Torpedo Projector Reviewed
If you were thinking about taking the cheap road this holiday season and get your children the Torpedo Entertainment Projector, you might want to read the review that Gizmodo.com recently released. they put this little thing through all the tests they would normally put any other projector through and it was simply the worst performer they have ever seen. The brightness stunk, the resolution was not up to par, and they describe the image as “being behind the bars of a jail cell”. They remind me of the comic book guy from the Simpsons when he says, “Worst Projector Ever!”
[via Gizmodo]
November 30th, 2007 at 10:59 am
Sure it’s cheap and not even close to a real DLP/LCD Projector, but it works surprisingly well. For example, Win-AMP Visualizations look amazing blown up to 12’. Regular SD TV and Cartoons look great. Basically any video source with a strong input signal works best.
I only wish I had this kind of toy when I was growing up… would be been so cool.
Take a look for yourself at some example photos taken of the Torpedo Projector in use.
For $100-150 it’s more than I would have expected. It may have been reviewed as a “complete joke”, but the photos should speak for themselves.
*Multiple photos taken with both lights on/off for comparison
*NTSC color bar and gray scale ramp test
*Images captured with a Canon G2 on a Tripod with a 1sec shutter.
Not bad for only $149! Overall impressive that a 35W bulb can output so much light in a darkened room.
December 3rd, 2007 at 6:18 pm
I just ordered it from walmart it was only $75.00. I have a real projector I purchased last year so I will compare the two. But this one is for the kids..
December 26th, 2007 at 5:40 pm
I strongly disagree with this review, sure it might not be the highest quality, but it about matches our Churches old projector that cost about $1000-$2000 dollars several years ago, yesterday after I opened it for Christmas, I wasn’t sure if it was going to be good or not, anyway I pointed it up to the ceiling and turned on my super-nintendo, and I played Super Mario World for about 20 minutes, and I was very satisfied, and My room wasn’t even completelly dark!! I can wait to try to watch a movie, But I’ll wait until I hang up a white sheet or curtain or something. I’d give it probably 3 1/2 out of 5
December 29th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
I bought this and set it up in my living room. I researched all these sites for reviews and kept getting negative ones, but had to consider that they were from tech savvy people who compare things to top-of-the-line products (even if they claim they don’t…there’s a basis for comparison). Actual consumer comments on this projector made me give it a try. I decided if it was as horrible as the published reviews, then it’d go back within the hour. I didn’t take it back. No, it’s not high definition, but I wasn’t expecting it to be. It’s decent for movies, and for PS2. I haven’t tried much else.
Movies - mess around with projector settings to find the best image for each. You maight do this for each movie, because the bulb isn’t quite bright enough. I will try an LED style bulb, or one of the “true color spectrum” instead of the standard halogen. I think it may bring out the color a bit more that way.
Video games - only real complaint is that it’s difficult to read text, like in menus or messages. If you know the game, that don’t matter much.
I may post a video on youtube showing the actual quality of the product.
I call it a poor man’s theater. I have this hooked up with my ps2 and surround sound in a small living room.
December 30th, 2007 at 12:44 am
well, i got this for cjristmas. Im 14 and i also got a wii. Let me just say that playing super mario galaxy on my bedroom wall was pretty insane. Sure its not as clear as tv but its still reallt nice =]
January 1st, 2008 at 12:19 pm
i got one of the torpedo projectors for x-mas as well. like other reviews have said it is a little hard to read text in the menus and stuff but as far as my xbox 360 most games i play really look good on it. it takes a bit to fine tune the diplay but i can play halo3 without much problem when it projects a 4.5 foot wide picture… overall its a great projector for the price i havent tried movies yet but a new bulb from the original may prove better.
February 2nd, 2008 at 12:56 am
This is the best projector ever. The picture isn’t great, but what’s the alternative? Paying $500 for a projector that will last 1000 hours is so stupid. That’s paying a dollar every 2 hours to watch the thing! Yeah, you can buy a replacement bulb for $480, but why not just buy a whole new projector if the bulb is only $20 less? Here’s the deal. The quality sucks crap, but the picture is significantly better if you replace the bulb that originally came with it. The original bulb has some sort of texture to it that makes the picture pixilate more when you focus it. I replaced it with a smooth 50 watt bulb as opposed to the textured 35 watt bulb, and it’s great even in the day time! Not only that, but I was able to find the bulb for $1.19 and a dollar shipping! Overall, I paid about $80 for this projector and it rivals my other projector when playing movies. I certainly can’t afford fifty cents an hour to watch a movie on another projector that takes those ridiculously priced bulbs and I’m selling my $500 one because the bulbs are way too much money. Just put in a 50 watt smooth bulb and you’ll be MUCH happier. The resolution isn’t too good, but honestly it’s not bad at all once you get a new bulb.
February 7th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
John, I’m not sure if you still read this or not, but perhaps you can help me out with this if you do? I was wondering, if I was to replace this with something even more powerful than 50 watts, such as 75 or 100 watts, would it look even better? Or, would 50+ watts be too much for the projector to handle? I’d hate to experiment with bulbs over 50 watts, so hopefully you’ll be able to help beforehand.
Thanks!
