All good ideas except that most people are using dscaler in conjunction with video capture card to get the best possible scaled picture. However some of the existing software that comes with PVR and TV capture cards is not too bad and will work for scaling an external source. I don't know if dscaler will work with a USB solution.
THe issue with using dscaler with a notebook computer is that it keeps the CPU at 70-90 % usage for long periods of time and creates a lot of heat. This might be a problem for some notebooks. Also older notebooks won't have USB ports but notebooks of the era that do are more likely to work as they are also likely to have video chips with full screen MPEG decoding capability.
The beauty of DIY is finding an acceptable work around that works for you. External USB PVR and HD with an older notebook might work well for some.
Hezz
THe issue with using dscaler with a notebook computer is that it keeps the CPU at 70-90 % usage for long periods of time and creates a lot of heat. This might be a problem for some notebooks. Also older notebooks won't have USB ports but notebooks of the era that do are more likely to work as they are also likely to have video chips with full screen MPEG decoding capability.
The beauty of DIY is finding an acceptable work around that works for you. External USB PVR and HD with an older notebook might work well for some.
Hezz
Thanks,
I want HD content though. But you gave me a good idea. There is a company that is about to offer an HD USB 2 receiver.
I wonder if my 650 MHz laptop can handle that.
Robmx
I want HD content though. But you gave me a good idea. There is a company that is about to offer an HD USB 2 receiver.
I wonder if my 650 MHz laptop can handle that.
Robmx
For just watching Tv from the card it would probably be OK. Some of the Tv capture cards have hardware that supposedly takes the load off of the CPU. But you will want to do a lot of research. HTPC news is a good forum for HTPC information.
Hezz
Hezz
Here are a couple of pictures on my projector project. It is moving kind of slow because I had to build a computer table to go in the corner and also new A/V rack. The rack is almost done and will replace the old one that is shown in the picture. It is designed to house a large case tower computer for the HTPC to drive the projector.
Also shown in the picture is the new backup internet computer on the corner computer table. I wish I had a picture of the A/V rack as it is looking pretty good.
Hezz
Also shown in the picture is the new backup internet computer on the corner computer table. I wish I had a picture of the A/V rack as it is looking pretty good.
Hezz
Attachments
Robmx,
I think I mislead you on the above post where I said the USB TV card would work. IF you mean regular analog NTSC TV card it will probably work but it might not be fast enough for full screen playback. If it is HD as in high definition it won't have the horsepower. HTPC builders are finding that HDTV cards require serious computer horsepower. But I think there is one PCI model which doesn't use your CPU resources to decode the signal. Normally, you would need a minimum of AMD 3300 XP or Intel pentium 4 3.2 gig or AMD 64 CPU for the high definition TV playback.
IF when you said HD you meant hard drive based TV card recording of standard analog TV then all should be OK. That is what I was thinking at first but then I realized you probably meant HDTV.
Hezz
I think I mislead you on the above post where I said the USB TV card would work. IF you mean regular analog NTSC TV card it will probably work but it might not be fast enough for full screen playback. If it is HD as in high definition it won't have the horsepower. HTPC builders are finding that HDTV cards require serious computer horsepower. But I think there is one PCI model which doesn't use your CPU resources to decode the signal. Normally, you would need a minimum of AMD 3300 XP or Intel pentium 4 3.2 gig or AMD 64 CPU for the high definition TV playback.
IF when you said HD you meant hard drive based TV card recording of standard analog TV then all should be OK. That is what I was thinking at first but then I realized you probably meant HDTV.
Hezz
Why not use an external descaler? I bought a 1280x1024 descaler/tv-box brand new for $70 shipped on ebay.
I am only talking about HDTV.
I have numerous OTA HDTV receivers and a 8300 HDTV cable box.
What is an external descaler, what does it do and how does it fit into what I am trying to do? How would l use it?
Bob Miller
I have numerous OTA HDTV receivers and a 8300 HDTV cable box.
What is an external descaler, what does it do and how does it fit into what I am trying to do? How would l use it?
Bob Miller
Dscaler is a program which deinterlaces and then scales a standard interlaced video signal into a progressive digital format which can be utilized by your computers video card.
