The amazing world of digital projectors…

I am going to take a couple of days away from communication patterns and anti-patterns to talk about a couple of other technology solutions that interest me. One of the things that I have long enjoyed and leveraged is the world of projectors. What once was something you had in a conference room, has now moved beyond the conference room to be something you consider well, anywhere. The reality of projectors is quite simple. They take your computer, DVR or another video out the capable device, and project that onto a screen, wall or side of a house. You can connect your phone, tablet, computer or anything else to the same device and share your screen.

The art of the possible has exploded in the past two years. First in the capabilities of the projectors. There are three types of projectors. The traditional ceiling mount projector, the portable table projector and finally the small personal portable projector. They vary in size and requirements as you consider them. The brighter, larger conference room style ceiling mounted projector offers the lightest output (Lumens) and can be seen in rooms with more light. The smaller projectors are more portable but don’t have the same light output.

Connectivity to the device is also critical. Some of the new ones have built-in device connections; In particular, the one featured in my cover picture Nebula. It is a great little portable projector that you can quickly connect to Netflix, Amazon and other video sources. At the same time, you can take your phone and wirelessly project to Nebula. Nebula is small enough that it fits in your bag, bright enough that you can project pretty much anywhere (not in daylight) and easy to use. I will do a full review of the product in the next couple of weeks. For now, it is amazing what you can get in a portable projector.