Building a portable projector setup for RPG mapping

[OnlineDM]

I also use maptools on my setup and haven't had a problem.
when dragging it onto the the map are you bringing it in as background?
also what is the demension of the map in pixels?

I created the map in MapTool, mostly drawing in the Background layer and dragging a few objects onto the Object layer. I'm not quite sure how many pixels across the map is, but I know that I set the size of the squares by default to 50 pixels, and then I just zoomed to the appropriate level to make the squares 1 inch each.

Is there something I can do with my "pixels per square" setting to make this work out better?

 

[falcarrion]

most maps that i import into maptools are 100 pixles and up.

for example one map i have is width 951 pixels by height 768 pixels.

I have others in the thousands.

A map I made in pymapper is 3300 by 2500.

 

[falcarrion]

Emphasis mine- PLEASE post about this when you get it. I've been very curious to see how one of these would work for gaming.

We (my wife and I) have a game setup with an elevated map platform and lights underneath that allows for good visibility on character sheets and books but fairly dim everywhere else. I think even the low lumens of a pocket project could work, but I haven't seen one in use yet. I would be very interested in seeing the results you get with the 3M projector.

PS- Thanks for pointing out the pics of your setup. Nice, simple and portable. I like it.

My test so far are not good. the pocket projectors don't have any zoom capablieties. to zoom out you have to move the unit away from the surface.
The farther you move it a way the lower the lumens.
With your setup it may work because of how dark it is above the surface, but you would still need about 2 feet above the table for a decent size projection.

I still have more testing to do. I haven't tried using a mirror to reflect it onto the table yet.

 

[FoxWander]

My test so far are not good. the pocket projectors don't have any zoom capablieties. to zoom out you have to move the unit away from the surface.
The farther you move it a way the lower the lumens.
With your setup it may work because of how dark it is above the surface, but you would still need about 2 feet above the table for a decent size projection.

I still have more testing to do. I haven't tried using a mirror to reflect it onto the table yet.

Well, I've got just under 4 feet above the map surface to work with. You posted in the other thread so you've probably seen this, but here's the pic of my set up again. That floor lamp in the back (60 watt bulb) is for the DM (the comfy seat at the back) and so we have a little MORE light on the map. If we turned it off it would be pretty dark. (I tried taking a pic with it off and the under-map lights kind of over-expose everything so you can't really see what it's like.) If you can, I'd love to see some pics of your results with the pocket projector to see what it actually looks like.

I think I'll cross post and move this to the other thread cause we're kind of off-topic from OnlineDM's original post.

 

[OnlineDM]

most maps that i import into maptools are 100 pixles and up.

for example one map i have is width 951 pixels by height 768 pixels.

I have others in the thousands.

A map I made in pymapper is 3300 by 2500.

Sorry for being unclear; I was saying that the size of each 1-inch square is set to 50 pixels by default in MapTool. There are probably about 40 squares across, so 2000 pixels.

 

[OnlineDM]

After showing my 800x600 projector and MapTool to my friend who actually knows about projectors, he was able to show me how to adjust the height and the zoom to get a good-quality image. It looks like I'm not going to be limited by resolution after all - by software, maybe, but not resolution.

Next step: Getting the supplies to build a single-pole rig as others here on EN World have described (especially falcarrion). There's a new blog post up on this as well, describing what I plan to build.

 

[Nifft]

I wonder if it's practical to just mount a mirror on the ceiling. That way all the expensive, hard-to-replace bits would operate at ground-level (or at least table-level).

Also, of course, you could use the mirror for kinkytime(tm).

Cheers, -- N

 

[Janx]

it seems a few experiments with a mirror would be in order.

Put the projector on a table edge, facing perpendicular to a wall. Now bring a mirror into range and angle it to bring the image onto the wall.

Verify you can control the focus with the projector's slider and distance of the mirror to the projector and wall.

Don't forget to see if your projector has paralax compensation. A decent projector should have controls to let you warp the image to counter the distortion of not having the lense squared to the wall.

now build a small platform (a board) with a notch cut out for the mirror to sit over at a 45 degree angle.

Then mount the projector on the board, and build an adjustable mount for the mirror to float over the notch.

Now take a camera tripod and mount a nut in the platform that fits the screw threading on the tripod. The tripod will hold your projector platform.

Put the tripod on the floor next to the table and raise it up. Adjust the angle of the mirror and the parallax, and you should be able to get it to hit the table and be squared and in focus.

Change the height to enlarge the image to get 1" squares (don't just fiddle with the image or the video resolution, you have multiple mechanisims available).

the trickiest part of the build should be building a mount for the mirror that also lets you adjust it's angle.

 

[falcarrion]

dont forget the mirror will reverse the picture. so words will come out backwards. Most projectors will let you reverse the pic being projected.

 

[OnlineDM]

Just to be clear for you guys who are theorizing about experiments with mirrors, etc... it might be cool, but I'm not doing it! I need portability first and foremost (so no mounting a mirror on the ceiling, despite the kinkytime benefits).

And as for experimentation, I can already tell you from eyewitness experience that yes, a projector shooting forward into a mirror that's angled down at a 45 degree angle toward the table (with the projector set to reverse the image) works just fine. That's the only projector setup I have personally seen in action (at my friendly local game store from a gentleman named Ian), and it's quite nice.

It's just built on too big of a rig - I want mine to be something that I can easily carry around by myself, including the mounting rig, the projector, the projection surface and the laptop. Ian's setup... no way. It requires multiple trips to carry, and that's not going to work at a convention.