Greetings all!
This is my first post here, and I'm going to start my project thread with it.
It is my intention to keep you posted in agonizing detail through the entire project, so pardon any long ramblings in this thread as time goes on... starting with this one.
First some background:
I arrived here at the Lumenlab forums after seeing a post in another private forum about the project. I'm in the process of opening a Computer/Xbox Gaming Center. Some of you may have seen Caleb's (a/k/a C4L3B) Center in this thread. We are both members of iGames.org, an association of Game Center Operators. My center is still in the planning/financing stage with a planned opening in the late summer / early fall of 2004. For the past 4 years I have run my own on-site computer and network repair business out of my home and backyard workshop. I focus primarily on small businesses and individuals on a referral basis, which at more than 500 clients has now outgrown my home office. The Game Center will also serve as my new workshop and repair facility.
As an independent small business operator I'm always looking for innovative ways to keep costs low, especially start-up costs at the Center as that project has proceeded. One of the draws to these centers is multiplayer gaming on Networked XBOX units on multiple big screen TVs. It's also nice to be able to put PC games up on the Big Screen during tournaments for spectators to watch so they don't have to crowd around the players. Some larger centers have as many as 6 or 8 big screens. As you can imagine, at a minimum of $1500 per unit (for a 52" crud-o-vision unit, bleh) a large pile of cash goes *poof* real fast when buying big screens. My original business plan called for 2 big screens with hopes to expand to 4 at some point, with $2000 budgeted for each. Now I will be able to open with 4 Screens, bigger than I would have purchased, and at less than the cost of one "Manufactured" TV.
The skills needed for the project are well within my range, but my woodworking technique is weak. However, my father-in-law is a retired master carpenter with a full woodworking shop consuming his entire 2 car garage. He is already on the hook for the rest of the cabinetry in the GC (Game Center) once the build out process begins, and he now plans to incorporate the new projectors into the design. The first one we build will be the "prototype" of sorts to learn the process and refine our final design.
The first unit will eventually reside in my home and replace/augment the 27" TV in the family room. I might leave the 27" in the room for "normal TV" watching and have the projector for movies and sports events. The TV and other equipment is recessed into some built in cabinets, so having a screen that drops down in front of that entire end of the room looks like the best bet, making for a screen about 10' wide left to right. I have an almost all-Sony Component home-theatre setup that is about 8 years old, but if I can pull it off (read: Convince the Wife) I may replace it all with one of these upgraded with the TV tuner card and a better video card to replace the on-board video.
Going to order the lenses and other parts tonight, and I have already located a local source for the tempered glass and have that ball rolling as well, so stay tuned!
~DM~
Full Version: DrudgeMart's Projector
Welcome aboard and good luck! I would be interested in hearing more about you business endeavor as it proceeds so please keep us posted!
Ahhh.... the business endeavor, don't get me started on that one!
All a bit off topic for this forum but suffice it to say that GCs are basically just Cyber Cafes on steroids that cater to the gamer crowd. With an emphasis on first person shooters like Unreal, Call of Duty, Halo, etc. and the Team aspect of these games. We use hotter machines than what is typically found in traditional Cyber Cafes because of the system requirements of the latest games, and tweak our networks to provide lag-free gaming to the customers. It's mainly the social aspect of these centers that attracts the gamers, though -- anyone can play online at home, but as anyone here that has attended a LAN party can confirm, it's a completely different experience when you have your buddies sitting next to you, and your "enemies" sitting across from you, and then share a soda and "war" stories after the game.
You can find more info about the industry at www.igames.org.
Personally, opening a GC has been a dream of mine for a couple of years. I make my living in the computer repair biz, but I spend my spare time playing games. I have been a Microsoft Core Group Beta Tester since 1998, and to date have tested more than 60 products, most of them MS Studios games and XBox titles. Right now the non-betas I'm playing are Joint Ops (NovaLogic), Halo (MS), and City of Heroes (Cryptic) as my top 3, but I will dig out an oldie now and then just to stay sharp. I'm looking forward to playing on a HUGE screen with blasting surround sound, and then sharing that experience with my GC customers when I open, only they will have headphones to keep the noise-bleed down.
~DM~
All a bit off topic for this forum but suffice it to say that GCs are basically just Cyber Cafes on steroids that cater to the gamer crowd. With an emphasis on first person shooters like Unreal, Call of Duty, Halo, etc. and the Team aspect of these games. We use hotter machines than what is typically found in traditional Cyber Cafes because of the system requirements of the latest games, and tweak our networks to provide lag-free gaming to the customers. It's mainly the social aspect of these centers that attracts the gamers, though -- anyone can play online at home, but as anyone here that has attended a LAN party can confirm, it's a completely different experience when you have your buddies sitting next to you, and your "enemies" sitting across from you, and then share a soda and "war" stories after the game.
You can find more info about the industry at www.igames.org.