February 9th, 2008 at 9:56 am
I got this for Christmas and I love it I play it 8′ tall and 11′ wide but I can’t figure out how to play my iPod on it
February 22nd, 2008 at 5:07 pm
can anyone give me instructions on how to replace my bulb.. i just got one of these projectors.. seems to work good for playin non-hi-def games.. but i dont wanna take it apart just yet and not be able to put it together.. if u cant help me out id really appriciate it.. thank you
March 7th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
These reviews are completely correct, use the projector for what it is: A kids’ playroom projector for movies and PS2. Yes, get some shades on the windows.
I’m installing it on a shelf with sliding cabinet drawer rails (100 lb, ball bearing type,Home Depot, $15) that will allow positioning the unit closer or farther from the screen as we like; for a sharper smaller image, or larger fun image. Will try the 50W bulb suggestion too.
Better news, the video game junk is out of the living room.
March 10th, 2008 at 2:34 am
If the projector is for the kids then it’s got to last a while and you may as well get something reasonable like a Panasonic PT-AX200U which is not that expensive really and certainly better value for money.
http://www.presentationtek.com/2008/02/27/panasonic-pt-ax200u-pt-ax200e-3lcd-gamers-projector-review/
March 28th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
We just bought it, and for the price, its unbeatable!!! you get a 60″ t.v. for next to nothing. But one down side is you will need a darker room, or put up a thick blanket over the windows, or wait till it get dark outside. but all in all its worth the money and i would recommend it to anyone.
April 28th, 2008 at 9:21 am
Michael — you can buy a composite out cable for your ipod to connect with this and then change your video settings in the ipod to TV out on, tv signal ntsc. Have fun! If the speaker out on the projector isnt good, you can send out the audio cables to a set of speakers, you may need audio speaker cable adapters but its worth it for great sound.
I use a lot of high end projectors at work and I’m looking to buy this projector for personal use. Why throw money and energy away on a high end projector with expensive replacement bulbs. IF you want bright hi-res images this isnt the projector but it looks very useful for many other purposes and the consumer reviews make that clear.
May 5th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
I can’t figure out how to use the projector with my computer
someone inlight me on that info
May 29th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
OK, if you don’t expect HD, and understand this is a TOY….they are actually quite a bit of fun…. without the big price tag!! If you are looking for high quality you are better off going for the real thing which includes those high price bulbs
There are a few things I did to make mine a bit better than when I first got it. I replaced the 35w 12v MR16 bulb with a 50w 12v MR16 Color Correct bulb that I bought at Wal-Mart for 7.00. It doesn’t seem to get any warmer that it did before but I don’t think I would attempt to go to any higher wattage. Replacing the bulb gave me a better picture and color.
Also what you watch it ON will make a BIG difference in the picture quality. The reflective qualities of your background will effect the picture quality of any projector. A white wall will still give you a bit of blurr. I tried several backgrounds before I found what worked well for me. I tried a white wall, a white bed sheet, a cheap, smooth, white shower curtain but what I finally settled on was an old style room darkening pull down shade, again from Wal-mart. This was a bit more money ($30.00) but really worth it. I was a little worried about trying this at first because in the store the white shade looked gray, but it works perfectly! From 10 feet away the picture fits edge to edge on a 73 1/4″ shade. It also has the added convenience of rolling up out of the way when not in use.
Now if I can just figure out how they are adding surround sound to these, I will be set. :-).. Although the built-in speakers work quite well.
This was the perfect solution for my bedroom!!
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:16 pm
I am 29 years old. Can not afford costly projectors, but am a projector fan.
After lots of research, I just bought torpedo projector on ebay and its on the way to my home. To modify that, I also bought three bulbs having 50W and 12,24 degree spot lights, and third, 36 degree flood light from a site named filmtools.com. I was confused which color bulb I should choose(white or natural), so I decided to buy from a film equipments site only.
After it arrives, I will give each one try and see how much heat it produces and improvement in result.
However, I could not find any information on fan specifications of torpedo projector. IF anyone knows its size, no. of cables and voltage-current(instruction on where to mount it, to replace or to add), pls let me know. I wonder if adding another fan in addition to 50W bulb would draw much current and damage the circuits if any.
Also, how was long term experience of replacing 35W bulb by 50W one? Is the projector still running?
Will post another reply as soon as I receive my projector and compare the mods.
June 26th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
I need a projector for my classroom powerpoint presentations.
I cannot afford a projector like those on bestbuy or circuit city.
Honestly, would this work for my classroom? Thanks for the opinions!
Tim
June 27th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
No, this will clearly not work for the classroom. Surprisingly, It does not display any text. However, it displays pictures/video okey.
July 28th, 2008 at 12:40 am
any way to improve dark scenes? they appear very dim…
August 30th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
I bought mine at Target last year about a week or so after Thanksgiving. It was $50.00 with Tax and a set of Surround sound speakers for the same amount. I hooked it up to the TV, the audio is directly conneted to the speakers instead of the projector and wa la cheap home theater. After seeing some of these modifications I’m hoping to watch better images.
Some earlier posted wanting to know how to connect it to a computer. I saw a new box for the torpedo at Target recently and it indicated that this was possible, yet when I went to the Torpedo site I was given a message from their Apachie server that the site is now restricted? So if anyone can help us out there! I have a TV crd in my Tower and the out put will not work on the projector!!!!