So i've been looking around at (home theater) projectors, and while the buy prices seems to be coming down, the thing most sales guys seem to "forget" to mention is that the bulbs cost about as much to replace as a regular TV does these days! (Around 400 buck CDN for a new bulb!!)

Anyone have any ideas on good BRIGHT projectors with good resolution? HD? Any thoughts on the bulb issues?

Deej

I just bought a DLP and I love it... The bulb is about 300$us and have about a 7,000 hr life expectency... I have a Samsung 46" HD DLP # SHLP4667W

Thats like a big flat or console tv right?

Im talking an actual projector, that will go up to 200 inches or more... on a real screen...

Deej

I have a cheap(ish) Infocus X1 (not the X1a) and really like it. It's not true HD, but then again, neither is the signal I am feeding it. Also, this has the Faroudja processor which goes a LONG way to clean up SD video signals. (No fuzzies!) DVDs look spectacular with Progressive Scanning (make sure to get a good screen, or do as I did, and buy good material and custom build one). Might want to look into their newer line (the 4805) because it has slightly faster color wheels. The reason I mention it is all DLP projectors have what's called a "rainbow" effect which some people see and others do not. The faster the color wheel the lower chances of seeing it. I'd suggest going to a stereo shop and checking them out. The LCDs are nice, but are pricey and normally not as brights. Check out avsforum.com for more info, they review EVERYTHING! And like all projectors, the more you can control the lighting in a room, the better the picture will look (for the most part).

http://www.lumenlab.com


Won't someone here build their own? I've been interested in this, but would like to hear a reliable testimony.

Almost all the stuff at diyaudio is based on the lumen labs info. As the price of LCDs drops, it will be more and more tempting.

WOW.. I think I will have to keep this in mind.. I've been wanting a projector for a while.. and this is about 1/4 the price

This is AWESOME... I think im gonna giver a go...

50 bucks for a MH bulb... Im so there man...

Some of the screen pics look amazing for quality!

No one else has downloaded the plans? I think im gonna giver... Should take a while to build... Im moving (again) next month, so I will prob have to wait till im settled in there to get started.

Mike

I knew we could talk ya into it!!!

Just got the plans... Looks interesting...

Are you going to use one of the many free plans, or are you going to buy the plans/kit? The only thing I wish is for small LCDs to get better resolution. Building one that has a 7 inch LCD would make a nice small projector, but with 800x600 why bother. Need at least something that will cover 1080i. A cheap source for small LCDs might be from some of those portable DVD players. Not the best quality, but it would make it cheaper to build for a test machine.

From what I have read, there is a trade off between LCD size, and the quality of the image. Big LCDs allow a lot of light to go through, but they make focus and brightness in the corners harder. I was very close to making one at work, until we bought our new NEC projectors with a 4300 lumen output. These NECs use a much cheaper lamp then previous units, it's something like $125 instead of $300+.

Guess that answers one question.

HOLY SHIT MAN!!

Check this out... 5000 lumens...

you gotta be mightly rich to afford one of this crazy things...

http://www.projectorcentral.com/Digital_Projection-HIGHlite_6000Dsx.htm

On the same site, NEC Nighthawk, 52Grand!!

The NEC is a something/something 1070 and it cost us $4300+ each, we bought 2 of them for classroom use. One class room is in the TV studio, and we have projected to 9x12 feet or so on an off white muslin cyclorama. Looks pretty good, but flickers a little more than our older Mitsubishi (2500 lumens) when using with computers. There is also another projector that looks great even during daylight hours with a wall of open windows near by (not in my department), but I don't know much more than it uses up to 5 lamps at once, and it cost one hell of a lot of money. It is also about 1.5x2x3 foot large and looks like it weighs about 50 pounds. The NEC is only 1024x768 native, and looks pretty bad when you scale it up, the Mitsu looks great at 1024x768 (native) to 1280x1024.

Well i ordered all my parts...

Got the Lumenlabs light kit, lense kit, wire kit, fans and fan powersupply.

Also ordered a BenQ 557 15" lcd monitor...

Im trying to also order a kick ass case that one of the guys on the site makes... He's got a kick ass CNC Computer run milling machine that makes these really great looking cases... and last i heard, he is only charging 110 for em...

Soon!!!

Don't forget the pics! I was leaning towards a rear-screen DLP, but now front projectors are starting to look pretty interesting.
-hyde

Anyone interested in getting a big screen HAS TO look at lumenlab.com and check out the forum. Look in the gallery section to see a lot of pictures of the actual projection quality of these things. They are amazing.

It totally changed my mine on a store bought for sure.

Most of my parts are being shipped this week. For things like this, it sucks living in a small town. Need to get stuff shipped in instead of just picking it up...

Deejay, I just found this thread and I'm very intrested in the outcome of your projector, as I'm sure lots of us dumbasses are. Could you keep us posted on the progress of this project? Thanks Bro.

Hey DeeJay. I replied to your post on the forums at Lumenlab. Good to see you again. Looks like we're almost at the same stage. I've already got a Benq 15 inch lcd ready to strip and have received my light kit and lenses. I was about to build my box when I saw Haas's enclosure. No way I could build something that nice and it is perfect for ceiling mount. Hope he ships to Canada.

for everyone else, I was skeptical of the plans too, but the forum access is really where the goldmine is.

The BenQ 557 V2 15" LCD monitor was just delivered here this morning. Will be hooking it up and testing it out on my PC tonight to make sure its ok.

Lumenlab sent my parts out (lenses, power, bulbs etc) on Tuesday, but didnt actually put my COMPLETE mailing address on it, so I am just crossing my fingers it gets here ok. If not it will be returned back to them, and I will have to wait twice as long to get it... DOH!

Ya, the Haas man style case is kick ass. I think im going to be able to get one from his latest run that he is just getting finished. Its gonna look awesome...

So have you made any progress on this project?

I'd love to see any information you have, instructions, guides etc.

How big will the case end up being?
What is the total cost for parts?