Optoma launched an interesting ultra-short-throw projector for the European market back in February. Now we have more details and US release pricing for the battery-powered Photon Go tri-laser entertainment hub.
"Today's consumers desire high-quality home entertainment that is flexible and fits their lifestyle without compromising on visuals, sound, or performance," said Maria Repole, Head of Marketing at Optoma. "Whether in a living room, college dorm room, small apartment, at the gym or on the go, we introduced the Photon Go as an ideal solution for stunning entertainment whenever and wherever you need it."
There are a few compelling aspects to this UST projector, most notably that, though it carries a relatively low price, it features a triple-laser light source at its heart. This means that instead of a single beam paired with a color wheel, red, green and blue colors each get their own laser light that combine to output the visuals.
However, Optoma has measured brightness output here at just 650 lumens (in accordance with ISO 21118 standards). That will likely keep your viewing parties in the shadows, though the company does say that users could perceive higher brightness output (up to 1,200 lumens) thanks to the Helmholtz–Kohlrausch effect – where high color saturation might have you believing that the visuals are brighter than they actually are.
The projection engine can throw 1080p imagery at up to 100 diagonal inches when the unit is placed less than 10 inches away from the vertical viewing surface – at a ratio of 0.18:1. The Go can reportedly cover 110% of the BT.2020 color gamut, offers 2,500,000:1 dynamic contrast, and supports HDR10 and HLG content.
As the product name suggests, this projector comes with a built-in battery. So while other UST models are tethered to wall outlets, Optoma's latest addition can be hauled into the yard for an outdoor watch party, taken to the campsite (if you can afford to add 3.8 lb/1.7 kg to your gear load) or travel to a friend's house for big-screen movie night, show catchup or a gaming sesh.
The battery is reckoned good for up to 1.5 hours before needing a top up, or it can operate as a Bluetooth speaker for up to 4 hours. The battery is also TSA-compliant, so if you wanted to treat your projector to a vacation, that's possible too. Autofocus and auto keystone correction should make for flexible, easy setup as well.
The Photon Go runs Google TV over Wi-Fi for approved Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video or whatever streaming apps you care to install. Voice search is on hand via the remote, and smartphone screens can be shared over Google Cast. Casual gamers can cable a console to the HDMI port, but some may find an input lag of 27.1 milliseconds a bit too long for serious action. The unit is home to a 20-W Dolby Audio sound system for rocking a soundtrack wherever it's placed, but also sports S/PDIF out for connecting to external hi-fi systems.
The 9.92 x 6.18 x 2.44-in (252 x 157 x 62-mm) portable UST tri-laser projector is on sale now at Amazon and B&H Photo for US$999.
Product page: Optoma Photon Go
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