Hi, I have been thinking of doing this project for a while now. I would be using it for two main reasons: Playstation 3 and high definition movies (I'd be playing the movies throught the ps3).
I am 15 years old and would be doing this with my father and brother (my brother is in engineering so could help).
I want to take full advantage of the PS3 (playstations 3) and play everything in high definition. I understand that I would ne a high definition LCD but is that all I would need to use the HD(high definition) to complete the project. Also the ps3 uses HDMI 1.3 but can use cable and all of the standard tv connections (sorry i'm not to technical). Does this mean I need to purchase a hdtv LCD with hdmi 1.3 to play high definition?
Thanks a lot for your help
Neil
P.S. The Playstation 3 is Sonys next multimedia machine coming out November 17th for anyone who doesn't know.
Full Version: Need Help.... Thinking Of Doing This
Hi,
The LCD you choose is the only thing that is going to determine what resolution you get, and the inputs that are available (without converters). I'm not too familiar with HDMI, but there are DVI to HDMI converters that will probably make it easier to hook a PS3 to a regular LCD. By using a converter you should get perfect picture quality, but you'll loose the audio. Hopefully the PS3 will output the audio through the other outputs even if you're outputing the video through HDMI.
Sorry, after this line is where I go on a rampage. If you don't want to bore yourself with the details, skip the folowing and just buy a 17" LCD with a DVI input.
Just to be clear, the term "High Definition" is thrown around way too much. If you're not already privy to this info, here's a quick run-down of HD terms.
High Def "Ready" - This pretty much means that the monitor/TV/whatever is capible of receiving a high def signal. This is kind of like saying that telephones are "Surround Sound Ready." It's pretty much a load of bull they feed stupid people to make them buy stuff. Stay away from it.
[edit]GS has something to say about this...
[/edit]
720i and 1080i - These should also be avioded when buying an LCD, Plasma, and probably DLP TVs. The little "i" at the end says it all; it stands for "interlaced." Without getting into the boring stuff, interlaced means that the picture will look like crap for 20% of the time you're watching it. For more info check out this (note I haven't actually read this page, but it looks like it'll have the info you need). There are ways the TV can "de-interlace" the picture, but pretty much what you get is half the resolution (or 360p (lower resolution than standard DVDs) and 540p).
720p and 1080p - This is the good stuff. The little "p" is what you're looking for; it stands for "progressive." It pretty much means that each and every frame that is displayed is complete, no interlacing. The number refers to the number of horisontal lines there are, 720 and 1080.
I'm not sure if it'll be a standard, but (as I'm sure you're awair) the PS3 will be able to display 1080p. If you'd like your projector to also be 1080p there's pretty much only one option at this time: 15.4 WUXGA panels like those that come on some Dell laptops. There are a lot of pros to this panel and a lot of cons. I'll list a few, and my opinions about them.
Pros
- more than 1080p resolution (1920x1200 to be exact)
*I KNOW I'll be able to tell a 1080p picture apart from a 720p picture*
- small size
*The small size will give the picture more even light distribution
- The controller has options that will be useful to us, like screen flipping and PIP.
*Maybe not the coolest features, but should be handy
- Beautiful picture
*Don't worry about the "specs" the picture looks awesome! Don't beleive me? Check-out the monitor in action on a Dell laptop, go ahead: check for "streaking" and see if the lower color reproduction makes any -real world- difference.
Cons
- Expensive
*I'd say this is it's biggest con; the panel is going to be about $200-$300 and the controller is going to be about $350. Once you've spent $650 on the monitor alone you've spent more than a bottom-of-the-line comercial projector.
- Low contrast ratio (either 300:1 (most brands) or 400:1 (sharp))
*This will probably make an "actual" difference in the projection, I'm not sure how much though
- Low responce time (25ms)
*To me, if I can't see it, it's not there. In my head I know it's taking 1/40th of a second for the pixel to change color, but I can't see it. I staired at winamp visualizations (milkdrop) for about an hour, trying to see "streaking" and I couldn't detect any. Maybe you can though. My advice here: check it out for yourself, don't go by the specs alone.
