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Author Topic: projector design help  (Read 2620 times)

Craig Hauber

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projector design help
« on: July 18, 2008, 08:53:38 PM »

I need a very small projector that can shoot a 7' tall image from approximately 5' away from the surface in ceiling-mount mode.
16:9 would be ideal but can do with 4:3.
This is for a monochrome digital signage artistic application so the plan is to shoot closer to an oval image so lense distortion won't be that big an issue.
Any help in choosing the right unit would be appreciated, there are so many models  and manufacturers and I can't seem to figure out converting lense ratios to distance and image size

Thanks again for any help

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Craig Hauber
CSA Productions Inc.
Ventura-Santa Barbara CA
www.csaproductionsinc.com

Brad Weber

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Re: projector design help
« Reply #1 on: July 19, 2008, 11:05:23 AM »

Craig Hauber wrote on Fri, 18 July 2008 20:53

I need a very small projector that can shoot a 7' tall image from approximately 5' away from the surface in ceiling-mount mode.
16:9 would be ideal but can do with 4:3.

That may be quite a challenge.  Very short throw projectors like The Sanyo PLC-XL50 and NEC WT-610E, neither of which would probably be considered "small", are intended for smaller images and have a fixed throw for any specific screen size.  You'd have to contact the manufacturer or mock it up yourself for those as the installation manuals do not go up to that large an image.  Image brightness with these projectors and that size image may also become a consideration.

On more standard projectors, you can get short throw lenses, typical around 0.8:1, but they require the projector be on axis to the image both horizontally and vertically.  Even then, it looks like a 9-1/2' or greater throw distance would typically be required for an 84" high image.

You might want to look at something like the Draper Revelation, it effectively extends the throw distance, reduces the projector noise and might be considered sort of cool for an art application.
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Brad Weber
muse Audio Video

Collin Donohue

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Re: projector design help
« Reply #2 on: July 19, 2008, 10:26:53 PM »

Brad Weber wrote on Sat, 19 July 2008 10:05

That may be quite a challenge.  Very short throw projectors like The Sanyo PLC-XL50 and NEC WT-610E, neither of which would probably be considered "small", are intended for smaller images and have a fixed throw for any specific screen size.


We picked up a few of the Sanyo's for our inventory thinking they'd be great, only to find out that they were a slight disappointment, main reason being the (lack of) screen size available.  From our field tests, the widest image you could get was 7' (5' tall at 4:3 aspect) before it started to be un-focusable.  Secondly, the surface you're projecting on needs to be perfectly flat.  Any change in the surface will serioiusly distort the image due to the extreme angle of the projector.

Due to the size projector you need and the size image you want, you might want to check into a mirrored system for this, if possible.
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Don Boone

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Re: projector design help
« Reply #3 on: July 22, 2008, 09:54:30 AM »

The Sanyo is spec'd to only go up to a 90" diag screen. I've only seen it for a quick demo but trying to get the image much bigger resulted in poor focus. We've tested the NEC 600 on a 6x8 rear screen. It took some lengthy tweaking and seemed hardly worth the effort for a 1500 lumen projector.

Don
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Craig Hauber

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Re: projector design help
« Reply #4 on: July 25, 2008, 11:02:54 PM »

I've walked the site and looked over all possibilities and we've now decided to try to shoot an oval roughly 5'x8'  from about 6' out.
The one detail I forgot to mention was that it's outside so the projector will be mounted in a custom welded pod with fan baffles and a window which the image comes from.  On that glass I was going to mask an oval to provide a blurry edge to the projected image.  The whole assembly will be mounted on the end of an arm protruding out from above the surface roughly 20' above a parking lot.

Yes it's crazy, but we are trying to go for that ellipsoidal-gobo look but with the surprise-factor of having it randomly change throughout the night.

So I need a small projector (has to fit in a pod that's doesn't get so huge that it distracts from the effect.  The image will be white, and at night so brightness isn't really an issue.  The surface will be painted whatever color the designer likes that works well with the projection.

So if anyone knows of a portable unit that could shoot this then let me know,  I have seen aftermarket conversion lenses from companies like navitar that sit in front of the stock lense to make a projector shorter or longer throw, maybe that's what we'll have to do.

(an LCD panel that would fit in a Source Four would be cool -like those old overhead projector panels we used to use all the time)

Thanks for the suggestions




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Craig Hauber
CSA Productions Inc.
Ventura-Santa Barbara CA
www.csaproductionsinc.com

Ray Cerwinski

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Re: projector design help
« Reply #5 on: July 26, 2008, 02:29:31 AM »

Craig Hauber wrote on Fri, 25 July 2008 23:02

...The one detail I forgot to mention was that it's outside so the projector will be mounted in a custom welded pod with fan baffles and a window which the image comes from...


Take a look at one of these. May or may not be cheaper and more aesthetically pleasing than your custom welded solution.

http://www.tempestlighting.com/typhoon.html
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Ray Cerwinski

Fennelli Design Group
www.eventfx.com
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