Evenglare
Adventurer
So I was recently searching online for projectors for hosting a Smash Bros Tournament. It turns out that I stumbled upon the world of portable projectors which got me excited. Ever since I have seen the projector rooms at various places online such as....
http://www.d20srd.org/extras/tabletop_projection/
I have wanted to make a room like that. At that point projectors were extremely expensive, and actually still are. However when I started looking at portable projectors (thanks to smartphones) they are actually fairly cost effective. I recently made this purchase..
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PDJ21LY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Of course this price has 1 pretty extreme drawback. The resolution. Clearly, I had to weigh the pros and cons. Ultimately I needed a projector to project a smash bros match for viewers. The players would be playing on a HDTV. So i took the plunge and bought the 480x320 projector. When it arrived I tried out the setup and to be perfectly honest, I was surprised how good the picture looked considering the resolution.
It hadn't even crossed my mind until I actually got the projector, that I could build that dream gaming setup now! So I wanted you guys to be aware that there are projectors out there that you can afford and even though it's certainly not the highest resolution, it will suffice for those table top gaming sessions. Hell, I can actually play smash on it just fine despite the terrible resolution, which I did when I got back to my hotel room at the convention I ran the tournament at.
Now that I have made the information known, I have a question. What's the best way to mount the damn thing? It has one hole in the bottom with grooves which I assume is to use a screw to mount it. I was initially thinking about projecting straight down. Clearly the easiest path but since I would have to effectively mount the projector in a vertical position, it would be tedious at best to make something easily. So, what about a mirror? That way I can mount it to the ceiling and use an angled mirror to change the direction of projection.
Has anyone done this? I could use some advice or tips from someone who has already traversed this undertaking. Also I wouldn't mind knowing what programs would be the easiest to run. I've seen some people suggest photoshop, but I was thinking that maybe roll20.net might actually be pretty effective. Ideally I'd like some sort of program that would allow a projection for the players, and a GM side to reveal dungeons as they progress and things like that. I mention roll 20 because it has a decent fog of war type thing.
Lastly, I have a completely unrelated question. When selecting a category to make this post, what do the asterisks beside some of the names mean? There are some with 1, 2, and 3 asterisks.
http://www.d20srd.org/extras/tabletop_projection/
I have wanted to make a room like that. At that point projectors were extremely expensive, and actually still are. However when I started looking at portable projectors (thanks to smartphones) they are actually fairly cost effective. I recently made this purchase..
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PDJ21LY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Of course this price has 1 pretty extreme drawback. The resolution. Clearly, I had to weigh the pros and cons. Ultimately I needed a projector to project a smash bros match for viewers. The players would be playing on a HDTV. So i took the plunge and bought the 480x320 projector. When it arrived I tried out the setup and to be perfectly honest, I was surprised how good the picture looked considering the resolution.
It hadn't even crossed my mind until I actually got the projector, that I could build that dream gaming setup now! So I wanted you guys to be aware that there are projectors out there that you can afford and even though it's certainly not the highest resolution, it will suffice for those table top gaming sessions. Hell, I can actually play smash on it just fine despite the terrible resolution, which I did when I got back to my hotel room at the convention I ran the tournament at.
Now that I have made the information known, I have a question. What's the best way to mount the damn thing? It has one hole in the bottom with grooves which I assume is to use a screw to mount it. I was initially thinking about projecting straight down. Clearly the easiest path but since I would have to effectively mount the projector in a vertical position, it would be tedious at best to make something easily. So, what about a mirror? That way I can mount it to the ceiling and use an angled mirror to change the direction of projection.
Has anyone done this? I could use some advice or tips from someone who has already traversed this undertaking. Also I wouldn't mind knowing what programs would be the easiest to run. I've seen some people suggest photoshop, but I was thinking that maybe roll20.net might actually be pretty effective. Ideally I'd like some sort of program that would allow a projection for the players, and a GM side to reveal dungeons as they progress and things like that. I mention roll 20 because it has a decent fog of war type thing.
Lastly, I have a completely unrelated question. When selecting a category to make this post, what do the asterisks beside some of the names mean? There are some with 1, 2, and 3 asterisks.
