6 ms·

DIY 2880x1800 projector

amadeusw 12y ago
This looks spectacular! I didn't quite get how it works. Is it essentially an LCD panel with an extreme backlight, and a lens to correctly display the picture?
- valverde 12y ago
  Yes. Much like many consumer projectors.
  - userbinator 12y ago
    Most of them are actually DLP these days, with LCD-based ones occupying the majority of the ultra-low-end (XGA and below).
    - jdboyd 12y ago
      Even the ultra-low end are frequently DLP these days, just replacing the powerful bulb with an under powered LED.
      - neindanke 12y ago
        > replacing the powerful bulb with an under powered LED. I've also seen that Sony and Epson are selling laser illuminated projectors as opposed to the more common LED/halogen/etc illuminated projectors. Apparently for high luminosity, laser becomes more efficient and less prone to damage than both LED, halogen, incandescent, argon/xenon etc. But it disappoints me that these projectors just use the laser for illumination. I'm waiting for when we have laser-on-DLP without filters type projectors.
    - TazeTSchnitzel 12y ago
      This is true. But it was only a decade ago that most projectors were just LCDs with a ridiculously inefficient lamp.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
WestCoastJustin 12y ago
Make sure you check page #2 too [1]. More build pics, bulb encasing design, cooling, and thermal images. These guys are pretty good marketers. I want to attempt this, and I am not even in the market for a projector, I mean you cannot get better than this for a DIY project [2, 3]. [1] http://forum.allinbox.com/aspectgeek/Projetsencours/18/photon3k-projector-2880x1800-sujet_9774_2.htm http://forum.allinbox.com/aspectgeek/Projetsencours/18/photo... [2] http://i.imgur.com/PoIY7aR.jpg http://i.imgur.com/PoIY7aR.jpg [3] http://i.imgur.com/SNvdzcr.jpg http://i.imgur.com/SNvdzcr.jpg
sebastianconcpt 12y ago
This things are what makes me come and check Hacker News Thanks for sharing
- LeonM 12y ago
  If you like these kind of posts, you should definitely visit the Hack-A-Day blog every now and then :)
  - alan_cx 12y ago
    Add Instructables.com to that. In fact, I'd respectfully suggest that HN is not even slightly the best place for this sort of thing.
beloch 12y ago
The videophile in me really wanted to see some test patterns. It's relatively easy to get some nice, artificially colorful CG shots to look good in screenshots, but comparatively hard to get uniform focus and illumination with color fidelity that will make human faces look natural. Using such a large LCD panel might make focus easier (and the cabinetry bigger), but I bet getting the illumination anywhere close to uniform is a real PITA!
Animats 12y ago
LED off-road auto headlamps, brighter than on-road, are good enough and cheap enough now that those are an illumination option. You can get a few thousand lumens now for a hundred dollars or so. Halogens are a pain; they have a short life, cooling problems, and generate IR which turns into heat at the LCD panel, so you need fan airflow across the panel. This guy has been struggling with halogen cooling and power problems. Halogens are on the way out. Even stage lighting is going LED. Projectors are getting better, cheaper, and brighter with LED lamps behind them. Here's a 1000-lumen 1080p projector: "http://www.lg.com/us/projectors/lg-PF85U-portable-led-projector" http://www.lg.com/us/projectors/lg-PF85U-portable-led-projec.... It's still around $1200, but give it six months.
- rasz_pl 12y ago
  leds dont really produce nice white, its mostly blue led + yellow phosphor producing bumpy spectrum
  - ChuckMcM 12y ago
    As you point out, the color rendering index of the LED is a function of the phosphors. There are now a number of 'white' LEDs which have better CRI than projector bulbs. It really is only a matter of time before projector bulbs are gone.
    - AnthonBerg 12y ago
      Good news, thanks. Can you point towards any types or brands of high-CRI LED's? Thank you!
      - ChuckMcM 12y ago
        Research or products? I've got one of the CREE [1] LEDs and its pretty good. (my application is building a light tent for macro photography vs a projector though) Philips has some high CRI lights as well which are a bit earlier than the CREE one. Most of the research these days seems focused on more lumens per watt, once the CRI got above 90 most people moved on to the efficiency question. [1] http://www.cree.com/News-and-Events/Cree-News/Press-Releases/2014/January/LMH2-6000-intro http://www.cree.com/News-and-Events/Cree-News/Press-Releases...
stinos 12y ago
The LCD he got for $200, is that actually the same as what's in the MacBook? That's not really clear from the first paragraph..
- FlyingAvatar 12y ago
  Yup. http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-15-LCD-Screen-Display-For-Macbook-Pro-Retina-15-A1398-2012-2013-/251765871103 http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-15-LCD-Screen-Display-For-Macboo...
- rasz_pl 12y ago
  yes, but its not optimal, you can get LP129QE1-SPA1 for third of the price
  - yehat 12y ago
    The point is what will drive it? There's a driving board for the 15" Mac retina display.
    - rasz_pl 12y ago
      both screens use eDP, you can drive them with ordinary DisplayPort, all of those those "driving boards" started with Polish Warsaw Hackerspace dude (Emeryth) publishing his findings concerning ipad screen http://emerythacks.blogspot.com/2013/04/connecting-ipad-retina-lcd-to-pc.html http://emerythacks.blogspot.com/2013/04/connecting-ipad-reti...
frik 12y ago
Make sure to add some fans, the LCD/TFT panel doesn't like the heat of a high-power halogen/xenon lamp! OP uses several fans too, to cool down the air around the xenon lamp: http://forum.allinbox.com/aspectgeek/Projetsencours/18/photon3k-projector-2880x1800-sujet_9774_2.htm http://forum.allinbox.com/aspectgeek/Projetsencours/18/photo... A friend converted an overhead projector (and a 1080p LCD panel) into a DIY projector, some years ago. His panel turned brown and broke because of too high air temperature. As even the OP has cooling issues - lesson learned: Better use LED with 1000+ Lumen instead of a halogen/xenon lamp.
- Zeebrommer 12y ago
  It seems OP uses the arc lamp for its almost-point-source qualities. Halfway down the first page he simulates a led source, it will create a less sharp focal point.
snippyhollow 12y ago
Wow that site still exists! :) I did one when I was 17 (I'm 28 now), I first modelised everything in 1) an optics simulator 2) Solidworks, and then assembled it with a wooden case: http://forum.allinbox.com/aspectgeek/Projetsencours/9/project-t800-snippy-sujet_560_2.htm http://forum.allinbox.com/aspectgeek/Projetsencours/9/projec... http://www.google.com/cse?cx=partner-pub-5733989050076975%3Alegjrsg9cj6&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=snippy&sa=Rechercher#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=snippy&gsc.page=1 http://www.google.com/cse?cx=partner-pub-5733989050076975%3A...
terrence_giggy 12y ago
This brings up some good (and bad) memories from past hobbies. Back in the day when 1080p was the new rage, I remember getting immersed in one of these DIY projector projects. For anyone looking into it - this was the site to get parts from: http://diyprojectorkits.com/store/ http://diyprojectorkits.com/store/ They built a box 100 times better than I would hoped to have. Plus, I believe I got my lenses from there as well.

