark like you can’t see your hand in front of you. Even then, it always feels like you want to make it about twice as bright in order to get all the details.

The 3M MPro120. Click an image for a high-resolution version. Click anywhere in the image to close or click the next/previous buttons at the bottom of the image.

Performance

Brightness

For these measurements, I used a digital light meter set to Lux. I noticed that the values for the center of the screen were much different from those at the edges, so decided to take a pattern of measurements.

Initially I tried to take these very close, but by moving the light meter even a tiny bit, the readings would change. So, I backed up until the projected screen size was 39.37″ (1 meter).

I projected a plain, white screen (a blank PowerPoint slide).

Throw

The MPro120 threw a 32” image (diagonal) when placed 39” from the screen. I didn’t realize that throw was distance divided by width when I did my measurements, so I’m going to need to check again. Wikipedia article on Throw http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Throw_(projector) The “Diagonal” throw is: 1.2:1. Or, for every inch of screen, you need to move back 1.2 inches. The Optoma PK102 and AAXA M1+, on the other hand, have a “Diagonal” throw ratio of 1.5:1. You have to get further back to get the same size image.

Temperature

I did two sets of measurements, both after the projector had been running for at least 10 minutes. I tested all around the projector (except the lens itself) and recorded the highest reading. The first test showed 81 degrees, the second was 83 degrees. My finger measured 92 degrees, in comparison.

Fan

I find the fan noticeable if the room is quiet, but my digital sound meter only registers it at its very lowest possible measurement of 50dB. See the next section on Sound for more details.

Sound

I constructed a box, added some sound deadening material and also some sound absorption material inside. I made a hole large enough for the sound meter sensor to poke through. I think put the sound meter on a little tripod and did measurements as a 10 second average. The sound level in the box with nothing inside was lower than the sensitivity of my meter. The lowest it can read is 50dB, which is still quite audible to me, but only if the room is quiet.

There are also two options for weighting the measurements, called A and C. A is designed for background noise and C is for music. I’m not sure yet which one I think is the most representative, so I’m taking and publishing both for now.

MPro120 on, no sound from the speaker: C 50, A LOW (i.e. no measurement possible).

For the speaker measurement, I used an iPhone application called White Noise. It allows you to play many different sounds, like raindrops, etc. The one I chose was simply White Noise. I turned the volume up to maximum on the iPhone, in the application and on the projector to take this measurement.

Results: C 93dB, A 94dB.

Power

For this measurement, I used a device called the Kill-A-Watt. I’m in the US, so voltage is set to 110. I first remove the battery on projectors that have one, like the MPro120. Next, I set to maximum brightness and show a pure white screen (a blank PowerPoint slide) from the VGA input.

Result: 4 watts

Pictures

I’ve taken high-resolution pictures of every included item. These are my own pictures, not company provided product shots. Click to see a high-resolution version.

Video

Conclusion and Recomendation

The 3M MPro120 is a good pico projector. It has most of the qualities I look for in a pico projector: small size and battery power. It also has the same limitations: brightness, sound level and quality, and buzzing fan.

In a fantasy world, ideally it would have higher brightness (as would every pico projector out there), louder speakers, a quieter fan, internal memory and an iPod connector.

The MPro150 adds internal memory and is reported to be brighter, so those wish list items can be purchased today, if they are important to you. I will have to wait and see about the fan and speakers.

In conclusion, I feel like this is a well engineered product, one that will work very well for you, as long as you are aware of its limitations.

Here are some links to other reviews of the MPro120:

• 3M MPro120 Pocket Projector Review | Geeky Gadgets – Were have been lucky enough to get our hands on of of 3M’s pocket projectors, the 3M MPro120 Pocket Projector, and we have been testing out out over the last week to see how well this handheld projector performed.

• Review: 3M MPro 120 pico-projector – But I have a feeling that in six months there’s going to be one of these that’s even better, and this one will be a hundred dollars cheaper. A great little device, but at the moment, a bit ahead of its time. MPro120 at 3M.

Tagged as: 3M, MPro120