Media On-the-Go Kart

[rembetis]

Well, I got some nice feedback on my Jukebox Jr. project, so I thought I'd post about my latest hairbrained invention -- a DIY projector/media center with onboard computer and 6 channel amp, running a custom Xlobby skin.

I built this as an xmas present for my little brother, who is a very selfless individual who strongly believes in the "reuse" part of "reduce, reuse, recycle." He only buys used clothing, helps run a charity thrift store, converts abandoned lots into neighborhood gardens in downtown Philadelphia, and basically tries to help the world more than he harms it. He even bought a home in a really bad neighborhood, hoping to help out however possible. It came with an empty lot next door that will provide the perfect outdoor cinema.

The project incorporates all used or old stock products, excepting two fresnel lenses and a first surface mirror.

-575W HMI light engine, fans, and triplet lens from a Dukane 670 overhead projector ($40)
-15" Detel LCD (rebadged Tatung L5CES) with burned out blacklight ($25)
-old media cart from university surplus ($25)
-6 Channel Amp by BSG Labs ($20)
-donated Gateway PIII 500, with Toshiba DVD-ROM
-various and sundry screws, paint, and other materials lying around my workshop.











Before anybody critiques its aesthetics (P3rv3rt ), please keep in mind the theme of reusing old materials. My brother won't care if it ain't pretty.

For more pics and to learn more about DIY projectors, see my thread (I go by "sensibull" over there) and the Lumenlab forum in general (but before you spend a lot of time and money, you might want to check out their new eVo projector).

[P3rv3rt B3ar]

Before anybody critiques its aesthetics (P3rv3rt )

Actually i think thats coolest shit ever.

EDIT: just a thought... mayby replacing mouse with trackball?

[Marbles_00]

I've been wanting to do one of these projects for a while now for our annual street party. A few questions:

1) What's the range on the projector...how close do you have to be to your screen?

2) What material are you using for your screen? Framework and screen itself.

3) How does the 500 hold up running Xlobby and the DVD software at the same time? I tried a 550 with about 176Meg of RAM and it just seemed to bog too much with XLobby and anything else running...screens slow to open and the sort.

Great job though, very nice looking skin. From what I've read on the AVSforum site, outside theater nights are usually pretty successful. Your little brother should be very proud of the nice work you have done.

Let us know how the first theater night goes.

Oh and the pic from Finding Nemo...perfect to include in your pictures here. When I saw that, I could only imagine a large image of her tapping at the screen. Priceless to see.

[rembetis]

I've been wanting to do one of these projects for a while now for our annual street party. A few questions:

1) What's the range on the projector...how close do you have to be to your screen?

2) What material are you using for your screen? Framework and screen itself.

3) How does the 500 hold up running Xlobby and the DVD software at the same time? I tried a 550 with about 176Meg of RAM and it just seemed to bog too much with XLobby and anything else running...screens slow to open and the sort.

Great job though, very nice looking skin. From what I've read on the AVSforum site, outside theater nights are usually pretty successful. Your little brother should be very proud of the nice work you have done.

Let us know how the first theater night goes.

These questions are all a little premature Marbles as neither the projector nor the "cinema" are setup yet. I plan to surprise my brother over Thanksgiving holiday and we'll go from there. Unfortunately, he lives 5 hours from me so I don't know whether I'll even be present for theater night.

1)The projection is basically 1:1, so the distance from screen more or less equals diagonal size. But the farther from screen the dimmer the image (and the softer the focus, to a certain extent). People have certainly gone bigger, but I don't plan to project much larger than 120" diagonal (or 8' x 6').

2) Not sure yet. Initially, his white wall, but I will probably construct something out of black out cloth and wood.

3) I'd say 500 is bare minimum. Doesn't do well playing movies over a network, and struggles a bit during very fast pans, but otherwise works ok. Forget running much else besides Xlobby and playback software though.

[P3rv3rt B3ar]

2) Not sure yet. Initially, his white wall, but I will probably construct something out of black out cloth and wood.

I would say just stick with the white wall, unless surface is rough or there are some obstacles. Ive have personal experiences of

a) can of white paint.
b) DIY canvas.
c) professional screen.

And frankly "better" choiges dont make much difference over A, atleast not enough to compensate trouble (incase of B) or cost (incase of C).

Currently using c but only because there are windows behind the screen. Otherwise id be just as or even more (because of relaxed size limitation) happy with white wall.

[PhilB]

It seems you have really improved your attention to fit and finish compared to the jukebox project. Please update us on your results when you get some projection tests done.

I finished my jukebox project (based on your original insanity) and might give something like this a try.

[rembetis]

It seems you have really improved your attention to fit and finish compared to the jukebox project.

Hmm... wish I could accept that (left-handed ) compliment, but the media cart looked like that when I bought it, for the most part, minus some gum and stickers.

I'll be sure to take some pictures of the test fire.

[rembetis]

EDIT: just a thought... mayby replacing mouse with trackball?

I need the slide wheel on the mouse for much of my functionality (volume, etc.)

[abobader]

Amazing work of art if I may say so.

/me wonder if rembetis planed hardware then idea, or ideas then hardware, either way, I failed when I did try on both.

My best.

[rembetis]

/me wonder if rembetis planed hardware then idea, or ideas then hardware, either way, I failed when I did try on both.

A little of both. Constant adaptation of the design to fit what I could find cheap

[sdumas]

For the screen, I would recommend some "blackout" material. You can easily buy this at a fabric store for very cheap and according to an ISF technician I know, he says it's pretty close to a real ISF certified screen; just much much cheaper - something like $35 vs $1,000.

I personnally decided to use "ScreenGoo" from Goosystems on my wall. It worked great but it's a little expensive (about $250 CDN of paint to do the job).

Great project once again!!!!

[P3rv3rt B3ar]

Sorry to barge in on this thread, but since it seems this guy has some knowledge about screens i feel compelled to ask one question...

I been looking into ordering piece of canvas from silverfabrics of germany and have it made or DIY make it into screen for stereoprojection.

But then again, cheap side of me, is questioning is there cheap way to manufacture nondepolarizing surface? somekind of silver paint mayby?

[sdumas]

The blackout material is white. That would not work for LCDs or DLPs.

ScreenGoo is available in gray - ( http://www.goosystems.com ). Again it will be in the area of $250 to paint.

Since I am a CRT owner myself, gray is not my forte and do not know of a cheap material that will give the result you want.

[jbretsch]

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=708009

[P3rv3rt B3ar]

Thanx a lot guys for providing wealth of information i wasnt aware... turns out there really is new silver goo made for 3D applications, and its defenetely much cheaper to test stereo projection than silver fabric.

Ok end of threadjack, sorry Rembetis...