And the Award for Best Use of Pico Projection Goes To….
I still don’t understand pico projectors. With the best pico projector available, you only get 80 lumens and a whopping 75 minutes of battery life. Sure you could do a quick presentation (to about 6 people), or show off your family trip photos at a party (annoying….neat- but annoying), or drive your cat nuts, but these things really don’t have any use other than novelty. I suppose you could use it on a desktop for scaled-down projectionmapping testing, but there are plenty of other options with more power and connectivity. I never saw a decent use for them until this:
Speed Of Light from Nexus Productions on Vimeo.
Well done Nexus Productions! Nexus is a boutique production and animation company with a penchant for trans-media storytelling and filmmaking. They’ve garnered such hits as an Oscar nominated short, Grammy nominated and MTV Award winning music videos, and Cannes Grand Prix, Gold Lions, and Black D&AD pencil winning commercials.
We whole-heartedly disagree. Pico projectors are starting to get good enough specs and will completely change how we all share and consume our mobile media. They aren’t a replacement for a television or conference room projector. They are a fantastic way to break free from your phone’s tiny display.
I’m just saying I don’t really have a use for a projector of that size and features. If I have something that is so important on my phone as to ‘blow it up’ for more than 3 people to see, I (personally) would more than likely have the technology to make that happen in a much more effective way than 80 lumens on a wall. Call me a purist. There will be a place for this type of thing, but I worry that the cost of integrating this into a phone/pda/tablet technology that’s already going leaps ahead (in terms of display quality and size) will eventually mean I’m paying for something I won’t ever use. Like an iPod. or 4G. or a 70″ LCD screen. or……
We’re already at the point where I can share very detailed graphic info via my tablet/laptop/phone on much more robust solutions. I just can’t see where a pico would be of use to me. Except, of course, for seeing cool productions like the one above.
In 2010 I was not so hot on Pico Projectors and wrote an article entitled Pico Projectors and the Perfection of Flesh Tones. http://tuckerstuesday.typepad.com/tuckerstuesday/2010/01/pico-projectors-and-the-perfection-of-flesh-tones.html.
This year I did get to see a number of mainstream projection companies show off some applications of Pico (as in cell phone sized or cell add on device) and Macro Pico units (which are tiny versions of their low end projectors). The Quality was so-so but a huge step up from 2010. I can see a lot of creative ideas going into place for odd space digital signage using projection mapping and 3D effect.
Am I willing to invest my portfolio in these units ? Perhaps a little but only a toe dip.