pmiles' 1080p PLOG

So this is my second projector build, the first was the standard newbie model...based directly off the "official" LumenLab guide for creating a projector a couple years ago. You know the kind, the big rectangle box that looks pretty bland and unattractive. It was made in haste over the course of two weekends at my roommate's parent's house. The go around will be done over a much longer period of time and I will be a lot pickier. The first projector wasn't bad, we all enjoyed it very much, but as all of you know, the first pj you build serves as mostly an experiment to learn from. Anyway...on with this build...

Specs for the new 1080p Projector: (this will be constantly updated as I make changes)

• Pixelworks Controller Card
• WUXGA LCD Panel (anyone have suggestions for what model?)
• Pro Lens Kit (maybe a beseler if the Pro lenses aren't available when I want to buy)
• Standard Ushio T15 pulse strike lighting (reuse from first projector) - Anyone used johnzo's Lamp Box Kit? This may be an alternative later on...
• Possibly a Haas style enclosure, but I haven't really decided yet...any suggestions would be gladly accepted.

HTPC:
I plan to get a PS3 at some point and load it with linux (admittedly my favorite OS) and use that as my HTPC....it's got Blu-ray and DVD with a HDMI 1080p, HDCP compatible output with a cell processor (granted I won't get to use those little cells all that much...but maybe code will get there at some point)...what more could I ask for out of a HTPC.

Other Components (not the most glamorous setup...but it takes care of business ):

• DIY 16:9 Project Screen (already completed and used with current projector - I'll post pics later for this)
• Pioneer VSX-D812K Receiver
• 2 x JBL Northridge E80
• 1 x JBL EC25 Center Channel
• 2 x ...somethings for the rears...they're old, eventually they'll get replaced
• 1 x ...some old subwoofer of my dad's, eventually will also get replaced, but it works for now

I'm a grad student (electrical engineering - this means full load of classes and research) and work ~30 hours a week at IBM so we'll see how much time in any given week I'll get to spend on this, but hopefully it will be more than none.

I hope to be getting in the pixelworks controller in the next few weeks and will probably be ordering a WUXGA panel in the next few weeks (as noted above, any suggestions of the type of panel I should try to find due to stripping reasons, etc would be greatly appreciated).

cant wait to see how this come along I was eyeballing the lamp box my self this morning.

and the ps3 Idea is brilliant, I love it.

I've got this lightbox and, while it's a pretty nice lightbox, an Ushio T15 bulb will not fit into it. The diameter of the T15 is about 50mm and there's only about 37mm of space between the walls of the lightbox.
Several people who have purchased the same lightbox found that they couldn't get the precon to work correctly. I'm not sure if the distance between the bulb and precon was wrong or if the precon simply wasn't big enough. I'm pretty sure there are a lot of Chinese builders using the same lightbox, but I don't know how they managed to get it working right.
The lightbox also comes pre-wired with sockets for an RX7s, double-ended bulb.

If I decide to use this lightbox I'll be using an RX7 style bulb as well...anyone have pointers/suggestions/links for a precon for a T15 bulb?

No ones compared the LCD's LCD manhattan for example, however the most popular one seems to be the samsubg (though they claim the toshiba has the best contrast, despite having the lowest rating). I'm currently using the samsung 1080 from manhattan lcd, and it's very easy to stri but you can't remove the antiglare.

The DIY Screen

I built the screen out of black out cloth from a Jo Anne fabric store (...I (a male) did get a few strange looks from buying a whole bolt of that stuff, but whatever). The frame is simply 1x4 with angle brackets holding each of the four sides together (I'm not actually at home this week so I'll post some dimensions when I get back). I wrapped each of the 1x4's in a black canvas cloth to prevent any reflection (I read that if paint is used - even flat - you'll get some light reflection, not the desired effect for the border of the screen).

First is just the frame with the black out cloth duct taped in place for testing; no wrapping of the wood at this point either.

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The wood has been wrapped in the canvas cloth and the black out cloth has been stretched into place for a smooth surface (I just stapled everything to the wood). All this is in the old house me and a couple of my friends rented for a while. You can see that beastly 1st gen projector hanging from the ceiling.

Click to view attachment

And finally a screenie of the old pj on the screen. You'll notice that there's light above and below the image...it's a 4:3 projector but I'm almost exclusively use it for watching 16:9 movies, plus I knew I was going to build another pj that was a 16:9(10) projector, so it just made sense to build a screen appropriately.

Click to view attachment

I'll have to see if I can find the link for the fabric I used for the blackout. I know they had several different kinds but this stuff has a kind of rubbery, foam type backing that made me think it would perform the best...they also didn't have enough of any of the other types, so I guess I lucked out.

Overall I don't think I spent more than $25 for the screen and I'm very happy with it. Maybe it's not as good as a commercial screen like DaLite, but it gets the job done and done well IMHO.

$25? thats amazing, well to me anyway. Screen looks well done.

speaking of this - do you have any favorite links you may beable to list? this has captured my imagination ( BTW gta4 is coming to ps3 soon... )

I'm a huge gentoo fan (i know...you either love it or hate it, let's not start flaming), thus this is what I'd recommend. Go to the "installing Gentoo on a PS3" link and it can guide you though the process. It does assume some prior knowledge of gentoo/linux.