- Low color reproduction (16.2 million colors instead of 16.7 million colors)
*This is another example of "I can't tell the difference, then why should I care?"
- Not readily available (especially the required controller)
*I admit it, this one sucks
If you're not a resolution snob, then practically any 17" panel will give you 720p for a fraction of the price. A very decient 17" LCD can be had for about $100 (brand new) if I'm not mistaken. If you opt for a 17 incher you have WAY more choices, and there's WAY more competition. This means you can pick and choose the features you want, or that you're willing to pay for. Go for: contrast ratio (highest you can get), responce time (lowest you can get, 8ms is fine), and inputs (you'll want DVI, HDMI (if you can get it), component video, and maybe composite video).
The LCD you choose is the only thing that is going to determine what resolution you get, and the inputs that are available (without converters). I'm not too familiar with HDMI, but there are DVI to HDMI converters that will probably make it easier to hook a PS3 to a regular LCD. By using a converter you should get perfect picture quality, but you'll loose the audio. Hopefully the PS3 will output the audio through the other outputs even if you're outputing the video through HDMI.
Sorry, after this line is where I go on a rampage. If you don't want to bore yourself with the details, skip the folowing and just buy a 17" LCD with a DVI input.
Just to be clear, the term "High Definition" is thrown around way too much. If you're not already privy to this info, here's a quick run-down of HD terms.
High Def "Ready" - This pretty much means that the monitor/TV/whatever is capible of receiving a high def signal. This is kind of like saying that telephones are "Surround Sound Ready." It's pretty much a load of bull they feed stupid people to make them buy stuff. Stay away from it.
[edit]GS has something to say about this...
QUOTE (GadgetSmith @ Jun 27 2006, 05:07 AM) 
1) High Def "Ready" in our case may be of some importance. This term typically means that the display is capable of taking in a 720p or 1080i signal and displaying it properly at the native resolution of the panel. Generally this term has been applied to TV's letting you know it can accept HDTV resolutions, regardless of the actual display resolution, however this may change with new xbox360, ps3, wii, etc... coming out and people looking to connect their game consoles to LCD monitors. One problem being faced by many people is that you can't get a 720p signal into a LCD monitor and have it display correctly (it stretches). If getting a 720p signal to display correctly is important then this may be of interest to you... just don't assume the display has HD resoltuion.
[/edit]
720i and 1080i - These should also be avioded when buying an LCD, Plasma, and probably DLP TVs. The little "i" at the end says it all; it stands for "interlaced." Without getting into the boring stuff, interlaced means that the picture will look like crap for 20% of the time you're watching it. For more info check out this (note I haven't actually read this page, but it looks like it'll have the info you need). There are ways the TV can "de-interlace" the picture, but pretty much what you get is half the resolution (or 360p (lower resolution than standard DVDs) and 540p).
720p and 1080p - This is the good stuff. The little "p" is what you're looking for; it stands for "progressive." It pretty much means that each and every frame that is displayed is complete, no interlacing. The number refers to the number of horisontal lines there are, 720 and 1080.
I'm not sure if it'll be a standard, but (as I'm sure you're awair) the PS3 will be able to display 1080p. If you'd like your projector to also be 1080p there's pretty much only one option at this time: 15.4 WUXGA panels like those that come on some Dell laptops. There are a lot of pros to this panel and a lot of cons. I'll list a few, and my opinions about them.
Pros
- more than 1080p resolution (1920x1200 to be exact)
*I KNOW I'll be able to tell a 1080p picture apart from a 720p picture*
- small size
*The small size will give the picture more even light distribution
- The controller has options that will be useful to us, like screen flipping and PIP.
