I am asking this question because I am trying to build a projector from a 15" LCD and the MKIII kit, which will cost me $300 for the parts plus a used Dell 15" LCD panel, and because commerical projectors like X1 is as low as $700. Besides the fun of building, is it worthwhile to build a projector nowdays? Can anybody tell me the video quality of a well-built projector comparing with a low end commerical projectors? I found that this forum (DIY projector, which I think the best for DIY projectors) is not updated often nowdays. I interprete this as less people are building projectors. I hope I am wrong. Now my choice is to either build a projector or purchase a projector for $1000 dollars. Your input is highly appreacitaed.
Hi voo,
I'm in the same boat, planning a DIY build as we speak. I've seen direct comparisons between a half decent DIY build and the cheap over the counter projectors and, if built right, the DIY jobs blow the others away in terms of picture quality/contrast. Why is this? Well I guess the use of XGA pannels in the DIY builds completely outperform the cheapo VGA quality present in the 700 buck commercial units. I'm sure people far more knowledgable than me can give you the specifics 😉
However the main reason I've dismissed a commercial pj is the cost of replacement bulbs, 300-500 bucks a pop? No thanks, I'll stick with the $30 MH bulb that'll last me 10,000 hours 😀
I'm in the same boat, planning a DIY build as we speak. I've seen direct comparisons between a half decent DIY build and the cheap over the counter projectors and, if built right, the DIY jobs blow the others away in terms of picture quality/contrast. Why is this? Well I guess the use of XGA pannels in the DIY builds completely outperform the cheapo VGA quality present in the 700 buck commercial units. I'm sure people far more knowledgable than me can give you the specifics 😉
However the main reason I've dismissed a commercial pj is the cost of replacement bulbs, 300-500 bucks a pop? No thanks, I'll stick with the $30 MH bulb that'll last me 10,000 hours 😀
Quin said:
Well, Ive read some old timers on this board that would contradict your points. Theres more to a good projector than resolution. For instance the lenses in commercial projectors are not triplets they are 5 or 6 element lenses.
I owned a Infocus X1 recently. Before buying it I viewed demos of other including Sanyo Plv-z1 which is LCD.
The X1 which was cheaper and had better contrast. Now do you think a half decent diy lcd projector will have better contrast than the Z1? The Z1 is 800:1 check it here: http://www.projectorcentral.com/Sanyo-PLV-Z1.htm
The x1 claims 2000:1 . Everyone knows its exagerated but the bottom line is its greater than 800:1.
The best we diy can do is 500:1 .
Having said all this I have not completed a diy projector yet nor have I seen a diy projector in the flesh working. I am going to build one however I am shooting for uxga at the minimum. And at this level the smoothness, the clarity should beat any commercial projector under 12k US.
bulb prices are the largest reason I don't own a commercial unit. If bulbs ever came down in price (which I doubt), I'd be all over them
but for uxga I'd stick with diy, even if the lens costs $500+
but for uxga I'd stick with diy, even if the lens costs $500+
But isn't it perhaps possible to hack a commercial unit to accept less expensive bulbs? Of course that might void the warranty, but I can get my hands on a 3M S10, which supposedly does 1280x1024, for under $500, a great deal. But not so great if I have to keep popping $200 bulbs into it. I'm going to get the projector anyway since I can easily resell it for a good price. Not so good at DIY but if it's worth it, I'll try to get someone to help out.
the things are so compact, with most you'd need to mount it externally and use a mirror in place of where the bulb originally was
Some newer samsung panels were demonstrated to have almost 900:1 but samsung as a decent company understates these panels to have 600:1dracul said:
Some of these newer samsungs are also priced to sell, which helps offset the cost of a pro lens kit. Granted you'll have a tank of a box but that could be partially alleviated by going with a folded design.
IMHO its good times for both diy'ers and commercial owners atm. I've never seen so many sub $1500 commercial units as compared to 3-4 years ago
I want to bring up this subject again.
The Dell 3400 DLP projector can be aroun $1100 these days. Anyone thinks is this a good deal ?
