WARNING ABOUT LCD RES!!
Just a quick warning to anyone looking to purchase LCD modules: more often than not manufacturers specify colour TFT display resolution in terms of individual colour pixels RGB, ie. 3 x the REAL image resolution. The 528x220 1.8" LCD mentioned earlier will REALLY be 176x220 (very common for older handheld tv's). I am using a 5" lcd from a playstation one screen with about a real resolution approx 320x234 (i have to guesstimate, I don't have specs), and I certainly wouldn't suggest going under this resolution. As it is I want more ;-)
Just a quick warning to anyone looking to purchase LCD modules: more often than not manufacturers specify colour TFT display resolution in terms of individual colour pixels RGB, ie. 3 x the REAL image resolution. The 528x220 1.8" LCD mentioned earlier will REALLY be 176x220 (very common for older handheld tv's). I am using a 5" lcd from a playstation one screen with about a real resolution approx 320x234 (i have to guesstimate, I don't have specs), and I certainly wouldn't suggest going under this resolution. As it is I want more ;-)
Skilzygw,
Here is something to check out on the HID lamp:-
http://www.rpi.edu/dept/union/aquarium/public_html/DIY_MH.html
Here is something to check out on the HID lamp:-
http://www.rpi.edu/dept/union/aquarium/public_html/DIY_MH.html
Hey Muzzman,
Maybe you can help me. I have been searching for an LCD for the last few weeks, and I am still confused by the resolution ratings. I understand the RGB pixel issue, but how can I tell if the rated resolution is the actual number or the RGB total number? How are the LCD projection panels rated (such as a 640x480 rating)?
The main reason I am confused as this. On a certain LCD manufacturer website, I have seen several NTSC LCD offerings of various resolutions. Some of these are:
280 x 220 1.8"
480 x 234 2.5"
600 x 234 3.5"
960 x 234 5.0"
1152 x 234 6.8"
How can I tell if these ratings are "true" resolutions? If they are "RGB" ratings, that 280x220 (or 93.3x220) LCD seems awefully low res...and 280 isn't evenly divisible by three. Does that mean that these are "true" ratings? I know I have seen some nearly identical 960x234 and 320x234 LCD's that differ only in the way the pixels are counted.
I am currently considering a 5.6" panel with a 720x240 resolution in the "Delta configuration". Is that a giveaway for the RGB rated resolution?
😕 Confused.... 😕
Sorry if this post rambles--I've been frustrated lately with trying to figure this out. Thanks for your help and patience.
-f4
Maybe you can help me. I have been searching for an LCD for the last few weeks, and I am still confused by the resolution ratings. I understand the RGB pixel issue, but how can I tell if the rated resolution is the actual number or the RGB total number? How are the LCD projection panels rated (such as a 640x480 rating)?
The main reason I am confused as this. On a certain LCD manufacturer website, I have seen several NTSC LCD offerings of various resolutions. Some of these are:
280 x 220 1.8"
480 x 234 2.5"
600 x 234 3.5"
960 x 234 5.0"
1152 x 234 6.8"
How can I tell if these ratings are "true" resolutions? If they are "RGB" ratings, that 280x220 (or 93.3x220) LCD seems awefully low res...and 280 isn't evenly divisible by three. Does that mean that these are "true" ratings? I know I have seen some nearly identical 960x234 and 320x234 LCD's that differ only in the way the pixels are counted.
I am currently considering a 5.6" panel with a 720x240 resolution in the "Delta configuration". Is that a giveaway for the RGB rated resolution?
😕 Confused.... 😕
Sorry if this post rambles--I've been frustrated lately with trying to figure this out. Thanks for your help and patience.
-f4
What's the difference if it is divisable by 3? If the standard of reading is as such, 320 is less then 640 and 640 is less than 800. The idea is to get the the highest number of pixels w/ the smallest pitch. I have never seen anything rated at 176x220. I think it's confusing the issue here.
Vince
Vince
DICHROIC REFLECTOR LIGHTS
Hi all,
Discovered your dicussions recently after being discouraged at the ridiculous prices of projectors. I thought there must be a cheaper way if you do it yourself.
I'm attracted to the simple design of zark5150 necause I don't need really high res, but wondered if it was possible to make it smaller.
Just wondered if anyone had considered using dichoric reflector bulbs. They're like Halogens I think but run much cooler
MR16-FPA(case)
12V 65W 10900(lumens) GU5.3 13°(beam angle) $4.95
The hours aren't great about 3,000 but they're not too pricely small and low wattage.
http://www.track-lighting.com/bulbs.html
Let me know what you think. I'm seriously considering doing this project, even if I do it big with LOAs.
James
Hi all,
Discovered your dicussions recently after being discouraged at the ridiculous prices of projectors. I thought there must be a cheaper way if you do it yourself.
I'm attracted to the simple design of zark5150 necause I don't need really high res, but wondered if it was possible to make it smaller.
Just wondered if anyone had considered using dichoric reflector bulbs. They're like Halogens I think but run much cooler
MR16-FPA(case)
12V 65W 10900(lumens) GU5.3 13°(beam angle) $4.95
The hours aren't great about 3,000 but they're not too pricely small and low wattage.
http://www.track-lighting.com/bulbs.html
Let me know what you think. I'm seriously considering doing this project, even if I do it big with LOAs.
James
hdtv projector
I am interested in making my own projector for my homw theatre, I want to build one that is hdtv compatible and be able to switch between 4:3 and 16:9 ratios. I would assume that in order to do this it would require an lcd that can do this. does anyone know of an lcd that can do this?
thanks
I am interested in making my own projector for my homw theatre, I want to build one that is hdtv compatible and be able to switch between 4:3 and 16:9 ratios. I would assume that in order to do this it would require an lcd that can do this. does anyone know of an lcd that can do this?
thanks
Isnt the projector work reinventing the wheel?
Hi,
This is my first post here...
I too want a projection system and was lucky enough to find the necessary components on line. Basically, the project (so far) has consisted of 1) buy components; 2) use as intended. I've got ~$175 into it and with the help of my PC, watched "Swordfish" last night on DVD at the widescreen theatre aspect ratio, about 50" diagonal!
I've read only a few posts and see a lot of work being done to build a projector. I got mine - a 4K lumen Dukane for $59 total off the net (not Ebay). I dont have to worry about any of the following -
1. Product safety. It's UL approved, so it's not going to shock me, burn me or burn down my house. All the necessary interlocks are already designed in.
2. What lamp to use and/or how to cool it. No melting of the fresnel lens here! Dont have to worry why my 50K lumen metal halide lamp that I spent $150 for is only giving me 5K out to the LCD.
3. What optics to use. I havent even cleaned any of it and the image looks great!
4. What happens if the lamp dies during the movie? It's got an integral backup lamp. Even has a dimmer switch, that puts a resistor in line, which I dont have to calculate or buy. Increases lamp longevity.
So all this is IMHO, of course. To me, "DIY" means "smart", as well as someone trying to make a horse out of earth, water and fire! It means let's find the *best* way to save 10 - 100X over the commercial equivalents - and do as well or better in the process.
Another nit I've noticed. Why is anyone considering "small" screens - like the 5X7 jobs intended for in car entertainment? The aperature size directly - probably more than any other factor - effects the amount of light that ends up where you want it - on screen. You could make a projector out of a pinhole - but you need something as bright as the sun to get an image. My LCD panel - a Nview Z350 - I think half the 4K of light the projector puts out is lost, simply because the aperature square inches is about half of an 8.5X11 sheet that this unit was designed to cover. Therefore, if I could double the aperature size, I could double the light on the screen. Bigger is better.
An email informed my that "Myron" here is working with a 15" LCD panel monitor. Now that's going to let a lot of light through!
I'm *very* interested in this approach, as LCD monitors hover around $300. (I could probably get that out of my Nview Z350 on Ebay) However -
1. What LCD flat screen monitor do you use? Sony? NEC? IBM? Certainly an XGA with a regular VGA connector, that works with any PC video card. (Limiting, of course, to all PC based video) Which ones have the best pixel speed, so that fast movements dont get blurred? Is that even anything to consider, given the current technology?
2. Which ones come apart, without destroying the functionality? The people that design these things just never consider that someone, someday would like to take it apart and turn it into something else.
3. Is the higher contrast ratio (300:1 vs 100:1 of my Z350) something to get excited about, in terms of delivering a brighter picture on screen?
