I'm hoping to try my hands at a DIY projector in the near future, but I'm going to have to try for a copycat PSOne/CFL first due to um, monetary constraints. If I can make the smaller scale work, maybe I'll move on up to the ballasts/fresnels/metal halide setups. I figure I can swing a small screen, TV lens, cfl bulbs and other little bits in the meantime.

That said, I had a question regarding the PSOne screen and several of the wannabe screens. The PSOne screen has a resolution of 320 x 240, correct? Do any of the 5" Intec/Mad Catz/Zenith Gamecube or XBox screens come close? I keep seeing claims of "high resolution display, better than most TV's", but the only numbers I managed to dig up (Whether they were correct or not...) were lower than 320 x 240. I have found the Intec Gamecube and Xbox screens for cheaper than the PSOne screen, but it seems I would have to take a dip in quality, not to mention a lack of VGA/Brightness mod possibilities laid out for me.

To summarize, is the PSOne screen king of the hill for cheap screens ~5"?

You might want to look into portable DVD players. I've seen a bunch for less than $100 (new) and they probably have better resolution than 320 x 240.

I had actually been looking a lot at the "as is" insignia DVD players on eBay. I'm not entirely sure on their resolution either, but widescreen, price point and layout all seem like pluses. (They've got all the necessary display controls and inputs built in, as well as a DVD player, provided I get one that still works.) The only problem is, if I bump the display above 5", the TV lens is no longer an option. Then I would have to invest in frensel lenses and better lighting.

I have personally seen almost every "competitor" of the 5" Psone screen and NONE of them are as good as the Psone. NONE of them.

Now here is a small screen that I was thinking about trying.

It's the 3.5" 640x480, 6th from the bottom of the list.

http://www.purdyelectronics.com/products/d...ys/tftmonit.cfm

The combination of that controller (PC-TFT-35VX) and TFT it is designed to be used with (AND-TFT-35VX) is $208 for 640x480. That in combination with not knowing whether I'd be able to separate the glass from the LED backlight it uses is unfortunately beyond my testing price point

I'd love to eventually find something about that size with a better resolution than the average portable DVD player (or other portable video device) so I could reduce the size of a DIY projector that puts out a fairly decent good quality image. I currently only use a 1024x768 res panel, and it is fine for what it is used for, but the size of the thing is the issue.

I have a 3.5 kit, 600*480 rez, already stripped from factory w/ controller. I will post pics later.

Man, I can't seem to catch a break on eBay. I'm tempted to settle for one of the Intec screens just so I can get started on the cheap. The PSOne screen seems to be very popular these days. Really, the first project is going to be something of a throwaway anyway, just confirming the (in)feasibility of projection in my living room. Unfortunately, my ability to postpone buying fresnels, a ballast, etc banks on getting a small enough screen and a large enough lens.

I finally caught my break on eBay. In the end, I decided to snag an Insignia 10.2in widescreen player. This particular model claims an 800 x 480 resolution screen with a 300:1 contrast ratio. It was bought broken, but the only problem seems to be its inability to play disks. Even if I can't fix that, it has a composite input port, so I should be able to make good use of it. (Not a bad deal at $39.55, I think.)

Unfortunately, that means I'm all out of play money for the time being. Whenever I come across some more, I'll look into Lighting and optics, then I'll finish with case materials and wiring, then when (if) I can cobble together a working projector, I'll try my hand at a pearl clear coated blackout cloth screen. It will probably take me the rest of the year, but at least I've gone another step. (For now, I'm just going to toy with it as a portable dvd player, however.)

For $40 that is a good deal. I spent $35 on my PS-one screen.

Turns out my screen will be a tad more expensive than I thought. I looked into things a little deeper and found that I will need a camcorder cable to use composite inputs on the screen. No big deal, as I've already found a 12ft cable on eBay for around $8 shipped. Besides, I would have needed to order a long cable to reach from my input switch to where I plan to mount the projector anyway. This just means I won't be able to test the screen inputs until I get that cable. Also, my package doesn't include the remote, so I'm hoping there are universal remote codes available for this particular model. I don't want a bunch of remotes lying around everywhere anyway. Failing that, I hope all the necessary controls are available on the player.

Minor setbacks, at any rate. I couldn't possibly afford a better screen at the moment. If I can get something running on it when I receive it, maybe I'll give a few impressions. These things are going fairly regularly on eBay for anywhere from $15-40, plus $10.99 shipping. (There's also sales tax and $1.75 shipping insurance. My actual final bid was $24.50, which came to $39.55 shipped.) Should be a good enough deal, provided you use composite hookups and don't need better than 800x480 resolution.

Indeed. $40 is about as cheap as you can get these things. I've done a portable build, and might do one more before I'm through with DIY projectors, so I occasionally check in on the "bay" for what's currently available. I am constantly amazed at just how many bidders there are for apparently broken items (and how many times I'm outbid at the last second). Are there that many amateur repairmen out there?

Boy, I know the feeling. I was looking exclusively at "broken" items (Typically the player wouldn't read disks. I avoided screen and power problems.) and I was outbid within the last couple minutes of no less than 7 auctions. I finally focused on this particular model, checked all the listings and raised my ceiling a bit. A good thing too, because I would have spent just as much on a lower resolution model if I hadn't looked a little harder.

As for the amateur repairmen, I think a lot of people just hope against odds that the problem isn't as bad as it's made to be. Personally, I'm hoping to clean off the laser diode and have a working DVD player, but it could wind up being something far more complicated. It's a shame though, a lot of broken items on eBay are inflated by a ridiculous amount because of that hope.

While I'm replying to you, kudos on the EEKS projector. It has been a bit of an inspiration to me. If I wind up with some of the necessary hardware, I might borrow a few ideas from it. (If you don't mind.)

Just wondering if you have any of those kits available yet, or pics of the kit?

What's your asking price?

Thanks,

Movie Freak

I too would like to know about these 640*480 any more info and price

bump