Here is a link to a few video scalers in the UK:
http://www.scancom.ltd.uk/up_converters.htm

Not cheap, by US standards, but they have some tried and tested models here.

Pez: I'm still trying to track it down again, but earlier in the week I had some schematics to build a PAL to VGA converter.. basically pretty simple because the vertical refresh is exactly half of VGA with PAL, and the horizontal is the same

I'll let you know when I remember what I did with it..

WARNING THIS COMPANY HAS BEEN REPORTED TO THE BAD BUSINESS SECTION, PLEASE READ THAT THREAD BEFORE THINKING ABOUT THIS...

Finally! The CMV 1515 has landed in the UK!

http://www.web-systems.co.uk/?cmd=add&page...&pid=1122&qty=1

250 pounds (That's about $450 to you people in the US!) including VAT and delivery: Expensive, but it's the only place we can get it over here.

Can anyone else get a better deal here?

Found a great source of monitors for people in the UK, hope it helps. http://www.az-monitors.co.uk

Chris

Hi,

I not an expert on wiring or electronics (will get help when get to that stage) so dont want to sound stupid but, I have found the monitor that i want to buy (samsung ltm1555) but its from the US and i am in the UK. Would the voltage differance 110v - 220v be a problem and if it is, is there anything else i could buy to make it work.

Any help that anyone could give me would be great.

Yes you could get a simple power adapter for travelers.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but...that model (ltm1555) comes with an NTSC tuner i.e. you will not be able to use the tv tuner function in the UK.

I hope I am wrong on this matter, as I wanted to use this model too.

That might be true, most of the free standing scan converters offer NTSC/PAL auto recognition. Don't know about the 1555.

How does this look for a tv tuner, its quite cheap aswell at £55 ($99)

http://www.dabs.com/uk/productview?quickli...ZP?refererid=t5

I was also thinking about this monitor (acer al506)

http://www.acer.co.uk/acereuro/page4.do?da...&crc=2313529513

i had orderd a samsung ltm1555, but with the is it an x or b thing and it only being an ntsc i just gave up. Can anybody see any problems with this set up?

We need to know the resolution and refresh rate of the scan converter which I can't find in the specs. The specs on the monitor are good but who knows if it strips well.

There is a post in the compatible monitor list that says it should be ok so fingers crossed, I also thought i would give the tv tuner a go - i couldnt find out any more information but i can always return it if it isn't good enough, i will let you know what i find out.

Cool, good luck.

Ikea are selling a stainless mixing bowl that might be suitable for the reflector idea:-

http://www.ikea.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/se...118*10317*10322

Remember to check availablity in your nearest store.

Hey that looks pretty good, appears to be polished on the inside too. US for $4.99

http://www.ikea-usa.com/webapp/wcs/stores/...118*10317*10322

Sweet, looks like a good bowl, going to order that,
so by how much do you think this improves your projector? Lumen's I mean

I did an informal test with your standard photographic light meter at a distance of roughly 15" from the lamp. The measured light intensity with the reflector was almost double that of the bare lamp (surprise). Again this is highly subjective because we need the light to be at the proper angle.

There are 3 sizes at IKEA, which one is the best?

the 20cm/8" should be ok with the eye lamp pez, brain would have to verify this though, not sure. What lamp are you using/planning on using?

I'd go with the 8" for a simple reflector. Later if a condenser is to be added a larger size might be necessary with the EYE lamp. Basically for use with a condenser the lamp arc must be mounted on the focal surface, which is a sphere with half the radius of the reflector. Assuming this bowl is a true sphere with a radius of 4" the lamp arc would have to be mounted 2" inside the bowl, centered. I'm not sure the lamp envelope can fit without excessive cutting.

Thanks Eyebath and Brainchild! I shall be using the EYE lamp....I think a simple reflector will do for me!

Some BenQs available in the UK:-

http://uk.pricerunner.com/computing/periph...9&a_615=&a_618=

Ouch...£260 for a Benq FP557S...

...more:-

http://uk.insight.com/apps/quicksearch/ind...ria=benq+fp557s

not sure why there's three different prices?

The MT400SX/HOR EYE lamp in good ol' Blighty! Can it be...?

http://www.iwasaki.co.uk/frameset-HID/HID_frames.html

I've emailed them about availability and stockists, we'll see...

Keep you updated

Looking at it again, there's a large range of different MH lamps. I'm unsure how many would be suitable for this project, but this is definitely a find.

Here are the 'Tubular' series MH lamps. From the website:

Go with the highest lumen rated one.

lumen-wise the MT400SX/HOR is one of the best on there, but there is also this one:

M400BUH - 400W/40,000 lumens

Both sound great.

Anyone know what M.O.L or L.C.L are abbreviations for?

The Universal lamp here would be very nice b/c you can put it in any direction. But you should also look at the diminsion and lamp life. Usually universals will have a vertical and horizontal lamp life (Hor being the shorter by about 5000 hours).

Nope, have no clue what those abbreviations are.

