Anyone here use a projector to play Mame? If so, which?

[SpatzST]

Or any suggestions as to which are good? Not looking to spend a fortune, probably don't even need one that supports HD 720+, would pretty much just be for Mame.

thanks

[Brian B]

Better get a CRT!

B.

[horizon]

I have one at the house that works great - but it was a hand me down from the inlaws, and free.  I will check to see the make/model and see if it is even in production.  I think, ultimately, youre going to want to find a budget friendly short-throw projector, regardless of who makes it. 

[SpatzST]

Yes, I was thinking that too.  Probably wouldn't need more than 480p max.

[SpatzST]

Better get a CRT!

B.

Im not really concerned with authenticity, more concerned with fun =) I want a huge game of 2 on 2 ice hockey going on my wall!!! lol

[Brian B]

Yeah, I was just kidding.  We have a Sharp XV-Z10000 ($11k new) at work we are selling if you are interested ~ $375.

B.

[Dreadnaught]

Are you projecting on a wall or are you going to use an elaborate maze of mirrors to project this in a cab?  Personally I hate when I see the mirror trick. 

Maybe this is because the ones that I have seen do this are gun games with an old Sanyo Tube TV sitting in them and then reflected for no reason that I could fathom  .

[Dreadnaught]

I have used a projector for mame, but I also use the Wiimote whiteboard software so that the board itself is kinda like a touch screen.  With this setup and a Windows 7 PC you can set up plasma pong, and OSU! which are pretty fun.

[SpatzST]

Are you projecting on a wall or are you going to use an elaborate maze of mirrors to project this in a cab?  Personally I hate when I see the mirror trick. 

Maybe this is because the ones that I have seen do this are gun games with an old Sanyo Tube TV sitting in them and then reflected for no reason that I could fathom  .

haha no elaborate maze!! I built a control panel only, I don't have a full cab.  So I want to project onto the wall and use the CP to control

[adder]

things to consider when choosing a projector:

1. noise level of projector (bothers some people, others not so much). really noisy ones bug me personally. look for noise db rating.
2. brightness (measured in Lumens). if you have low lumens, it means you may be limited to playing in a darkened room in order to see the picture.  if high lumens, u can see the projection quite well even in the daytime/open curtains
3. contrast ratio - this determines the range you get between darkest and lightest parts of your image. higher the better!
4. image size/throw distance - this relates to how big you can display the image, how close your projector needs to be to the wall and how long things stay in focus the bigger the picture/further away the projector is etc

just check specs of different projectors in your price range and then go for it 

[SpatzST]

thanks jadder