I'm psyched to participate in this thread. Thanks for reading,
Hi,
This is my first post here...
I too want a projection system and was lucky enough to find the necessary components on line. Basically, the project (so far) has consisted of 1) buy components; 2) use as intended. I've got ~$175 into it and with the help of my PC, watched "Swordfish" last night on DVD at the widescreen theatre aspect ratio, about 50" diagonal!
I've read only a few posts and see a lot of work being done to build a projector. I got mine - a 4K lumen Dukane for $59 total off the net (not Ebay). I dont have to worry about any of the following -
1. Product safety. It's UL approved, so it's not going to shock me, burn me or burn down my house. All the necessary interlocks are already designed in.
2. What lamp to use and/or how to cool it. No melting of the fresnel lens here! Dont have to worry why my 50K lumen metal halide lamp that I spent $150 for is only giving me 5K out to the LCD.
3. What optics to use. I havent even cleaned any of it and the image looks great!
4. What happens if the lamp dies during the movie? It's got an integral backup lamp. Even has a dimmer switch, that puts a resistor in line, which I dont have to calculate or buy. Increases lamp longevity.
So all this is IMHO, of course. To me, "DIY" means "smart", as well as someone trying to make a horse out of earth, water and fire! It means let's find the *best* way to save 10 - 100X over the commercial equivalents - and do as well or better in the process.
Another nit I've noticed. Why is anyone considering "small" screens - like the 5X7 jobs intended for in car entertainment? The aperature size directly - probably more than any other factor - effects the amount of light that ends up where you want it - on screen. You could make a projector out of a pinhole - but you need something as bright as the sun to get an image. My LCD panel - a Nview Z350 - I think half the 4K of light the projector puts out is lost, simply because the aperature square inches is about half of an 8.5X11 sheet that this unit was designed to cover. Therefore, if I could double the aperature size, I could double the light on the screen. Bigger is better.
An email informed my that "Myron" here is working with a 15" LCD panel monitor. Now that's going to let a lot of light through!
I'm *very* interested in this approach, as LCD monitors hover around $300. (I could probably get that out of my Nview Z350 on Ebay) However -
1. What LCD flat screen monitor do you use? Sony? NEC? IBM? Certainly an XGA with a regular VGA connector, that works with any PC video card. (Limiting, of course, to all PC based video) Which ones have the best pixel speed, so that fast movements dont get blurred? Is that even anything to consider, given the current technology?
2. Which ones come apart, without destroying the functionality? The people that design these things just never consider that someone, someday would like to take it apart and turn it into something else.
3. Is the higher contrast ratio (300:1 vs 100:1 of my Z350) something to get excited about, in terms of delivering a brighter picture on screen?
I'm psyched to participate in this thread. Thanks for reading,
I agree
jjasniew- Welcome to the thread.
I agree that using an overhead projector is a good idea. I have yet to find a decent one for a good price though. Any suggestions?
As far as LCD panels are concerned, I bought a KDS rad 5(pricey, but sweet) and it's response time is phenomenal. Watching DVDs is flawless. You have to try really hard to see any motion blurring. Playing Quake3 at 90+fps is still very, very nice. I read that it was 11ms response time, but it doesn't say on the box or anything.
Haven't tried taking it apart yet- I'm waiting for a good OHP..
jjasniew- Welcome to the thread.
I agree that using an overhead projector is a good idea. I have yet to find a decent one for a good price though. Any suggestions?
As far as LCD panels are concerned, I bought a KDS rad 5(pricey, but sweet) and it's response time is phenomenal. Watching DVDs is flawless. You have to try really hard to see any motion blurring. Playing Quake3 at 90+fps is still very, very nice. I read that it was 11ms response time, but it doesn't say on the box or anything.
Haven't tried taking it apart yet- I'm waiting for a good OHP..
Isnt the projector work reinventing the wheel? YES it is.
Joe, IMHO we are trying to reinvent the wheel as you say. But, for the purposes of affordability
and up-keep as the cost of bulbs can be very expensive. And for alot of us DIYers, I am sure it's just to see if it can be done, and as we have shown it CAN, the end results are something that will amaze our family and friends.
