Alright guys. I joined this website back in January and just finally finished my projector last week. I didn't do the really sweet angular box, just the big rectangular dog coffin. Anyway I will post some pics very soon. I'm waiting on a new 220mm fresnel lens because I melted mine a little during the testing process.

Overall, the image is AMAZING! One slight problem. I can't seem to get the image bright enough without creating tons of hotspots.

I'm using the Viewsonic N6, a Samsung prog. scan DVD player, and the Benq 567s v2 monitor in my projector. I'm sure the sh**** warped lens has something to do with it, and fine tuning the spillage and bulb distance won't hurt. But I was wondering if some of you guys could share some of your settings with me if you have the same setup (brightness, contrast, saturation, etc.)

Anyway, pics soon..... If you're waiting to build, just do it!!! This thing is totally worth it! Request some movie screenshots if you like.

requesting; a pic of lumenlab website, black hawk down, shawshank redemption, matrix, terminator 2 ...think that will be enough ...also dont JUST use cartoon/animation movies ...can't tell the quality/sharpness that well from photos of those....all big sections of 1 colour and stuff

I've been lurking in the forums for awhile now.
Today I decided to buy the plans & give it a go!
Just waiting for the ll team to email me the plans.
I understand there is much more info available to paying users.
I'll be keeping you all posted, looks like fun

Click to view attachmentCheck this!!!
Benq with viewsonic n6.
A little bit of light from back windows hitting the screen. Sorry, I didn't close the curtains.

Just another quick one so you can see how big the screen is. Image is very very sharp in person. I know everyone uses this screenshot, but it's a good benchmark.

I'll add lots of different movies soon.

Maybe even some video!

Click to view attachment

Looks great scoo!!

love to see that video

scoodidabop,

How large is that image? Length, Width & Diagonal across in inches. Also how far is your projector from the wall to be displaying an image that large?

Awesome man, great job on your projector. You should post some LOTR screens, and some Star Wars screens. Oh and you gotta post some Indiana Jones and Harry Potter screens, haven't seen anyone post any from those movies yet.

It's the blackout cloth from the LL store. It's 110" x 85". Diagonally it measures 135". More pictures of movies and the box tomorrow.

Great results< I want to make a PJ now. I'm on a tight budget so I was wondering if I could use this LCD for the PJ http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...5213042100&rd=1 would this work? I think the specs are good but I don't know how strippable it is

Thanks,
Tim

Looks like nobody has tried this yet. In the experimental spirit of lumenlab I guess it'll be worth to try and if you find FFC issues (which I personally know are a pain in the butt), then you can try to solve them using one of the FFC cables sold at Lumenlab. The worst that can happen is that you will have to put back together the monitor and resell it on ebay as used.

Good Luck to you and happy building!

Maybe one of you experienced guys can answer..... I've got (during a completely black screen) a dark middle with a few vertical bars of lighter shades. By 220mm fres is warped, so is this my problem? or something else?

Tim - I've been purchasing LCD's for computer use for approx. 5 years and it is my opinion that the Microtek monitor you showed for $90 is low-end to middle of the road in terms of quality. That Microtek in particular was sold at many CompUSA's and MicroCenters across the U.S. It retailed new for approx. $229-$249 (no rebate) and $149-$169 after rebates. $89 is "fair", but I think you could do better, especially considering the guy wanted $30 S&H.

I bought a beautiful, almost new, 20-inch Dell from this LCD reseller on EBAY for $330. He even gave me free S&H on the monitor and it arrived in two days.

This is the monitor I bought, considered "Grade B" - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...item=5191742606
This is one of his 15-inch sales, considered "Grade C" - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...item=5204598743

If you'll notice with this guy, all of his auctions include free S&H.

If you aren't seriously rushed to buy an LCD monitor, shop around, and you'll be able to find one that wont have an outrageous border/frame around the LCD screen, will be under warranty for more than 30 days, and will come with free S&H.

Also, check the CompUSA and MicroCenter websites every weekend for their usual weekend sales. I've found 15-inch LCD's for $69 after rebates, and if you're willing to wait the 6-8 weeks it takes to get the rebate, that's some serious cash savings.

Good luck!
Rich aka WhoCares?

Click to view attachmentDark scene from the Matrix. Totally untouched photo. I still have to work on my bulb positioning to get rid of some washed out areas.

Halo 2, very big



Click to view attachment

Halo 2, very big again, with me this time..... Those may or may not be my underwear.



Click to view attachment

Last one for today, underwear ommitted. More movie pics coming very soon.





Click to view attachment

So how long have you worn other people's undergarments?

<psychoanalysts voice>

"Yes, that is a good question, and please, if you will, tell us...
...about your mother..."