This looks spectacular! I didn't quite get how it works. Is it essentially an LCD panel with an extreme backlight, and a lens to correctly display the picture?

valverde 12y ago
Yes. Much like many consumer projectors.
- userbinator 12y ago
  Most of them are actually DLP these days, with LCD-based ones occupying the majority of the ultra-low-end (XGA and below).
  - jdboyd 12y ago
    Even the ultra-low end are frequently DLP these days, just replacing the powerful bulb with an under powered LED.
    - neindanke 12y ago
      > replacing the powerful bulb with an under powered LED. I've also seen that Sony and Epson are selling laser illuminated projectors as opposed to the more common LED/halogen/etc illuminated projectors. Apparently for high luminosity, laser becomes more efficient and less prone to damage than both LED, halogen, incandescent, argon/xenon etc. But it disappoints me that these projectors just use the laser for illumination. I'm waiting for when we have laser-on-DLP without filters type projectors.
  - TazeTSchnitzel 12y ago
    This is true. But it was only a decade ago that most projectors were just LCDs with a ridiculously inefficient lamp.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

WestCoastJustin 12y ago

Make sure you check page #2 too [1]. More build pics, bulb encasing design, cooling, and thermal images. These guys are pretty good marketers. I want to attempt this, and I am not even in the market for a projector, I mean you cannot get better than this for a DIY project [2, 3]. [1] http://forum.allinbox.com/aspectgeek/Projetsencours/18/photon3k-projector-2880x1800-sujet_9774_2.htm http://forum.allinbox.com/aspectgeek/Projetsencours/18/photo... [2] http://i.imgur.com/PoIY7aR.jpg http://i.imgur.com/PoIY7aR.jpg [3] http://i.imgur.com/SNvdzcr.jpg http://i.imgur.com/SNvdzcr.jpg

sebastianconcpt 12y ago

This things are what makes me come and check Hacker News Thanks for sharing

LeonM 12y ago
If you like these kind of posts, you should definitely visit the Hack-A-Day blog every now and then :)
- alan_cx 12y ago
  Add Instructables.com to that. In fact, I'd respectfully suggest that HN is not even slightly the best place for this sort of thing.

beloch 12y ago

The videophile in me really wanted to see some test patterns. It's relatively easy to get some nice, artificially colorful CG shots to look good in screenshots, but comparatively hard to get uniform focus and illumination with color fidelity that will make human faces look natural. Using such a large LCD panel might make focus easier (and the cabinetry bigger), but I bet getting the illumination anywhere close to uniform is a real PITA!