Personally, opening a GC has been a dream of mine for a couple of years. I make my living in the computer repair biz, but I spend my spare time playing games. I have been a Microsoft Core Group Beta Tester since 1998, and to date have tested more than 60 products, most of them MS Studios games and XBox titles. Right now the non-betas I'm playing are Joint Ops (NovaLogic), Halo (MS), and City of Heroes (Cryptic) as my top 3, but I will dig out an oldie now and then just to stay sharp. I'm looking forward to playing on a HUGE screen with blasting surround sound, and then sharing that experience with my GC customers when I open, only they will have headphones to keep the noise-bleed down.
~DM~
I see "Drudge" and think about Asheron's Call 
Off topic:
I beta tested AC and ACDM, and was a Sentinel/Chancellor (Game Admin) at launch in 11/99.
Played until December of this past year, finally quit after all of my friends had left for other games. My MMORPG of choice these days is City of Heroes.
DrudgeMart was my ebay name for selling AC items and other paypal transactions, so I used it to pay and sign up here to keep things simple. My in-game name on Frostfell was "Gekk" and I may accidentally sign my name here as that from time to time because it is my IG name in City of Heroes and Joint Ops as well... it's also my gamertag for Xbox Live.
So, long story short -- it should remind you of Asheron's Call, 'cause that's where it came from -- now scream like a Drudge!
On topic:
Tore apart my LM-500 AOC 15" LCD monitor. It is very old (retailed for $800 new, but I got it NFR from a sales rep that owed me a BIG favor.) The screen was still good after the backlight had died about 4 months ago. The specs on AOC's site showed it was not optimal for the project, but I figured free is free, and if I didn't like the picture quality after construction I could just get a better one to slide in.
Once opened up I discovered it has multiple FFC problems and a partial IDBS problem as well (which might be possible to work around) but it's not worth the effort for a sub-par picture even if the price is right.
Oh, and by the way... it has sharp edges inside (like most, I guess...) I cut the crud out of my pinky finger, be careful when tearing these things down.
Tomorrow is a planned trip to "The Graveyard" -- a warehouse in town where a friend of mine works for State Gov't. All the old dying and broken computer and other equipment goes there for disposal and/or gets torn down for parts. He says he has about 30 or so various models of 15" LCDs laying around I can dig through for candidates... wish me luck.
~DM~
I beta tested AC and ACDM, and was a Sentinel/Chancellor (Game Admin) at launch in 11/99.
Played until December of this past year, finally quit after all of my friends had left for other games. My MMORPG of choice these days is City of Heroes.
DrudgeMart was my ebay name for selling AC items and other paypal transactions, so I used it to pay and sign up here to keep things simple. My in-game name on Frostfell was "Gekk" and I may accidentally sign my name here as that from time to time because it is my IG name in City of Heroes and Joint Ops as well... it's also my gamertag for Xbox Live.
So, long story short -- it should remind you of Asheron's Call, 'cause that's where it came from -- now scream like a Drudge!
On topic:
Tore apart my LM-500 AOC 15" LCD monitor. It is very old (retailed for $800 new, but I got it NFR from a sales rep that owed me a BIG favor.) The screen was still good after the backlight had died about 4 months ago. The specs on AOC's site showed it was not optimal for the project, but I figured free is free, and if I didn't like the picture quality after construction I could just get a better one to slide in.
Once opened up I discovered it has multiple FFC problems and a partial IDBS problem as well (which might be possible to work around) but it's not worth the effort for a sub-par picture even if the price is right.
Oh, and by the way... it has sharp edges inside (like most, I guess...) I cut the crud out of my pinky finger, be careful when tearing these things down.
Tomorrow is a planned trip to "The Graveyard" -- a warehouse in town where a friend of mine works for State Gov't. All the old dying and broken computer and other equipment goes there for disposal and/or gets torn down for parts. He says he has about 30 or so various models of 15" LCDs laying around I can dig through for candidates... wish me luck.
~DM~
QUOTE
He says he has about 30 or so various models of 15" LCDs laying around I can dig through for candidates... wish me luck.
And if you happen to find more than one that will work you could send it my way!
Well... in the end run I will have to build 5 Projectors -- 1 for the house and 4 for the Game Center, but if I turn up any beyond that I will put them in the Trade Forum for dirt cheap + shipping to help offset my lens/lamps purchases.
I have another source of similar origins (multi-corporation depot repair facility about an hour away) that I have an inside contact with. I left him a message yesterday morning and no call back so far -- he might be gone for the long US holiday weekend.
Dunno what I can get these for price-wise. Items from the state depot are usually "free" (my taxes paid for them at some point, heh) as long as it's not a mainframe or something huge they can sell for scrap. They are usually just going to dumpster the items and my buddy will set things I'm interested in aside for a few days until I can get by to check them out. They also have auctions for pallet lots on a semi-quarterly basis.
