Denny Posted February 26, 2015 Author Share Posted February 26, 2015 Received my projector yesterday, 3500 lumens, and tried it out on the house last night just to see the coverage and brightness. My house is only a single story, manufactured home so the projector covers only about half the length of the house. I decided to go with two projectors since I have to cover about 90 linear feet of house. I ordered a Matrox DualHead2Go MGI D2G-A2A from EBay, now just have to find another equivalent projector. Guess I will have to wait a little longer before I can start mapping the house. Wondering what procedure/process everyone is using to make sure their projectors are in the exact, same spot from the time you do your mapping until the time you do set up for your show. Seems I should have some sort of semi-permanent installation for the projectors before I do the mapping. I am thinking about somehow mounting a support in the ground that would be removable, maybe a pipe sleeve(s) set in concrete, flush with the ground. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
otisriggs Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Received my projector yesterday, 3500 lumens, and tried it out on the house last night just to see the coverage and brightness. My house is only a single story, manufactured home so the projector covers only about half the length of the house. I decided to go with two projectors since I have to cover about 90 linear feet of house. I ordered a Matrox DualHead2Go MGI D2G-A2A from EBay, now just have to find another equivalent projector. Guess I will have to wait a little longer before I can start mapping the house. Wondering what procedure/process everyone is using to make sure their projectors are in the exact, same spot from the time you do your mapping until the time you do set up for your show. Seems I should have some sort of semi-permanent installation for the projectors before I do the mapping. I am thinking about somehow mounting a support in the ground that would be removable, maybe a pipe sleeve(s) set in concrete, flush with the ground. Any ideas?That is exactly what I was thinking. Also I'm thinking maybe rig up a stand with a four way like I have my mega tree on. That way you could move it if you need to just a little. Maybe have a mark or a measurement where you know where to put it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstorms Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 For what they are worth some random notes I took from a "projection mapping class" presented at Expo 2014. I didn't get the name of the instructor. I don't know anything else more than this, but maybe it is useful for someone. Instructor uses 6000 lumen projector - not bright enough for them. They did a picture of their house from POV of projector.They did SD instead of HD because house is 2 story. Would have done HD for 1 story.Image needs to be same resolution as projector. House prep:Covering windows with white vinyl for better effect. Cut down treesDark colored house won't work well. (Damn, my house is dark) Video editing programs:Adobe after effects (best, but $$$)Cyber link power director 12 (what instructor uses)Adobe premier/elementsAvid Video Content:Video blocksGraphics factory: Create Masks:Use gimp (free photoshop-like tool), or photoshop using mapped imageTransparent portions will be see in maskMasks saved as PNG files RenderingUse projectors native resolution PlaybackSony blue ray pmayerMiccaMap mapper (compilcated) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgrant Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 Yeah, I'm wanting to do this but my house is brick with a dark shingled roof. My garage door is white but its sideways to the house so it won't show except from one direction only. Lots of windows though in the front but I will have frames and lights on those already for the regular controllers. They might not interfere too badly though. I'm tempted to order a projector and give it a try but truly no clue if I'll be wasting money or not. No way to know unless I buy it and try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstorms Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 I had high hopes for projection mapping too, but I have a dark stone house, with trees. Also, I have a decent roof, but the house is too close to the road for people to see it well, much less for a good angle for a projector. *sadness* On a different, but also sad note, I live in front of a dead forest of cedar trees (nature's version of a molotov cocktail) so no fireworks or flamethrowers either. *so many limitations* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Messer Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 I got hold of the sign company and the have used canvas for signs alone the interstate.. If I got projection I would use one of them on the roof as many are white backs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denny Posted March 8, 2015 Author Share Posted March 8, 2015 I am ready to start mapping my house and already have a question before I even start. The projector I am using has a native resolution of 1024x768, 4:3 aspect ratio. My house is single story, so should I use a 16:9 aspect ratio or does it even make a difference as long as the computer used for mapping and projector are set to the same resolution? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Benedict Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 Your projector(s) need to be in the same place every time; you may have to make a stand or post of some kind to get the same height and distance. Create an alignment video with a test pattern and run it when you setup your projectors to get the alignment to match. Or if you already have a graphic that matches your house, use it to line the projectors up. There may be some other patterns on TriplewideMedia. If you want to use different videos on each part of your house, make a video that's twice as wide as normal and use your editing program to put the videos where you want them. Add the sound track when you're done. You can use the Matrox units to get multiple videos out. Or whatever your computer can produce. Some computers can already support three screens without the Matrox devices. Others have done two videos under LOR and I will be testing a triple video using LOR. I'm optimistic and will make a how-to video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
otisriggs Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 I am ready to start mapping my house and already have a question before I even start. The projector I am using has a native resolution of 1024x768, 4:3 aspect ratio. My house is single story, so should I use a 16:9 aspect ratio or does it even make a difference as long as the computer used for mapping and projector are set to the same resolution?If your house fits in the 4:3 ratio there is no reason not to use it. Your projector will probably have to be further away for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bcspy Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Keep on researching for a good projector and still confused. I have a two story with one street light. I should be looking for a short throw, 2500-3000 lumens, WXGA = 1280 x 800WUXGA = 1920 x 1080, and at least a 1080p. But there are so much company. I see Optoma, Infocus, BenQ, Epson, NEC. They are all around $600 plus. How would I know which one is a good one. Sorry for the dumb question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