As for the largeer LCD panels, I think that you are right in that it will allow a larger amount of light to reach the screen, the draw back being that it is harder to get the light spread out evenly on the larger LCD panel.
As for the question of contrast. Yes the contrast ratio is a big factor in the final projected image. However I do not think that it is as big a factor in the brightness of the image as it is in the appearance of the "blacks" on the screen. I guess what I mean to say is that with a higher contrast you will be able to more light through the LCD panel and still be able to see black as black instead of a washed out grey color.
P.S. Glad to have you aboard.
Tim
bstv.timlewellyn.com
Joe, IMHO we are trying to reinvent the wheel as you say. But, for the purposes of affordability
and up-keep as the cost of bulbs can be very expensive. And for alot of us DIYers, I am sure it's just to see if it can be done, and as we have shown it CAN, the end results are something that will amaze our family and friends.
As for the largeer LCD panels, I think that you are right in that it will allow a larger amount of light to reach the screen, the draw back being that it is harder to get the light spread out evenly on the larger LCD panel.
As for the question of contrast. Yes the contrast ratio is a big factor in the final projected image. However I do not think that it is as big a factor in the brightness of the image as it is in the appearance of the "blacks" on the screen. I guess what I mean to say is that with a higher contrast you will be able to more light through the LCD panel and still be able to see black as black instead of a washed out grey color.
P.S. Glad to have you aboard.
Tim
bstv.timlewellyn.com
Reinvent the wheel? Why not. It's been done. I've seen a motor cycle where it's rim is it's hub. I also wouldn't create a horse out of earth and mud. I would use biotechnology.
Point is, if that's the route your taking, that's great. Other are going a different route because they don't want to move their projectors around on a cart. They might just be doing it to learn something or for the satisfaction of completing when everyone else just smirks in private at the thought.
Typically, ohp bulbs last 40 hours to 80 hours. That also means that it starts to get yellow about 3/4 of the way to its end.
Do what works for you.
Vince
Point is, if that's the route your taking, that's great. Other are going a different route because they don't want to move their projectors around on a cart. They might just be doing it to learn something or for the satisfaction of completing when everyone else just smirks in private at the thought.
Typically, ohp bulbs last 40 hours to 80 hours. That also means that it starts to get yellow about 3/4 of the way to its end.
Do what works for you.
Vince
fender4:
yeah, it's a real problem finding decent specs on products from brief listings on the web, or from commercial products. My playstation one screen was described on the box as "high resolution", but nowhere could I find the actual res and no answer to my question to Mad Catz the manufacturer. I did get a very polite and prompt answer from Hitachi, the LCD manufacturer, but because the LCD was custom produced for Mad Catz, they wouldn't release the datasheet... fair enough.
All I can suggest is that you try to obtain the actual datasheet for the panels in question. But of the panels you have listed, the higher end ones are almost certainly counting RGB pixels individually, so your effective picture resolution is max 384x234, much the same as what I am using. When I bought mine, I hadn't read any of these posts, and really didn't have any degree of certainty of the general principle working at all. Therefore I was reluctant to spend heaps. If I had my choice again I would try for a vga panel and drive it from a PC. The advantage of this over the PAL or NTSC interfaces in the smaller panels is they cannot perform intelligent scaling of the image in the vertical direction, so the lines of the panels are pretty much fixed at 234.
If you had the right software (an issue in itself) driving a 640x480 or 800x600 panel the extra res can display interpolated pixels. Unless the source is dvd where you have extra info there anyway.
jamesdlow:
Those 12V 65W dichroic bulbs sound pretty good, if the specs are right and they really do produce 10900 lumens. I would still want to go a bit brighter than this really, but good for a start. The colour temp is probably low at 3000K, but my bulb seems fine and is 3400K... This type of dichroic bulb should cut down the heat output quite a bit, as the reflector they are fitted with is supposed to pass a lot of IR, and reflect all visible. You will still need some kind of external IR filter probably, but the problem wont be as bad as other sorts of globes.
yeah, it's a real problem finding decent specs on products from brief listings on the web, or from commercial products. My playstation one screen was described on the box as "high resolution", but nowhere could I find the actual res and no answer to my question to Mad Catz the manufacturer. I did get a very polite and prompt answer from Hitachi, the LCD manufacturer, but because the LCD was custom produced for Mad Catz, they wouldn't release the datasheet... fair enough.
