Optoma has announced the U.S. launch of one of the world’s smallest, battery-powered, ultra-short-throw triple-laser projectors. It’s an extraordinary device that’s capable of beaming bright, beautiful and vibrant Full HD resolution big-screen pictures to almost any surface, anywhere you go.
The new projector is called the Optoma Photon Go, and it’s an incredibly compact little thing too, with dimensions of just 252 x 157 x 62 millimetres, available at a relatively low price tag that should mean it’s affordable for many.
Optoma says the Photo Go is a tri-laser entertainment hub, and that gives a big hint about the triple-laser light source at its heart, ensuring much more vibrant and realistic images. Rather than using a single beam of light paired with a colour wheel, as traditional projectors do, it has three separate light sources for red, green and blue, which are combined to project the colours in a way that more closely resembles reality.
So you’re getting high-quality, accurate visuals and they come at a pretty decent level of brightness too. Optoma rates its light output at 650 ISO lumens, and while you’ll struggle to see the image properly in broad daylight, it should be more than good enough if you’re able to draw the curtains or use something else to block those rays of sunshine.
The Photon Go can project images at up to 100-inches diagonally when it’s placed just 10-inches away from a vertical surface, with an aspect ratio of 0.18:1. It covers 110% of the BT.2020 colour gamut, and has a dynamic contrast of 2,500,000:1, with support for the HDR10 and HLG high dynamic range formats. The only downside, perhaps, is that the resolution is limited to 1080p, so no 4K thrills on show here.
All in all it sounds pretty powerful and capable, but there is another caveat in terms of its battery. This provides obvious advantages with regard to portability, so you can easily bring it out into the garden on those warm summer evenings, take it with you when you go camping, bring it to a friend’s house etc. However, Optoma says the battery is only good for around 1.5 hours of viewing, which is a tad short if you were hoping to watch something like Schindler’s List. That said, you can always bring a power pack or two with you to keep it topped up.
Other features include autofocus and auto-keystone correction for simple setting up, and the projector comes with the Google TV platform and WiFi capabilities. There’s an “approved” version of Netflix too, as well as other streaming apps like Disney+, Amazon Prime Video and YouTube, and you’ll also be able to stream content from your phone using Google Cast.
The Optoma Photon Go also has a HDMI cable for those who want to hook up a console, but the input lag of 27.1 ms might be a bit too slow for more serious gamers. As for the audio, it pumps out a decent 20-watts of Dolby Atmos sound, and there’s an S/PDIF output for connecting an external speaker system.
Optoma’s head of marketing Maria Repole said the Photon Go is aimed at consumers who want a high-quality yet flexible entertainment device that doesn’t compromise on visuals, sound, performance or portability.
“Whether in a living room, college room dorm, small apartment, at the gym or on the go, we introduced the Photon Go as an ideal solution for stunning entertainment whenever and wherever you need it,” she enthused.
One of the best things about the Optoma Photon Go is the price tag. It’s one of the most affordable triple-laser UST projectors that money can buy, and it can be had for just $999 at retailers such as Amazon and B&H Photo from today.
The Optoma Photon Go has been available in Europe and the U.K. since February, where it’s priced at €799 and £899.
