Home made projector!

[Chernobyl]

I asked about using the glasses with an OHP projector and this was the answer.

"Unfortunately we have not have much success using the glasses on LCD projectors. Generally it's only a regular monitor that it works on."

To their credit, Edimensional have responded fast and answered the questions even on a Sunday!
I suspect as was pointed out earlier that the mirror from the LCD has a polarising effect which will cause problems and also the random distribution of polarised light off the screen may negate the 3D effect too.

I must try a 3D projector "some day" with Aedans suggestions of 2 Quadro cards, 2 projectors and polarised light.
A 6800GT becomes a Quadro when modded with RivaTuner, so its realisable

I am imagining a few issues with it:
1) the projectors are not in the same place so the images will not match up perfectly
2) One projector must be at 90 degrees to the other in order to polarise the light differently
3) A new screen material will have to be found that doesnt depolarise the light (much).
4) Double the running costs with 2 projectors!
5) lots of space needed
6) cash


Update:
My MH bulb is dimming a little now.
It still looks gorgeous and bright in windows/games but I have to adjust the gamma up a notch occasionally for dark movies.
It is 6 months into its 9 month life span now so is right on my expectations.
I'm very happy with it

[Chaz]

So certainly worth getting? Just how much brighter would you imagine the image would get on my setup?

[Chernobyl]

I equate the 250W MH as slightly brighter and better colours than a 400W Halogen bulb running within the 200hr life span. Yours it seems is much brighter, so I dont know if a 250W bulb would be better than your 400W as it seems to be being overdriven with a 50hr lifespan.
The 250W MH bulb produces around 20K lumens, my halogen was 13K lumens
The light delivery for the MH bulb isnt as efficient as the Halogen bulb so you lose a bit of the extra light power.
Its hard to say how much brighter yours would be as I cant see it in action and it depends what power MH bulb you choose too.

If you get the 400W bulb thats about 36K lumens, subtract 20% for the UV filter (you will be using ) leaves about 29K lumens, approx 50% more light than using a 250W MH bulb without a UV filter.

I hope thats what you needed to know

[Oscar]

Hello,
A year ago I read this thread and others about the LCD projector, I forgot about it, but this week I found a very good OHP for a good price. I bought it and started to take apart an LCD monitor+TV I also got for a crazy price (€70) (I think someone put a wrong price-tag on that thing)

It was just one or two hours later that I projected my first tests on the wall It's ten times better than I expected. I though the blacks wouldn't be dark enough or that it would desaturated the colors, but it works just perfectly.

The first thing I need to do now is to put a fan between the screen and the projector glass. And I need to extend a small strip of wires somehow.

Is there an indication of how much heat a LCD screen can take?
Anyway, thanks to all info in this thread.

Oscar

[Chernobyl]

Hi Oscar
Well done getting good parts cheap. Can you tell us what you got?
Glad its a nice result.

Try to keep the LCD as cool as possible.
UV burn in occurs faster/looks stronger on hot weather, so by the same tune the LCD will be wearing out faster the warmer it is.
My LCD has very mild permanent burn in at the bottom of the screen that is more visible the hotter the day is. Below 22C ambient I cant see it at all. At 30C ambient its visible but not annoying.
This is due to the MH bulb (gives out more UV) and no decent UV filter, something I will fix in time.


My LCD works at over 42C but I'm not happy with it being that temperature so there are 2 x 120mm fans blowing on it (running at 5V silent). Temps are in the low 30's C.
2 fans is a good idea in case one fails.


For the record:
The MH Bulb is still going strong and the picture is as good as ever!
Brightness is a little below its peak but hasnt got any worse and is perfect for the job.
Its still a treat to use 8 months on.

It's been in use for an average 16hrs+ per day which is way more than most would ever use (it gets left on overnight many times).
In my view it has more than stood the test of time.
Not bad for a bulb that costs less than £30

[Oscar]

The monitor is a JDB 15" TFT (model= VMT 150-1-D) which is also a TV receiver ($150.- can you imagine), but I didn't test the TV and the resolution on the wall yet. This one is fairly easy to take apart, but there is one small bundled wire (how do you call those printed wires?), that needs to be extended to flip some printboards over on the sides of the LCD. Is there an easy way to do this?

The projector is a XEROX with a 250 watt bulb which seem to be bright enough for completely dark rooms. It has a very fine fresnel, so I probably don't have to modify anything on the projector.
I can't look up the model number right now, because it's on the bottom.

