Anyone using a projector in their cab as the display?

[Afterburner]

Anyone using an LCD/DLP projector built into their cab for the display?

I'm gathering ideas for a driving cab (enclosed) and I wondered if a projector might be an inexpensive way to get a nice large screen.

I'm planning on having the cab double as a flight-sim style cab with a side-stick. 

I'm now toying with the idea of having the cab triple as a good platform for lightgun games.

A nice large screen would be great for many lightgun games, and standing up behind the cab (obviously the back would have to be open) would probably yield an ideal distance for my TopGun LED lightgun.  I'm finding that having to stand back 6-7 feet from my current upright cab and try to blast away at a 17" screen just isn't cutting it.

[ids]

I had thought about it.  There's  a site somewhere (forget the URL) that shows how to take a cheapo 15" lcd panel and make a serious projector from it.  Would be a very inexpensive way to get a really big, high-res screen (not that the resolution is all that important).

[elsie]

Maybe this is what ids is talking about.  Not realy a projector, but using a fresnel lens to make the screen look bigger.  Personally, I think it would give me motion sickness.  Check the link here http://forum.racesimcentral.com/showthread.php?t=242214

[BobA]

There was a DIY company with forums at http://www.diyprojectorcompany.com/index.php

As you can see from the home page it went commercial (Lumenlabs) but the is still some good info
to be had.  They used to sell a $400 dollar projector called the EVO but now I see the have gone high end and even sell a pc for only $10,000.00.  I guess that is the end of DIY from them.

[Afterburner]

Yeah, I was hot and heavy on a DIY projector a few years ago and sifted through that site often.  I even had the wife talked into it.  I have the ideal arrangement for a projector.

But I had several technical problems....one was finding a lens that would throw an image the 20 feet to my huge wall, but still keep the image a reasonable size.

Anyway, I'd rather not build one.  I'd like something small / compact that is easy to integrate or even hide in the bowels of the cab.

I saw someone is using a projector for their marquee....I'll go check out that thread.

[unclet]

Ok, this is not answering your question, but I am curious why you would want to use a projector in your cabinet

1) doesn't a projector create a lot of heat inside a closed cabinet?
2) when the projector overheats, will it turn itself off automatically?
3) Would changing the bulb if it burns out be a pain. 
4) Will the bulb burn out frequently due to continuous use?
5) Isn't projectors a lot more expensive then a nice 27" TV or 21" PC monitor?
6) If it ever breaks, would replacing it be expensive? 
7) Would you need to get the same exact model as a replacement so it replaces the existing one's capabilities exactly?


I am not asking these questions to be a pain in the arse, I am generally interested in why discussions about projectors come up.  What are some of the advantages you see in using one?  I am just curious

[ids]

Still cant find the URL i mentioned i couldnt find earlier.  The jist of it was:

bulb -> <torn-open-cheap-lcd-panel> -> fresnel lens -> some other lens.

He was filling a very large screen from a good distance (15-20' away) with good brightness (room lights out, of course).  For a cab, you're likely doing a rear-projection thing, and would need an appropriate screen to project onto from behind (all conjecture).

Fans are certainly needed to deal with heat, and I don't recall any mechanism to deal with overheating, but I bet it could be built that way (temp sensor -> pwr control).  Since it's all a home-built solution, swapping bulbs should be easy.  Not sure what they cost, nor their lifetime, but how many hours would a cab be running?  If you consider how cheaply a low res 15" lcd panel can be had for, then add a bulb, lens, whatever.... again, not sure overall cost, but you'd have a large screen and maybe a fun project to boot.

Perhaps this doesn't really answer your questions.  In the end, I guess it's more for the adventure than anything.  The time and effort are likely to outweight any minor savings (if there are any) -- unless one is experienced, can do it fast, and save serious $$

Doesn't solve the LCD gun issue, however.

[Turnarcades]

Your best bet is to just use the theory I've incorporated into a cabinet design. Just build your chosen cabinet/cockpit and mount a forward-facing projector at the front. You can then just rig it up in front of a flat surface/wall/screen and have it as big or small as you want.

[shardian]

Using a 15" lcd for a DIY projector results in a HUGE frikkin box. For something in the range of a 30" screen and arcade resolutions, you could totally get away with a psone 5" screen (coincidentally I have a  mostly put together psone lcd project for sale. )

The fiscal benefit of a DIY projector has pretty much been done away with since commercial projectors have gotten so cheap.

Rear projection is probably your best route for a driving game. You could even actually get an old beat up standard def rear projection TV for next to nothing nowadays and use that.

I don't recommend a fresnel lens setup like Virtua cop machines had. Those setups were VERY disorienting, and a fresnel that size is not cheap.

[Afterburner]

I'm probably looking at a short throw projector.  I'd really like something HD, but those are still very pricey.

There are some decent XGA projectors for around $400-$500.  The one someone used as a marquee display sounded decent.

Bulbs shouldn't be too much of an issue as I wouldn't leave it on much....just during play, which for me really shouldn't be that many hours.

I was thinking of placing the projector under the cab floor and then bouncing the light off a mirror or mirrors to a rear-screen projection.  Alternately I could mount the projector vertically at the bottom of the front of the cab and just use one mirror.

