Amazing 720p Micro Projector - $379 shipped (Aaxa P300)

[Kaido]

MSRP $499, usually on sale for $419:

http://www.aaxatech.com/products/p300_pico_projector.htm

This is a really amazing little projector. I have the 500-lumen model from Viewsonic (PLED-W500, same chip from what I can tell), which usually runs at 300 lumens in Eco mode. 300 lumens is bright enough in a very dark room, which this projector requires. My buddy just picked one up and we fired up some HD movies - very impressed with it, just like mine in Eco mode at 300 lumens. Even at 160 lumens on the optional battery, it was still a great picture. Also this sucker is TINY! Like crazy tiny, with a huge screen output!

Projector in hand

Projector on wall

Normally I'm not a big fan of tiny cheap projectors because they're all crappy in general, but this is a beast. From what I can tell, it uses the exact same chip as my $600 Viewsonic model (which I love to death), it just has less lumens. It has HDMI input and can also run off a battery for about an hour (you have to purchase that separately tho).

Remember! This is just like a flashlight - you need a very dark room for the colors to look good!!

Buy links:

Amazon: $379

http://www.amazon.com/KP-600-01-Proj...dp/B005Q2EGG6/

Walmart: $379

http://www.walmart.com/ip/AAXA-P300-...ector/22991400

$27 battery: (approximately 60 minutes of juice)

http://www.amazon.com/AAXA-Technolog.../dp/B00BIQJXXA

PDF Manual:

http://www.aaxatech.com/brochures/p300_brochure_final_pico_projector_micro.pdf

Specifications:

* 300 lumens (160 lumens on battery)
* 1280x800 (~720p) native resolution (can downrez 1080p very well - tested)
* Optional 60-minute battery
* HDMI, VGA (Mini-VGA), USB, MicroSD, AV (3.5mm jack)
* Onboard ARM CPU
* 5.9" x 3.8" x 1.5" (1.3 pounds)
* 1W (x2) Stereo Speakers + Headphone jack

In the box:

* Projector
* Tripod
* Composite AV cable
* VGA adapter cable
* Wall charger
* Remote control
* Battery not included

Basic screen sizes: (1.38 throw ratio)

Screen Diagonal (inches) vs Screen Distance (inches)

17" diagonal @ 20" away
25" diagonal @ 30" away
34" diagonal @ 40" away
42" diagonal @ 50" away
51" diagonal @ 60" away
59" diagonal @ 70" away
68" diagonal @ 80" away
76" diagonal @ 90" away

Youtube videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHzNCYU8ZGg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxkz-lozNNo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqvHHX7vYB4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ixBVmmPkRY

 

[Kaido]

Other notes:

You can mount this on a tripod if you'd like, or get a ceiling mount - Monoprice, Amazon, and eBay have plenty. As far as screens go, Monoprice, Amazon, and Tiger Direct have a great selection. I got my 100" motorized screen for like $160 online. I'd recommend a pull-down screen because they're cheaper and faster - the motorized drop looks cool the first few times you use it, but it's so much nicer just to be able to yank it down instantly when you want to watch a movie. A blank wall also works well. You can also make a DIY screen (check AVS Forum for Silver Flame, Light Fusion, and Mississippi Mud).

For speakers, Logitech has some nice 5.1 surround-sound units available. Monoprice also has some nice deals on 5.1 systems, just add a receiver. For playback, a Roku box is always a winner. WDTV Live Streaming is great too. There are plenty of inexpensive Bluray players that have apps for stuff like Youtube, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Streaming as well. I usually pick up cables from Monoprice or Amazon; Amazon has in-wall-rated 50-foot HDMI cables with support for the newest standards (3D, Ethernet, Audio Return) for $19 right now.

 

[Cardio]

Interesting, thanks.

 

[Kaido]

Interesting, thanks.