[Chernobyl]

I'm interested to know how good a TV LCD is.
I use a WinTV analogue card in the PC which is amazing on those channels with good reception.
Digital doesnt seem to make it where I live.

The cable you have that is too short is called a ribbon. You can fit a longer version but there is no guarantee it will be the correct thickness (someone tried and found he couldnt clamp the cable in place as it was too fat).
There shouldnt be any timing related problems from the extended cable length, but again who knows. The only way to find out is to try.
Call Maplins or RS (Radio Spares) etc to see what they stock, they dont cost a lot.

Good luck

[Oscar]

I'll check some local electronic stores here (The Netherlands), but I also have another idea (which may be very stupid)
Can you glue a strip of aluminum foil onto a strip of strong flexible plastic and cut away the the lines you don't need, to duplicate the ribbon yourself?

Or is there some kind of paint that functions like a electric wire, so you can paint the lines?

Another thing, I can't replace the whole ribbon, because one end isn't in a clamp, so I need to extend it.

[Chernobyl]

The foil method sounds a bit risky but there is mileage in the conductive pen idea.
Many computer overclocking stores sell conductive pens.

Having never used one I dont know how well the conductive ink adheres to a flexible ribbon.
If the paint cracks when the ribbon is bent, it wont be much use.
It could well be perfect for the job tho.
Email a shop that sells them, they may be able to tell you more.

[Oscar]

Thanks. That really sound like the thing I need. I'll try to find a conductive pen tomorrow. If I get any results I'll post them.

[Chaz]

Bumpety bump. What the hell is this thread doing buried so far into the forum?!

Chernobyl, you still around? I'm thinking about going ahead and buying the 400w metal halide kit from that german supplier, but the kit doesnt come with a UV stop, and the store is out of stock at the moment. Any ideas where else I could get one?

Anyone recognise the website in the photo?

[Chernobyl]

Hi Chaz, yeah still about

400W MH bulbs dont seem to have UV Stop so you will need a UV filter.
I dont rate the UV stop bulbs anyway so 400W with the filter is what I'm getting next.
I havent purchased a bulb separately yet so cant tell you a good place.

This bulbs still going strong

[Daniel ~]

You can bury a good thread, but it will rise again!! ":O}

[Chaz]

Wow, bombing around in a fighter on Battlefield 2 is immensely fun with the big screen. I've just spent literally an hour zipping around various 64 player maps in a server on my own, it's simply great!

If anyone is thinking about going for this, I really recommend it. For the £200 I spent on the projector I could have bought a high end graphics card. A decent framerate is nothing in comparison to the feeling of actually being there. Seriously.

Edit: I tried getting videos, but they turned out pretty poor, it seems the camera isnt great with dark videos. So here's a video of the BF2 intro movie, with the lights on

http://www.infernolabs.co.uk/files/BF2Titles.wmv

[Chernobyl]

Hi Chaz and Daniel, I only just noticed your posts!
Hey I like the new look and feel of the forum, good stuff.

Yeah completely agree Chaz, its a truly worthwhile investment.
Its nice to have your cake and eat it too hope you have a nice graphics card now.

The project is about due for an update so here goes:
Around 5 months ago, I bought a 3 metre diagonal roll down "screen" off ebay for £60. It is really a pull down blind to cover a window and is made from a white plasticy material.
The living room is switched round now and I have it mounted on the wall. The sofa is raised 3 feet off the floor and set back 4 metres from the screen so its just like a cinema .
The projector is also raised off the floor about 30cm to get the picture straight.
We have tried sitting closer than 4 metres away but the picture is too big, 4 metres away is just right for me, my friend finds it too big for counterstrike lol

The first time I powered it up I was quite surprised how bright it is with a 2.5m picture! I compared it to the proper screen I have been using and its about 2/3 the brightness at the same distance away (I expected the new screen to look less bright though).
After tweaking the brightness etc in windows it is producing a lovely huge picture. The only down side due to slightly higher brightness tweaking is a loss of detail on very bright video (ie it loses some detail on snow).
Initially I overdid the tweaks but after carefully working with the settings for video quality (using ffdshow/Dscaler), it is a minor issue that doesnt surface often.
Now I am so happy with it, the picture is just great!
The hifi is situated beneath the screen with the main speakers to the sides of the screen.

