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DIY Projector Plans Released
vroom writes "Lumenlab, a rapidly-growing website dedicated to the art of building LCD projectors, has just released its guide on how to build your own projector. The guide used to sell for $19.99, along with entrance to the "Premium Forums," where like-minded DIYers work together to constantly push this obsession forward. Not sure if building your own LCD projector is for you? Not a problem anymore. Just download the official torrent file of the guide and you're good to go. If you want to roam with the others in the Premium Forums, however, you'll still need to buy a membership."
Are building these worth these worth it? What is the final cost/hours spent/usability/style/performance of the finished product? Compared to say a cheaper $600 finished projector?
I'm sure they'd rather you paid $19.95. Meanwhile, you can get a good look at what you're getting for that, and twenty bucks to get to the forums seems totally fair. A good deal all around
Me, I'll be on the holodeck ;-)
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
So the reason you're condemning this is because your *eight year old* OHP projection screen is, um, eight years old.
This isn't putting an OHP LCD on an OHP, it's converting a normal desktop LCD screen (you know, the ones that have gotten very, very cheap and very, very good in the past couple of years) into a projection system. The output can be great, and they are an order of magnitude cheaper to run than *any* commercial projector. Sure, you need to hook up a PC or a video-to-VGA converter to it, but so what? Laptops and HTPCs (and video-to-vga converters) are plentiful.
These projectors will easily blow away any cheap projector in terms of image quality and will supposedly rival many commercial projectors. That's the whole point.
There are also things called hobbies. Hobbies often take up lots of money with very little in return except for enjoyment.
Why would you want to buy a refridgerator when you could just buy an esky and dump some ice in it? Why would you want a TV when you could cut up some paper, draw images on each piece, then assemble them into a flipbook? :D
An OHP with an LCD on top is going to be ungainly, fragile and is going to dump a lot of waste light around it, washing out the image. DIY projectors aren't infinitely bright; controlling the ambient light is an important consideration.
The point of releasing the guide for free is to get exposure and to let people get a feel for if they have the time/ability to start a project like this. You're getting the same guide that I bought over a year ago, the forums is where the real value lies and it has always been that way. The guide not specific enough? Remember, its DIY (DO IT YOURSELF). Its about experimenting, learning, having fun, and, if all goes well, getting a kick ass projector out of it. I've taken a look at the new pro lens setup, and it makes a SPECTACULAR picture, for less than half what a commercial projector will cost. Operating costs are a fraction of commercial projectors. But if you're not ready to build something like this, then don't buy into it.
At least you get a good idea of what it will take now, since the guide is free, so you can make your own decision about if you have the ability or the want to do something like this. As opposed to those eBay auctions for "plans" that doesn't tell you anything about it, you just have to risk your (guide) money on it. And too often it will turn out to be some shit plan that doesn't work well if at all. These guys know their stuff, they get their own lenses, made specifically for them. Its all very professional and you get great results. If this is something you can do, then I highly recommend this site.