Customer Reviews

Torpedo Entertainment Digital Movie Projector 72""

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Bought this as a gift to be given for occasional use in a camper. After pre-testing, I'm happy with the performance. Elsewhere on the interweb the resolution is incorrectly given as 940 x 240; the 940 value must have been combined from 3 LCDs. After couting pixels I'm sure resolution is very close to 320x240 which represents a loss in quality from VHS tape video. The fan is noisier than newer full sized projectors.

PROS:
*Bulbs are CHEAP, the MR-16 12v 35w halogen can be had for less than ten bucks :)
*Adujstments of brightness, contrast, hue, and color are adequate.
*Light, durable, compact, and attactively shaped.
*Price of one hundred fifty seemed reasonable.
*Will work nicely from 12v power source directly without using included AC adapter, draws 5 amps at 12v.
*Bright enough for projecting a small image during the day, and a huge image at night.
*Includes a stand to point it straight up for ceiling viewing, and an RCA patch cable.
*Speaker volume goes pretty loud.

CONS:
*Low resolution (320x240) will only be acceptable for low-tech uses.
*Newer, better, cheaper projectors should be available soon.
*Audio inputs are stero, but output from speaker is mono.
*No keystone adjustment means the angle of projection needs to be setup carefully.
*Fan is cheap and noisy, but looks like there's lots of space to replace it with two quiet fans. One in original location, the second could go behind the grill on the opposite side.

There are some interesting LED replacement versions of this projector's bulb on e bay which produce very litle heat. I'm going to try one & then disable the fan for silence and a big reduction in power consumption.

We got this projector for Christmas and the kids have been having a blast with it. They set it up in the basement and hung a sheet up for a screen. There is a "texture" that is apparently from the bulb. I read somewhere there may be a way around this (different bulb?). The picture is not perfect but after messing around for a while we found that the biggest improvement came from positioning yourself farther away from the screen (that's why it is in the basement, our living room is small). I think our biggest complaint is the color control. Some movies seem to have better color results than others. I would not recommend this for movies that have a lot of dark scenes. We also hooked it up to surround sound. I think having "big sound" with the big picture gives enough ambience to make it worthwhile. If you are looking for movie theater quality picture, skip this toy. If you realize that it is about 1/10 the price of a "real" projector and just want to have fun, go for it. The kids can't wait to have movie parties outside this summer. Overall we think it was worth the money.

I purchased this projector based upon price, consumer reviews and the product description. In the description, the manufacturer claims this projector will work with computers. This claim is also on the side of the box. It is simply not true. First of all, the projector only comes with RCA video hook-ups, necessitating both and S-type video adapter and a VGA adapter simply to get a video card to recognize it. It will not convert VGA to any sort of video without another converter. This is the point at which I stopped trying to make the item perform with my laptop; it's simply not worth the expense. Other reviews have noted the poor quality of the projected image. I will agree with their opinions. In an utterly dark room, the image may be tolerable but it will never be good. I would rate this unit a "0" stars if possible; however, I will give it a "1" because I must. The only features which warrant this single star are the sturdiness of the unit, easy of installation to a television and surprisingly good sound. Unless you want to buy it for those reasons, pass the torpedo by and look for something else

I don't intend to highlight the pros and cons in this review. Other reviewers have discussed fairly extensively about it. Here, I intend to share the way I am using it and my experiences.

I bought the projector for [...] bucks. I didn't expect extraordinary performance. I wanted something to watch in my basement while I was running or exercising. I usually spend 1-2 hours a week exercising. My goal was to watch Cable with least investment knowing well that I didn't need an extraordinary quality.

My setup:

I bought a Y splitter at Radioshack and split the local cable wire. One connection was plugged to my living room TV while the other was hooked it to my old VCR. The audio/video output from my VCR was hooked to the projector. I setup the projector nearly 6 ft from the white wall and viewing distance was ~ 15 ft.

Outcome/Observations:

Basically I am happy. I spent less than 100 bucks to have a working system. I didn't need additional speakers as the speakers in the projector were loud enough (in spite of thumping noise from the treadmill).The image quality is acceptable (provided the room is absolutely dark). 15 ft is the optimal distance. The closer you go, the grainier the picture becomes.

I hope you found this review helpful.

The reason I gave this product 5 stars is it exceeded my expectations based on some of the reviews I have read. I have a 65 inch HD home theater in my house. This unit will never replace that, but we are able to watch a very decent 100 inch image outside under the awning or by the pool at night. When sitting at 13 feet, you will notice the screen effect, but the image quality is not bad. When the projected image is in the 60-70 inch range the image is great (again, for the purposes of this unit). No, it is not HD, but it doesn't even pretend to be. PERFECT for the family movie night outside, and cheaper than the bulbs for amost any other unit. (keep in mind the bulb for this one will set you back an incredible $9.95, so you can get 10 bulbs for this unit for every one bulb of some of the others).

Very pleased, and so are the kids who are use to HD TV. They seem to love the novelty of the unit, size of the image, portability, ease of use (plug and play), and outside viewing (only possible at night). Great buy for the value.

I bought this projector for the purpose of having pool parties where I could watch a movie on my fence with my friends. The speakers inside the projector are very good indoors, but adequate outside. Luckily, the A/V cords are easy enough to connect to a stereo with better speakers. The image projected, up-close and at its sharpest looks like it is being projected onto a very fine net, but from a distance it is hardly noticable and the lens can be adjusted so you can't see it at all. Depending on the projection surface small print can hard to make out. Dark scenes are difficult to see, but not impossible. Cartoons and video games show up great as well as black and white movies and at the right adjustment, live action color movies. Complete darkness is a bonus, but I could still see the movie I was watching out side, with the moon out and the pool light on. Inside, I watched TV on my ceiling with the door closed and the window mostly covered during the day and could still see fine. The fan isn't a big deal to me personally, after a while you don't even notice it-especially if you are a distance away from it. This product is great for the money I paid for it, and I am totally satisfied.

Length:: 1:08 Mins

This projector works really well for a Halloween effect. Just hang a semi-opaque plastic shower curtain in a window and project the video on the curtain from the inside of your house. The eye ball video was downloaded for $4 from [...] The video doesn't give the effect justice, it looks really cool from the sidewalk. Some neighbors walked by while I was filming and they thought it looked really good.

I used this outdoors to project old horror movies on a wall for my teenagers Halloween party. The kids absolutely loved it. There was no way they could hear the movie because the one speaker isn't very loud. We did hook it up to speakers which worked fine but decided not to use them because the movies were more to set the mood than to actually watch. It worked great. My girls plan on having summer out doors slumber parties and use it to watch movies. The quality isn't great but, who cares! It's a lot of fun and we aren't expecting a "theater-like" experience.

I bought this to use in our basement... What fun!
It's almost impossible to watch dark movies though.
we stick to cartoons, comedy, or video games.
I wish the sound was louder...I am going to try to
figure out how to hook up extra speakers.
It met my expectations for under 100.

I've had this for around a year and use it semi-regularly. Has held up well & have yet to replace a bulb (they're only $10-$15 anyway). If you can still find it cheaply, I consider it a good deal. I bought my first mini-projector in '92 for north of a half grand. It used the same tech as this, just was smaller. The older projector & a couple newer ones than the Torpedo I've tried don't come close to this in brightness/overall pic quality & I paid less than thirty bucks w/tax brand new for this one. Screen door effect minor compared to many other machines in this price range. Display is uniformly lit/colored. Speaker plenty loud in regular room. Does it match my HDTV-capable DLP projector--no, but it's not designed to.