I been noticing a lot of people trying to build their own projector and getting some kind of a result. I'm just curious as everyone else might be is what kind of "result" is everyong getting. A lot of people is experimenting metal halide bulb either in PAR/HQI/ or a regular bulb. Are the result is as good as a 4k lument OHP? How big your screen is? does it project all the scene details in a dark scene, like all the grey or color shade? If possible, picture would be very helpful for other to compare their project to.
For me, my 250w Metal Halide bulb only produce 1/6 the quality picture of my 3k lumens Elmo projector. (i know, the 3k lumens is sufficient for 35-40inch only, even then it is not bright enought).
The only reason i want to know everyone result is to see if it worth the trouble building your own OHP. Forgive me, but i am already about to buy a 7k lumen OHP. I am going the easy but expsive road here. This OHP is 575w MH, produce 49k lumen but only 7k is actually used for projecting image, and bulb cost $150 but only last 750 hr. What do you guy think. OHP itself cost $175?
For me, my 250w Metal Halide bulb only produce 1/6 the quality picture of my 3k lumens Elmo projector. (i know, the 3k lumens is sufficient for 35-40inch only, even then it is not bright enought).
The only reason i want to know everyone result is to see if it worth the trouble building your own OHP. Forgive me, but i am already about to buy a 7k lumen OHP. I am going the easy but expsive road here. This OHP is 575w MH, produce 49k lumen but only 7k is actually used for projecting image, and bulb cost $150 but only last 750 hr. What do you guy think. OHP itself cost $175?
Kind of a half-answer, but here goes:
I 'built' the first beta model using a Ovation 820 and a crappy 2500-lumen 3M OHP. For the screen I used a butyl-impregnated canvas dropcloth from Home Depot.
COSTS:
Ovation 820 - $120
3M OHP - FREE (with panel)
Cheesebox - $70
Screen - ~$15
RESULTS
Amazingly good, considering the investment. HOWEVER, the major weakness is the light source on the OHP. I don't even know the model of the OHP (it's that beat up), but it takes a 360W halogen bulb, so it's probably putting out between 2000 and 3000 lumens (extrapolated from similar OHPs).
And when I mean a weakness, it's a real Achilles' heel: the image is all but unwatchable in anything less than complete darkness, and if the movie is dark to begin with, not even complete darkness works. For examples, The Panic Room was totally and completly unwatchable; you couldn't make out the characters or anything about the scenes. Gladiator was marginably watchable; the outside scenes looked fine, but as soon as it was night, or they were inside a building, it was too muddy. Super Troopers was fine throughout, even the nighttime scenes.
WHAT'S NEXT:
I'm building an alternate light source for the current OHP using a relatively low-wattage MH PAR bulb (175W). Given that the bulb has a color of about 4500K, it might be a little blue for this application. But if I can pull this off, I can prove that low-wattage MH bulbs are usable in DIY projectors.
My goal is for the image to be viewable in low-light conditions, no matter how dark the movie is.
I 'built' the first beta model using a Ovation 820 and a crappy 2500-lumen 3M OHP. For the screen I used a butyl-impregnated canvas dropcloth from Home Depot.
COSTS:
Ovation 820 - $120
3M OHP - FREE (with panel)
Cheesebox - $70
Screen - ~$15
RESULTS
Amazingly good, considering the investment. HOWEVER, the major weakness is the light source on the OHP. I don't even know the model of the OHP (it's that beat up), but it takes a 360W halogen bulb, so it's probably putting out between 2000 and 3000 lumens (extrapolated from similar OHPs).
And when I mean a weakness, it's a real Achilles' heel: the image is all but unwatchable in anything less than complete darkness, and if the movie is dark to begin with, not even complete darkness works. For examples, The Panic Room was totally and completly unwatchable; you couldn't make out the characters or anything about the scenes. Gladiator was marginably watchable; the outside scenes looked fine, but as soon as it was night, or they were inside a building, it was too muddy. Super Troopers was fine throughout, even the nighttime scenes.
WHAT'S NEXT:
I'm building an alternate light source for the current OHP using a relatively low-wattage MH PAR bulb (175W). Given that the bulb has a color of about 4500K, it might be a little blue for this application. But if I can pull this off, I can prove that low-wattage MH bulbs are usable in DIY projectors.
My goal is for the image to be viewable in low-light conditions, no matter how dark the movie is.
It not worth watching movie with the quality that we are having. My 3k Lumen OHP is currently ony good for watching football (70" screen, 😀 ).
Could you update me on your PAR setup, i was thinking about getting it too, but already spend $600 on this project already. I just ordered a $200 OHP from invsol-inc, i decided to play it safe now. If your result with the PAR is going to be promising, then I'll try your way. (I can't no longer to afford to play trial and error experiment). I will update you guy on my new OHP when i get it arrive ....ah....sometime in the middle of next week.😀
Could you update me on your PAR setup, i was thinking about getting it too, but already spend $600 on this project already. I just ordered a $200 OHP from invsol-inc, i decided to play it safe now. If your result with the PAR is going to be promising, then I'll try your way. (I can't no longer to afford to play trial and error experiment). I will update you guy on my new OHP when i get it arrive ....ah....sometime in the middle of next week.😀
Yes, I will post an update of the PAR setup as soon as I have it. I have the ballast and the socket, I'm just waiting for the bulb to arrive from Atlanta Bulbs (great ppl to deal with, BTW). It should be here either today (Friday 08NOV) or Monday.
I haven't build the casing for the light, yet, because without the bulb I'm really just guessing at what might work. I have the dimensions, but I havent tried to mock it up yet...
I haven't build the casing for the light, yet, because without the bulb I'm really just guessing at what might work. I have the dimensions, but I havent tried to mock it up yet...
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