Build my own projector. Any one tried?

[jackeberg]

In my hunt for good projectors I´ve read alot about do it yourself ones.
They use lcd screens 10,6" and I should be able to build one without controllercard for scaling an stuff, just run it from my computer.
Cooling would be completely silent. Lcd + expensive lens gives great lumen and I can fit it inside a old 50´s furniture.

Anyone building there own projectors here? Gonna have to read some more.

edit: hmm... looks like it would be difficult to get good lumen and they would end up being huge or expensive. I´ll save this experiment for later.

[wuhlei]

I know some one who took apart an lcd monitor and set it on a projector 250$ setup came in really clear even with out the a screen.

[jackeberg]

Jupp, that´s the way to do it. Nowadays you can get a 10,6" 1080p screen to make a hd projector. Great for movies. But it looks like projectors are dead fish when it comes to s3d right now. I wish I enjoyed movies more so that I could build one for that. I have a beatiful 50´s music furniture that would love a hd projector inside of it.

[sharky]

hi!

i have been into this for a long long long time..

there are several problems:

1) you need coerent light. this means that the light source needs to be as small as possible. ideal is a dot. those are for example the projector light bulbs.. very very expensive. if the light is not coerent you get a blurred image.

2) you need a gold covered uv protection or your lcd pannel will fry in a few days.

3) you need a heat protection inside the case or it could catch fire..



now, without those 3 points it works too, BUT is it worth without these? its dangerous, blurred and will break in a few days.

if you follow those points then at the end it will cost the same as a commercial projector...

this is why i gave up with these projects..

for any question just ask.. a good site with examples is www.allinbox.com

bye

igor

[jackeberg]

You are just plain wrong about that. People have been running these things for years with no blurring or damage. You will always require cooling in a projector, the fans are not just for making noice.
When you build your own you can make it silent by using large slow fans. It will be quite large but the image quality is excellent and by focusing cheap lamps for a couple of 10$ they cost of running them is almost nothing. Great for movies or non 3d games. But you must have some technical skills.

http://www.lumenlab.com

is the place for building your own projector. Excellent site.

[sharky]

ok then build one and let me know.. if you want i kan show you the difference between coerent and non coerent light witha n images, you you understand why it creates blur...

i told you what i know for shure because i was into it for over 2 years, now the decision is up to you..

i have thrown away enoough money on it and i think it wasn't worth.

bye

igor

[jackeberg]

I am not gonna do the work for you. Read up on it from the site I provided you and let me know later.
But you are right about maybe the most important thing, it aint gonna be cheap. Hd projection is were the cost get´s alot lower. But it´s not like the costs are 1/4 probably closer 1/2 and if worktime is factored in, well then it´s mostly for fun.

[sharky]

ok here soem explanations...

1) why do the work for me? i already gave up.. i have no interests in you doing it for me.. the let me know was more a ironical "tell me when it breaks"...

2) coerent light :

• on the left you see non coerent light and on the right coerent light. its only sketched.. the freen is the lcd.. i did not put the fresnel lenses inside. as you see non coerent light has a normal light source and the light rays are not coerent. this causes that two rays starting from a different point, project the same pixel on the wall on two different points.. now if you image this for every single ray starting from that light you have a blurrend image. this depends from the size of the lamp. a halogen normal 12 V light spreads the pixel ofver 15 cm at a distance of 3 meters from teh projector. (only as a size/spread comparison).
  
  3) temperature:
  
  its not the warm air that causes the lcd to break. if it would be the hot air the gold covered foil would not solve in any way. hot air has to be removed ANYWAY, but the real problem is infrared radiation created by the bulb. these burn into the lcd, and after some days the lcd starts to loose the colors and then to become brown and stop working.
  
  4) inthernal heat protection:
  
  put 300/400 W into a 30 x 30 wodden box (even with fan) wait 20 mins and then start cooking!
  
  have fun!
  
  bye
  
  igor

[jackeberg]

So why does it work and work well for years then? Is it like the bumblebee that doesn´t now better?

I sugest you check out how things are done instead of trying to build a projector that doesn´t work, anyone can do that.

