Zoombox DVD Entertainment Projector
From Hasbro
Thats all you need for big, huge, larger-than-life movies and video games. The Zoombox is part TFT LCD projector and part DVD and CD player. It projects the big picture 5 diagonal sizeat a clean 557x234 resolution and, with built-in speakers, puts the power of home theater in a portable package. An external hook-up renders it compatible and connectible with most gaming consoles, as well as video cameras, digital cameras, cable boxes, VCRs and more. A built-in headphone jack makes it compatible with most roommates. It works best in dark rooms or backyard summer cinema parties, anyone, and projected onto a light-colored wall or ceiling. Also, it includes a lamp bulb, 12V AC adaptor and instructions. It has an adjustable handle for carrying and adjusting the picture height and it measures 8Lx15Wx14H".
- Amazon Sales Rank: #76575 in Toys & Games
- Brand: Hasbro
- Model: 75052
- Released on: 2006-06-12
Let's face it, when it comes to entertainment, bigger is definitely better! Turn almost any room into a theater with ZOOMBOX¿. Project video games on the ceiling! Show a movie on the wall! At home or on the go, ZOOMBOX creates a 60-inch diagonal picture when placed eight feet from the wall or ceiling! A DVD/CD player and speakers are built right in, so you can watch ¿ and listen to - your favorite movies, music and videos, digital pictures and more at the touch of a button. An external hook-up makes it easy to connect most gaming consoles, video cameras, digital cameras, cable boxes, VCRs and more! And a built-in headphone jack means you can listen when others don't want to!
Why should toy be compared to real thing?
I bought Zoombox for my little 4 and 11 year-old daughters. After dinner time, we usually get their DVDs played in their room, and the kids seem to be quite happy with it.
They already had watched those DVDs hundred times so they don't care about quality of projected image. They sometimes don't concentrate on the movies and do other things while the movie is going. BUT the point is that my kids are just happy with the big screen which they can watch whenever they want.
I have a 'real' projector in our living room, but I don't want to use it in kids' room because: (1)it's very delicate and HOT device; (2)DVD player and speaker set should be connected separately; (3)we simply can't afford $400 bulb replacement three times a year; (4)it's too bright to watch for a long time in a small bedroom, especially for kids' eyes.
It uses a typical halogen bulb which can be purchased from any local home improvement store for around $5~7. It consumes less than 50watts per hour. I use it without worrying about maintenance cost, and thanks to the economical fact, this little toy can be utilized in many creative ways which hasn't been reasonable with 'real' projectors. For example, when I have party with friends I sometimes use Zoombox in living room to play concert DVDs or music video clips purchased from Apple iTunes music store as BGM. My 'real' epson projector costs too much to be used in those kind of ways.
Regarding its resolution, Zoombox is definitely not for serious movie watchers. You have to make your room dark as possible to get decent picture from it. It doesn't have keystone distortion adjustment function, which means you have to place the unit at the right angle to get completely rectangular picture. So, if you expect home theater, just forget about this toy and spend at least $400 more to buy low-end DLP projectors and another $200 for decent 5.1channel speaker set.
But in the other hand, if you want some extra entertainment in bedrooms after dinner time, or need additional projector for more casual occasions, Zoombox can become affordable and satisfactory solution. I think it's unfair to compare toy to real thing.
Fun purchase
I have been looking at purchasing a projector for some time, but because of the cost I have been hesistant; when I saw the zoombox for $250 I decided it was worth a try. Now I didn't expect much at that price, so I wasn't disappointed. At first, I didn't like the resolution, the picture seemed grainy, but the farther away I am the less noticeable it is. The zoombox is very easy to use, and has many uses. It easily hooks up to games, digital cameras and computer speakers. The built in DVD player makes it simple and easy to watch a movie, the image may not be as crystal clear as an TV but I don't mind, since it is so much bigger. Since the replacement bulb is so much cheaper than an expensive projector bulb, I don't mind using it all the time.The visiblity is the best the darker the room, however, I used the projector in the middle of the afternoon with the blinds closed and the picture was fine.
This is not the projector for you if you want to create the home theater effect, but if you just want to make some things bigger with ease, this projector is for you. I won't be entertaining with the zoombox, but it works fine in my bedroom.
fairly decent relax and enjoy
i am 21 years old, turning 22 soon. I asked my parents for the zoombox thinking for 300$ it would be nice in my college apt to have a 60 screen to watch some movie, some boxing matches, etc...and it is. Granted it is true, you must use this in a pretty dark room. the projector puts out a low ansi lumen count, so using it in a dark room is a must. It sucks you have to use it in a dark room, but the lamp for this can be bought at a local hardware store for pretty cheap, the lamps for serious projectors cost hundreds and have to be ordered. The speakers are fairly decent, no you won't have pounding base but they r clear, and get quite loud. The dvd player is just a basic player inside it and it preforms well. It has rca aduio and video jacks so you can hook a vcr, dvd player, game system up to it, and even a computer if you have a scan converter, as the zoombox does not have a serial hookup installed. Now to the image, as stated in many reviews, the resolution is less than a standard tv of 640 by 480, its something like 527 by 2 hundred and something, i can't remember. Contrary to what people believe, the image is not going to be pixelated, thats due to poor video quality and encoding. In lamens terms the effect of the resolution is this. The higher the resolution the more dots that make up the screen and the smaller they are, so the image looks crisp and colorful, the poorer the resolution, means that there is less dots and they are bigger, so you have more of the image on less of the dot matrix, making it less clear and sharp. The image on the zoombox is not crystal clear like on a tv, it seems a little hard to focus the picture and even with tweaking the manual focus lens it tends to never as sharp as you want it. But watching things on it when sitting a distance back of like 8-10 (average usual for distance between couch and tv) is quite watchable, and especially for boxing matches, seeing figures at 50 inches on a 60 inch screen compared to like 20 inches in hight on a 27 inch screen is quite better. The key thing is knowing what you are going ot use this for. It its for causal viewing or video game playing, go for it, its cool. for serious moving viewing, its not the greatest buy, if you spend a couple hundred dollars more you can get a projector light years ahead of this one in every category. I would have much rather they pumped up the resolution to 640by480 with a brighter lamp, and ditched the dvd player and speaks. Overall, is it fun....yes, Is it amazing....no, is it worth it.....depends.
