Pico projectors have simplified mobile presentation. Nowadays, you can stick a pico in your pocket and take it wherever you need to go, leaving everything else behind--laptop, cables, power adapter. However, pico projectors also introduce a new problem: what do you use for a screen? The new Pico Screen from Da-Lite solves the problem.

The Pico Screen is a portable screen designed for use with small projectors. It uses a high-gain material to boost brightness, which is a great way to make your pico projector's picture pop. The compact, collapsible design makes it small and easy to transport while maximizing available screen area. Selling for less than $100, the Pico Screen is a great accessory for any small presentation projector. Moreover, it is the perfect tool for intimate one-on-one presentations, which in this era of ever-bigger, ever-brighter projectors have become a lost art.

Applications / Best Uses

A presentation is not always a large group affair. Sometimes, you are talking to just one or two people. This used to be done with binders and flip-cards, but pico projectors are a smart, high-tech way to create the same effect. With a pico projector and the Da-Lite Pico Screen, you can create the perfect presentation on someone's desk, where they are most comfortable. From a meeting with the company president to a simple tutoring session with a student, the Pico Screen makes these small presentations more manageable.

From a technical standpoint, the value of the Pico Screen is guaranteed consistency. Let's say you arrive at a client's office only to find the meeting area has dark blue walls. Your little pico projector's ten lumen output leaves you in a pinch. The Pico Screen guarantees that you will always have a bright purpose-built presentation surface available, which is an absolute must if you are using a pico projector.

The Pico Screen weighs 4.5 pounds, about as much as a portable projector. The case is solidly built to prevent damage without adding too much bulk; the whole apparatus could likely be tucked into a large briefcase or laptop bag. The included shoulder bag is lightweight and functional, but some folks won't want to have the screen slung over their shoulder all the time.

Advantages

Bright white projection surface. As any pico owner knows, the projection surface matters a great deal in determining image quality. The Pico Screen's 1.5-gain material gives you a clean, white, easy-to-see projection surface no matter where you go. It is designed to boost your projector's apparent brightness slightly by focusing light back towards the audience. The end result is a bright picture for the viewers, even in previously unworkable ambient light conditions.

Portability and Ease of Use. Most portable screens are comparatively large and unwieldy floor-standing models. The Pico Screen is much smaller. When fully expanded, it features a 30" diagonal 16:9 viewing surface along with a 1" black border at top and bottom. However, the screen's scissor mechanism will hold position at any point between open and closed, so you can adjust the screen size to your liking. If you only have room for a ten-inch diagonal, you can create one. If you would rather have a 4:3 surface without any pillar-boxing, that is easily accomplished.

In its closed position, the screen measures 19.3" on its long axis by 3.6" wide by 2.6" deep. Compared to many other portable screens, this one is extremely easy to pack up and move. Set-up and take-down are as simple as can be; just grab the two halves of the frame and pull them apart to open, then reverse the process to close. The bottom of the frame has a rubberized foot pad, allowing it to grip the table when it is set down. The frame is heavy enough to prevent the screen from falling over.

Limitations

Edge curling. The top and bottom edges of the Pico Screen tend to roll back on themselves, creating an uneven surface along those edges with a slight bow to it. This is due to the screen material being rolled up at all times and the lack of stabilization of the screen surface itself. In other words, the surface of the screen is only attached to the frame at the sides, while the middle hangs free and is suspended by frame tension. This slight bowing is not unusual for a collapsible screen of this type; we have observed similar behavior with other roll-up screens in the past.

Conclusion

The Da-Lite Pico Screen is a remarkable little product, combining high-performance screen fabric with a highly portable system that is easy to set up and use. It is innovative and will appeal to those who want to maintain a more casual and intimate one-on-one interaction. It sure beats the formality involved in standing next to a bright image projected onto a large screen on the wall.

If you typically give presentations to larger groups of people, you won't have a need for a product like the Da-Lite Pico Screen. Go get a five-pound XGA portable projector and be happy. If, however, you are a presenter or an educator looking for a way to maintain a more personal interaction over a desk or table, a pico projector and the Da-Lite Pico Screen will be perfect for you.

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