I 'll start this review with a disclaimer . I be a geek . this mean I do a ton of research on the pk301 Pico Projector from Optoma before purchase it through Amazon . in theory , it be a cool toy . however , some basic production fault sabotage any realistic use of this projector . I initially purchase it as a special effect for Halloween . I record a ghostly movie , tweak the movie with some after effect , and be mean to rear-project it into some dense fog or onto the house window to scare the kid . here be what I run into : - the projector come with almost no instruction other than `` here be the power button '' and `` check out we website for accessory . '' - the resolution of the projector be cut almost in half if you do not have it connect to a external video source -lrb- tv , laptop , etc. -rrb- - the cable that come with it be poorly make , and cram into the packaging . the laptop-to-projector cable that come with my initial order be break . - when I ask for a replacement cable , I be send a refurbish projector and be ask to send the new one back . thankfully , Amazon do not care if I switch the cable , and I return the refurbish one . the moral of the story be , if you buy a brand new projector and it do not work out of the box , optoma may replace it with a clearly used\/refurbished projector . for $ 300 + , that be b . - the battery life be around 45 minute . keep that power cord handy . - the projector be very picky about exactly how the video file be format . do not expect any drag-and-drop here . you 'll need to download a third-party program like Handbrake to format you video into mp4 at a specific bit-rate and size , because the projector come with no software . - the speaker sound be about as loud as cheap earbud . unless you be sit right next to it -lrb- with the little fan blow in you ear -rrb- , you 'll need external speaker to hear anything . important ! - after 3 - 4 hour of playtime , the screen develop a burn in the middle . this burn must have be on inside reflector , because I could not clean it off . it be so bad and so black , I could not see the on-screen menu to play anything . thankfully , I be able to return it . pro - look neat when you can get it to work . con - poorly construct . - bad customer service from Optoma . - spec give for resolution be under very specific circumstance , and not what you would get out of the box . - need to download specialized software from third-party company and have knowledge of video editing to convert video before they can be play . - burn up after 3 - 4 hour of continuous playtime -lrb- aka cooling fan be not good enough -rrb- . final verdict - avoid this product and wait for the next model . maybe they 'll have solve the cooling problem by then .