The Dell 3400 DLP projector can be aroun $1100 these days. Anyone thinks is this a good deal ?
This pj is meant for business use. There are way too many more affordable ht-based projectors out there. True, not all are XGA at that price but a business based pj usually fails to deliver ht-quality as well as a ht-based projector.
Your local costco stocks the Infocus 4805 (which is a dedicated HT pj) with a longer bulb life, easy return policy, faster colorwheel (which is vital if you are susceptible to rainbow effects), and is probably quieter than the dell. Add to that a free 76" 16x9 screen for under $900 (after rebate)
http://www.projectorcentral.com/Dell-3400MP.htm
http://www.projectorcentral.com/infocus_screenplay_4805.htm
I've already installed two of these pjs- 100" and 132"- they're worth it.
Victor
Your local costco stocks the Infocus 4805 (which is a dedicated HT pj) with a longer bulb life, easy return policy, faster colorwheel (which is vital if you are susceptible to rainbow effects), and is probably quieter than the dell. Add to that a free 76" 16x9 screen for under $900 (after rebate)
http://www.projectorcentral.com/Dell-3400MP.htm
http://www.projectorcentral.com/infocus_screenplay_4805.htm
I've already installed two of these pjs- 100" and 132"- they're worth it.
Victor
At the time I got into doing DIY projectors were still a good 1-2k for a decent one. This was way out of my price range so I went through several different lcd's and projectors. Finally settling on a Viewsonic vg150 panel on top of an elmo OHP with a 575w MH lamp.
This served me well until recently. I stumbled across a Sony CRT projector at a garage sale for 75$. This thing is massive at nearly 150lbs and requires quite a bit of work to get calibrated. However the specs on it blow anything else out of the water my res max's out at 1600*1200 and an amazing contrast ratio of 20,000:1. That's not a typo either. Blacks look simply amazing and it really owns my old lcd projector.
That being said I still had a lot of fun playing with diy lcd projectors and would still be using mine if I hadn't found the crt. Although if I were to enter the market today I would probably buy an x2. A replacement bulb is only 300$ which gives you 3000 hours of lamp life. 2000:1 contrast ratio is far greater than any lcd panel that's available to us.
In summary:
CRT: Big and heavy, hard to setup, best picture
DLP: Relatively inexpensive, easy setup,good picture
LCD: About same price as DLP,most DIY fun, ok picture
This served me well until recently. I stumbled across a Sony CRT projector at a garage sale for 75$. This thing is massive at nearly 150lbs and requires quite a bit of work to get calibrated. However the specs on it blow anything else out of the water my res max's out at 1600*1200 and an amazing contrast ratio of 20,000:1. That's not a typo either. Blacks look simply amazing and it really owns my old lcd projector.
That being said I still had a lot of fun playing with diy lcd projectors and would still be using mine if I hadn't found the crt. Although if I were to enter the market today I would probably buy an x2. A replacement bulb is only 300$ which gives you 3000 hours of lamp life. 2000:1 contrast ratio is far greater than any lcd panel that's available to us.
In summary:
CRT: Big and heavy, hard to setup, best picture
DLP: Relatively inexpensive, easy setup,good picture
LCD: About same price as DLP,most DIY fun, ok picture
My friend has an X1... the bulbs are 350...
They claim it will last up to 4000 hours but its only guaranteed up to 500 hours.
He has it in his apartment, and can only get a 6 foot image because of the projection lens focal length.
I told him I could build him a DIY PJ using a proview monitor that would get him a much bigger picture for his space, and better resolution.
the only thing the X1 has over a DIY PJ is more image brightness, and smaller form factor.
They claim it will last up to 4000 hours but its only guaranteed up to 500 hours.
He has it in his apartment, and can only get a 6 foot image because of the projection lens focal length.
I told him I could build him a DIY PJ using a proview monitor that would get him a much bigger picture for his space, and better resolution.
the only thing the X1 has over a DIY PJ is more image brightness, and smaller form factor.
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