New project! LARGEST COCKTAIL EVER?

[Lilwolf]

Someone sent this to me this morning (with the title "geeks gone wile")  http://www.d20srd.org/extras/mapProjection.htm

Then I started thinking this would be SWEET for pacman.  I have wanted a projector for EVER for a showcase arcade against a wall... full screen.. Plus driving games ect would be a blast...  Then I started thinking about taking that and pointing it down to a table below... and using that as a little cocktail table...

but then I started remember I cant afford a good projector... 

Then the idea came...

I HAVE a projector (one of those old big ones with multiple big lenses (red, blue, green).  It works GREAT but one trouble... it wasn't designed to get as close as I need it to fit on my 10ft wide (or whatever it is) pull down screen.  I can't get the bulbs to converge properly any closer (so the red is to the left by an inch, and the green is to the right an inch).  So I took it apart and moved the bulbs in a bit... GREAT got it to work and found that I couldn't focus it that close... So I gave up.

So in the end... I have a projector that requires about 12 feet away from a wall that can't be shrunk down to a reasonable size... IE, doesn't fit in any room I have..

Now that this big giant monstrosity and think back yard, over my driveway...

I want to now hang it up on my garage pointing down.  then have it pointing on the ground itself... playing only cocktail games by default (but flight games might be GREAT... Also some top down driving games would be SWEET) and project them onto the ground.  Sit on one edge and enjoy.

What do you think?  Giant cocktail table projection onto a cement slab!

Downsides / Problems?  Well hanging it would be a pain... its !@# heavy.  Also I would want to protect it from the elements.  I was thinking I might find a big tub that you can get...  Put it on upside down and attach it well.. then you put on the lid to close it (might keep the animals out also).

Controls... I would need to have the computer in the garage attic... So the controls might be 25 - 30 feet away.  Might be time for some wireless solutions... But can any keyboard encoders handle that distance?

Will an old slab of concrete be a good enough screen?

Anyway, this might make my geek status set in stone...

Any thoughts?

[markrvp]

If I understand right, you are talking about making a housing for the projector and mounting it outside pointing down on the driveway?  Can you whitewash the concrete?  Outside limits you to night play and all the neighbors will want to join in (might make you very popular).

Post in the project announcements folder when you get ready.

[spystyle]

I've got the plans to this projector:

http://www.lumenlab.com/

One of these days I'll build it!

They are great, it's the best projector you can build for the price, movie theatre quality, it'll cost about $400 to build, you could make a drive-in in your backyard for warm summer nights (or big MAME)

They make you pay a one time fee to subscribe to the forum and download the plans, but the forum is like this one and includes "unlimited support"

If you like the idea of projection you should take a look

Basically, it is a "street lamp" lightbulb (big) with a stripped PC LCD and some fresnel lenses and a projector lens all arranged just-so, the result is a very sharp high-res LCD projector, comparable to the $2000 commercial projectors, good enough to project a clear picture on the side of a house at night. Definately good enough to fill the back wall of a garage for big gaming.

Attached are pictures to explain things and give you a general idea of how the projector works, they are not informative enough to build the projector - it's a bit complex and you'll need the forum.

If you can read German there is a step-by-step tutorial with many pictures here:
http://www.wschmid.de/Downloads/Beamer-Doku.pdf

Too bad I can't read it! Perhapse someone or some software could translate it...

Alternately, there are free plans floating around too:

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/forumdisplay/f-12.html

Or if you are on the cheap and want to make a 6' projector you could use an over head projector and a stripped PSX LCD with component-in, that should cost less than $100, but would pale in comparison to the LumenLab projector.

A similar set-up can be seen here:
http://www.gmeel.com/lcdproject/

Dig it?
Craig

[Lilwolf]

I've seen some of those designs.  I was considering doing the overhead projector + lcd for a while.  But then I got the other projector.  It just doesn't come in close enough.. and the design makes it not work with the kids between it and the projector... which is bad for movies.

One day I plan on getting a good DLP one... But I'm waiting on a good ebay auction... And a forgiving wife...

Now I'm trying to utilize what I already have... or get rid of it...

[versapak]

Controls would be an easy thing to tackle.

Wireless controls are quite common for consoles these days. You could get a wireless Xbox controller, which is easily adaptable for PC, and use that to make your arcade controls.

I don't know how much play you would actually ever really put in on such a thing as this, but it definitely has a super cool factor in the land of geekdom that is us.

[jer2665]

One day I plan on getting a good DLP one... But I'm waiting on a good ebay auction... And a forgiving wife...

there are some decent looking ones, I'm no video expert, but this one seems good..

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5759918837

[Stingray]

What a zany idea. If you do it you know you have to post pictures!

-S

[SirPoonga]

BrenR from chat played mame on a jumbotron....

[RetroJames]

BrenR from chat played mame on a jumbotron....

heh...I wonder if they would let me try out Tempest over at the Stone Mountain Laser Show... 

[Fat_Trucker]

Brilliant idea if you have the space for it. Try mounting canvas on a timber frame for your screen, you could even paint a custom bezel round it that way and its nice and portable if you decide you need the garage space or want to move it elsewhere.

Maybe even some oversize controls.

[Zakk]

Problem with a projector outside or even in a garage is that they attract bugs like crazy.  I thought of this when I wanted to show a movie in the backyard.  I tried it on the side of my house for about 5 minutes after dark, and MAN the bugs were all over the lens in no time.  Experiment failed as expected.  And if your garage is like mine, there's a nice moth or two hiding in there somewhere waiting for someone to light up a projector

In case someone hasn't seen this, here's my experiment with my old projector and a laptop (go about 1/3 of the way down the page to the Oct 16/2003 news item)
http://www.mameworld.net/massive/news/oldnews.html

[Tekn0mega]

 Wow that's cool. So you can Simulate scripted events? Have special effects and the like? Its like... Never winter night in 2d, but in 3d too. Playing this may open a rift between time and space... 

 If someone dies in the game you can have an image on a layer for that like...