Optoma PK102

Introduction

The Optoma PK102 is a second generation pico projector, just like the 3M MPro120 I reviewed previously. The PK102 has an older sibling, the PK101 and a newer sibling, the PK201.

An interesting point-of-fact is that the PK100 and PK101 are actually exactly the same projector! The difference is that the PK101 includes the iPod connection kit and one additional battery. This was done so that it could be offered in the Apple Store as a complete solution.

The PK102 is a step up from the first generation PK100/101 by adding VGA connectivity and an internal media player with 4GB of memory.

This is the first and only quintessential pico projector that I have seen. By that, I mean it is: 1) tiny (pico size), 2) has a battery and 3) has a media player built-in. I admit this is arbitrary on my part, but does seem to define the 2nd and third generation of pico projectors fairly well.

Read on for the complete review! Since I had this projector along with the 3M MPro 120 and AAXA M1+, I try to give an idea of relative performance. Also check out the videos, which include side-by-side shots of all three projectors.

Package Contents

I’ve taken high-resolution pictures of every included item. These are my own pictures, not company provided product shots. The benefit is that I will show everything. The downside is that they are not as pretty.

* PK102
* Internal Battery
* Power Adapter (International, but mine came with a US plug)
* 3.5mm AV to RCA female
* USB to Universal Projector input cable
* VGA to Universal Projector input cable
* DEXIM iPod adapter + cable
* Case
* QuickStart Guide
* ArcSoft License Code for the software

Look & Feel

The PK102 is a very nice looking projector. It has clean lines and a high-tech look because of the black and silver contrast. It is the smallest and lightest of the projectors I’ve tested so far. It is so light, in fact, I had to put something heavy on top so pressure from the cable didn’t make the projector itself twist!

The power button is recessed and black, so I found I missed it on the first couple of tries each time I tried to turn it on or off. It does react quickly and doesn’t make me wait like the power button on 3M’s MPro120 does.

The focus wheel is not good. It has a short range and is so sensitive that I was unable to pull my finger off the wheel after focusing without bumping it slightly and pulling the image slightly out-of-focus again. Very frustrating! The placement of the focus wheel is nice, on the side and at the front of the projector. I never had trouble finding it in the dark.

The main control is also a wheel and worked pretty well. It doesn’t spin, but rather rotates part way in one direction or the other and then pops back to the center when you let go. To select, you press the wheel, like clicking a button. Because the PK102 has internal memory, there are many more functions on this projector than the MPro120.

Normally a controller requires four states to manipulate an interface. Up, Down, Select and Back/Exit. Because the PK102 only has three states, it works a little bit differently than you might expect. To change the volume, for example, once you select Volume, the wheel then turns the volume up or down and clicking the wheel takes you back. There is no cancel or accept. Overall, I think Optoma did a good job of compressing all except power and focus into this single controller.

Case

The included case is a small zipper pouch made of a fuzzy material. It is not designed for really rough handling, but it does provide a layer of foam protection. I would guess it provides a bit more protection compared to the MPro120’s case and also the peace-of-mind from a zipper, rather than a drawstring. But, it doesn’t look or feel quite as nice, to me.

It also doesn’t have room for any accessories. Because the PK102 has internal storage, you could actually get away with carrying nothing but the projector itself, so again, this is not really a complaint.

Tripod

This Optoma projector does not include a tripod. There is a mini tripod mount on the bottom, though. I believe an adapter is normally part of the kit, but my review sample didn’t include one. It is hard to complain, because if you look at the bottom of the projector, it would be very hard to fit a regular size tripod mount there.

Cables and Connectors

There are two inputs on the PK102: a 3.5mm AV in and a custom connector that looks like a cross between miniHDMI and the iPod connector. I’ve tried to find the actual name of it, but haven’t found it yet. Optoma calls it the “Universal,” so I will too.

The Composite video and the Dexim iPod adapter come in through the 3.5mm AV connector with included cables. USB and VGA both come in to the Universal port, with cables supplied for each.

The USB cable allows you to mount the drive just like you would an SD card or a USB thumb drive. (more on this below)

DEXIM iPod adapter
This adapter warrants special attention since it is packaged separately from the PK102, but is sold that way at the Apple Store and other places, I believe. It is model DWA010 and appears to work with pretty much any iPod that can output video. It does specifically exclude the iPod shuffle, iPod nano 1st and 2nd Gen.

It also says it will charge the iPod, but I don’t see how this is possible. It is super light and you have to use a special USB cable to charge it, which is not included. I think the manual is just shared with their other, larger version, which does include an internal battery.

Performance was fine. When you plug it into the iPod (iPhone, in my case), a little blue light comes on. Then, using the 2.5mm to 3.5mm cables, you can connect it directly to the projector.

There is a little wheel on the cable, like you might have on a cell phone headset to adjust the volume. I haven’t tried it (yet).

Sound

There is a tiny speaker inside the projector. Even with total silence, though, it is simply not strong enough to produce reasonable sound. By reasonable, I’m saying that trying to watch a movie with the projector sitting right next to you, it is hard to hear. The PK102 is better than the 3M MPro120, though, because it isn’t trying to compete with noise from the fan.

I would recommend some kind of external speaker(s).

Fan

The PK102 has no fan! In fact, it has no moving parts at all, making it completely silent. Fantastic!

Temperature

This projector never got very hot to the touch. One intersting thing I noticed is that the silver band around the projector might be acting as a kind of heat-sink, because it is quite a bit hotter than the rest of the case. If so, that’s very clever!

Internal Media player

When I use the supplied USB to Universal cable and connect the PK102 to my MacBook Pro, a device (specifically a Faraday FIE7020 Media chip) mounts as a 3.97GB drive with two partitions.

* PK102 – 3.86GB 121.8MB used
* NO NAME – 98.7MB 14.6MB used

The PK102 partition has the following folders:
* Optoma Video Encoder
* Photo
* Users Manual
* Video

The “NO NAME” volume has what are probably Firmware images.

Not sure (yet) if it charges while on USB or not.

The Optoma Video Encoder is Windows only. I still need to test the internal media player.

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 PK102 has a “regular” throw ratio. The projector needs to be back 1.5 inches for each 1 inch of (diagonal) screen size. I prefer 3M’s choice of a shorter throw, which is 1.2 inches for every inch.

Temperature

The first time I measured, I found a high of 103 degrees. The second time, 105 degrees on the silver band. This is clearly the hottest of the three (MPro120 and AAXA M1+), but not burning hot, by any means.

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.

PK102 on, no sound from the speaker: too low to measure (an inaudible subjectively as well).

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 72dB, A 72dB.

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 PK102. Next, I set to maximum brightness and show a pure white screen (a blank PowerPoint slide) from the VGA input.

Result: 5 watts

Pictures

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.

Video

This video shows the PK102, the MPro120 and the M1+ together.

Projected Image

It turns out I have exactly the same thing to say as I did for the MPro120. The differences are in throw ratio and the focus knob issue. Look to the videos and the data for more fine-graned comparisons

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.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The Optoma PK102 is the quintessential pico projector: it’s light, tiny, includes a battery, speaker and internal memory for photos and video. You can easily hold it in your hand and do some quick projections. As with all pico projectors, I wish for a brighter picture and louder sound. The focus wheel is the only significant issue I have with this picoprojector.

In conclusion, I really like this projector. It is the one to grab when you want to do anything fun, like digital graffiti or project content from your iPod. And, can be used for serious work as well.

Tagged as: optoma, pk102