This is only necessary if you want to show common video sources on your big screen like VCR or video camera. There are some expensive computer scaling cards which do all of this in hardware. In addition there are some used external box scalers which were expensive things used in the past and present for driving high resolution projectors from a standard DVD signal. Since a lot of HT enthusiests are going to HTPC to drive the projector many of these scalers are available used on e-bay. Also there are some relatively good ones available for a more reasonable price. But as far as how many of these are meant to be used with a computer through a USB port I don't know.
Hezz
This is only necessary if you want to show common video sources on your big screen like VCR or video camera. There are some expensive computer scaling cards which do all of this in hardware. In addition there are some used external box scalers which were expensive things used in the past and present for driving high resolution projectors from a standard DVD signal. Since a lot of HT enthusiests are going to HTPC to drive the projector many of these scalers are available used on e-bay. Also there are some relatively good ones available for a more reasonable price. But as far as how many of these are meant to be used with a computer through a USB port I don't know.
Hezz
Robmx. Unfortunatly most usb2 PVR devices require a 1800+ mhz cpu, but this one youve` found may be the exception, and if it is please post details, cos I for one would be interested. The plus side is MOST usb devices with video in can handle good frame rates, but a hardware encoding chipset usb device are few and far between. It would prolly be cheaper to buy Epia SP 1300, which as far as I am aware is the fastest production model. It has onboard LVDS controller, allowing certain laptop LCD panels to be used, along with low noise and power consumption and mpeg4 acceleration. In the UK these can be bought many places including http://www.mini-itx.com/store/ . They are not the cheapest of places, but they are helpful. On a bright note, this board has as many inputs as you are likely to require, and has the ability of two PCI cards in a special riser. Best bit is they are small (170mm x 170mm) and thus can be built in to a PJ easily. Slap a Wintv PVR 150 and Win MCE2005 and you would have a PJ/HTPC combo
Ok found a source for panels suitable for Epia motherboards, but they are not cheap. Goto http://www.icp-epia.co.uk/ and click on display to see the panels available. I have e-mailed them to see if they can get a 8"/10.4" xga panel.
One thing to bear in mind that this SHOULD give the best picture quality on the lcd that is possible as there are less image electronic conversions going on, so even the svga screen should herald an increase in overal PJ image quality (not withstanding the optics and build/design). Downside is overal cost, but even this shouldn`t put you off cos this will still come in WAY below a commercial PJ of the same res, have many more functional uses, and have a vastly reduced TCO
One thing to bear in mind that this SHOULD give the best picture quality on the lcd that is possible as there are less image electronic conversions going on, so even the svga screen should herald an increase in overal PJ image quality (not withstanding the optics and build/design). Downside is overal cost, but even this shouldn`t put you off cos this will still come in WAY below a commercial PJ of the same res, have many more functional uses, and have a vastly reduced TCO
Update
Things have been a little slow on my projector project as of late but I did finish my new A/V rack and I have my HTPC up and running again with one less HD which overheated. I do not particularly like this HTPC case but it was a good deal and has very good cooling properties even though it is a little to deep for the rack. I have a custom water cooled design that I might build in the future.
Here is a photo of the new A/V rack.
Hezz
Things have been a little slow on my projector project as of late but I did finish my new A/V rack and I have my HTPC up and running again with one less HD which overheated. I do not particularly like this HTPC case but it was a good deal and has very good cooling properties even though it is a little to deep for the rack. I have a custom water cooled design that I might build in the future.
Here is a photo of the new A/V rack.
Hezz
Attachments
Here is another of the A/V rack from another angle.
I have also been working on the light engine and have the lower bulb mount roughed out of aluminum. I will post pictures on that soon. I have got the patterns printed for the deep parabolic reflector and now I need to cut out and polish the aluminum sheet.
After finding out that the DIYprojector company 135 x 450 mm lens has a narrow 24 degree FOV I was disheartened as the outside corners of the 15.4 inch widescreen LCD will not be in sharp focus. I was so upset that for a while I did not want to finish this projector design but I think that I will finish it anyway as image may be acceptable for movie viewing.
I have come to the conclusion that I am going to get a manual pull down screen to mount on the ceiling so that it can pull down in front of the regular TV.
