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286
 
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Hey Hey, Well!! At first i was looking into a 50" plasma screen for my garage to play my games and watch films on in the garage. But after looking at the prices i decided i will just go for an "Ebay" projector instead. Now im not looking for SUPER UBER colors, and 1024-768 Resolution would do me ok.. And as 24bit color... But i was just wondering, Having absolutely no knowledge on projectors what so ever. Only knowing the bulb life, lumins etc.. Is there anything i should be looking for? a reaction time? LCD type thingy? or anything? it wont blow up if i play a game will it? im not looking for anything mega expensive, just somthing cheap tbh that will let me play my games and watch my films..
Anyone with any clue on what i should be looking for?! Thanks in advance!
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Pentium
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Hey 
I'm the proud owner of one  Screen size is 73", and was £400 
http://www.benq.co.uk/products/Projector/?product=581
Things you want to consider:
> Newest technology is DLP (Digital Light Processing) and most projectors should have this as standard.
> Replacement lamp cost (Mines around £80, which is good)
> Lamp life (mines around 3,000 hours
> Lumens (Brightness of the picture) , mine is 2000 lumens
> Contrast ratio (the ratio of the luminosity of the brightest and the darkest color the system is capable of producing.) - mine is 2000 :1
> Noise - mines 25db, which is good. Although you can get quieter.
> Is it HDTV ready? Mine is
Some other pointers: Check if it supports PAL-60, mine doesnt. It displays the xbox 360 games ok, but only if the console is set to PAL-50.
When its connected to my PC, it displays my desktop (all resolutions) no problem, although its best at 800x600.
http://forum.micromart.co.uk/Topic124581-19-1.aspx?Highlight=digital+projector - thats the thread anyway, and has some shots of my screen in it
My best advice really is to price up a few you can afford, look into replacement lamp costs, then when you decide on one, download the manual from the manufacturer website to check its specs in more detail. 
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286
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ooo kewl kewl, thanks mate..
One problem.. 800x600 resolution is terrible.. will it run games at 1024x786 at least?
Thanks
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Pentium
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mine does Games are no problem, the desktop is much clearer at 800x600 but games should be fine at 1024 or even 1280
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Pentium
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Pentium
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A.Chandler (31/12/2006)
ooo kewl kewl, thanks mate..
One problem.. 800x600 resolution is terrible.. will it run games at 1024x786 at least?
Thanks
Hi A!
800x600 is not at all terrible. I'm currently sitting less than 10 feet away from a 60 inch screen being driven by an 800x600 DLP projector and the pixels are all but invisible.
It's the main display for my PC media centre and TV, DVDs and games look absolutely stunning! Remember that standard definition digital TV and DVD pictures only have 576 picture lines anyway.
The really important point is to make sure that you buy DLP and NOT LCD. With a DLP projector there is virtually no gap between pixels. With LCD there is a huge gap between them which gives the impression that you are watching everything through a thick black mesh. Truly horrible!
The contrast ratio of any DLP based projector will be around 2000:1. LCD projectors are generally no better than a cheap LCD monitor in this respect at around 500:1.
All of the projectors I've looked at will rescale almost any higher resolution down to 800x600 but this is completely pointless for obvious reasons. Why waste horsepower generating an image that you can't display without rescaling? The result will always be a blurry, less well defined image due to the rescaling process.
I run all my games in 800x600 which allows me to crank up all the games graphics settings to the max. Any well written game should look stunning with 4x or 6x fullscreen anti-aliasing.
Doing a direct comparison between a Sony PS2 on a JVC 28 inch TV and my system, both running 'Need For Speed-Carbon', mine makes the PS2 look totally pathetic.
The only problem I had was getting used to playing games on such a big screen. Keep a sickbag handy. LOL
Cheers, Slipstreem. 
PS Look at the attachment at the bottom of this post for a piccy of a movie played back at 800x600 via the DLP projector.
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Pentium
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Hey Slipstreem, been meaning to ask you when I saw this last time.... What did you use for the projector screen? A special screen or did you do what I did and just paint a section of wall white? 
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Pentium
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Hi Jon!
Happy new year matey!
The screen is a home-brewed affair and works very well. Here's the shopping list for my 60 inch version :-
1 sheet of hardboard - 50 inches x 38 inches,
Skirting board - 15 feet,
1 cheap white bedsheet,
1 Packet of wallpaper paste,
1 Tin of aluminium flake paint,
1 Tin of matt black spray paint,
1 Mitre block for cutting 45degree angles on the skirting,
2 Cup hooks,
1 bottle of PVA wood adhesive.
Firstly, mix up some wallpaper paste and paste one side of the hardboard. The textured side is probably best as it tends to be more absorbent.
Now stick the bedsheet to the hardboard being very careful to exclude all air bubbles, detritus, etc. Allow to dry thoroughly, then trim off the excess sheet with scissors.
Apply the aluminium flake paint to the sheet. Flood it on to avoid brush marks. Repeat until you get a consistent reflective finish. Mine needed 5 coats.
Cut the skirting into 2 lengths of 52 inches and 2 lengths of 40 inches. Cut 45degree angles on the ends to place the rounded edge of the skirting on the inside of the frame.
Spray the skirting matt black and stick it together with PVA adhesive checking for squareness with a set-square (or adjacent edges of a piece of A4 paper for cheapness).
Stick the frame to the front of the screen using more PVA (or use screws from the back).
Screw 2 cup hooks into the back of the frame along the top edge to hang the screen.
Job done!
The net result is a screen with a VERY wide viewing angle and a high level of reflectivity. The matt-black chamfered border allows for any lack of squareness that leads to overspill in the projected image to be soaked up almost invisibly.
Why the bedsheet? Because it gives a subtle and consistant textured effect that makes the boundaries between pixels almost undetectable when using a DLP projector without losing any actual definition.
Why silver? Because it gives the impression that the image is being displayed as a reflection. The image appears to be slightly behind the screen and has that pseudo-3D feel that you only usually get at the cinema. Silver also gives a perceived improvement in contrast ratio. The paint MUST be true aluminium flake paint for this to work properly. Mine came from Screw | | | |