Animats 12y ago

LED off-road auto headlamps, brighter than on-road, are good enough and cheap enough now that those are an illumination option. You can get a few thousand lumens now for a hundred dollars or so. Halogens are a pain; they have a short life, cooling problems, and generate IR which turns into heat at the LCD panel, so you need fan airflow across the panel. This guy has been struggling with halogen cooling and power problems. Halogens are on the way out. Even stage lighting is going LED. Projectors are getting better, cheaper, and brighter with LED lamps behind them. Here's a 1000-lumen 1080p projector: "http://www.lg.com/us/projectors/lg-PF85U-portable-led-projector" http://www.lg.com/us/projectors/lg-PF85U-portable-led-projec.... It's still around $1200, but give it six months.

rasz_pl 12y ago
leds dont really produce nice white, its mostly blue led + yellow phosphor producing bumpy spectrum
- ChuckMcM 12y ago
  As you point out, the color rendering index of the LED is a function of the phosphors. There are now a number of 'white' LEDs which have better CRI than projector bulbs. It really is only a matter of time before projector bulbs are gone.
  - AnthonBerg 12y ago
    Good news, thanks. Can you point towards any types or brands of high-CRI LED's? Thank you!
    - ChuckMcM 12y ago
      Research or products? I've got one of the CREE [1] LEDs and its pretty good. (my application is building a light tent for macro photography vs a projector though) Philips has some high CRI lights as well which are a bit earlier than the CREE one. Most of the research these days seems focused on more lumens per watt, once the CRI got above 90 most people moved on to the efficiency question. [1] http://www.cree.com/News-and-Events/Cree-News/Press-Releases/2014/January/LMH2-6000-intro http://www.cree.com/News-and-Events/Cree-News/Press-Releases...

stinos 12y ago

The LCD he got for $200, is that actually the same as what's in the MacBook? That's not really clear from the first paragraph..

FlyingAvatar 12y ago
Yup. http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-15-LCD-Screen-Display-For-Macbook-Pro-Retina-15-A1398-2012-2013-/251765871103 http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-15-LCD-Screen-Display-For-Macboo...
rasz_pl 12y ago
yes, but its not optimal, you can get LP129QE1-SPA1 for third of the price
- yehat 12y ago
  The point is what will drive it? There's a driving board for the 15" Mac retina display.
  - rasz_pl 12y ago
    both screens use eDP, you can drive them with ordinary DisplayPort, all of those those "driving boards" started with Polish Warsaw Hackerspace dude (Emeryth) publishing his findings concerning ipad screen http://emerythacks.blogspot.com/2013/04/connecting-ipad-retina-lcd-to-pc.html http://emerythacks.blogspot.com/2013/04/connecting-ipad-reti...

frik 12y ago

Make sure to add some fans, the LCD/TFT panel doesn't like the heat of a high-power halogen/xenon lamp! OP uses several fans too, to cool down the air around the xenon lamp: http://forum.allinbox.com/aspectgeek/Projetsencours/18/photon3k-projector-2880x1800-sujet_9774_2.htm http://forum.allinbox.com/aspectgeek/Projetsencours/18/photo... A friend converted an overhead projector (and a 1080p LCD panel) into a DIY projector, some years ago. His panel turned brown and broke because of too high air temperature. As even the OP has cooling issues - lesson learned: Better use LED with 1000+ Lumen instead of a halogen/xenon lamp.

Zeebrommer 12y ago
It seems OP uses the arc lamp for its almost-point-source qualities. Halfway down the first page he simulates a led source, it will create a less sharp focal point.

snippyhollow 12y ago

Wow that site still exists! :) I did one when I was 17 (I'm 28 now), I first modelised everything in 1) an optics simulator 2) Solidworks, and then assembled it with a wooden case: http://forum.allinbox.com/aspectgeek/Projetsencours/9/project-t800-snippy-sujet_560_2.htm http://forum.allinbox.com/aspectgeek/Projetsencours/9/projec... http://www.google.com/cse?cx=partner-pub-5733989050076975%3Alegjrsg9cj6&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=snippy&sa=Rechercher#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=snippy&gsc.page=1 http://www.google.com/cse?cx=partner-pub-5733989050076975%3A...

terrence_giggy 12y ago

This brings up some good (and bad) memories from past hobbies. Back in the day when 1080p was the new rage, I remember getting immersed in one of these DIY projector projects. For anyone looking into it - this was the site to get parts from: http://diyprojectorkits.com/store/ http://diyprojectorkits.com/store/ They built a box 100 times better than I would hoped to have. Plus, I believe I got my lenses from there as well.