Today's Show:
It's no secret we're into
projects; we like to geek out every now and then to see what we can put
together without breaking the bank. We've built our own MythTV server,
assembled a Mac based video server and have messed around with whole
house audio as well. Another project we've had in the back of our
minds for years now is the infamous DIY Home Theater Projector
project. As we started to do our research, a thought hit us. Would it
be better to build a projector ourselves, or just pay a little extra
and buy one on eBay?
Do It Yourself or eBay?
The DIY Projector
There's a great article at inventgeek.com called A Practical Guide to the DIY LCD Projectors.
It lays out, in very simple language the steps required to build your
own projector. One that will come close to HDTV (1024x768) and will
fill a 110" screen. The basic premise is an LCD panel for picture,
mounted to an overhead projector as the lens and light source, inside a
wooden enclosure for sound and light dampening. The idea sounds
great. They project the total cost to be $174 based on these
assumptions:
$17.00: Overhead Projector
$25.00: LCD Projector Panel
$110.00: Screen
$22.00: Construction supplies
$174.00: Total
We checked the HT Guys store
and found the prices to be a bit higher. If you scour eBay, you can
probably get close to what they listed, but we didn't have the patience
for that. Our total was closer to
The DIY Screen
Then, of course, you could make the screen yourself if you really wanted to. ProjectorCentral.com has a great article on how to do that called Make a 100" Screen for under $100.
They not only give excellent detail on how to put the screen together,
they also compare it with a much more expensive screen and give advice
on how to tune your projector to make the DIY screen look its best.
The basic premise with this is very bright white background paper (like
the stuff photographers use for photo shoots) mounted to a wooden frame
that's been wrapped in black velveteen. Total cost is $98.50, saving
you about $10-12 off the total cost of the project.
$26.00: Super-white seamless paper
$42.50: Wood and hardware for frame
$29.00: Velveteen fabric (3 yards) and glue
$98.50: Total
Is it worth it?
So
the screen project really got us thinking. You can spend countless
hours and and intense attention to detail to get a screen that doesn't
perform all that well and only saves you about $10. If the total
project is going to cost $350 or so, what can we put together on eBay?
How much more would it cost to not have to build anything at all? Keep
in mind that the projector is only 1024x768 (although it is 3000
lumens), and the screen is less than stellar on color reproduction and
contrast. It doesn't feel like there's much lower to go on the
projector and screen food chain
Epson EMP-61 LCD Projector, 800 x 600 native, 1280 x 1024 max resolution, 720p/1080i capable, 2000 ANSI Lumens, $249.99
Sony VPL-PX31 LCD Data Projector, native XGA 1024x768, 2800 ANSI Lumens, $20.50 (works, but appears well worn)
Of
course a lot of the concept behind DIY isn't the finished product, it's
the journey you take to get there. We get that. In fact, even
considering the prices of some of those projectors on eBay, we may
still go ahead with the project just to say we've done it. But in that
case, we wouldn't be setting out to build a great home theater
projector, we be setting out to have fun seeing if we could get a DIY
project up and running. Look ma, I made a projector!
The HT Guys love their Starbucks. If you want to say thanks, a cup of joe will do just fine!
Or if you prefer, you can signup for a recurring subscription of $3 a month. Your recurring donation helps us with the costs of producing the show twice a week. Thanks in advance!
Blu Ray