| bishopdante |
| Is it common to tile several low resolution LCD projectors to get better light distribution, focus and of course, resolution. Seeing pixels half a centimetre across is not that great and seeing an out of focus image isn't great either. My thought is that 4 640*480 projectors gives you 1280*960, or 800*600 gives you 1600*1200, with the advantage of a smaller projecting distance, therefore higher brightness. I suppose the downside is higher costs. I have recently been comissioned to install audio visual equipment for a touring art exhibition and was considering using commercial projectors but the prices are silly, the resolution is bad, and the replacement bulbs seem to be a rip off. Based on this we are looking at LCD monitors, but the client is still keen on a larger image than 19". What I am now considering building is a 6 by 4 foot backlit screen system with tiled projectors projecting onto it, all driven by a mac (which supports tiling). This will need to be viewed under daylight conditions. I have never built a projector before, but my understanding of physics is pretty good. I also have the advantage of a team of experienced British Council carpenters at my disposal. Am I mad to consider it? What sort of LCD panels should I use? What would be the best material for the projection surface? The budget is around £ 5000 for 3 backlit screens each involving 4 tiles.:scratch: |
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| bulldog5046 |
maybe its just be but most of that made no sence, want to use a **** load of lcds to make a video wall right? you say it has to be using it daylight but lcds can be hard to see in brite daylight anyway, and finaly your prepared to spend £5000.....um dont mean to point out the obvious but you could get one hell of a projector for that, but if u insist on building one you could easly make one that was viewable in daylight.
i may have compleatly got the wrong idea here but thats my view on it.
Thanks,
Ryan Edge |
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| pinkmouse |
Ok, as someone who has had vast experience of exhibitions, and the problems thereof, I strongly suggest you just buy or rent the kit. Home made systems just ain't bright or robust enough, and tiling screens need projectors with correction for aspheric distortion.
There is really no easy way out... sorry |
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| ace3000_1 |
Just sit closer to the screen, they become bigger lol:D, but realy yeah, there is no easy way out of this one, id just buy the gear as Pinkmouse stated if u got 5k pounds to spend.
I wouldnt go lcd either, go dlp or lcos as they are much brighter, lcds just chew up all of the sources light.
Trev |
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| echow87 |
| A dlp projector for US $3000 or less would have 2000~2500 lumens. That should be enough for daylight view. |
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| dantho |
hi Bishop.
I am also pretty experienced with the travelling media exhibition circuit, and have friends who also custom make cabinets for 3D-media systems. You are not crazy, you do not need to rent or purchase a ready-made system. (Unless of course time is major issue!) However, you will see the need to have a technician travel with the show to maintain your projectors, replace bulbs, resolder loose connections and what have you.
I have spent the past 6 months designing and building my own video projectors, and have found some nice solutions. For me, arriving at the "standards" of the industry were less important than getting them to work. I guess the best advice I have for you is to try and determine what kind of application your client has in mind, and determine how best to use the resources (including time management) at your disposal. If your client likes the idea (and the risk) of homemade projection systems - that is if it fits with the concept of the show, then do it. However, if your client is more concerned with reliability, trueness of color etc. not to mention an industry standard warranty, then your only feasible option is to buy/rent/lease one.
One last idea is to fork over the cash, buy 4 1000 quid XGA projectors, 4 replacement lamps, then sell the projectors on ebay after the exhibition... You get a nice return on the investment and its pretty straightforward and risk-free. LOL!!!
Some things you will need to consider if you go ahead:
<li>Making 12 identical video projectors is hard, accounting for human error.
<li>Aligning them is even harder.
<li>Buy 13 of everything and use the remaining one for replacement parts, testing and accounting for human error. (I think the accounting term might be Research and Design Expenditure)
<li>Aligning them is really no problem, but you have to find a design that works reliably, that is easy to keep clean and maintain, solves heat efficiently (because a gallery situation demands that these projectors are on like 50 hours a week, sometimes 8 hours at a go!)
<li>A minimum throw distance of 1 meter. Most projection lenses have a sweet spot that starts at around 1 meter and can extend up to 10!
<li>Put together a team! Often very simple solutions can be found to the problem when several people look at the situation.
If you like you can look at my website for inspiration.
Talk to you soon.
dantho |
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| hello |
I dont think your totally crazy, considering the amount of money youd save.
Why dont you use a bunch of xga's
You only need two lcds of this res side by side to get res that is wider than HD
With a verticle res of 768 it fits it perfectly
All you need is a video card that supports two displays in span mode
ATI's dont do this
Go for Nvidia |
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| dantho |
NVIDIA is good, but the thing is that you need two separate video scan conversion plugs, DVI and RGB/XGA or something like that, and each projector would have to have an additional option for image input...
but definitely go nvidia |
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| hello |
This is a bit confusing,
if my card has to outputs( 2 vga's),
and i conected them up to two lcd screens that both have vga outputs,
would this work?
would it work in span mode? |
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