*Maybe not the coolest features, but should be handy
- Beautiful picture
*Don't worry about the "specs" the picture looks awesome! Don't beleive me? Check-out the monitor in action on a Dell laptop, go ahead: check for "streaking" and see if the lower color reproduction makes any -real world- difference.
Cons
- Expensive
*I'd say this is it's biggest con; the panel is going to be about $200-$300 and the controller is going to be about $350. Once you've spent $650 on the monitor alone you've spent more than a bottom-of-the-line comercial projector.
- Low contrast ratio (either 300:1 (most brands) or 400:1 (sharp))
*This will probably make an "actual" difference in the projection, I'm not sure how much though
- Low responce time (25ms)
*To me, if I can't see it, it's not there. In my head I know it's taking 1/40th of a second for the pixel to change color, but I can't see it. I staired at winamp visualizations (milkdrop) for about an hour, trying to see "streaking" and I couldn't detect any. Maybe you can though. My advice here: check it out for yourself, don't go by the specs alone.
- Low color reproduction (16.2 million colors instead of 16.7 million colors)
*This is another example of "I can't tell the difference, then why should I care?"
- Not readily available (especially the required controller)
*I admit it, this one sucks
If you're not a resolution snob, then practically any 17" panel will give you 720p for a fraction of the price. A very decient 17" LCD can be had for about $100 (brand new) if I'm not mistaken. If you opt for a 17 incher you have WAY more choices, and there's WAY more competition. This means you can pick and choose the features you want, or that you're willing to pay for. Go for: contrast ratio (highest you can get), responce time (lowest you can get, 8ms is fine), and inputs (you'll want DVI, HDMI (if you can get it), component video, and maybe composite video).
QUOTE (Hirudin @ Jun 27 2006, 05:03 AM)
High Def "Ready" - This pretty much means that the monitor/TV/whatever is capible of receiving a high def signal. This is kind of like saying that telephones are "Surround Sound Ready." It's pretty much a load of bull they feed stupid people to make them buy stuff. Stay away from it.
Cons
- Expensive
*I'd say this is it's biggest con; the panel is going to be about $200-$300 and the controller is going to be about $350. Once you've spent $650 on the monitor alone you've spent more than a bottom-of-the-line comercial projector.
Cons
- Expensive
*I'd say this is it's biggest con; the panel is going to be about $200-$300 and the controller is going to be about $350. Once you've spent $650 on the monitor alone you've spent more than a bottom-of-the-line comercial projector.
Nice writeup. I thought i'd throw in my 2 cents on these two statements as my opinion differs somewhat...
1) High Def "Ready" in our case may be of some importance. This term typically means that the display is capable of taking in a 720p or 1080i signal and displaying it properly at the native resolution of the panel. Generally this term has been applied to TV's letting you know it can accept HDTV resolutions, regardless of the actual display resolution, however this may change with new xbox360, ps3, wii, etc... coming out and people looking to connect their game consoles to LCD monitors. One problem being faced by many people is that you can't get a 720p signal into a LCD monitor and have it display correctly (it stretches). If getting a 720p signal to display correctly is important then this may be of interest to you... just don't assume the display has HD resoltuion.
2) Yes, the WUXGA is going to be $550-650 (in most cases), but the bottom-of-the-line commercial projector you refer to would only be SVGA or XGA at most... not really a fair comparision. If you compare spending $650 for a WUXGA to make a DIY 1080p PJ (plus another $500 for lenses, lights, etc...), this will still be significantly less than a 1080p commercial unit... so comparing like units, cost is actually a "Pro" not a "Con". The point is not lost here though, the WUX is still expensive vs. a standard 17" LCD, which has resolution that will support 720p natively.
cheers,
gs
Thanks for the input GadgetSmith! I see what you're saying about high def ready, I think I'll "strike out" that part of my post above so that people know that it's not exactly right...
Yeah, I totally agree about the WUXGA cost being both a pro and a con.
Yeah, I totally agree about the WUXGA cost being both a pro and a con.
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