With their ability to beam large images from a short distance away, the best ultra-short throw projectors make setting up pretty easy, since you can get a big screen with just a few inches of separation from your projection surface. That makes them ideal for portable use, which is why it’s so odd that we haven’t seen an ultra-short throw portable projector yet. That changes now with the Optoma Photon Go.
No, it’s not one of those super-compact portable projectors that can slip into a jacket pocket or a backpack pouch. Ultra-short throw projectors need a bit more hardware than that tiny amount of space will allow. Instead, it measures 9.9 x 6.2 x 2.4 inches (width x depth x height) and weighs just 3.8 pounds, giving it reasonably portable dimensions similar to many books, making it easy enough to slip into a backpack for taking on the go.
The Optoma Photon Go is a compact ultra-short throw projector that can produce a massive 100-inch screen while sitting just 10-inches away from the projection surface. That means, it can sit pretty close to the wall you’re beaming pictures on, eliminating much of the complicated trial-and-error set up you’d otherwise have to do with standard projectors. Like many other projectors in the category, it uses a triple laser system that reproduces pure red, green, and blue light sources, creating images with higher contrast and more vibrant colors.
The projector produces 1080p images in either 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratios, with 650 lumens of brightness and a standard 800:1 contrast ratio. According to the outfit, it also dynamic contrast ratio of 2.5M:1, although we’re not sure in which situations you can get that working. If you don’t want to do the full 10-inch screen size, by the way, it also offers screen sizes as low as 60 inches, which, let’s be honest, still makes for awesome big screen viewing.
The Optoma Photon Go comes with autofocus technology, as well as both vertical and horizontal keystone correction, ensuring quick setups, regardless of whether you’re setting up your portable theater in a backyard, a campsite, or a parking lot tailgate party. It has built-in dual 10W speakers, too, with Dolby Audio processing, so you don’t need to pair with external speakers when watching movies or shows. Do note, the built-in battery is only rated for 1.5 hours of video playback, so you’ll want to have a power bank or power station nearby to quickly plug this in for longer viewing sessions.
It comes with integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, so you should be able to stream content from other devices wirelessly to the projector. However, it does have Google TV preloaded with full Google Play Store access, so you can install and launch all sorts of video streaming apps with no need for a separate device, so long as you have internet access. Other features include a bundled remote, an HDMI port, an Ethernet port (if you want wired internet connection), and an S/PDIF port for wired audio connectivity.
The Optoma Photon Go is set to go on sale in April, priced at an expected $1,100.
