Hey guys!
I've been on the mood to acquire a small projector to enchance the gameplay experience, but budget's a little tight right now. I've seen a couple "mini projectors" on e-bay, and some of them can make a image up to 6 foot, and I think that's more than enough.
But I am at loss which one to pick, and there are some really juicy prices on them.
I also thought about getting the mini one because it'd be easier to hang somewhere.
Anyone got experience on that field that could give me some tips?
Thanks a lot!
One thing to be aware of is their luminosity. Most of those micro or pico projectors aren't very bright and need a fairly dark space to be seen well.
http://www.projectorcentral.com/ usually has decent reviews and information that may help you decide.
This one really caught my eye, but I can't find any reviews on the internet. My fear is, if it is not strong enough, we'd have to be in complete dark to play, therefore we couldn't see our own character sheets XD
http://www.pureprojectors.com/projectors/manufacturers/pos/innoio_innocube_ ic100
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This one really caught my eye, but I can't find any reviews on the internet. My fear is, if it is not strong enough, we'd have to be in complete dark to play, therefore we couldn't see our own character sheets XD
http://www.pureprojectors.com/projectors/manufacturers/pos/innoio_innocube_ ic100
Also make sure you check out the required distances (I forgot what they call it in the requirements) in reviews. I have one projector that was returned to the store for being blurry and tossed out by the store. It says the machine needs to be a minimum of 6 feet away from the wall to get a clear picture, when in reality it is ten. I have it set up and working, But I don't know that many people with 10 foot tall ceilings (plus the height of the table)
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Two things to consider: lumins and resolution.
As mentioned above, pico projectors tend to be pretty weak in a well-lit or moderately lit room. If it is not bright enough, the image will be washed out...and if it REALLY isn' bright enough, you may have a hard time seeing it at all. I recently got a older 2000 lumn BenQ projector from a friend who was upgrading his. At 2000, it is bright enough to use on a white surface in a normal room with only a bit of washout. A pico projector is much weaker, so I would think that it won't perform well enough.
Then there is resolution. My freebee projector has a native res of 1024x768. While it can go up to 1600x1200, the image becomes blury because the projector adjusts the image to 1024x768 pixels. From what I have seen, pico projectors normally have a pretty low re, so you may be disappointed with the results.
If you are serious about trying a projector, go out to Best Buy or some place similar. Many of those stores have a 14 or 30 day return policy. Try out some low end projectors.
Even though I like my freebee projector, I wish I had a 1080p instead...but, its hard to beat the $0.00 price tag.
But I don't know that many people with 10 foot tall ceilings (plus the height of the table)
There are ways around that with the creative application of strategically placed mirrors (usually mylar mirrors)
Unfortunately I haven't had the resources to experiment myself but there are some things you can do with backlighting on wax paper. I've toyed with the idea of making a standing sized table/box, maybe 5 feet high, with a mirror on the under side angled to reflect up to a Plexiglas play surface, with an under coating of wax paper for the backlit projection.
One could also do a celling height mount and then bounce off a mirror and under and exiting glass table. Unfortunately you'd have to keep one side clear for the projected image.
I had the same thought, couldn't find any small projectors that did as advertised.
It's kinda sad because you'd think with close to two decades of digital projection the options would be there, but they aren't. At least not beyond the "do it yourself" or expensive "not so small" business equipment.
Partly it's why I'm jumping ship to more personal level delivery. Stuff that links together everyone's portable electronic device.