| miatawnt2b |
OK,
I am a super noob here, and I am so excited about the idea of DIY projector that I came to a screeching hault on an Infocus X2 purchase. Please forgive my ignorance, as I haven't had a lot of time to browse these forums.
I am wondering if DIY is the route I should take or not... below are my requirements.
I want a projection system to use as my main television and movie setup. 90% of the time I will want my projected image to be 50-60inch diagional. With the projector in this mode, I'd like to be able to view with a moderate amount of ambient light. (keep in mind, I believe the 1500 ANSI on the X2 would have been sufficient) The unit must be ceiling mounted, and being I have fairly low ceilings, i'd like the box to be around 6"high. (smaller the better) It would be nice to have multiple input posibilities without the use of a PC (svideo, rgb, and vga would be great) but not necissary. I guess since I would be ceiling mounting, I need a slight amount of keystone correction.
With all this in mind, would it be possible to do all this as well as make a zoomable lense (up to say 3'x4') so I can darken the room to black and project a larger image without physically moving the unit?
So am I barking up the wrong tree or can I make this happen? Parts list and a pointer to a good writeup would be greatly appreciated. How much should I expect to spend.
Thanks in advance.
J:confused: |
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| Stocker |
It's like anything else: with enough time or money or both, anything is possible. Having not built a projector myself, I am going to say you can do it. The variable size screen business may be your most challenging part or not, but keep reading. Last night somebody posted up about a sweet, slim projector in a computer housing, about 7-8" high tops.
The cost could be from $0-3000, depending, but likely well under $1000, under $500 from what I gather, if you are careful. |
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| SupraGuy |
Most likely with what you want, buying the projector may be the route to take.
Zoom lenses are not common items in the diy community, so changing the size of hte screen is primarily a task of moving hte projector. A static ceiling mounted projector is most likely going to give you a statis screen size. These are available, but it's going to increase the cost and build complexity of your project considerably.
Keystone correction, while possible, is only available as a small adjustment. Again, this is a generalisation, but one which reflects the reality of a vast majority of diy projects. I think about 15 degrees is what the accepted limit is for the LumenLab projector. (Though the InFocus X2 is really only marginally better at 20 degrees)
6" height is a big stumbling block. In order to get XGA resolution, most projectors are using 15" panels. The panel itself exceeds your height requirement. While smaller panels (eg: Liliput) are available, many of them are of limited resolution, so be careful when buying. Certainly it could be done, though, so don't let this put you off entirely. Just remember that it adds to the cost.
On the positive side of the DIY projector, most use metal halide lights, which have a much longer expected lifespan, (20,000 hours typical) (Reference: LumenLab Website) and are reasonably inexpensive to replace (I am finding them locally for about $35 CAD) as compared to the specs for the InFocus X2 (Reference Website) which seems to be rated for 3,000 hours, and lists for $299 USD.
They can be much less expensive to build, but depending on how eager you are to bargain hunt, or if you just want to buy the stuff and do it, it can cost almost as much as a low-end commercial projector. My own project should come in close to the $450 mark, unless I end up spending more on my LCD than I'm currently hoping.
Is it doable? Certainly. But be certain to read up on the pros and cons. For the specs that you want, you're going to be closer to the top end of the diy cost range, but if you do it carefully and do it right, you'll have something you can really be proud of. |
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| Squalish |
| Zoom lenses might not be common, but I was under the impression that there was some decent flexibility by simply moving the objective lense forward/backward - lots of people have done it on the lumenlabs forum. |
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| SupraGuy |
The problem is that moving the lens backward and forward adjusts focus as well. So you get a very minor amount of size correction (VERY minor) which rapidly degrades image focus.
You could adjust the focus with an additional lens, but then that's what a zoom lens is in essence... |
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| miatawnt2b |
OK,
well, what about getting a used projector of older vintage and modifying the light source to give teh lumens I am looking for? This would give me all the functionality, probably result in a better contrast ratio, as well as give the extended bulb life I'm lookig for. I've done a few searches, but it seems this is not a common modification. Is there a reason for that?
J |
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| mydiyvideo |
That's a good question.
I have an old bugeye projector.
Has anybody put in brighter bulbs or otherwise modded one?
It still works great the way it is, just a little dim maybe. |
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