For the price, it's extremely interesting. One of the reasons I am a huge fan of LED HD projectors is because they have amazing contrast. The low number of lumens stink, but in a dark room, it looks fine - and the contrast makes it worth it! For example, in Ironman, you can see all of the shades of gray in the white clouds, as well as all of the shades of African-American skin - typically the clouds blowout white and darker skin tones tend to blend together, but with the great contrast, it gives an extremely clear picture. I've been really pleased with my Viewsonic model and I'd probably just buy this Aaxa model and save a few hundred bucks if I had the choice again.

 

[Sonikku]

Better keep it in the basement. 300 lumens is nothing.

 

[Gillbot]

It's been cheaper:
http://slickdeals.net/f/5991328-AAX...y-369-free-shipping-other-models-also-on-sale
http://slickdeals.net/f/6087990-10-off-AAXA-Technologies-refurbished-pico-projectors
http://slickdeals.net/f/5917696-Newegg-portable-projectors-deals-additional-10-off

@ 379, I wonder if they are shipping refurbs

 

[dodger2020]

It's been cheaper:
http://slickdeals.net/f/5991328-AAX...y-369-free-shipping-other-models-also-on-sale
http://slickdeals.net/f/6087990-10-off-AAXA-Technologies-refurbished-pico-projectors
http://slickdeals.net/f/5917696-Newegg-portable-projectors-deals-additional-10-off

@ 379, I wonder if they are shipping refurbs

One of the links you posted was refurb. One was less than a $2 difference. And the other was a limited time $50 (plus $20 battery too) discount. The OP here seems more like an across the board price drop.

 

[Gillbot]

One of the links you posted was refurb. One was less than a $2 difference. And the other was a limited time $50 (plus $20 battery too) discount. The OP here seems more like an across the board price drop.

Read my reply.... If you search, the $379 price is fairly common and with Amazon I didn't see if it said new or not. Hence my suspicion they MAY be refurbs.

 

[SimMike2]

Every single place in the world has an average of half a day with total light control. It is called "night."

 

[luv2liv]

somebody please hack this to have augmented reality onto the windshield while driving! would be awesome if i can see a map overlayed on top of the road.

 

[Kaido]

somebody please hack this to have augmented reality onto the windshield while driving! would be awesome if i can see a map overlayed on top of the road.

lol I was just talking with my buddy about shooting it out of his car today...I wanted to hookup Frogger on the road for the car next to us

 

[QueBert]

Every single place in the world has an average of half a day with total light control. It is called "night."

During summertime in Alaska it never gets dark, I'm sure there are other places like this too.

 

[Spelvin]

During winter in Alaska it never gets light... Yep still averages to 12 hours of light a day for a year...Plus who would want to be outside in Alaska during the winter!?

Thanks OP.

 

[Kaido]

During winter in Alaska it never gets light... Yep still averages to 12 hours of light a day for a year...Plus who would want to be outside in Alaska during the winter!?

Thanks OP.

Np - I was very impressed with it. I might order one for my elliptical machine - I've been trying to figure out if I want a TV or an iPad or a projector in front of it (Netflix is about the only thing that motivates me to exercise ). For $379, it's kind of hard to beat a monster-sized screen.

The quality was outstanding - in a dark room, 300 lumens + the crazy-good contrast of the LED DLP was fantastic. I took a look at the Dell M110, which appears to be the same model but from Dell, but the review say it has a noisy fan and uneven focus - didn't see either of those problems with the Aaxa model.

 

[Roland00Address]

During winter in Alaska it never gets light... Yep still averages to 12 hours of light a day for a year...Plus who would want to be outside in Alaska during the winter!?

Thanks OP.

It is called cabin fever, the better question is who would want to live in Alaska during the winter (I understand Summer, but the dead of winter for long periods would be too much).

 

[goobee]

the better question is who would want to live in Alaska during the winter

Um, maybe the people who have lived there for generations?

 

[EvilYoda]

Whoa, nice. I've been waiting for an "affordable" 720p pico projector. My application is not at home or the office, but rather a hotel room - could you guess at how a unit might hold up in the rigors of travel, OP? I could possibly keep it on me as I fly but I'd rather check it from place to place.