That being said, there are plenty of other distros out there you can mess with; yellowdog was the first, in fact I think it was available at PS3 launch. But I can't vouch for yellowdog as I've never used it before.

Using a PS3 as a HTPC would be the same as any other computer after you get Linux installed minus the fact that you can't add hardware. For any of you interested, MythTV is a software package that is essentially a DVR on steroids. You could use another computer to do the actually recordings since you can't add a tv tuner card and have a frontend running on the PS3 on the same network as the backend system that does all the recordings. Just google around for MythTV and you'll find plenty of info out there for all distributions of Linux. Similarly any piece of software that you're used to on Windows most likely has a counterpart made for Linux. (stepping down from Linux soap box now)

DVR: the pause rewind for the movie channels was cool, but its not a tool I used alot.

Once upon a time I installed redhat / mandrake and debian ( wich kicked me in the shins - real learning curve there) that was years ago though - lots of them.

Thanks for the link

Updated on screen:

The viewable dimensions of the screen are 92.5"x52" (yields a 106" diagonal 16:9 viewable area). Add ~3.5" all around for the 1x4 frame.

This is the material that I used as my screen. It's listed as $5.99 per yard from a 54" bolt (gives you 1" top and bottom for stapling)...I bought mine when the local store was having a 50% off sale. Nevertheless, if you bought 3 yards (108") that's enough for the whole screen and that's only $17.97+tax. I can't find the fabric I used for the wrapping of the frame, but I got it out of the discount pile if I remember correctly, so it was cheap as well. Anything will do so long as it's non-reflective.

Add in 2 - 8' 1x4 and 1 - 10' 1x4 plus a few screws and 4 angle brackets, you still shouldn't break $50 for a decent screen. Admittedly it's not the most stable thing in the world without some cross braces, but you hang the thing up then it stays there; so unless you plan to move it around a lot, there shouldn't be any issues.

I guess my use would be more the ability to set recordings for shows that I can't watch during the week. Then again, I guess I'm not really going to be watching TV on this thing on a regular basis. Probably the only time I'd watch TV shows would be for a marathon with some other people...oh well.

As far as linux goes, you (and anyone else in the same boat) ought to give it another go if it's been a while since you've played with it if you get a chance. Most distributions have come a LONG way as far as ease of use through simpler installation and configuration as well as support via forums online. Fedora and Ubuntu (especially Ubuntu) have really exploded lately as their installs have become much easier and defaultly enable/install many tools/goodies that make it (pardon this...) "just work" like their Redmond based counterpart. I won't get preachy, but I always encourage open source solutions when possible

I was interested in linux for the command line interface being a real one with X layered over it like a skin. I'm not a big fan of windows really. I dropped linux because games where more plentiful on winblows. linux was fun and has features I really liked. I'm not building another gaming rig for some time if ever.The ps3 is looking better and better, its basically a modified laptop now that I think about it.

Yikes....I didn't realize how long it's been since I've posted. I got the Pixelworks controller and a 15.4" WUXGA screen from a dell laptop. I ordered the pro lenses from the store and they should be in sometime this week. Since it's the summer and classes aren't in session at the moment, I hope to get this done by the end of the summer before I start getting really busy again.

Right now my big concern is how to mount the LCD panel. I didn't like the way I did it in my standard projector as the FFCs had pressure on them in some manner or were bent in a way that concerned me. This eventually lead to having to replace the first LCD I used as the screen would flicker if the FFCs weren't in the right spot. Since this projector I hope to use for a LONG time (and since it's a 1080p I don't see why not) I want to make sure that my LCD is kept in excellent condition and is not strained in anyway. A friend of mine had a 15.4" WXGA (note the lack of the U there) with a dead backlight that I'm going to use as a stand in as far as figuring out the best way to mount the lenses and LCD but I figured I'd also put my concern out there in case someone had any specific ideas.

I've seen some posts of people using the original frame the LCD was housed in and cutting part of the backlight support plastic in order the keep the LCD secured in the frame. This seems like the most viable option but it still puts some strain on the FFCs. My only other thought was to create a frame from wood and route out the areas where the FFCs and board(s) are and then somehow (hot glue) secure them to the wooden frame so they don't move. If anyone has their projector in a manner that allows them to take pics of their LCD mounting I would greatly appreciate any close ups or general pics for inspiration.

I'm also thinking of doing the unsplit fresnels as I don't plan to cut down the pro fresnels and I should be able to get sufficient light throughout the LCD since the LCD is substantially smaller than the fresnels. It seemed like from the posts that the unsplit allowed for a better picture assuming you could cover the entire LCD with light.

Anyone else have any ideas/thoughts/suggestions on either of these topics? I'm very much looking forward to this projector and I'm going to start posting many pics as I work on this.

I offered this idea to another member for consideration:

If you want to try something like this, you can sandwich the LCD in between three pieces of 1/8" (3mm) MDF. Your LCD shouldn't be more than 3mm thick. MDF is pretty cheap at Home Depot. You can pick it up in pre-cut sheets of 1' x 2' or 2' x 4'. And it can be cut with a steel ruler and utility knife. If you're going to be using keystoning, make sure your front fresnel has room to swing so it doesn't contact the LCD's PCB.



Here's another post showing something similar. The PCBs can even be screwed in place, rather than glued - in case you need to remove them later.