Re: Testing the Microvision SHOWWX Laser Pico Projector
Here's a quick write up for tonight. I'll elaborate and post more in the near future. Please post any questions you have, while I have access to both units.
Initial Impressions of AXAA L1: Although the AXAA L1 has a nice metal body, it immediately seems twice as heavy and twice as thick as the SHOWWX. This turns out to not be quite true when you add the metal VGA adapter to the SHOWWX, but if you plan on connecting this to your iPOD then there is no doubt which is the 'slimmer' device. It's very nice having a keypad on top to control the unit without a computer, however, the menu system is sloppy and unintuitive. Worst (to me), pressing any of the buttons produces a loud "ding!" button noise which I don't think can be disabled. One time, the OS even froze on me, and I was unable to restart the device (I had to wait for the battery to run out). The lasers instantly turn on, but the OS takes about 15 seconds to 'boot' up.
It's really nice how the L1 has all these extra ports on the side (and can plug directly into a PC for video output). To me, this was one of the huge downsides of the SHOWWX design.
You can see the lasers and some optics going inside through the vents.
Heat and Noise: The AXAA L1 has a tiny fan inside and a large number of vents. This seems to allow it to remain cooler than the SHOWWX with its metal VGA adapter (without the VGA adapter, the SHOWWX is much cooler). The fan isn't noisy at all, but it does produce 'some' noise, which you might notice when switching from a completely silent SHOWWX.
Accessories and Ports: The AXAA L1 comes with a USB thumb drive which can be plugged into the unit to access/transfer videos and photos, however, this feels somewhat unnecessary given the popularity of thumb drives these days.
General Comments on Image Quality: The AXAA L1 produces a smooth picture with no visible pixel borders in the image. The DLP chip produces a definite rainbow effect, but there is no other discernible frame refreshing (unlike the SHOWWX, which suffers from the same discomforts of any 60 Hz CRT monitor). To me personally, the rainbow effect on the L1 was less annoying than the 60 Hz raster scan refreshing on the SHOWWX, but I doubt either issue would bother most people.
Here's a picture of the L1 rainbow effect (made by moving my hand quickly through the projector beam), which comes from projecting the red, then green, then blue images separately. If you move your eyes fast, or move your hand in front of it, you can see the colors separate.
Color Quality: In displaying an RGB color gradient on both projectors at the same time, the SHOWWX appeared to produce more vivid hues, with the L1 having washed out reds, yellows, and purples (both had the same dark 445nm blue).
Image Brightness: Although the AXAA L1 is rated at 20 lumens and the SHOWWX is rated at 10, I did not see a major difference in brightness, although during the photo-shoot the microvision was looking brighter.
White Balance and Constrat: The SHOWWX produces much better whites than the L1. Both have good contrast, but you can definitely notice that the L1 cannot display absolute blacks, as the SHOWWX can (by turning off its lasers while scanning black areas).
Laser Characteristics: Surprisingly, the L1 is labled as a Class I device (where the SHOWWX is marked Class II). All of the different laser colors have the same polarization (unlike the perpendicular ones of the SHOWWX). It seemed like the Microvision might have a slightly stronger speckle effect (it "appears" as if it comes with the stronger hues, but I'm not sure what that means). I'll measure this speckle effect in MATLAB tomorrow evening.