All I can suggest is that you try to obtain the actual datasheet for the panels in question. But of the panels you have listed, the higher end ones are almost certainly counting RGB pixels individually, so your effective picture resolution is max 384x234, much the same as what I am using. When I bought mine, I hadn't read any of these posts, and really didn't have any degree of certainty of the general principle working at all. Therefore I was reluctant to spend heaps. If I had my choice again I would try for a vga panel and drive it from a PC. The advantage of this over the PAL or NTSC interfaces in the smaller panels is they cannot perform intelligent scaling of the image in the vertical direction, so the lines of the panels are pretty much fixed at 234.
If you had the right software (an issue in itself) driving a 640x480 or 800x600 panel the extra res can display interpolated pixels. Unless the source is dvd where you have extra info there anyway.
jamesdlow:
Those 12V 65W dichroic bulbs sound pretty good, if the specs are right and they really do produce 10900 lumens. I would still want to go a bit brighter than this really, but good for a start. The colour temp is probably low at 3000K, but my bulb seems fine and is 3400K... This type of dichroic bulb should cut down the heat output quite a bit, as the reflector they are fitted with is supposed to pass a lot of IR, and reflect all visible. You will still need some kind of external IR filter probably, but the problem wont be as bad as other sorts of globes.
jjasniew
Hey I too went that route but i am also building a smaller one purely for the satisfaction and fun.
Let me ask you about the OHP and panel you use. 3 questions hows that panel and how much was it?
And why'd you only watch at 50" can it go any bigger?
Thanks!
Hey I too went that route but i am also building a smaller one purely for the satisfaction and fun.
Let me ask you about the OHP and panel you use. 3 questions hows that panel and how much was it?
And why'd you only watch at 50" can it go any bigger?
Thanks!
I've used an 25watt MR16 bulb similar to the one mentioned by jamesdlow for a DIY mountain bike headlight, and it definitely puts out a good bit of light, albeit a little on the "red side". It came without a protective lens, so I made one out of CD case plastic. I though it would melt, but it has been fine after hours of use. I'll give it a try once my parts get here.
Does anyone know if the MR16 dichroic bulbs that jamesdlow mentioned earlier at http://www.track-lighting.com/bulbs.html must be run on DC? Could 12V AC run these? They call the power supplies for these "transformers", so I was wondering if they were regulated/rectified. Just curious.
Recently, I've changed my focus to making this thing as small/portable as I can--for aesthetics and for bringing it to friends' houses for demos. The OHP route just isn't practical for my living situation right now (small apartment), but it is the easiest way to get high resolution. I also have a strange desire to build this thing from "electronic supply" parts, so maybe I could make more than one for giving as a gift or something...
Muzzman,
Thanks for the answers on the resolution issue. Is it resonable to say that 384x234 is the highest "real" resolution available (at least for a resonable price) in the NTSC/PAL/mobile video area? And anything over that would probably be an RGB rating? I would hate extra on a 720x240 and realize that it has a lower "real resolution" (240x240) than a cheaper 320x240 that I have seen.
Does anyone know if the MR16 dichroic bulbs that jamesdlow mentioned earlier at http://www.track-lighting.com/bulbs.html must be run on DC? Could 12V AC run these? They call the power supplies for these "transformers", so I was wondering if they were regulated/rectified. Just curious.
Recently, I've changed my focus to making this thing as small/portable as I can--for aesthetics and for bringing it to friends' houses for demos. The OHP route just isn't practical for my living situation right now (small apartment), but it is the easiest way to get high resolution. I also have a strange desire to build this thing from "electronic supply" parts, so maybe I could make more than one for giving as a gift or something...
Muzzman,
Thanks for the answers on the resolution issue. Is it resonable to say that 384x234 is the highest "real" resolution available (at least for a resonable price) in the NTSC/PAL/mobile video area? And anything over that would probably be an RGB rating? I would hate extra on a 720x240 and realize that it has a lower "real resolution" (240x240) than a cheaper 320x240 that I have seen.
Hello all. This is my first post here. I just finished reading this entire thread from the beginning. It took me a 4 days to read it all. This has got to be one of the longest threads anywhere!
