Though replacing a big-screen TV in the living room with a projector is getting easier, your options are more limited if you want to take movie nights out to the patio or watch a show at camp. The latest to add to a growing number of portable all-in-one media hubs is Philips, with the PicoPix MaxTV.
The DLP projection unit comes with a four-channel (RGGB) light source and native 1080p resolution, with a throw ratio of 1.2:1 for up to 120 diagonal inches on a wall, screen or outdoor projection sheet. There's support for 100 percent of the Rec.709 color space, and 1,000:1 contrast is on tap.
Philips says that the unit is capable of "Xtreme brightness" but an official rating of 900 ANSI lumens (a 15 percent improvement over the company's PicoPix Max mobile projector, but the same as Xgimi's Halo+) could mean that you're still going to have to reserve watch parties for dimmed house lights or after dark sessions. Though the company has included a real-time sensor that will automatically adjust the brightness depending on surrounding light conditions, which should help viewers get the best picture quality available.
Bluetooth 5.0 and 802.11ac Wi-Fi are included, the system runs Android TV for access to thousands of entertainment apps – including Disney Plus, Amazon Prime and Netflix – and two professionally tuned 12-watt speakers pump out sounds. If you'd rather feed content in from elsewhere, the projector can be cabled to a media source over HDMI.
The integrated 21,000-mAh Li-ion battery is good for an impressive four hours of per-charge viewing, which is bumped up to 10 hours if the unit is used as a Bluetooth speaker only. Users can also opt to output sounds wirelessly to an external BT speaker, or cable the unit up to the living room sound system over 3.5-mm jack and SPDIF outputs. Included Chromecast caters for screen mirroring from any Android, iOS, Windows or MacOS device.
Elsewhere, the MaxTV features digital zoom with autofocus, four corner correction and auto keystone for placement flexibility, and its light source is reckoned good for up to 30,000 hours.
The PicoPix MaxTV portable projector is available from November 5 for US$899.99. The video below has more.
Philips has also added another portable projector to its lineup, billed as the first in a new family of units designed as companions to smartphones.
The pocket-friendly GoPix 1 stands just 0.71 inches (18 mm) high and weighs in at 0.54 lb (245 g), rocks the latest TI DLP Cinema chip for up to 75 diagonal inches at 854 x 480 pixel resolution, its internal battery can manage up to two hours of projection before needing to be topped up, but a power bank connected over USB-C can keep the movie rolling, and audio is output through a single 3-W speaker.
There are no wireless capabilities included here (which isn't too much of a surprise given the price point), so you'll need to cable the unit up to a source device over USB-C or HDMI.
The GoPix 1 goes on sale from November 20 for $299.99, and comes supplied with a tripod, cables and a remote.