otisriggs Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Keep on researching for a good projector and still confused. I have a two story with one street light. I should be looking for a short throw, 2500-3000 lumens, WXGA = 1280 x 800WUXGA = 1920 x 1080, and at least a 1080p. But there are so much company. I see Optoma, Infocus, BenQ, Epson, NEC. They are all around $600 plus. How would I know which one is a good one. Sorry for the dumb question.I bought the Optoma EH200ST on Amazon for 949.00. I see this morning it is 904. with free shipping for Prime customers. I have a street light also but this one seems to be pretty good for me. I have bought a video from Digital Press Works and it works well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denny Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 I bought my projectors off ebay, an NEC1000NP (3500 lumens) an Epson 835 and an Epson 830 (both 3000 lumens). All 3 came to under $500 total. Also got two new bulbs for under $50 each, the one projector only has 535 hours on the bulb. My show computer can handle two projectors and I also bought a DualHead2Go for the third projector. Was going to start setting them up last night to find the best locations for them in the yard so I can install permanent mounting positions, but of course it rained. Hopefully, I can do that tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denny Posted May 30, 2015 Author Share Posted May 30, 2015 I am trying to overcome a brightness problem with my projectors. All 3 projectors have new bulbs and alignment of the projectors was much easier than I thought. I am wondering if distance from the computer to the different projectors might be the cause of the brightness difference in the projectors. The cable to the furthest projector from the computer is 100 ft, next projector is about 25 feet and the last projector is adjacent to the computer and connected with a regular vga cable (6 ft ?). I have switched the projectors around and the one closest to the computer is always the brightest. Do you think I am correct in assuming it is the length of the cables that is causing the further projectors to be more dim? If so, do you think the use of a 2 way vga splitter/amplifier/multiplier between the computer and each of the two farthest projectors would resolve the problem? I wouldn't be interested in connecting two monitors to each amplifier, just one projector. I have seen the amplifiers on Monoprice and ebay and they aren't that expensive. Also, what difference does the rated MHz make? I have seen them rated from 250 to 450 MHz. Looking at the specs, it would appear that the higher the MHZ, the longer the distance can be between projector and computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmienLightFan Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 I am trying to overcome a brightness problem with my projectors. All 3 projectors have new bulbs and alignment of the projectors was much easier than I thought. I am wondering if distance from the computer to the different projectors might be the cause of the brightness difference in the projectors. The cable to the furthest projector from the computer is 100 ft, next projector is about 25 feet and the last projector is adjacent to the computer and connected with a regular vga cable (6 ft ?). I have switched the projectors around and the one closest to the computer is always the brightest. Do you think I am correct in assuming it is the length of the cables that is causing the further projectors to be more dim? If so, do you think the use of a 2 way vga splitter/amplifier/multiplier between the computer and each of the two farthest projectors would resolve the problem? I wouldn't be interested in connecting two monitors to each amplifier, just one projector. I have seen the amplifiers on Monoprice and ebay and they aren't that expensive. Also, what difference does the rated MHz make? I have seen them rated from 250 to 450 MHz. Looking at the specs, it would appear that the higher the MHZ, the longer the distance can be between projector and computer. The distance from the computer to the projector/the cable length will make absolutely no difference. With digital signals, there will either be a picture, or there won't. It is most likely that the reason the projector closest to the computer is brighter is because it is a different projector, or has different bulb (They can come in different brightnesses), or it is just closer to the house. Cables cannot change brightness. The MHZ may be the refresh rate of the projector. How quickly the bulb flickers every second. I could also be the scanning frequency, but it seems a lot to high for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denny Posted May 31, 2015 Author Share Posted May 31, 2015 The distance from the computer to the projector/the cable length will make absolutely no difference. With digital signals, there will either be a picture, or there won't. It is most likely that the reason the projector closest to the computer is brighter is because it is a different projector, or has different bulb (They can come in different brightnesses), or it is just closer to the house. Cables cannot change brightness. The MHZ may be the refresh rate of the projector. How quickly the bulb flickers every second. I could also be the scanning frequency, but it seems a lot to high for that.Now I am confused - doesn't take much to confuse me. I thought that vga was an analog signal, vs dvi which is digital. I don't know if that would make a difference or not though. Two projectors are Epson 835 and one is an NEC 1000NP. I put new bulbs in all three projectors. Don' know the exact differences in distance to the house though. They seem similar though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgrant Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Dumb question to toss in there...are you broadcasting three different videos to music, each with a different mapping? If so, then comes the question is the sync of the video streams? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denny Posted May 31, 2015 Author Share Posted May 31, 2015 Dumb question to toss in there...are you broadcasting three different videos to music, each with a different mapping? If so, then comes the question is the sync of the video streams?No, it's one video split with a matrox triplehead2go analog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgrant Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Ok, but then it means or implies its the identical same video broadcast, to different areas of the house external. I'm picturing in my head, the same things happening on different surfaces, not aligned to them. I would think it would be wiser to do individual videos, broadcast simultaneously and mapped to their respective reflecting surfaces. Now how to sync 2 or 3 broadcasts to the music, no clue here. I'd love to do this whole thing as my house has the garage door on the side which means its only seen from one direction, from the side. I'd need the main visual on some other surface and mapped to both. I'm not going to try it this year as much as I want too. I'm thinking too that existing decorations, pixel trees, mega trees and so on, will all get in the way, then again, they could become partially reflective surfaces too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmienLightFan Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 It is different. The triplehead2go splits parts of one long video to multiple screens. The computer sees it as one, but then it is split into thirds and sends each one to a different output. Google it for more. Sorry. VGA is analog, but cable length still should not change brightness, unless it is really really bad quality. I would always use VGA over cat5 for any length like that. You can find a pair for cheaper than a VGA amplifier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgrant Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Oh ok,...such as using a DVI splitter cable to use two different screens even though they are one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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