I came up with the idea to build my own projecter because I can justify the $1000+ price tag for a projector, but not several hundred dollars for a new lamp every 40 hours.
Does the diameter of my lens needs to be atleast equal to the diag. screen size I am using? Lets say I have a 5.6" LCD, but my lense is 4", does that mean I'll have a circular image when I project it? Or is this more of a case by case thing?
Thanks everyone for making this thread such a great learning experience.
Richard
I came up with the idea to build my own projecter because I can justify the $1000+ price tag for a projector, but not several hundred dollars for a new lamp every 40 hours.
Does the diameter of my lens needs to be atleast equal to the diag. screen size I am using? Lets say I have a 5.6" LCD, but my lense is 4", does that mean I'll have a circular image when I project it? Or is this more of a case by case thing?
Thanks everyone for making this thread such a great learning experience.
Richard
Dichroic Reflectors
I posted a thread about these a while back, but I don't think many people were into them at the time, suffice to say I wandered off and did some digging around and some construction of my own.
My local DIY superstore is pretty much the only place for me to start, so I went the route of the MR16 Halogen Dichroic Reflectors
http://www.diy.com/bq/product/product.jhtml?PRODID=14640&paintCatId=&CATID=69208
there was also these
http://www.diy.com/bq/product/product.jhtml?PRODID=14625&paintCatId=&CATID=69208
but they were more expensive and I was just trying them out.
(links only really help out people in the UK, there are a few of us)
Anyway I grouped 3 together in a kind of triangular shape facing forward and the light output of astonishing, There is of course some heat but the majority of the heat is drawn up by the reflector and dissipitated through the back. Not sure about the K temperature rating but it is bloody WHITE!!!
Another though, for you guys using bulbs with low colour temp, I used to dabble in photography a few years back, mainly the darkroom side of things, shining lights through negatives is not really unlike this.
You shine a bright liht through a negative, that passes through an enlarging lens and is projected big on the surface depending on how far away the negative is from the surface. Anyway, with colour photography to get the skin tones just right or to adjust colours, you use colour filters inbetween the lightsource and the negative, I was just thinking, and I could be totally wrong here as I've not tried it out, but if your using a bulb that has a lower or high er colour temo than is desired perhaps it's possible to correct the colour of the light output using negative enlarger colour filters. You can buy then from any photographic shop and are relativley cheap.
Any comments or thought? (even if it's just to shoot me down 🙂 )
Cheers
I posted a thread about these a while back, but I don't think many people were into them at the time, suffice to say I wandered off and did some digging around and some construction of my own.
My local DIY superstore is pretty much the only place for me to start, so I went the route of the MR16 Halogen Dichroic Reflectors
http://www.diy.com/bq/product/product.jhtml?PRODID=14640&paintCatId=&CATID=69208
there was also these
http://www.diy.com/bq/product/product.jhtml?PRODID=14625&paintCatId=&CATID=69208
but they were more expensive and I was just trying them out.
(links only really help out people in the UK, there are a few of us)
Anyway I grouped 3 together in a kind of triangular shape facing forward and the light output of astonishing, There is of course some heat but the majority of the heat is drawn up by the reflector and dissipitated through the back. Not sure about the K temperature rating but it is bloody WHITE!!!
Another though, for you guys using bulbs with low colour temp, I used to dabble in photography a few years back, mainly the darkroom side of things, shining lights through negatives is not really unlike this.
You shine a bright liht through a negative, that passes through an enlarging lens and is projected big on the surface depending on how far away the negative is from the surface. Anyway, with colour photography to get the skin tones just right or to adjust colours, you use colour filters inbetween the lightsource and the negative, I was just thinking, and I could be totally wrong here as I've not tried it out, but if your using a bulb that has a lower or high er colour temo than is desired perhaps it's possible to correct the colour of the light output using negative enlarger colour filters. You can buy then from any photographic shop and are relativley cheap.
Any comments or thought? (even if it's just to shoot me down 🙂 )
Cheers
Wheels and panels
Thanks for the responses and welcome.
I'm just saying that in a decent commercial overhead, a lot of the problems are worked out. Like, is the light uniform across the surface of focus. Or, does the lens capture the entire surface area.
