10 digits

The frame is cut. All fingers are intact.

A step closer

Wednesday's big task was getting the projector placed correctly. In then end I had to:

1. Extend the arm down about 13"
2. Move the projector about 8" closer to the wall
3. Shifted the centre of balance of the projector forwards
   

This shrunk my screen to about a 96" diagonal, but, honestly, that's a much better size for the room anyway.

The screen, which I always thought would be the easiest part of the whole project, has turned out to be the most difficult. Wednesday I started to prepare the wall for painting, but after reading the comments on the last post, I decided to go with a cloth screen following the suggestion made by The Fool and following the link posted by Jeremy. I returned the painting material and bought all the parts for the screen. Hopefully that'll take form this weekend.

I have had the opportunity to watch a little of some movies on the wall. It's nice and big but all the characters look a little jaundiced. I guess the big screen was never meant to be orange.

A set back

Well, tonight amid the perpetual snow fall that's been hanging about the city, I went out and picked up what I though I'd need to move this project ahead. With all my ill gotten goods I returned home to get started! The first task was to hang the projector. I attached a piece of shelving to the ceiling so I could better position the projector. After a couple hours work I had the projectors suspended!

With the power hooked up I turned on the power and....
Not at all what I wanted. And the mount is tilted as far down as possible. This means I will have to adjust the ceiling attachment somehow. Not to mention that the stupid socket is most likely going to interfer with my image.

On the upside, the image is almost exaclt 90" wide, which gives me a widescreen diagonal of almost 104". Not bad! Tomorrow's task is to get the image projected lower onto the wall somehow.

Maybe a slowdown on the screen

After reading some posts that Jeremy pointed me towards, I've decided to take an incremental approach to the screen. I'll start with something simple, then add fancier and fancier paints until I get a good finish.

The other issue to tackle tonight is mounting the projector on the ceiling. I'm not sure how this will go over as my ceiling slants. I also don't have many tools at my place, besides the ones that come home for Christmas, so I may have to mooch off the folks.

Pics to follow after tonight experiment.

A screen perhaps

I think I may be going with a paint on screen. Not as portable as a normal screen, but from what I've read, the quality is there but at a much reduced cost. So, it maybe a goo screen for me.

The solution arives

So, the Evo arrived today. I got the ceiling mount in the mail on Friday, they were both sent the same day, but of course, one arrives on Monday. It would have been nice to have the weekend to sort things out, but I guess that's too much to ask.


The box seems undanaged, which is really good cause you never know what a disgruntled postal employee could do to your projector. The projector is actually a lot lighter then I thought it would be. A bit bigger then others I've used, and it feels kind'a cheap (oh wait, it was). Let's set it up and check out the picture.
All right, well I've tested the Wii in standard and widescreen mode, looks good. Also on order are the component cables from Nintendo. Nintendo online tells me they're beind readied for shippment, so hopefully I'll have them soon.

The next problem, a screen. I would buy a screen. The only options locally are a a 94" screen from Tuckers for $274, or a 96" from West End electronics for $700. I don't like either of those options. Tuckers is a 4:3 and not a widescreen screen, so I'll have wasted screen on tow and bottom, and $700 for a screen is crazy. A quick online search turns up lot'sa screens, but the $100 shipping cost is not pleasant. I think the solution is to turn a wall into my screen, it's worked before.

In the mean time, I have to convert this wall. Into an effective screen. Tomorrow I'll probably make a run to Futureshop and grab some cables and maybe a DVD player to test out. Then, I'll hit up Kent or some such and get the material to fix up that wall. Some white primer and some putty will get that wall in shape. Though, to be honest, the image doesn't look that bad on orange, but, of course, it could always be better.

The ultimate goal, have a big screen TV in time for the Christmas crowd to come home and get some big ass smash brothers on the go.

A problem emerges

The main problem with the Wii, if we should say it's a problem at all. Is that it really requires one to have a much bigger screen then 12". The solution to this problem is not as simple as one might suspect. Sure, you could but a nice big TV, but, honestly, who really wants to shell out the $3000 for a nice 43" LCD TV. Your other option, of course, is to buy a projector. However, once you have a projector, you need a screen. Not to mention the expensive replacement bulbs.

Now, projectors have the coolness factor going for them too, not to mention the option to create a 100" screen. What self respecting geek could turn down such a Nirvana of video delight. I think it's simple enough to say that I want a home theater. Not a simple TV, but something that I can add to over the years to create a Mecca of home entertainment.

So, the problem in front of me now, what equipment do I buy?

Well, the first requirement is a projector. Good, HD projectors will run over two grand. I don't really want to start that high. So, with the plan to start off small I stumbled across the Evo. Not the be all, end all of projectors, but certainly enough to get me started and definitely right for the Wii. So, it's been ordered.