The Portable Projector for Road Warriors

We live in a time that everything dealing with a company, start up or program (read money) hinges on a successful presentation. Too often the projector or laptop you're supposed to use either wasn't checked to make sure everything is in working order or it stops working at the most inopportune time. Making you look like an idiot or worse, blowing the pitch.

That's why the prepared road warrior plans for everything and is self sustaining for such presentations. The problem has always been that a "travel projector" was always heavy and was way too expensive. Well, Toshiba just added their TDP-FF1AU (not a sexy name I know) into the mix.
Weighing in at at a scant 1.7 pounds with its rechargeable battery, the projector offers SVGA 800x600 pixel resolution, 400 lux of brightness, a 1500:1 contrast ratio (read the projected image is sharp and warm) and turns on and off with a click of a button (no time wasting warm-ups and cool-downs). So its light and powerful but its also affordable, the TDP-FF1AU goes for $699 which also gets you a remote control, a 23-inch folding screen, an AC adapter and its own carrying bag. Talk about bang for the buck! This is a must have for the upwardly mobile and "mobile" professional.

HD DVD is gasping its last breath.

In a move that all but rang the death bell for HD DVD, Toshiba announced today that they "will no longer develop, make or market HD DVD players and recorders". Bu-Ray has been the next gen DVD format backed by 5 major Hollywood studios and the adult industry. And really, we know whoever the adult industry is behind will be the winner (need I remind you of the VHS-Beta war?) but the announcement that Warner Bros. made last month stating they would "...only release movie discs in the Blu-Ray format..." was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Both HD DVD and Blu-ray deliver crisp, clear high-definition pictures and sound, and were touted as "the" best next gen DVD. HD DVD however, was supposed to be cheaper because it was based on existing DVD technology while Blu-Ray boasted bigger recording/storage. In the end, size does matter (and I'm sure a lot of back door dealing) and Blu-Ray won.

Both Blu-Ray players and DVDs are likely to pick up now that a decision has been made becuase most of us were waiting for the dust to settle before runnning out and buying a new player and spending $20+ dollars on DVDs again. And Toshiba is expected to make out as well. Goldman Sachs has said that by having Toshiba only support one format could improve the company's profitability between $370 million to $460 million a year (Note to self, buy Toshiba stock).

The other thing not to overlook here is that Sony helped fuel the fire with the launch of its PS3 next gen game console which of course is also a Blu-Ray DVD player. Oh by the way, last estimate was the console had sold 10.5 million worldwide and with the recent price drop and this announcement you can expect quite a few more to sell now.

My advice to you? Go get yourself the cheapest Blu-Ray DVD player around that oh by the way also happens to be a next gen gaming console in the $399 PS3.