[SAFX]

Have any of you guys thought about what it would be like to play PC games on a 100 inch screen? I've been looking at these projectors with DVI input that can project a very bright and sharp image on a flat wall, and I'm talking big man! I actually got turned on to these at my job when I was preparing for a presentation. I hooked my laptop up to a Dell projector we have in our conference room, and man these screens look awesome. Forget the 30" monitor. You can buy a decent projector with DVI for around $700. The only limitation is that the high end ones supprt up to 1024x768.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...4&Sku=O66-1121

SAFX

 

[Dman]

Ya I've seen it done before, the bulbs for those things are pretty expensive though so I don't know if I would want to run a pc on one of those 24/7. On another note Sony makes a 1080p projector. 1920x1080 on a 100 inch screen! Now thats sweet.

http://www.mobilewhack.com/home_thea...projector.html

 

[pow3rtr1p]

But that 30" monitor would have like double the resolution, which totally changes everything. Keep in mind, the bigger the screen, with the same number of pixels, the uglier to picture.

1024 x 768 on a 17" monitor looks WAY better than on a 100" screen.

 

[PaRaDoX]

I have a 69" projector and it's quite fun to play CSS on... it's insane... the amount of detial.. don't have any walls 69" though lol

 

[xchrisposix]

i have a projector for my computerr. it is a sony "portable" lcd projector. It supports up to 1024x768. Playing COD2 and Quake4 on full settings on a 60"+ screen is awesome! the only reason i dont make it bigger is i dont have a wall big enough in my appartment! haha
its also a lot of fun for xbox/ps2. makes spiltscreen not soo bad.
: )

 

[RonindeBeatrice]

There are all sorts of plans for building your own projector using a discarded LCD and a cheap ($50) overhead projector. Theoretically if you were careful (and a little crazy) you could have a 100" screen with 1920x1200 resolution for just a little more than the cost of the LCD. Forget paying the insane prices Sony will charge you for a unit with nowhere near the capability. As a bonus, it would accept all inputs the monitor itself would!

edit: aaaaand you wouldn't have to pay $500 for a new bulb... (overheads are cheap)

 

[Mootsfox]

Thats great for movies, not so much for games. I hooked my laptop up to one to play Half Life One (Laptop can't play more then that) and I know it's an old game, but it's pixelated. It was decent, but movies are much better on it. 24 or 30" monitor for games, projector for movies.

 

[SAFX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pow3rtr1p But that 30" monitor would have like double the resolution, which totally changes everything. Keep in mind, the bigger the screen, with the same number of pixels, the uglier to picture. 1024 x 768 on a 17" monitor looks WAY better than on a 100" screen.

Yeah, I know what you mean. Bigger screen, but the same number of pixels to draw it.

SAFX

 

[Mootsfox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonindeBeatrice There are all sorts of plans for building your own projector using a discarded LCD and a cheap ($50) overhead projector. Theoretically if you were careful (and a little crazy) you could have a 100" screen with 1920x1200 resolution for just a little more than the cost of the LCD. Forget paying the insane prices Sony will charge you for a unit with nowhere near the capability. As a bonus, it would accept all inputs the monitor itself would! edit: aaaaand you wouldn't have to pay $500 for a new bulb... (overheads are cheap)

You are completly limited by LCD screen here (yeah, duh). You have to remember that overheads are rare over 15" and LCDs are rarer yet at higher than 1024x768 for a 15". A laptop screen works better for these too because they are cooler (temp wise) and usually smaller, and stronger.

 

[C-bro]

If anyone's interested in DIY projectors:

http://www.lumenlab.com/forums/index.php?showforum=3

There's alot more to it than just plopping an LCD on an overhead, but most of them can rival projectors that go for thousands more. I was going to build one but didn't bother for 2 reasons:

1) It must be reasonably dark ALL the time to get a decent picture.

2) In order to get 1080p resolutions (which is what I'd want for future-proofing), you'd have to stuff a 20" LCD panel into the projector box.

Edit: After looking into it once again, I see there are many 15.4" WUXGA displays available now. I just may have to revive this project...

 

[Jimmy2Shoe]

... or you can just buy the real thing. I play Xbox 360 on a 120" screen and I don't see this pixelation that you guys talk about.... I sit at the standard distance for such a screen (about 12~15')

Normally you shouldn't see the pixels if your seating position is good. Our PJ is HD, and I plugged in my laptop for 1280x720 desktop goodness.

The bulbs are expensive... but you can get about 2000H+ (I've heard as much as 3500H). Unless you play 12H a day, 365 days a year (in which case a small screen is the least of your problems), buying a real PJ a great long term investment.

 

[noob with an rs]

what kind of proector you have jimy2shoe? im thinking about going with a mitsubishi HD1000 DLP projector, an Optoma HD70 Projector , or a $1000 32" lcd widescreen hdtv capable of 1080i .... mainly for xbox360 and direcTV .... maybe for PC gaming but i doubt that. what do u guys think?

 

[tylerand]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimmy2Shoe ... or you can just buy the real thing. I play Xbox 360 on a 120" screen and I don't see this pixelation that you guys talk about.... I sit at the standard distance for such a screen (about 12~15') Normally you shouldn't see the pixels if your seating position is good. Our PJ is HD, and I plugged in my laptop for 1280x720 desktop goodness. The bulbs are expensive... but you can get about 2000H+ (I've heard as much as 3500H). Unless you play 12H a day, 365 days a year (in which case a small screen is the least of your problems), buying a real PJ a great long term investment.

If you dont see the pixels, your used too it. Many of my friends cannot see the pixels in a Xbox (old gen), but i can see them clearly. Also, i can never see in the distance on consoles (not hd) because the resolution is too low and im used to 1024X768 and above, T.V.'s are only 360X240 i think, many of my friends do not notice that. I still whoop them even though i cant see em =D.

 

[KSIMP88]

projectors suck, check this out: http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/tech...8081211780.htm

 

[Mjolnir]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonindeBeatrice There are all sorts of plans for building your own projector using a discarded LCD and a cheap ($50) overhead projector. Theoretically if you were careful (and a little crazy) you could have a 100" screen with 1920x1200 resolution for just a little more than the cost of the LCD. Forget paying the insane prices Sony will charge you for a unit with nowhere near the capability. As a bonus, it would accept all inputs the monitor itself would! edit: aaaaand you wouldn't have to pay $500 for a new bulb... (overheads are cheap)

I was just going to suggest the same thing. The trick with using an overhead is to put some space between the lcd screen and the lamp on the overhead and you'll need some fans to move air between the screen and the lamp to prevent heat damage.

 

[Mootsfox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mjolnir I was just going to suggest the same thing. The trick with using an overhead is to put some space between the lcd screen and the lamp on the overhead and you'll need some fans to move air between the screen and the lamp to prevent heat damage.

Remember with an LCD and over head, you are not going to get better than 1024 x 768 resoultion.

 

[apavlov13]

Its not that bad. I mean at least your framerates will pwn at 1024x768!

 

[Malaziel]

I thought about going with a projector before I got my TV but the resolution was the biggest issue for me and picture quality. I ended up getting my current TV because of its amazing picture quality and 1920x1080 resolution. Also the washout on projectors in anything but total darkness is a pain.