Along with the Optoma ML550($669.00 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window), the Optoma ML1000P ($799) is part of a new generation of LED-based portable projectors. Like older models in this group, such as the Editors’ Choice 3M Mobile Projector MP410, they’re built around a WXGA (1,280-by-800) DLP chip and share a host of similar features with every other WXGA LED projector. Where the new models differ from the older generation is that they’re either flat-out brighter—with a 1,000-lumen rating in the case of the ML1000P ($995.00 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window)—or at least brighter for the weight, which is true for the Optoma ML550, as well as the ML1000P. Given the brightness levels of most LED projectors, any advantage in brightness counts as a significant plus.

Portability and Setup

Like the Acer K335($699.99 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window), which is also rated at 1,000 lumens, the ML1000P is more than twice the weight of the 500-lumen Optoma ML550, but at 3 pounds it’s essentially the same weight as older 500-lumen models. It measures 1.9 by 10.6 by 6.7 inches (HWD), and Optoma ships it with a soft carrying case to make it easy to bring with you.

Beyond that, the ML1000P adds to its portability by letting you leave your computer or video source at home. You can show photo, video, audio, and Microsoft Office and PDF files directly from a USB memory key or microSD card. The HDMI port on the projector also lets you connect a Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL)-enabled smartphone or tablet to show images. However, the port isn’t MHL-enabled, which means you can’t charge the mobile device while you’re using it.

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Setup is mostly standard fare, with the microSD card slot, USB Type A port, and HDMI port on the back, along with a VGA port, composite video port, and mini jacks for audio in and out. There’s also a second USB Type A port for an optional ($99) Wi-Fi dongle. As is typical for the breed, there is no optical zoom.

One notable difference from most projectors is that the ML1000P’s control panel substitutes a touchpad for buttons. I had problems using it, finding it way too easy to overshoot menu items or accidently pick the wrong item. However, you can just bypass the touchpad if you don’t like it. Simply use the buttons on the remote instead.

Brightness
Using the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) recommendations, and assuming a 1.0 gain screen, 1,000 lumens at the ML1000P’s native 16:10 aspect ratio is appropriate for a 120- to 163-inch (diagonal) image for long sessions in theater-dark lighting. For moderate ambient light, it’s suitable for an 80- to 90-inch image.

As with most DLP-based projectors, however, the ML1000P’s color brightness is lower than its white brightness in at least some modes, which means that color images won’t be as bright as you would expect, based strictly on the white brightness. (For a discussion of color brightness, see Color Brightness: What It Is, Why It Matters.) As a reality check, I found the projector bright enough for comfortably viewing a 92-inch (diagonal) image for long sessions in theater-dark lighting, and a 60-inch image with moderate ambient light. For shorter sessions, you can easily use larger screen sizes without a problem.

Image Quality
The ML1000P’s quality for data images is more than acceptable for most purposes. On our standard suite of DisplayMate(Opens in a new window) tests, colors were well-saturated and eye-catching in all preset modes, and the projector held detail well enough for the kinds of images most people use most often.

As with all the models in its category, however, the ML1000P showed apparent scaling artifacts at its claimed native resolution. This issue, which showed most obviously as unwanted added patterns in areas with closely spaced lines or dots, is related to the DLP chip these projectors use.

Unless you use patterned fills instead of solid blocks of color in your graphics, you may never see the most obvious incarnation of these artifacts. However, the same issue can also add a soft-focus effect to fine detail like lines or small text, making it hard to read. On my tests, for example, white text on black needed a minimum size of 9 points, and black text on white needed a minimum of 10.5 points, to be easily readable.

Video quality was similarly usable, not impressive. The soft-focus effect made the image look more like standard-definition video than 720p HD, but the ML1000P delivered good color quality in Cinema mode, it handled skin tones well, and it did a good job with shadow detail (i.e., details based on shading in dark areas).

The ML1000P showed fewer rainbow artifacts—meaning red-green-blue flashes—than many DLP projectors. This helped with image quality for both data and video. I didn’t see any artifacts in data screens, including a test image that’s designed to make them show. With video, I saw them occasionally, but infrequently enough that even if you see the flashes easily, you’re not likely to find them annoying.

Also worth mentioning is that the ML1000P includes two three-watt stereo speakers that deliver enough volume to easily fill a small room, with good enough sound quality to make them useful. If you need still higher volume, better quality, or speakers that are far enough apart so you can actually hear the stereo, you can connect an external sound system to the audio output. The LEDs, rated at 20,000 hours, are meant to last for the life of the projector.

If you’re considering the Optoma ML1000P, be sure to also take a look at the Acer K335, which it closely matches in most ways. If you need a lightweight, bright, portable projector, however, the ML1000P delivers enough to make it a strong candidate, with a brighter image than most of its competition, the ability to show images without a computer or video source, and more-than-acceptable image quality for both data and video.