[sharky]

listen, you opened a topic asking who made one.i answered... i said, it is possible to make one wich is wroking well, but at the end it costs the same as a commercial one.. now, if oyu accept this then it is ok, if not it is ok anyway, but for shure it does not allow you to answer in such a way.

regarding to your questions:

do you think that if they write int eh tutorial show much they spent on it at the end it would be popular? they say "hey i made it cool and expensive, but you can do it for cheap too!" it works, for shure, but the question is HOW? now, since i tried it, and it didnt work, (and i am not teh first idiot who came out of a hairdresser school, but studied mechanics, made various courses and developed a entire machine before, i think i can tell you about these things) i tell you what i think. if you want to accpet it then it is ok, if youre shure that i am wrong, then please show it. i think it is easy to talk based on thing others did. you should maybe first try and THEN say "youre wrong". they guys here know me, they know (especially neil likay and rage daemon) that i am open for every kind of tecnical discussion, but with other tones than those used by you.

i tried to explain you my points, with an image and with the tecnical explanation, tried to tell you why those work.. now its up to you.

hope this topic can continue but with a more positive mood and maybe more constructive since i love this kind of DIY stuff and all i want to do is help yo and not put you in a bad light.

bye
igor

[v3ry]

ok here soem explanations...

1) why do the work for me? i already gave up.. i have no interests in you doing it for me.. the let me know was more a ironical "tell me when it breaks"...

2) coerent light :

• on the left you see non coerent light and on the right coerent light. its only sketched.. the freen is the lcd.. i did not put the fresnel lenses inside. as you see non coerent light has a normal light source and the light rays are not coerent. this causes that two rays starting from a different point, project the same pixel on the wall on two different points.. now if you image this for every single ray starting from that light you have a blurrend image. this depends from the size of the lamp. a halogen normal 12 V light spreads the pixel ofver 15 cm at a distance of 3 meters from teh projector. (only as a size/spread comparison).
  
  3) temperature:
  
  its not the warm air that causes the lcd to break. if it would be the hot air the gold covered foil would not solve in any way. hot air has to be removed ANYWAY, but the real problem is infrared radiation created by the bulb. these burn into the lcd, and after some days the lcd starts to loose the colors and then to become brown and stop working.
  
  4) inthernal heat protection:
  
  put 300/400 W into a 30 x 30 wodden box (even with fan) wait 20 mins and then start cooking!
  
  have fun!
  
  bye
  
  igor

2. For the light its totaly true,if you make with non coerent light,you dont see anithing
3. Need good fan system if you not need you home burning, ir rays burn the pixel and need ir blocking foil
4. Wood or metal,metal is most good for dont heat but need best agency in.

[Neil]

It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye. Lose that, and even NVIDIA can't help you!

Regards,
Neil

[jackeberg]

hi!

i have been into this for a long long long time..

there are several problems:

1) you need coerent light. this means that the light source needs to be as small as possible. ideal is a dot. those are for example the projector light bulbs.. very very expensive. if the light is not coerent you get a blurred image.

2) you need a gold covered uv protection or your lcd pannel will fry in a few days.

3) you need a heat protection inside the case or it could catch fire..



now, without those 3 points it works too, BUT is it worth without these?

igor

I missed the last line of your message and thought you said that it was impossible even with those things. That really annoyed me. But those things are not that expensive.

For the heat an ordinary glass panel is used, works great.

There is no need for heat protection when decent fans are used. Since the panel is 15" the coherent light is not as important as in a commercial projector.
You get pretty decent quality without it but alot better with fresnel lenses and a collectorlens. The cost range from 200$ up to anything. You can build 1080p for under 800$ which is pretty nice. Bulb life is 10k-20k hours. About ten times that of a commercial projectors. Lumen is often half or lower then of a commercial, so it needs dark environments. Not a problem for me.

The lumen was the factor that stopped me from building one for s3d. I might still build a 200$ projector for gaming and movies. One can allways upgrade it with collector lenses for 100$ later on.

I started the thread because I wanted to hear if people had tried them for s3d, I allready knew they could be made cheap and worked great, but only for movies and games. I have read my messages again and you are right about me being rude. There was no reason for such tone and I apologize, it is childish behavour not fitting for a grown man. You did sound a bit like a negative Besserwisser but that happen to us all sometimes

I am trying to stop myself from building one since I haven´t got the time. But I will probably not be able to stay away from it the whole year. I have a 50/50 succes rate so far. A grat pair of speakers and with homemade reciever, but I fried it after 5 minutes when changing to wrong powersupply. I was suprised it worked at all, couldn´t even see what I was soldering. DIY is fun. I am glad you like it too.

[wuhlei]

you can find already built projectors cheap! make sure you check how long the bulb last and the brightness/lumen.

[LukePC1]

I think there was someone at lumenlab or somewhere trying to build a S-3D projector. If I remember right, the conclusion was that 2 seperated projectors are better than a single S-3D projector.

If you don't aligne the 2 Pictures of the single S-3D projector absolutly correct it's worthless. It might be easier to change the angle of a whole projector with little boxes than changing the angle of a mirror or whatever in the projector.
What I wanted to say is, that two seperated boxes are more flexible with a different distance from the screen...
I hope it's explained understandable...