The stuff from the depot repair place is usually sold by the pound on a plastic wrapped pallet. Makes it hard to inspect all of the goods before hand, so it's a gamble sometimes, but that's why having an inside contact is important -- he can tell me EXACTLY what is on each pallet, right down to the serial numbers -- just takes a six pack of good beer and a little lead time.
Stay tuned -- if I can dig up any workable ones beyond the 5 I need, I will be offering them to the community for very little $$$.
Now here's a story that I'm reluctant to tell this forum, because it may cause many to rip out their hair with despair...
About 6 months ago I was at an auction and a pallet load of about 40 "Dead" 14" and 15" LCD monitors (not sure of the brands/models -- were various) sold for $100. More than half of them had "Blown Backlight" tags, the rest had various other problems from bad cables to power supply problems. I only saw 1 that had screen problems, and I think that happened after it was put on the pallet.
...and I didn't even bid -- hindsight is 20/20, eh?
~DM~
I have another source of similar origins (multi-corporation depot repair facility about an hour away) that I have an inside contact with. I left him a message yesterday morning and no call back so far -- he might be gone for the long US holiday weekend.
Dunno what I can get these for price-wise. Items from the state depot are usually "free" (my taxes paid for them at some point, heh) as long as it's not a mainframe or something huge they can sell for scrap. They are usually just going to dumpster the items and my buddy will set things I'm interested in aside for a few days until I can get by to check them out. They also have auctions for pallet lots on a semi-quarterly basis.
The stuff from the depot repair place is usually sold by the pound on a plastic wrapped pallet. Makes it hard to inspect all of the goods before hand, so it's a gamble sometimes, but that's why having an inside contact is important -- he can tell me EXACTLY what is on each pallet, right down to the serial numbers -- just takes a six pack of good beer and a little lead time.
Stay tuned -- if I can dig up any workable ones beyond the 5 I need, I will be offering them to the community for very little $$$.
Now here's a story that I'm reluctant to tell this forum, because it may cause many to rip out their hair with despair...
About 6 months ago I was at an auction and a pallet load of about 40 "Dead" 14" and 15" LCD monitors (not sure of the brands/models -- were various) sold for $100. More than half of them had "Blown Backlight" tags, the rest had various other problems from bad cables to power supply problems. I only saw 1 that had screen problems, and I think that happened after it was put on the pallet.
...and I didn't even bid -- hindsight is 20/20, eh?
~DM~
Well, back from the graveyard -- got a couple of promising candidates, niether is on the Approved or Disapproved list, so they are unknown quantities at this point. I will tear them down over the weekend sometime and report my findings.
~DM~
~DM~
QUOTE (DrudgeMart @ Jul 1 2004, 03:53 PM)
Off topic:
I beta tested AC and ACDM, and was a Sentinel/Chancellor (Game Admin) at launch in 11/99.
Played until December of this past year, finally quit after all of my friends had left for other games. My MMORPG of choice these days is City of Heroes.
I beta tested AC and ACDM, and was a Sentinel/Chancellor (Game Admin) at launch in 11/99.
Played until December of this past year, finally quit after all of my friends had left for other games. My MMORPG of choice these days is City of Heroes.
Man grats on breaking the addiction.. I started AC in Beta2 and was part of the Vanguard Event Testers for 6 months after release. Harvestgain since day 1.Only problem is.. I haven't broken the addiction, and now it's worse playing AC with the projector.
I'll be watching this thread and your project.
I must play Joint Ops on a 10' screen, it is what is driving me at this point, besides the other mentioned reasons for my GC.
Holding off on my Lumenlab store order until early next week, that way I can get the cloth, lenses, socket and perhaps the solid state power supply all in one fell swoop.
In the mean time, I'm having fun playing around with some cabinet ideas, perhaps I will post them after I clean them up a little. I'm sticking with the basic Lumenlab box for simplicity, but I'm trying to find a cool way to dress it up into a workable piece of furniture in two versions -- the home unit and the Game Center unit(s).
I'm also measuring the family room about 3 times a day fiddling around with placement of the screen, projection, and HT equipment.
I'm watching this thread with interest, as I am also looking at a similar solution with a ceiling mounted roll-up screen.
~DM~
Holding off on my Lumenlab store order until early next week, that way I can get the cloth, lenses, socket and perhaps the solid state power supply all in one fell swoop.
In the mean time, I'm having fun playing around with some cabinet ideas, perhaps I will post them after I clean them up a little. I'm sticking with the basic Lumenlab box for simplicity, but I'm trying to find a cool way to dress it up into a workable piece of furniture in two versions -- the home unit and the Game Center unit(s).
I'm also measuring the family room about 3 times a day fiddling around with placement of the screen, projection, and HT equipment.
I'm watching this thread with interest, as I am also looking at a similar solution with a ceiling mounted roll-up screen.
~DM~
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