We know that most speaker components are pretty decent these days. You can build a decent sounding box even with the ones from RS. Who cuts out cardboard, bends it around into a cone, cements a paper tube to the bottom around which they wind a coil...I guess you CAN make anything, but !?!
How did I find my stuff? The motivation came mostly from my frustration with the feeding frenzy on ebay. Getting outbid in the last 15 seconds and such. Now I'm glad they outbid me; I got better stuff for less. I did learn product names and manufacturers from there.
I got my panel after downloading a list of all panels and resolutions. I went through the list, picking out the XGA panels and searching by name model number with Google. Found this place in NH that had one for $100. Called them up and bought it after they explained that they werent kidding, they really had it on hand and it really was only $100. "Oh we dont carry that model anymore"
A similar effort yielded my 4K lumen overhead; found a place that had some, called 'em up, asked how much - $45 +tax and ship. The guy even said "I'll pick out a good one for you and make sure it has two good lamps too". (Someone I contacted on ebay wanted MORE for the same unit with NO lamps)
The bulbs are $10 - $12 for this I believe. I know of three manufactuers who have built metal halide bulb units that output in the 7 - 9K lumens range. There's a couple on ebay right now. I bid $100 for one this morning, but this other guy wanted it and was riding the auction out to the last second - so I said the heck with it.
I dont even know if the extra luminosity will do me any good at this point and $100 is a lot for me to "try" - and then perhaps find out that you can only shove so much light through a 100:1 contrast panel before the colors go funny - maybe turn pastel? Green isnt this lush, deep green but this washed out light color?That's what forums are for - so that you can ask questions like "What's the upper practical limit for how much light you can put through an LCD - right up to the point where it melts? Or is there some point where it's just going to show as bright as it's going to get - any more and it doesnt look good, just *bright*.
I was watching at a 50" diagonal, because in my darkened room, that's the size that seems to give the best balance of size and brightness - easy to look at, I guess. It's far from perfect, for sure not as good as a $4K projector in terms of speed, color saturation or, of course, brightness. With my 2K lumen projector, it was worse!
The bright metal halide projectors do have another advantage - bulb life at 700 hrs. These bulbs cost $150 - $350 on the net; I guess they figure 10% of the product retail price - so it's a bit better than replacing one in a professional LCD projector. I think these bulbs have a good color temperature as well.
After yaking on a bit here I'm left with two questions for myself; should I gear up now with one of these 8K lumen models, in anticipation of using an 11 ms 15" LCD panel from a monitor with 300:1 contrast ratio - or is my 4K lumen unit good enough, considering the added aperature area I'd get over my current setup? How would I "try before buy"? Maybe the 8K projector and the 15" LCD is the KILLER combo; appearing as bright as the phosphors on my 33" TV - watch no problem with the lights on or during the day.
If anyone would like to write me, I'm at joejas@ihpc.net
Thanks for the responses and welcome.
I'm just saying that in a decent commercial overhead, a lot of the problems are worked out. Like, is the light uniform across the surface of focus. Or, does the lens capture the entire surface area.
We know that most speaker components are pretty decent these days. You can build a decent sounding box even with the ones from RS. Who cuts out cardboard, bends it around into a cone, cements a paper tube to the bottom around which they wind a coil...I guess you CAN make anything, but !?!
How did I find my stuff? The motivation came mostly from my frustration with the feeding frenzy on ebay. Getting outbid in the last 15 seconds and such. Now I'm glad they outbid me; I got better stuff for less. I did learn product names and manufacturers from there.
I got my panel after downloading a list of all panels and resolutions. I went through the list, picking out the XGA panels and searching by name model number with Google. Found this place in NH that had one for $100. Called them up and bought it after they explained that they werent kidding, they really had it on hand and it really was only $100. "Oh we dont carry that model anymore"
A similar effort yielded my 4K lumen overhead; found a place that had some, called 'em up, asked how much - $45 +tax and ship. The guy even said "I'll pick out a good one for you and make sure it has two good lamps too". (Someone I contacted on ebay wanted MORE for the same unit with NO lamps)
The bulbs are $10 - $12 for this I believe. I know of three manufactuers who have built metal halide bulb units that output in the 7 - 9K lumens range. There's a couple on ebay right now. I bid $100 for one this morning, but this other guy wanted it and was riding the auction out to the last second - so I said the heck with it.