</psychoanalysts voice>

Oh you sick Monkey.... CLick away its safe!
http://www.geocities.com/Captain_Hoek/sounds/sick-monkey.wav

Click to view attachment

Check out my dog coffin.
Note the failed galvanized pipe mounting system on the box. That whole thing isn't going to work out. It's going to wind up sticking down too far (for the wife, it's too big and bulky to have such an obvious home in the living room). I'm thinking now about putting it on a platfrom, and attaching a pulley (block and tackle style) to it. Should work out ok.

Click to view attachment

And from the back....
Check out where I had the big fan on the side. I moved it to the top to increase the amount of hot air it pulls out. The smaller fan on top pushes air in.

Hey. When your watching dark scenes...Can you see it clearly?

Excellent box. I like the little switches on the back.......it also seems like you've got a temp readout to the left of your benq front panel, nice.

Its good to see those that realize just how important airflow is in this project, kudos to you on that. Sorry to hear about your vertical mounted system being a no go......I'm sure it will still look great either way.

Wow excellent job man , I think I might look into one of those MicroTek LCDs, great price and specs.

Yeah dude! Very easy to see dark images. I screwed up at first and had my bulb 20mm too close to the lens, so it made these big greyish patches, but now I've moved the blub back, and everything is awesome! The only problem is that I'm using the viewsonic N6 video converter, and it's so-so. I think with an HTPC setup, the images will be brighter with less bleed and sharper overall. I think I'm going for the XBOX 360 because they're adding direct VGA out to the console. SCORE!!

(Edit: Image pulled. Sorry.)

Overhead shot of some guts. Check out the Jowerb style light engine. My bulb doesn't sit far enough into the box, so it's not 100% efficient. I had to add a couple more fans to the top of the box to keep it cool. But it paid off. My box runs about 5 or 6 degrees above ambient temp.

(Image Pulled. Sorry.)

Another angle.

Side note: These shots are pre-moving the light box back. I've since moved the entire light engine 20mm farther from the lens. Much improved picture!!!! Yahoo!!!

Click to view attachment

The Dark Cystal

Click to view attachment

Harry Potter

I just removed the antiglare from my LCD, and the difference is AMAZING!!! I'll be posting new pics and comparisons tommorrow (if I can find my digital camera!).


EVERYONE SHOULD REMOVE THEIR ANTIGLARE!

Quite a nice looking projector, kinda like a porta-potty. Nice screenshots of Halo 2, that is why I'm gonna build one of these monsters.

Yeah, so it's been a long time. But hey! It's time for some more screen shots! I got rid of the N6 (sold it to ChristmasGT) and went with the xbox 360. I'm using the 360 vga cable for my output.

I should note that the HD downloadable videos from the xbox marketplace look freaking awesome on this thing! I'm considering buying the add on hd-dvd drive.

I should note that many of these pictures look sharper in person....

Perfume trailer....

Note the couch in the lower left....

Using lumenlab blackout cloth. 133" diagonal...

Some waves in the screen that I didn't bother to smooth... My bad...

Me, for reference. I'm about 5' 11"..... Halo 3 trailer....

The Living Sea 1080. Sooo sharp in person.

And here's Leeloo! Same camera and settings used in all of my old pics. The old Leeloo pic looks sharper, but now it's much sharper in person. I think this new pic turning out a little fuzzy is due to a brighter PJ image overexposing the shot a little.

With me....
I tried to throw in a couple of Gears Of War shots, but I didn't have time to get a good one... Maybe next time.

I wish I had a better camera. The pics don't show off how crisp the image really is. Ah well....

cute, industrial design. I like your water pipes

Great looking results ,do you plan on adding anything else, HTPC,automatic border,also how far away is your projector from the screen and you might want to consider on getting a dalite screen 2.8 gain it will give you that extra brightness your looking for.

RR

Yeah, I'll be ordering the dalite as soon as I rebuild. I've already got a beseler lens, and I've got a really nice design worked up.

I've got the projector sitting on a table that's behind my couch. It's a little too close, maybe 10 feet. Anyway, all that will be fixed when rebuild with the longer throw beseler lens.

I'm also thinking about upgrading my lcd to a wuxga... maybe....

Nice Job !!!congrats on the build i too am on a new build with a better light engine this time .I like the idea of the temp gauge i think i will also add one for my new box.

great build , whats the distance from the light to 1st fersnel?

cheers

I'm using the 220mm fresnel. I think the actual distance might be 218...

I love lumenlab!

I have a pic request, one hardly anybody does.... Saving Private Ryan. Particulairly the scene with the sniper in the square.

Yeah buddy!