projector probs (right forum?)

[BroomQueen]

ok im not sure if this is the right forum but i couldn't find anything specific to projectors... ok so i got this projector (a cheap 1 yes it's for my 7 yr old) from cvs it was like $99. so the color and everything's good, the focus could be better but it's do-able. the prob im having is that it looks like there's a grid or screen over it, like a window screen, hundreds of tiny little boxes, they dont' move so i knwo it' snot my dvd player or movies or anything, even when i hold my hand up to it to test it, the lil boxes were there too. what's up with that, is that supossed to be like that? i've never seen a projector before outside of school so idk. is it just cuz it's some cheap peice of crap and y would they put something so annoying in there like that? thanks for any feed back

[gll99]

Sounds like what's called the screen door effect. It's caused by low resolution projectors.

What you're seeing is the dark area between pixels. The lower the native resolution of the projector and/or the larger the projection and/or the closer you sit to the screen image, the more it will be apparent. The children models are terrible.

What brand and resolution is this projector and what are your projected size and distance?

[BroomQueen]

hey thanks for the response,that makes sense actually now that you mentioned it.. it's a shift 3 lightblast, just generic ya know but like i said it's for a 7 yr old. teh resolution is 640x240. i have it about 6 ft or so that's just where it's convienient to put it tho i can move it closer if it will help. the size projected on the wall is probably about 3ft wide by 2ft tall. i have it on a book shelf now, if i move it a lil closer will teh image sharpen up and the dark spots go away? thanks

[gll99]

There's probably a manual focus ring on the lens but at that price it's probably a plastic lens so I wouldn't expect too much. The dim filament 35-50 watt halogen bulb won't help either. That style lamp is not the best for a sharp focus. A friend bought a similar type for her son a couple of years ago. She brought it over and in spite of the advertised max size, it was best at about 30" diagonal in total darkness. I own a generic 150-175 watt svga (800x600) and if I push it past 84" and sit inside 10 feet then I start to see the screen door. Not as pronounced as the kid models but it can be distracting in some scenes.

If we think like a child and lower expectations to those of a 7 year old then it's fantastic. I'd have been thrilled to own one at that age.

[BroomQueen]

thanks for responding again, yeah it's got a focus ring on it, i did the best i could. it's not that bad if it's a close up, like we were watching shrek and when he got a close up the grafix were pretty good, it's the background grafix that suck.. if i put a higher watt bulb will that help at all or just over heat it?. i think im just gonna move it a lil fwd and see if that helps at all... oh yeah he loves it, he calls it "a magic wall" he doesn't understand it's coming from teh projector LOL i figured it was cooler than a tv and it'd still be bigger than a tv i would pay $100 even if i have to move it up some. thanks for the help

[jagabo]

hey thanks for the response,that makes sense actually now that you mentioned it.. it's a shift 3 lightblast, just generic ya know but like i said it's for a 7 yr old. teh resolution is 640x240.

I wouldn't be surprised if that "640" refers to the individual RGB sub components. That would make the real resolution ~212x240.

if i move it a lil closer will teh image sharpen up and the dark spots go away?

No, it will get worse. The solution is to blur the picture, not make it sharper. Get out a magnifying glass and look at your computer monitor. You'll see individual RGB cells with little black borders around them.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18367904#post18367904

That's what you're seeing from the projector. The sharper you focus it the sharper those black borders will be.

[BroomQueen]

well that sux.. well he's not complaining so i'll just keep it i guess. i just wanted to know if there was any way to make it better, thanks for every1's input

[93b18a]

hey i have the same exact projector "shift 3 light blaster" are there any mods i can do to it to make it have a better picture? i.e. replace the lcd, or the bulb or even upgrade the lense/lenses? I would like to make this a decent projector as it seams like a good base to start from lol