Review of the $500 projector with $30 bulbs

This is a follow-up review to my review of the EVO v1.0. You may want to check out that review, as it is more detailed and in most cases, applies to the EVO v1.1.

I had the good fortune of grabbing an updated EVO 1.1 from LumenLab. They've addressed the worst issues, made the case white ala MacBook, and have, at least in my eyes, made this little $500 projector with $30 bulbs all the more compelling.

The deltas
Like you'd expect in software, version 1.1 is not a huge improvement over EVO 1.0. Similar look, feel, and function, perhaps with a few bugs fixed and some bells and whistles. So I didn't expect many differences, and that's what I got. But the changes I noticed were very important fixes.

• New white case - I was really pinning for a shiny black case (after all, it would make it look smaller!), or even a sleek grey case, but I guess white is in. Fair enough. It is an improvement over Cheap Silver, ala 1.0.
• Less fan noise - I've read that it's actually not the fans that are different, it's the interior of the case that was redesigned. Nevertheless, the EVO 1.1 is much quieter than EVO 1.0. Not a groundbreaking difference, but a noticeable one. Still a heck of a lot louder than my silent old Panasonic AE700u, but quiet enough to not be a bother when you're watching a film.
• New lens casing - this may not have bothered anyone else as much as me, but I do like the new better-rotating lens. It feels like it's actually attached to the case, rather than all wobbly like 1.0. And now - no more fingerprints!
• Voiceless - Hurray! This is the one "feature" I was really hoping for. While old 1.0's nasty-hag voice was good for a few laughs, it got old very quickly when I was using it at a tradeshow. So, instead of The Voice, our EVO has a couple of useful status lights to let us know what's up. Projectors should be seen and not heard. Nuff said.

Seriously, other than that, nothing major to report. We've still got an amazingly cheap projector with replacement bulbs that cost less than a nice meal, and a growing revolution in our hands. I honestly don't think I'll be using it as my main mobile movie projector, mainly because the fairly low lumens and inflexible lens, but I'll bring it to the next show and take pictures, I promise. It is going to make a great projector for around the house.

Cheerleaders help the motivation. Email me at bryan AT mobmov.org if you find this helpful and want more. Thanks!