Philips PicoPix 1430 review

The built-in MP4 player can play a wide variety of container files and codecs from a USB flash drive, including MKV and Flash video, and MPEG4, H.263 and H.264. Audio support is limited to MP3 and WAV, and you can view images in JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF and TIFF formats. For presentations, you’ll still need to attach it to a computer as it can’t read PowerPoint files natively, but if your presentation is in a video format, you’ll only need to carry the PicoPix and a memory stick.

The PicoPix comes with an adaptor for composite video and stereo RCA audio, but if you want to connect it to a laptop you’ll need to buy the £20 VGA adaptor, which also plugs into your laptop’s 3.5mm audio jack output to play audio over the projector’s tiny speakers. There’s also a 3.5mm audio output socket for speakers or headphones. You can buy a component video adaptor for £20, while an iPhone/iPod/iPad adaptor is £30.

The PicoPix 1430 may be more expensive than Samsung’s SP-H03 (What’s New, Shopper, April 2011), but it supports external USB hard drives and includes a remote control. However, its image suffers heavily from the rainbow effect and you need to buy expensive adaptors for VGA and iPhone support. Unless you really need the portability, we’d recommend sticking with a standard office projector.