What I want to do instead of immeadiately building a better lens for this projector is to build a custom frame rear projection TV of about 60- 65 inches. I have been struggling with the front projection lighting problems for some time and for movies it should be fine to drop down a 100 - 120 inch wide screen and watch at night. But for games and occasional internet browsing I want to be able to do those things with some level of ambient light in the room.
THe only way I see how to do that is to have a rear projection system. So here is my plan. As soon as I get this projector working I am going to start in on designing a large screen rear projection TV to use as the primary monitor. I may make the rear projection TV to have a 4:3 aspect ratio so that I have more options and it will work better with standard broadcast TV and old videos. This willalso give more LCD options.
THe direct view rear projection TV will have better contrast in ambient light conditions and will require no setup so for games and some things you can just set down and enjoy. WHen I want to watch a movie in the dark on a bigger screen I can pull down the screen and setup the big projector.
I will post a new thread with my design ideas for the rear projection TV.
Hezz
I have also been working on the light engine and have the lower bulb mount roughed out of aluminum. I will post pictures on that soon. I have got the patterns printed for the deep parabolic reflector and now I need to cut out and polish the aluminum sheet.
After finding out that the DIYprojector company 135 x 450 mm lens has a narrow 24 degree FOV I was disheartened as the outside corners of the 15.4 inch widescreen LCD will not be in sharp focus. I was so upset that for a while I did not want to finish this projector design but I think that I will finish it anyway as image may be acceptable for movie viewing.
I have come to the conclusion that I am going to get a manual pull down screen to mount on the ceiling so that it can pull down in front of the regular TV.
What I want to do instead of immeadiately building a better lens for this projector is to build a custom frame rear projection TV of about 60- 65 inches. I have been struggling with the front projection lighting problems for some time and for movies it should be fine to drop down a 100 - 120 inch wide screen and watch at night. But for games and occasional internet browsing I want to be able to do those things with some level of ambient light in the room.
THe only way I see how to do that is to have a rear projection system. So here is my plan. As soon as I get this projector working I am going to start in on designing a large screen rear projection TV to use as the primary monitor. I may make the rear projection TV to have a 4:3 aspect ratio so that I have more options and it will work better with standard broadcast TV and old videos. This willalso give more LCD options.
THe direct view rear projection TV will have better contrast in ambient light conditions and will require no setup so for games and some things you can just set down and enjoy. WHen I want to watch a movie in the dark on a bigger screen I can pull down the screen and setup the big projector.
I will post a new thread with my design ideas for the rear projection TV.
Hezz
Attachments
Lens & RPTV ideas
I have a couple of suggestions along both those lines:
I have an 18" fl opaque projector lens on its way from an eBay auction. This is another source for a large diameter long-throw lens. (457 mm fl) I want to see if it yields an acceptable image with my 15" LCD. (ie. Is it corrected for chromatic aberration?, etc.) With a real wide FOV lens, I will be able to see some tiny light leaks in my LCD frame. So that will be an easy way to tell if it "sees" about 17" diagonal. I'll post the results, if they look useful.
As for the RPTV, I was looking at Craig's List the other day and I immediately found a 65" RPTV with blown electronics, free for the hauling! I think these are available in every large city, almost every week. You get giant fresnels or lenticular screen, big first surface mirror, nice looking box, etc. Shouldn't be too hard to pop in a light engine, LCD, and such to get it working! If the electronics just did broadcast TV, then a 5" PSone screen with the VGA mod might even give you better quality than the original picture! I think some of the RPTVs even used larger format color CRTs, so you might be able to use a 7" Lilliput LCD with the original lens.
I have a couple of suggestions along both those lines:
I have an 18" fl opaque projector lens on its way from an eBay auction. This is another source for a large diameter long-throw lens. (457 mm fl) I want to see if it yields an acceptable image with my 15" LCD. (ie. Is it corrected for chromatic aberration?, etc.) With a real wide FOV lens, I will be able to see some tiny light leaks in my LCD frame. So that will be an easy way to tell if it "sees" about 17" diagonal. I'll post the results, if they look useful.