I travel 100% for work and would love to be able to watch a big screen when I'm on the road.

 

[Kaido]

Whoa, nice. I've been waiting for an "affordable" 720p pico projector. My application is not at home or the office, but rather a hotel room - could you guess at how a unit might hold up in the rigors of travel, OP? I could possibly keep it on me as I fly but I'd rather check it from place to place.

I travel 100% for work and would love to be able to watch a big screen when I'm on the road.

Should be fine, it felt like a pretty solid little unit when I played with it. Actually moreso than my Viewsonic, because the Aaxa is so much smaller. Like almost 1/3 the size! I'd say just get a nice padded case and make sure the case has room for the power & HDMI cables.

Seriously though, it's a beast. My experience with it was similar to the tiny Intel NUC computer - you just can't believe something so awesome is so small! It seemed to handle playback off the memory stick & USB well - my buddy hooked up his 500gb Seagate Wifi USB drive thing and it played movies off it just fine:

http://www.seagate.com/external-hard-drives/portable-hard-drives/wireless/seagate-satellite/

If you're traveling, I would say an awesome setup would be an Aaxa P300 projector and a Roku 3. The Roku 3 has a headphone jack on the remote, so you can turn any headphones into wireless headphones - so just bring along a pair of high-quality, compact in-ear earbuds & you've got a killer mobile home theater system! The Roku has wireless built-in so you can hop on a hotel's network and stream Netflix, Amazon, and Vudu movies, as well as hookup a USB drive directly and play back compatible movie formats off that. They have up to 2-terabytes in laptop-sized format that run off a single USB connection now ($149 iirc, and like $70 for a 1TB model). Or you can use your laptop with Plex to stream movies from your personal library. Lots of options.

 

[Zap]

If you're traveling, I would say an awesome setup would be an Aaxa P300 projector and a Roku 3... The Roku has wireless built-in so you can hop on a hotel's network and stream Netflix, Amazon, and Vudu movies, as well as hookup a USB drive directly and play back compatible movie formats off that.

That sounds like a totally sweet traveling setup! I want one, and I don't even travel much.

 

[KIAman]

That sounds like a totally sweet traveling setup! I want one, and I don't even travel much.

Or you could add some media and computing experience with this. Very tempting...

 

[Kaido]

My buddy tested some 1080p MKV's on his Aaxa P300 via a USB hard drive. Only issue was that the audio didn't work in some of them, but the video played fine & displayed as 1080p - smooth as butter for playback! I suspect it doesn't support 5.1 tracks or something and you probably just need a stereo track, or else it doesn't support DTS etc. due to licensing issues. Not really sure. I'm having a hard time finding detailed support information; the only thing the website lists is support for "MP4 / MP3 / WMA / OGG / WAV / AVI / BMP / JPG / GIF / TXT". So probably good for a basic media player, but if you want serious horsepower, get a WDTV Live Streaming or just use a laptop.

 

[TwiceOver]

Just me or are the Projector in hand and projector on wall pictures of two different projectors?

 

[Kaido]

Just me or are the Projector in hand and projector on wall pictures of two different projectors?

Here, I took a couple pictures:

http://i.imgur.com/wyC1nnh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/2nLYenY.jpg

It is really, really small. Like iPad Mini small, but 1.5" thick.

 

[EvilYoda]

Hmph...very tempting. The Roku 3 is a good suggestion with the remote/headphone output. I have a pair of nice Shure IEMs so the sound will be great.

I loaded up a portable hard drive before I left home with some TV shows and movies - I won't be back for quite some time so those will have to suffice, aside from Amazon Prime and whatever Netflix/Hulu accounts I sign up for.

Thanks for the response.

 

[alkemyst]

That sounds like a totally sweet traveling setup! I want one, and I don't even travel much.

Most hotels hardly have blackout ability this projector needs even at night.