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Sega Toys’ Star Theater Star Projector
We’ve tested Sega Toy’s star projector at home. We’ll tell you how it works and what we think of it. |
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 Everything that’s included in the Sega Toys’ Star Theater Star Projector package |
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Sega Toys describes "Star Theatre" as projector that will turn any room into a miniature planetarium. The Sega Toys projector was designed by Takayuki Ohira, a Japanese designer who loves stars and created his first portable planetarium while he was still in school. With that background, you might expect to find a huge and incredibly sophisticated contraption, accompanied by a colossal instruction book. But, when you open the package, you’ll realize (and no doubt be grateful) that it’s really quite a simple device. The device is a very pretty black ball that fits in the palm of your hand. It’s lightweight and discreet.
The package includes:
The projector, which is black
A power cable with a standard European plug
Two projection disks (one with stars and another with constellations), each in its own box
This user’s manual
A booklet explaining the night sky
Before You Try It
Although you’re probably dying to turn off the lights and check it out as soon as possible, it’s worth exercising a bit patience and doing a couple of things that won’t take more than 5 minutes. First of all, you have to insert 1 of the two disks included in the projector. One of them has stars and the other has constellations. Take out the extractable tray and put the disk in with the side that says "Sega Toys" facing up. Be careful not to touch the disk’s surface with your fingers. Each disk comes with its own protective box, and I recommend that you put them away after each use because they’re very sensitive and, after all, you won’t be able to use the projector if the disks break.
Select Functions
Now you have to look at the control panel, where you’ll find the On/Off buttons and the 3 functions you can regulate. First, there’s rotation, if you want the projection to move (it can move either North or South). Second, you can turn on the shooting star option, which we highly recommend, so these will sporadically appear. And, lastly, if you want to you can set the timer so the projector will automatically shut itself off after 15, 30 or 60 minutes. You’ll have to do all of this before turning the lights in the room off, because once you’re in the dark you won’t see the buttons on the projector. Although, I suggest you may want to keep a flashlight nearby in case you want to adjust the functions.
Turn the Lights Off
Hit ON and take the protective cover off the lens. Move the levers on the side to choose the surface where you want to see the projection (ceiling or wall). Now you can turn off the lights. It’s very important to make sure the room is completely dark, since, the less light there is, the brighter and clearer the stars will be. If you have blinds in the windows, these should be shut.
What Will You See?
Right away you’ll watch your room turn into a small planetarium and you’ll understand why this device is called Star Theater. It’s almost as if you’d taken a chunk of the night sky and hung it in your living room. It rotates very slowly, but this makes it more realistic. The stars are clearly visible and it’s fun to look out for shooting stars and try to locate constellations. Observing this show from the comfort of your living room is very relaxing and, if you’re really tired, you can almost forget you’re indoors. The pictures we took didn’t come out all that great, but we found some at The Gadgeteer that’ll give you an idea as to the result.
Points in favor:
It’s easy to install and the control buttons are simple and intuitive.
Includes a brief user’s guide, which is greatly appreciated. If you don’t know how to use a control you’ll quickly find it in the guide.
The projector is compact, lightweight and doesn’t take up much space. Plus, it’s discreet, you can leave it in any corner of the living room and it’ll look like a lamp.
Includes a booklet that explains the constellations and the stars, which is very practical if you know nothing about astrology.
The disks come in perfectly protective boxes, like CD covers only smaller.
The timer has 3 options: 15, 30 and 60 minutes. You can program it and leave it on while you fall asleep and it’ll shut off automatically.
Points against it:
The projection doesn’t cover the entire room, it only projects stars and constellations on a circular area about 2.70 m / 106 inches in diameter.
In order to see the projection really clearly, the room must be completely dark. We would have liked to have had a built-in light, a sort of flashlight to turn on or off, so you can use the controls on the device once the room is dark and thus avoid having to turn the room’s light back on each time you want to adjust something.
Rotation is a bit slow and, also, when this option is selected, the projector is a bit noisy. It’s not very loud, but it might be a nuisance if you’re trying to fall asleep.
Includes a standard European plug. If you live in a country that uses a different type of plug, you’ll need an adaptor.
You can buy Sega Toy’s "Star Theatre" Star Projector at our shop.
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 (24 Sep 2009)
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