AAXA P1 Pico Projector. My Review.

Do you own an iPod, Zune, or any other media player with video output and wish the device had a larger screen? For $239 or less you can have your own projector to increase the video size up to 50" diagonally. With 640 x 480 pixel resolution the AAXA P1 Pico Projector does a fine job so long as you have a white surface to project on and a dark room to project in.

Included in the package is a red/white/yellow RCA to 1/8" 4- conductor audio/video cable, 100 to 240 vAC to 5vDC 2.0 amp charger, a simple owners manual, and the P1 with it's (removable) lithium battery inside. The AAXA P1 is one inch thick, 4.1 inches long, and 2.3 inches wide.

In addition there are accessory A/V cables for several devices. Below is the one for iPods. The P1 comes with one video file and 3 photos already using some of it's 1gb of internal memory. On the right side there is a microSD slot which will read up to 2gb microSD cards. The rear panel has a 5vDC jack, A/V input, headphone output, and the power switch (Battery/Off/DC). There is a micro USB jack next to the volume dial on the left side. There is a rubber lens cap that stays attached but will pivot out of the way of the lens when the P1 is in use. The top of the player has a focus bar and a 5-way button array for software control. You'll also see a reset hole next to the charge/usb LED status light in the bottom right corner. The P1 doesn't even need an external device to entertain you. Although files space is limited you can put a movie or two, several photos, music files, and even a few text documents on board. The P1's software alone can play several media formats:

Video: AVI*, MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4 3G, WMV9/VC1, ASF, RM/RMVB*, and FLV formats.

* The RM/RMVB video play only supports video files which are below 720 x 576. The bigger the volume file is, longer will be the time to start playing.

* AVI video play only supports video files below 800 x 480. The bigger the volume file is, longer will be the time to start playing.

Audio: MP3, WMA, WAV, APE, FLAC, AAC/AAC+, and MPEG1/2/2.5 formats.

Photos: JPEG, BMP, and GIF formats.

Text: The documentation doesn't mention any form of document display, but the Rockchip Software includes an ebook option. I threw a TXT file onto the P1 and it was easy to read. I'll have to play around a bit more to see if it supports any other ebook or document formats.

Light is provided by very bright LED rated for 20.000 hours of life. There's an internal fan and several vent holes around the body to keep the P1 cool. It does generate a bit of heat when running. The fan noise is minimal and easily covered by the sound of your movie or music.

Battery life is rated for 1.5 hours of continous use, but I haven't had a chance to test that.

I'm very impressed with the quality of projection. It will project even larger than the rated 50 inches but you'll need a bright screen and pitch black room to appreciate it. The P1's speaker is small, but serves it's purpose. Headphones will give you a better audio experience. There is no tripod mount which would be useful. To get an un-distorted image the P1 needs to be centered in front of your projection surface. You'll have to be clever to find a way to hold it in place while you enjoy your movie.

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So is AAXA's P1 Pico Projector worth $239? With support of so many video and music formats and 640 x 480 resolution I consider it a bargain. Now I just need a 50" piece of white foam core board for a projection surface. No white walls in my house.

4D