As for the RPTV, I was looking at Craig's List the other day and I immediately found a 65" RPTV with blown electronics, free for the hauling! I think these are available in every large city, almost every week. You get giant fresnels or lenticular screen, big first surface mirror, nice looking box, etc. Shouldn't be too hard to pop in a light engine, LCD, and such to get it working! If the electronics just did broadcast TV, then a 5" PSone screen with the VGA mod might even give you better quality than the original picture! I think some of the RPTVs even used larger format color CRTs, so you might be able to use a 7" Lilliput LCD with the original lens.
mmm, real close photos of the projected image, thats what i am asking for 1 year right now 😀.
I believe the film viewing is very confortable with this lens, but please do not call it he best lens we can have 😀.
I wonder what happened to the phoenix, isnt it finished yet?
I believe the film viewing is very confortable with this lens, but please do not call it he best lens we can have 😀.
I wonder what happened to the phoenix, isnt it finished yet?
Guy,
Good luck with the opaque projector lens. I hope it works out as that would be a good source of surplus lenses. Let us know how it turns out. Also great idea on using an old blown rear projection TV. The lenticular screen and large first surface mirror would be invaluable. I will keep an eye out for one around here. I will make a custom metal frame for my rear projection because I want one that has a 36 inch tall pedestal stand so that I can built three watt/puppy clone speakers for the front sound.
Also I want my rear projection to be HD so the menus on the OS can be seen well enough to navigate the computer. But I think that a 7 - 10 inch LCD would work well.
Rox,
IF you send me your home address I will send you a disk with some non demo optical software to help you design the perfect lens and light engine. You are right about one thing. The DIYprojector company lens is lacking but I'm glad to hear that it is adequate for non text uses.
I still would be interested in how good that the lenses we optimized would work even though they are corrected with infinite conjagates on one side. This would be ideal for a photographic lens but not for us. Have you tried playing anymore with your lens optimization in OSLO to get a more perfect lens.
I have not heard anything more on the Phoenix and since I don't want to pay registration fees I can't access all of the DIYbuildergroup info.
Hezz
Good luck with the opaque projector lens. I hope it works out as that would be a good source of surplus lenses. Let us know how it turns out. Also great idea on using an old blown rear projection TV. The lenticular screen and large first surface mirror would be invaluable. I will keep an eye out for one around here. I will make a custom metal frame for my rear projection because I want one that has a 36 inch tall pedestal stand so that I can built three watt/puppy clone speakers for the front sound.
Also I want my rear projection to be HD so the menus on the OS can be seen well enough to navigate the computer. But I think that a 7 - 10 inch LCD would work well.
Rox,
IF you send me your home address I will send you a disk with some non demo optical software to help you design the perfect lens and light engine. You are right about one thing. The DIYprojector company lens is lacking but I'm glad to hear that it is adequate for non text uses.
I still would be interested in how good that the lenses we optimized would work even though they are corrected with infinite conjagates on one side. This would be ideal for a photographic lens but not for us. Have you tried playing anymore with your lens optimization in OSLO to get a more perfect lens.
I have not heard anything more on the Phoenix and since I don't want to pay registration fees I can't access all of the DIYbuildergroup info.
Hezz
The Phoenix design will be released as soon as the new 550mm fresnel lens is available from 3Dlens.com.
Magnavox has a hd 15" lcd tv with inputs for video, s-video, component, cable and svga. The lcd panel is real easy to remove and the connection isn't a "ribbon" cable. It is a regular wire about 7" long and I'm really pleased with it's performance. Of course the base of my ohp is only 11.5" x 11.5" so I don't see the entire thing. I'll eventually build something better, But I think this screen is the way to go. All 3 formats of HD are supported and it eliminates all the scale doublers and video cards and even the whole computer unless you want to use it anyway. The cost for me was $350.00 usd a month ago, but last week it was on sale at Target for $299.00.
Gary Johnston
Gary Johnston
GaryJ,
Sounds like a good candidate for a projector. Do you know the native resolution of the panel and what is it's aspect ratio. Also, how does it look when driven with a computer VGA.
Hezz
Sounds like a good candidate for a projector. Do you know the native resolution of the panel and what is it's aspect ratio. Also, how does it look when driven with a computer VGA.
Hezz
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