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I've had a projector sitting in my closet for over a year now...waiting to be hooked up for use in my Pathfinder games. This week I finally got around to building the framework for the display as well as the contraption (there really is no better word for it) for hanging the projector and mirror from the ceiling....
What's that? You lost your map of Sandpoint again? Fine...
It gets tested in an actual game next weekend...should be fun!
Info on the setup:
Using Roll20 as the VTT software with the following hardware:
InFocus LP120 Projector - picked up for $50 from my ex-employer's going out of business sale, projects at 1024x768 resolution (nothing fancy...but cheap!)
32'x48' Markerboard from the local big name lumber store for display surface...ran $10.51 and the surface is dry erasable (bonus!)
Wood for frame from same local big named lumber store...ran about $10...
The surface is mounted to the frame using 3M command strips for mounting frames...that way I didn't have to nail through the display and it makes it easy to remove the surface from the frame if it gets damaged, or if I want to swap it out with a different topper.
The mirror is mounted to a piece of plywood (same 3M strips) that is screwed into the ceiling...from that I have four eye-hooks for hanging the projector cradle. The cradle is just a wooden box so the projector points up at the mirror...hung using a bit of small-link chain so that I an adjust the height a bit if needed and also put it up/take it down with ease and repeatability. (Sorry no pictures of the cradle...didn't think of it at the time.)
I built my projector-based digital game table with the projector mounted under the table with a mirror shining the image up onto a "screen" of translucent paper mounted between two plexiglas sheets. The benefit of this approach is that there are no shadows when people lean over or reach across the table. The detriment is that every now and then someone accidentally kicks the mirror. But it's worked great for years.
I used a projector I bought off eBay for $100. That was probably five years ago now.
Yeah I debated back and forth between going the ceiling mounted approach or aiming the projector down and bouncing off a mirror that way...
In the end there were a few factors that made me go this route:
1) To project at the size I want, my stand for the projector would up being almost 4 feet tall to get the correct throw distance (even using a mirror).
2) No good area around our game table to put said 4 foot tall projector stand without one of my gaming group inevitably knocking it over.
3) Needed a custom table with a hole in it for said plexiglass/translucent paper...that or move my current folding tables far enough apart to accommodate (in which case reaching map would be hard - we'll still be using cardboard pawns)
4) Most of us (myself especially) tend to stretch our legs out under the table more than we should...
Eventually I'd like to get an HDTV and mount it in similar fashion with a thin sheet of plexiglass over it...the only issue with that is to display at the same size I'm projecting now it would be costly.
Got any pics of your setup? I wouldn't mind seeing how you did it.
Cynge, no I don't have any photos, but it's a simple setup. My table is a 4x8 foot piece of melamine with foldout legs like a bingo table. There is a 18x24 inch cutout hole slightly shifted towards one end of the table (that gives me as the GM more room on the other end for my stuff). I have an angled mirror mount that fits below the hole in the table and I place the projector under my chair. It took me an afternoon to make it.
There is plenty of leg stretching when we play too, and the mirror mount tends to get bumped a few times each session, but that has not been a big problem. The bigger issue has really been the cord because when someone trips over the cord it knocks the projector out of alignment which is a more significant effort to realign. Which is why I keep the projector under my chair and try to direct traffic around the other sides of the table.
I've long considered mounting an HDTV in the table with a plexiglas cover. Here are the reasons I've not done so:
1. The cost. My projector cost only $100. HDTVs are cheaper these days but still not nearly as cheap as that.
2. People tend to lean on the table and put their weight on the plexiglas without thinking about it. The worst that could happen to my table is the plexiglass might break (unlikely) or might fall onto and break the mirror (more likely). But that's not a big deal, mirrors are much, much cheaper than HDTVs.
3. People spill drinks more than you might think. A spilled drink on my table just means cleaning with a sponge or paper towels. On a table with a built in HDTV, unless you can seal it perfectly, is at risk of liquid getting into the TV circuitry.
Still, I continue to watch prices and think about the table mounted HDTV option.
To be completely candid, I don't use the digital screen like I used to. Since I started making 3D terrain, my use of the digital screen has been dramatically reduced.