I dont even know if the extra luminosity will do me any good at this point and $100 is a lot for me to "try" - and then perhaps find out that you can only shove so much light through a 100:1 contrast panel before the colors go funny - maybe turn pastel? Green isnt this lush, deep green but this washed out light color?That's what forums are for - so that you can ask questions like "What's the upper practical limit for how much light you can put through an LCD - right up to the point where it melts? Or is there some point where it's just going to show as bright as it's going to get - any more and it doesnt look good, just *bright*.
I was watching at a 50" diagonal, because in my darkened room, that's the size that seems to give the best balance of size and brightness - easy to look at, I guess. It's far from perfect, for sure not as good as a $4K projector in terms of speed, color saturation or, of course, brightness. With my 2K lumen projector, it was worse!
The bright metal halide projectors do have another advantage - bulb life at 700 hrs. These bulbs cost $150 - $350 on the net; I guess they figure 10% of the product retail price - so it's a bit better than replacing one in a professional LCD projector. I think these bulbs have a good color temperature as well.
After yaking on a bit here I'm left with two questions for myself; should I gear up now with one of these 8K lumen models, in anticipation of using an 11 ms 15" LCD panel from a monitor with 300:1 contrast ratio - or is my 4K lumen unit good enough, considering the added aperature area I'd get over my current setup? How would I "try before buy"? Maybe the 8K projector and the 15" LCD is the KILLER combo; appearing as bright as the phosphors on my 33" TV - watch no problem with the lights on or during the day.
If anyone would like to write me, I'm at joejas@ihpc.net
jjasniew:
Where did you buy your LCD? Any link? What size is it?
And for the rest of you DIY:ers, Keep up the god work! It´s very inspiring and hopefully I soon will join you in this project.
I´m still searching for a good small lcd with at least vga... No luck yet though....
Anyone tried to build one with 3 mono-lcd´s (like the "real" thing)? Shouldn´t be that much harder.... And it´s propably easier to find mono-lcd´s with high resolution..? Litttle tricky to get it all together with mirrors and lenses maybe....
But perhaps I´l give it a try anyway!
//Jompa
Where did you buy your LCD? Any link? What size is it?
And for the rest of you DIY:ers, Keep up the god work! It´s very inspiring and hopefully I soon will join you in this project.
I´m still searching for a good small lcd with at least vga... No luck yet though....
Anyone tried to build one with 3 mono-lcd´s (like the "real" thing)? Shouldn´t be that much harder.... And it´s propably easier to find mono-lcd´s with high resolution..? Litttle tricky to get it all together with mirrors and lenses maybe....
But perhaps I´l give it a try anyway!
//Jompa
Smaller is Better
Good luck on your attempts to miniaturize this thing as much as is humanly possible. I wouldn't mind going THAT route myself at some future juncture, but I'm sorta standing on the sidelines acting as cheerleader and safety watchdog for the rest of you until more of the 'bugs' get worked out.
ALL OF YOU - KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK and BE CAREFUL....
Anybody want to start a 'pool' as to when the first person sets his 'rig' on fire?
Enjoy.
Good luck on your attempts to miniaturize this thing as much as is humanly possible. I wouldn't mind going THAT route myself at some future juncture, but I'm sorta standing on the sidelines acting as cheerleader and safety watchdog for the rest of you until more of the 'bugs' get worked out.
ALL OF YOU - KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK and BE CAREFUL....
Anybody want to start a 'pool' as to when the first person sets his 'rig' on fire?
Enjoy.
fender4 said:
TimTimes
Well, It ain't gonna be mine for the house fire. I am moving to a toilet bowl enclosure. You know it has a natural parabola for use as a reflector and you can always flush to cool the light down.😀
On a more serious note, 6 LOA's serving as a backlight for a 15" panel is not a bad idea. The LOA is advertised for a temperature rise of 98F as opposed to 1200F for the halogens.
Well, It ain't gonna be mine for the house fire. I am moving to a toilet bowl enclosure. You know it has a natural parabola for use as a reflector and you can always flush to cool the light down.😀
On a more serious note, 6 LOA's serving as a backlight for a 15" panel is not a bad idea. The LOA is advertised for a temperature rise of 98F as opposed to 1200F for the halogens.
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