MOL and LCL are important to us. They are the 'maximum overall length' and the 'lamp center length'. The MOL is the lamp measued from end to end and the LCL is measured from the end of the base to the center of the arc tube.

Question to brain, or anyone with the EYE for that matter: what is the M.O.L for the US version of the MT400SX?

The BT28 version we're using is about 8" long.

I know the ballasts from the "Lighting Unlimited" store aren't being shipped overseas, but what about the M400SX/BT28/HOR lamps? The website isn't totally clear about that.

And would the lamp work on UK sourced ballasts/ignitor, 240v circuits? I'm guessing yes, but I gotta ask as I'm not sure.

Yes the lamps should work if lamps can ship to you. The ballast that I have has voltage lines of 120V,240V, 277V (?), etc.. I believe all of these should work for you.

Cool, thanks.

You are forgetting one small thing, we use 60 Hz in the US over there they use 50Hz. I talked to EYE they said the lamp might work BUT you could get flickering, or poor color.

oh yeah thats right. They have brown power over there (no offense). Yes that would cause a change in color temp on the lamp. But it would definitely work.

Hmm, wonder what sort of difference it would make. A tiny colour change would be acceptable, if only cos of the pain it is over here to source lamps.

I long considered getting the US EYE from lamps, but the cons outweighed the pros. It really should be a last resort. Better to buy one from here the UK and have the reassurance of availability and compatability with the lamp.

As anyone from the UK who has engaged in this project will know already, the cost is almost double for the same components here. I only have to get a ballast now (my enclosure is complete, my panel is stripped and I'm currently building a lightbox) and when I have my lamp running, I'll be reporting back.

I can totally sympathise when you say what a pain it is to source lamps over here, so hopefully this will work out...

I wait with baited breath.

me too,

Eyebath, what lightening equipment have u exactly brought? and was it from lampmans?

Hi, welcome

The lamp I tracked down which is the closest one I could find to the one a lot of our US cousins are using is this. I bought the lamp direct from http://www.iwasaki.co.uk/frameset-HID/HID_frames.html

I emailed lampman many weeks ago, heard nothing back. Same case unfortunately with www.lampig.com. Both have ballasts available, the lampig site selling them slightly cheaper. I also enquired about a capacitor and ignitor, heard zip.

I'm still hesitant about trying the MH ballast with the MT400SX, as I was recommended by EYE to use a mercury ballast . Brainchild himself said he was willing to bet a MH ballast would work, so I may just go for it. I will wait another couple of days for a reply from them, if I don't get one I'll just go ahead and try one out.

Hey Eyebath!
How much did you pay for your lamp and ballast kit?
Cheers!

Hi pez

I paid almost £50 in total for my lamp (inc. VAT & postage)

Not good I know, but that's because I only bought one, and I bought them direct from the manufacturer rather than from a wholesaler's.

The ballast/ignitor combo I am eyeing up is under £20, not bad.

Not sure about a cap...any ideas? I've enquired as I said above, but I'm not sure if I need one with these items.

My benq was £280 brand new still saving a stack of money though for the eventual quality!

I have halo for Xbox, but now if i wanna play halo i play my 'pc' version as its runs over twice as smooth (about 85fps) and ofcourse 1024x768 res as oppossed to the 640x640 30fps xbox one..

Speaking of frames per second ect: will a good projector display at the same frame-rate?

When i play games through my TV-out of my pc-tv it has a maxium of 60hz and about 55-60fps.. these projectors should refresh at a better rate am i right?

Yea, but I will be playing halo multiplayer with 3 friends mainly, so I prefer an arcade-style xbox setup really.

You will be outputting to XGA for your projector, you will have to check the specs of your pc-tv on that.

Have you not got a dedicated graphics card that you can output to the projector with?

yes: my 3.2gig- radeon 9800 pro pc

Nice!

I'll look forward to the screenshots

I hope i get there:

Ive ordered the lense-kit from here (Lumenlab).
Ive ordered the CMV 15 TFT.
Got a big plank of MDF ready.
Hinges/brackets ect.

But.

1)cant find anywhere that does tampered glass.
2)Wish there was somewhere i could order a whole-lamp kit wired up ready to plug in, as i really dont want to risk wiring a lamp/fan cirtuit myslf

It would be ideal if someone could wire up a good light/lamp/fan ciruit, pack it up and sell/send it to me, then i could just add/take off excess wire-lengh and install it into my light box. how about it brain??

that would be a godsent.

Where did you order the CMV 15 from? Hope it wasn't web-systems.co.uk...!

I wouldn't worry too much about wiring, there's loads of guys ready to help on these forums, who will talk you through the process step-by-step.

PS - If you're still unsure, wire it in the garden. That way you only burn a few trees and perhaps a bird or two.

Yes i did order it from them..

Eek.

Good luck with them. Read here. Hopefully you will have a better time with them.

hmm, why in the hell are they advertising them if they dont have them in stock:((
they best have a new one sent to me, otherwiase the trading standards will be involved.. :angry: