Game room

[chadtower]

I'm in the very early stages of planning out my game room. I'm going to put it in a completely unfinished (read: concrete walls, floor, one outlet) area of my basement.

Since this sucker is so wide open I'm soliciting suggestions. I've been perusing the game room pics and the one thing I noticed right off is that I did not see anyone using a projector. Is there a reason for this or are there just no pictures of that? I'm thinking something along the lines of a projector, screen, nice xarcade style interface for emulation (possibly custom built by me), and of course plenty of console ability. Any thoughts?

[digitalpress]

Projectors are nice but I don't have a room big enough to appreciate one. The 50" widescreen TV was the most I could do with the area I had to work with. When the flatscreen monitors come down in price I'll be back for something a little bigger :)

[chadtower]

Hrm... there is a point there. The area may not be big enough for you to sit far enough back from a projected image. I'd rather not spend the money for a 50" tv or anything like that, though, especially since my main tv upstairs is only 27". Heh. How do you figure out the best ratio of distance from screen to size of screen?

(and how did I know Joe would be the first to respond here?)

LOL

[Arcade Antics]

Hrm... there is a point there. The area may not be big enough for you to sit far enough back from a projected image.

You could always move the projector closer to the screen/wall and make the image whatever size you want.

[FABombjoy]

I was using a projector for awhile... until my friend wanted it back. Having a huge screen was great for some games, and the 'wow' factor from when people first walked in and saw it couldn't be beat. After awhile, the cooling fan noise got a bit annoying, and the contrast & color just aren't as good as a TV (unless you're prepared to spend the big bucks). Maybe when I can build my own house, I'll get a good setup for a projector. For me, there's a huge cost gap between TVs & acceptable projector setups that I'm not ready to cross yet.

[chadtower]

Yeah... I'm looking at it as a tradeoff. I would trade that contrast/brightness issue for a large screen because I'm not in a position to spend for a 50" tv... so if I could pick up the projector and screen for, say, $5-600, that may be doable...

[Arcade Antics]

Unless you get lucky at a business equipment auction, you won't find a decent projector for under $2000. For serious gaming you'd want something with several input jacks, keystone correction, and something that runs at monitor quality in broad daylight. There are many reasonably proced projectors with those features, but they start at about $2000.

[chadtower]

That price is likely brand new, which I wouldn't buy... and I'm running it in a room with little light at all (basement) which means power isn't as important. I don't really need tons of inputs, those can be done cheaper before the projector. Used, older projectors are going around ebay for the $600 range... I'm not sure how good those are yet but I'll continue to look into it.

[Tom61]

so if I could pick up the projector and screen for, say, $5-600, that may be doable...

Believe it or not, there is a growing DIY comunity for making your own projector. You could probably put one together for $200-300 that'd fit your needs. DIY project needed skill levels range from 'able to put a Lego car together with the instructions' to 'knowledgable in the physics of light and good wood working skills'.

http://kickme.to/diyvp
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=20

[chadtower]

Heh, i've actually looked into that and do happen to have a nice opaque projector that could be used... not sure I'd really want to get into that, though. My woodworking skills are less than high right now. :)

On a more positive note, I just agreed to purchase this as a starting point:

http://www.snipercade.com/ca/index.htm

\^_^/