The Metal Halide bulb is still working - amazingly. It has been on for at least 18hrs per day (average), every day!
Given the new cost of electricity I have decided to stay with the UV Stop 250W bulb. Without the use of a proper UV filter, I have to be careful not to leave backdrops in Windows with too much blue on the lower half of the screen. Otherwise it causes a mild burn in effect as mentioned before. It always goes away completely within a day if the background is changed so doesnt worry me. (only static pictures burn in, not video)
I doubt it would be a problem if it was only used for 8 hours a day or less as a normal person would use it

To keep it clean I use a combination of tools.
One of those Flash Dustmaster thingies for quick cleaning every week.
A Dyson suck monster to keep dust off all the surfaces every month or 2.
A vinegar based cleaner (Mr Muscle - Window and Glass) for cleaning the occasional coffee/beer splash off the LCD.
About every 2 months I take the LCD off and clean the lenses, rear reflector and bulb which takes about 10 to 15 mins.

Watching TV is fantastic using Dscaler. It doesnt sound like a tool for watching TV but is in fact the best tool ever for deinterlacing, stabilising (and tweaking).
If you have a TV card, you should try it.

Should anyone wants to try their own project I will be here to help.

ps
hi Admins,
I have forgotten to come here for some time as it hasnt been so easy to get here.
I use Blocklist Manager and Protowall as protection. Unfortunately the standard blocklists from Blutack block your Website.
This is the message:

BLOCKED [!] - Destination is Everyones Internet, www.neededware.com, roings.c... (67.15.20.6) [Protocol: TCP - src: 2615 / dst: 80]

The blocklists are used on some gateways as well as on personal computers.
No doubt you will be getting less visitors due to this so thought you should know. I stop Protowall to visit here then turn it back on when finished.
It would be nice to press one shortcut to come here, I hope you can get yourself removed from the list

[Chernobyl]

Out of curiosity I tried the old smaller screen again and found the picture seems to glow, allowing the colour and brightness levels to be adjusted back to normal. Its now running with zero tweaks anywhere and looks so sweet
This got me thinking maybe its time to get a proper screen.

I have been watching reports on Screen Goo (projector screen/wall paint) for some time. After some more recent reviews comparing it to top class screens where it fared very well, I picked the phone up before I could stop myself and ordered the CRT White version
example review:
http://www.projectorcentral.com/goo_...or_screens.htm

1 Litre of Base coat (good for 2 layers) and 500ml of top coat (good for 1 layer) should be arriving next week.
The cost stings a little at £97 delivered but its way cheaper than the screens it competes with.

The cheapest price I could find in the UK is from www.shootandshow.co.uk
The chap on the phone was very pleasant and informative. He also offered to send a further 500ml of top coat (if needed) at a reduced postage which I thought was very nice and deserved a mention.

Hopefully I will be able to get a decent photo of the 2.5metre screen running after this, fingers crossed!
It should be here on Tuesday.

[Gizmo]

Glad to see you back, Chernobyl!

[Got EpOx]

Our resident Projector Wizard has returned

[Chernobyl]

thanks guys, much appreciated

I've been thinking a bit about how best to paint the screen. It is hung on a non flat wooden wall which means it is hard to use a roller and get a uniform finish while it is hung up.
I also have a proper spraying kit (real good one! has a large compressor on wheels) but havent used it yet and I dont fancy wasting these expensive paints. Also am not sure if i should spray white paints in the house as its sure to get everywhere. Any advice here is much welcome.

So the options are to spread the screen on the floor using bin liners/cardboard to protect the floor and use a paint roller or to use the spray gun and similarly protect the walls behind the screen and the floor below.

There is another issue that makes me want to use the spray gun...
The top coat is very expensive, costing between £60 to £80 for a single coat.
I opted for 2 base coats and one top coat with the option to buy another top coat if needed later.
The spraying kit should hopefully waste much less of the paint than using rollers so maybe I should do whatever I can to use the spray gun.

Any help on using the spray gun will be gratefully accepted

[Chernobyl]

guys!!!

the German web site has screens in stock, I cant quite believe it after ordering the paint.
http://www.gadaffy.ch.vu/
Click on the screen then Leinwände on the left.

They are stunning value
..motorised
..up to 120"
..glass beaded (gain 2.3!)
..165 Euros or less!

Thats a 3 meter diagonal, highly reflective, motorised screen for £113 + post, I'm a bit gutted cos I really wanted to try one.
They have a 30 degree viewing angle so make sure you are sat back far enough to view it from all the seats.

Oh well.
Cant wait til the paint arrives I've decided to use the spray kit after reading up how to use it.
Any personal experiences / pointers would still be appreciated.