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Screen With 180 Degree Field of View

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the exercizes-in-skepticism dept.

emj writes to tell us project jDome has started actively soliciting consumer feedback and, of course, donations. They are currently promising to deliver their "180 degree FOV monitor" this year for a pricepoint of around $200. The videos and talk have been circulating for the last couple of weeks or so, but they have added a video of the supposed tech in action. Buyer beware, but I would love to see a couple of reviewers get ahold of this and let us know what the story is.

10 of 191 comments (clear)

  1. Ya $200 bucks and... by ZonkerWilliam · · Score: 5, Insightful

    How much more for the projector? won't come cheap no matter how you look at it.

    1. Re:Ya $200 bucks and... by twistedsymphony · · Score: 5, Interesting

      It depends on the game. I've been using a Projector as my main gaming screen for the last 7 years or so. My current setup is an Optoma HD-73 throwing on to a 94"x94" Dalite Glass Bead Pull-Down. I use an Xbox 360 for most of my gaming.

      some games become much easier to play, Fighting games, Racing Game, and Turn Based Role players. Other Games take some getting used to like FPSs and the Tony Hawk Series are nauseating at first due to the fast movement of the entire picture at once. Once you get used to it though, it's no different than playing on a normal screen.

      Some games do suffer though. For instance I do much worse when playing FPSs or DDR games on the projector because I have to move my eyes around the screen to see everything. On a normal screen 100% of the on screen activity is in my field of view 100% of the time. Also playing the Wii on the projector is difficult, for one you often find yourself casting shadows on the screen, and there are other issues associated with the IR pointer that make using that aspect of the controller difficult at best.

      Even still all Games are much more engaging and immersing on such a large screen IMO... I wouldn't trade my gaming setup for any alternative... Playing on a normal screen after the projector just seems cheesy by comparison.

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    2. Re:Ya $200 bucks and... by KidKadaver · · Score: 5, Informative

      Projector =/= good gaming experience.
      Im not sure where this is coming from. I bought a mitsubishi 720p project for $800 over a year ago, and aside from a few key difference its pretty much equivalent to an lcd tv.
      The main hassel with a projector is that you need a sound system and you have to deal with light levels.Keep in mind that whatever your wall/screen looks like is what blacks are going to look like.
      I was worried about bulb burn out when I got my projector, but out of the projected 2000-3000 hour lamp life, ive only clocked ~650, so in my case ill likely replace the projector before the bulb.
      If you can take care of all that then its basically a 90+in lcd tv for a fraction of the cash.

      Some people mention resolution concerns, but for console gaming almost no games render at anything above 720p. Even games like gta4 that support 1080p just upscale.
      If 1080p movies or PC output are a requirement then theres always 1080p projectors, their still around $2k but that price has been dropping quickly. I assume if youre playing Crysis at 2560x1600 that price is no object.
    3. Re:Ya $200 bucks and... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      ah, but look, my penis is longer still

      tosser

  2. a $200 umbrella? by smallshot · · Score: 5, Informative

    It's a $200 white, round umbrella. Then you still have to buy your own projector? I don't see anything new, apart from a new use for an umbrella.

  3. Re:180 degrees? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    You're not going to be able to see the whole screen without turning your head. Isn't the average human's field of view between 120-140 degrees? That's why you have a neck.
  4. Motion sickness? by LilGuy · · Score: 5, Interesting

    That looks like it would give me motion sickness for some reason. Maybe it's due to everything being stretched out of proportion and whenever you turn it's constantly shrinking and expanding. I don't know but that looked like a piece of crap to me.

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  5. Re:180 degrees? by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's why you have a neck.
    Hey! I'm John McCain, you insensitive clod!
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  6. The issue is the projection by togofspookware · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Most 3D games won't let you set the FOV to 180 degrees, since it's impossible using flat (pinhole?) projection that most of them use. This choice of projection is also why things look so distorted at the edges of the screen with a high FOV, and is why objects that are near you appear larger than objects in front of you, even when they're the same distance away, among other visual quirks. In order to show such a wide angle (approaching 180 degrees or above), you'd need to use a projection that's not limited to showing objects on one side of a plane, such as fisheye projection. This isn't normally done because it's technically simpler to do 3D rendering when straight lines in the world correspond to straight lines on the screen (that's the simplified explaination).

    See this page for a visual comparison.

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  7. Re:180 degrees? by Scrameustache · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's why I have people waving their hands right at the edge of my FOV at all times.

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