Optoma ML500 Pro Reviews

The bottom line on the Optoma ML500 is that it is a pretty decent projector but with some areas that need improvement. Its 500 lumens of brightness were sufficient and pretty impressive for the projectors size. Weighing in at 2.5 pounds the ML500 is definitely going to be easy to travel with. Picture quality in terms of sharpness and clarity did leave this projector coming up short, but for some applications such as video, it performed quite well. The fact that the projector accepts a 1080p signal from a HDMI cable was impressive. Also, the projector doesn't need a proprietary DC power chord, so that was also nice and unexpected to see.

The emerging new category the ML500 is part of, and the ML500 in particular, fills a niche that needs filling, with an appealing balance of size, weight, price, and brightness. Compared to pocket projectors, it's only a little bigger and heavier, but it's a lot brighter. Compared to traditional lamp-based portable projectors, it's significantly lighter and smaller than all but a few, and less expensive. And although it isn't as bright as most lamp-based projectors, it's bright enough to throw a reasonable size image that can stand up to ambient light. In addition to small size and low weight, the ease of setup adds to the projector's portability, as does its ability to read files from memory. And the long lifetime for the LEDs promises to save lots of money in running costs compared to lamp based projectors. Add in the good performance for data image quality, its high level of brightness uniformity, and even the surprising good audio quality, and the ML500 is an excellent choice for anyone who both needs a portable projector and needs to travel light.

Dimmer than a standard projector, but much brighter than a palmtop and nearly as lightweight, the Optoma ML500 can stand up to a reasonable level of ambient light.