Tech update: Cinemin Swivel

So back in August, I told you guys about the hand-held movie projector Cinemin Swivel. At the time, I could just write about what I'd been told, as the projectors hadn't started shipping yet. Well, the company sent me one to test out on my own and I have to say, despite some technical difficulties, I think the product is a fun gadget to have around for parties and even just random trips down memory lane.

Now, the projector should work with your iPod. Unfortunately, my first-generation video one seems to have stopped wanting to play videos—and it took me a good 30 minutes of fiddling with the player, projector and all their wires for me to realize that. (Indeed, I can't see videos even when it's not attached to the projector) And, for reasons I still don't quite understand, the projector couldn't work with my Sony Vaio laptop. (I think my settings are wrong on my computer and I couldn't quite figure out how to change it). I got so discouraged, I decided to leave my reviewing duties until the next day.

In a calmer frame of mind, I attached the projector —which is about the size of a cell phone, circa 1995—to my Sony camcorder (and, thankfully, easily figured out how to change the export video settings). At last, success!! The projector started it's low humming and a blurry moving blob, which was not the logo that I had gotten on my first night of attempts, started to come into focus. Putting the projector on my dresser, I quickly jerry-rigged a little boosting support out of jewelry boxes and blurry became much crisper.

I then sat down  to enjoy some videos from my last trip to Miami (see the boat I was talking about in my last post, below). I have to say, the audio (which I was concerned about) may not have been surround sound, but it was pretty decent and the picture looked good.The colors were bright and the image was pretty clear. The connection between the camcorder and the projector was a little sensitive —jostling the wire interrupted the viewing—but there were otherwise no issues playing different video scenes from the camcorder. 

In the end, I think that if you're a family that takes a lot of video, this projector is worth the $350 $299 (available at amazon.com and Brookstone). The projector itself is ridiculously easy to operate, and once you've finagled the right settings on your own video gadgets (seriously, the hardest part), you can easily bust out a fun video clip during your next dinner party or family reunion.