Coolest. Gaming Set-up. Evar.

[jwfitt]

I'm truly not sure where to place my focus at this point...

I want it to be a home theater first, before being an awesome D&D tool. Would that mean something with a 16:9 ratio would suit me better...since most of my DVDs are widescreen?

Also, anything geared towards "home theater" use seems to have terrible Lumens ratings. But I've read over & over again how bad of an idea it is to use business-specific projectors for multimedia purposes like movies & games.

I've also read that LCD projectors give you some better controls for adjusting where your projected image shows up like H. and V. Shift, and a much better zoom lens (before needing to resort to keystone correction).
And to watch out for DLPs with slower color wheels.

Such a hard decision....

A few that interested me so far are:
http://www.projectorcentral.com/Epson-PowerLite_Cinema_550.htm
http://www.projectorcentral.com/Optoma-HD72.htm
http://www.projectorcentral.com/Dell-5100MP.htm
http://www.projectorcentral.com/Optoma-EzPro_745.htm
http://www.projectorcentral.com/BenQ-MP620.htm
http://www.projectorcentral.com/BenQ-PB6200.htm

If you had to replace your current projector with a 3k budget what would drive your purchasing decision? Any recommendations?

 

[jwfitt]

I think in terms of a small throw distance (for ceiling to table projection), and overall quality the Epson 550 seems like my best bet...

I always liked the option of optical lens shifting abilites. And a lot of the reviews I've read say Epson is great with their customer service, and very modest on their specs.

Let me know what you think.

Specs:
http://www.projectorcentral.com/Epson-PowerLite_Cinema_550.htm

Review:
http://www.projectorcentral.com/epson_cinema_550.htm

 

[joelkimba]

bump

 

[Moon-Lancer]

Steel_Wind, do you still have Tabletop mapper on your computer? Tabletop Mappers websites download link is broken. I was wondering if you could post the software on your site or email it. I would be very apreciative.

better yet, do you know of another program that did what tabetop mapper did?l

 

[Moon-Lancer]

sorry to do this, but... bump.

 

[DonTadow]

Now that I"m getting a litle closer to the project financially, I'm trying to justify it in my 07 budget. Is there any other use for the projecter other than gaming. How easy is it to convert it from gaming to home entertainment?

 

[DonTadow]

I'll ask another question for a quick bump as well.

I'm about halfway to my startup goal for buying hte projector. But after some talking by the folks at Dwarven Forge at Gencon, I'm pondering taking the money i have saved up and buyng a bunc hof their stuff. What are hte pros and cons of having a projected map and asculpted one.

 

[Korvax]

Con of sculpted maps: storage

Otherwise it's an ideal solution

 

[DrNilesCrane]

One of the issues with the sculpted Dwarven Forge product, while great looking, is its limited use - i.e. how many times are your players going through the same cave (or dungeon)? While you can rearrange the pieces as needed to fight that repetition somewhat, with a projector you can use any map or image that you find or create, making it a much better long term solution if you run adventures in many different environments such as deserts, jungles, at sea, in a city, etc. and/or want to try a more immersive game by setting the mood with more visuals, many of which are fairly easily attainable with a Google search or through the variety of online fantasy art sites.

An advantage of the Dwarven Forge product is the tactile, 3-D feel of it (especially with miniatures). I've played using it before (but don't own any of their product) and found that it looked great...although the "wow" factor wore off quickly once that wears off. Plus you have to wrestle with storage and that your investment is not easily changed (i.e. your dungeon tile set is still a dungeon tile when you're on your first adventure or your 100th adventure unless you keep spending money, where as a projector gives the DM almost infinite options after the initial cost). Miniatures (or counters) work well with a projector (the projected image doesn't make them hard to see/read at all, which was one of my worries before I bought a projector) - if you don't have a large miniature investment, counters are much cheaper to print as needed and work better with a flat surface (not as well with the Dwarven Forge product). Another advantage with a projector is that your maps do not need to be static: using Neverwinter Nights, for example, has standard effects for water waves, smoke, fire, etc. that really look great and simulate a 3-D environment.

I don't think the forge products are a bad solution by any means, but if you have to choose between the two and can afford either, a projector will beat just about anything else dollar for dollar over the long run. I think it might come down to deciding how important versatility is for you: if that's not a factor (i.e. you just run dungeons, caves, or whatever environment the tiles represent - or don't mind telling your players "the cave is a town now!"), it might be a tougher choice.

I've used a projector for about 9 months now and the "wow" factor is still there since it's like a whole new set of visuals and maps every week of gaming. Plus I can improve this as I find more art, new software is released, or make better maps myself while the Dwarven Forge product doesn't physically change and evolve (unless you're spending more money).

DonTadow, you mentioned using the projector for a home theater: I don't do this myself so I can't really comment here, although I've seen it done and experimented with it myself and may go that route next time I move (factor for me was wall space, not quality, and I already had the big screen TV). As for converting it, it's a matter of moving it (projectors are very portable) and plugging it in...a minute or two to change over from gaming to TV and vice versa.

 

[D'karr]

I'll ask another question for a quick bump as well.

I'm about halfway to my startup goal for buying hte projector. But after some talking by the folks at Dwarven Forge at Gencon, I'm pondering taking the money i have saved up and buyng a bunc hof their stuff. What are hte pros and cons of having a projected map and asculpted one.

I have a ton of Dwarven Forge stuff that I bought at a discount on EBay. I saw the DF setup at GenCon and was itching to buy some more stuff. Their new water tiles are gorgeous.

Pros - Visual Appeal. Nothing really looks as good as a 3D visual depiction of terrain, specially when you take into account terrain with varied elevation.

Cons - Storage is usually my biggest complaint (my wife has a lot to do with that complaint too.) Setup time is the second biggest but usually the most significant, in terms of impact for gameplay. For small setups, and I mean small like 20x20 rooms with straight corridors, DF works well. For big setups with unusual shapes then DF is suboptimal. Setup of DF can take a lot longer than just drawing the terrain on a Battlemat. Besides with a projector you can mask areas that have not been explored. That is usually hard to do with DF.