Heat shouldn't be too much of a problem.  I can install a couple of quiet muffin fans at the back of the cab to blow air under the cab floor.  The  heat could exhaust through some small louvers or vents at the top of the cab.

Ideally I'd like a nice 30" to 32" LCD 1080p display, but those are running over $700.  Maybe in a few months they'll start to come down.  That way I can play PC games/sims at nice high resolutions.

A projector was just a possible way to get a nice large 30" to 40" picture for a little less cost than a monitor that size.  As shardian pointed out, they've gotten smaller and less expensive here recently.

[BORIStheBLADE]

I was thinking about doing the same thing once my tube goes. I can fit a 27" display but depth wise it will stick out my cab. I spent some time on the internet and found companies that sell the screens for rear projection.

There is a guy on here that used a projector for a marquee.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=70598.0

[Bender]

isn't what your talking about basically a rear projection TV?
wouldn't that work you?

[ark_ader]

Well you could go cheap and use one of these http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=6015380

I saw something like this going cheaper elsewhere on the net, but you can rear mount it and use a screen of linen for the front and you can get some decent image from it.

I would try it but as others have mentioned, that a LCD would suffice in this situation. 

[BORIStheBLADE]

Well you could go cheap and use one of these http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=6015380

I saw something like this going cheaper elsewhere on the net, but you can rear mount it and use a screen of linen for the front and you can get some decent image from it.

I would try it but as others have mentioned, that a LCD would suffice in this situation. 

I read some comments about that projector which said its resolution was 320x240.

[ark_ader]

Well you could go cheap and use one of these http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=6015380

I saw something like this going cheaper elsewhere on the net, but you can rear mount it and use a screen of linen for the front and you can get some decent image from it.

I would try it but as others have mentioned, that a LCD would suffice in this situation. 

I read some comments about that projector which said its resolution was 320x240.

Thats the same res that is on my pocket PC 

[Bluedeath]

If you want a cheap projector go over ebay and look fora CTX (optoma brand also) EZ pro 500 (vga 640x480 native but works only with PC/mac) or EZpro 550  (800x600 native resouton works both with PC and s-video or composite signal) dipending on the condition you could spend between 50 ans 200 $ lamps are around 10$ doe the EVD 5 type (500 hours)

[Afterburner]

isn't what your talking about basically a rear projection TV?
wouldn't that work you?

Yep, pretty much.  Unfortunately, the inexpensive rear projection CRT based HDTV's are all but impossible to find now.

In fact, last night (damn brain wouldn't shut off!) I had a good scheme...err, thought.

My parents have an old Mitsubishi 50" rear projection TV that has to be 15 years old.  It still works fine.  They've been thinking about buying one of those newfangled HDTV's soon.

I bet they do it sometime in the next 3-6 months. 

I may grab that from them, as they won't have anything else they can do with it.  At the very least, it would be excellent for lightgun games in mame.

But I'd still prefer something hi-def for racing and flight sims.

[severdhed]

not cabinet related, but i use a dlp projector for in my gaming room.  it is an older infocus x1 which is 800x600 resolution, it is capable of scaling anything up to 1080i.  while maybe not quite as sharp as a true HD resolution, i have found that running my xbox 360 at 720p, it looks really, really good. (and at 102")  the smaller it is, the brighter and sharper it will look.  you can pick up a projector with a similar resolution for $400-$500 and have very good results.  one thing to be aware of though is lamp life. most are rated at 2000-4000 hours of use.  then you are looking at around $300 or so to get a replacement lamp.  this is true with most projectors.  they are by far the best bang for your buck to get a nice looking big screen, but you will have to keep the lights down very low to get a good image.

[shardian]

not cabinet related, but i use a dlp projector for in my gaming room.  it is an older infocus x1 which is 800x600 resolution, it is capable of scaling anything up to 1080i.  while maybe not quite as sharp as a true HD resolution, i have found that running my xbox 360 at 720p, it looks really, really good. (and at 102")  the smaller it is, the brighter and sharper it will look.  you can pick up a projector with a similar resolution for $400-$500 and have very good results.  one thing to be aware of though is lamp life. most are rated at 2000-4000 hours of use.  then you are looking at around $300 or so to get a replacement lamp.  this is true with most projectors.  they are by far the best bang for your buck to get a nice looking big screen, but you will have to keep the lights down very low to get a good image.

The Infocus x1 is a legendary projector. The farouja processor in it is the bomb. I kept trying to get one off of ebay a year or two ago, but they kept going for too much.

[severdhed]

yeah, it works great.  i bought mine in 2003 for about $1000.  the big problem with the x1 is that the color wheel bearings wear out and get very, very noisy.  i had this happen a about 2 years ago, but it was under warranty and they fixed it.  it just started happening again, but i'm not sure i want to spend $350 to get it repaired.  infocus doesn't even service this model anymore so you have to go to another company to get it repaired.   

so I am looking at getting a mitsubishi hc1500.  it is native 720p, plus has a higher contrast ratio and 500 more lumens.  but at $850, that will have to wait for a while, i'll just have to put up with the noise. (it sounds like someone cutting wood with a circular saw)