Ok Guys,
Here comes a review, well sort of.
I haven't been able to verify the scanner speeds.
I have now edited this review with the results of some power tests with a Coherent Meter.
Initial Reaction, Contents, Initial Positives
My initial reaction when receiving the package were, oh my god its huge!!
The flight case is certainly substantial. I had expected a hand carry brief case type. What I actually received was an extremely rugged wheeled case of the type you'd expect to see a roadie to have at a professional concert.
Here's a pic of it next to a bookshelf and with a mobile phone in front of it for scale and then unpacked to reveal the contents - note I've removed some cardboard packing pieces that were in the top of the case, so full marks to Laserworld on packing:
Once opened I was confronted with a beast of a machine. Very nice looking projector. The silver corner reinforcements have some silvering missing but I think this is down to poor coating rather than anything else. Overall, the case seems very substantial with the exception of the sensitivity adjustment knob for the mic which looks a little flimsy. Looks just like what you'd expect to see in a professional nightclub.
Its also nice to see a safety (bracket failure) lanyard included in the package as well as a DMX cable, safety key, safety plug, 3 pin power cable (European not UK unfortunately), very basic photocopied instructions and a Laserworld brochure.
Personally I wouldn't consider the European power lead a major issue. probably an oversight and being a home pc builder, I have a few uk pc power leads lying around (kettle leads are probably another alternative).
Front View:
Rear View:
Rear Panel:
So all very nice so far.
The mode ie. DMX, ILDA, Music is selected using the buttons and the LCD screen which is easy to read.
What's not so good?
1. Key switch isn't captive so key can be removed when in the "on" position and the key is very thin metal and feels like it could be broken in the lock easily.
2. The safety plug (essentially the one you'd wire an emergency stop switch too) has had the plugs soldered together inside to make the projector work. However, this makes it very difficult to reverse it to fit a safety switch. Would have been better to use a length of wire as a bridge in my opinion and soldered it more lightly:
EDIT: Now bought an emergency stop switch. Had to buy a new safety plug due to the internal pin soldering but only cost around £1 so not a major issue.
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3. The classification labels have all been obscured with black pen. This kind of made me suspicious of the power claims:
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EDIT:
He he, I have both UV and IR at my disposal, guess what IR shows:
Power 120W Class 1 (????)
Red Class 3
Green Class 3
The power of Light!
Doesn't photograph as well as can be seen by the naked eye - eye can see the ridges of the embossed paint, the camera just sees the reflections which are more partial.
Bit of solvent on the front sticker reveals Class 3B sticker!!
Maybe, they're 400mw Class 3B but typically put out more than specified as mentioned in the advert so can be Class 4 600mw. Would explain both the wording and labelling (wouldn't want a Class 4 product labelled Class 3B or vice Versa), or am I just being optomistic?
EDIT: NOW TESTED WITH A COHERENT POWER METER: 677MW BEST READING, 604MW WORST.
So it meets its specified power levels with ease (Laserworld state: 400mw guaranteed / 600mw typical).
Power test from cold - High Definition Video - shows 604mw:
http://www.vimeo.com/2103065
677mw read when warmed up in later test.
Performance
I started it this morning in a well lit room and projected it onto a white wall 11 feet away opposite. I couldn't see the beams (no smoke) but the patterns looked bright especially at the corners - in fact I had a little inclination to look away from the brightness, especially of the spots at the corners of rectangles or the ends of lines. A good sign I suppose when it comes to assessing the power.
Colourwise, on the wall the colours looked very clean. The red was deep, the green well green, but the colour I expected might be a bit mustardy, the yellow, actually looked quite clean.
Video performance:
Videos in this review are linked on Vimeo but are large as high quality so may take time to buffer.
All the videos are "as is" - no cheating ie. no saturation or contrast increases just as out of the camera.
Graphics Test using High Definition Video
Standard Patterns in Sound to Music Mode:
http://vimeo.com/2131499
Beam Test in High Definition Video
With a Martin Magnum 650 smoke machine and martin DJ smoke, it performed very well. Nice deep reds and clean yellows. Beams very visible when viewed almost head on (camcorder stood just outside of the scan range -literally by inches only and on a similar level to the projector).
Video: In the dark with Martin DJ Smoke:
http://www.vimeo.com/2141812
Internally:
Everything looks neat and tidy. Worst thing I can see is the dichro looks very poor quality and the lasers have white stickers on them that give wavelength but no power info - I rather suspect they sit atop the manufacturers writing.
Otherwise very impressive looking:
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