Almost ten years have passed since the appearance of the first LED projectors, which allowed them to be installed at any angle. Relatively recently, they were also joined by devices based on a laser light source, which allows you to create brighter models without changing the dimensions of the projector.
Thus, the restrictions on the orientation of the projector imposed by the features of the cooling system of the âclassicâ lamp projectors were removed, and the possibility of vertical positioning of the projectors was in demand when projecting onto the dome of a planetarium, museum, cafe table, for video mapping on three-dimensional figures and other tasks. All this was first of all appreciated by professional users of installation projectors and spot projectors .
Since the recently released home laser Epson EF-100 fell into my hands, I âtriedâ this projection variant and personally tested what it is like to turn a white ceiling into a 120-inch screen. Iâll briefly talk about this in today's âFridayâ post (under the cut about 6MB of images) .
A screen that is (almost) everywhere
Imagine the various options for installing a screen of such a diagonal at home. How much space it will occupy (even if not protruding from the wall, but taking up the breadth), and in some cases the usual home projector may not have enough projection distance to use the entire surface of the screen. When there is not enough space, rolled ones come to the rescue, but before viewing them, they must also be omitted, which takes some time, while in the case of projection onto the ceiling, the projector is simply enough to be placed vertically.
âAgain, a new ceiling ...â , Shinji Ikari said in Evangelion. Over time, the character increasingly noticed a ceiling over himself, which in itself is interesting. I suppose that in most situations we ourselves simply forget that it exists : we are so used to looking in front of us. But the degree of fine alignment and the quality of painting the ceiling is given a lot of attention during the repair - it turns out even higher quality of the surface of the "screen" than most budget, with a flexible canvas. The only hindrance is a chandelier, which often limits the position of the final projection, but judging by the latest trends in repairing chandeliers, they increasingly prefer LED strips or side transforming light structures. If you have one, then consider that you are doubly lucky.
Unusual new position
By the way, the idea of ââwatching something lying on the bed is associated with many inconveniences. Watching TV or working with a laptop or tablet while lying on the bed is associated with the need to maintain a certain relative position of the head, device and device controls , which require muscle tension, which makes the posture pretty uncomfortable.
However, when projecting onto the ceiling, everything is somewhat different: you are lying on the bed, the pressure is evenly distributed on the back, and your head is looking vertically at the ceiling. Nothing more is needed (the main thing is that the wireless remote / mouse / joystick is in your hands), since the screen is right in front of your eyes. It is hardly possible to find a more comfortable posture with less load on the musculoskeletal system.
Epson EF-100 is based on 3LCD technology and it gives out a juicy and contrast picture even at maximum "passport" brightness
Screen size
The main way to adjust the image size of a home projector is to move it closer / farther from the screen. However, with a ceiling height of 2.7 - 3 meters there are not many options. Of course, you will immediately want a picture as large as possible, for which it is better to place the projector on the floor. If the size does not play a big role, then you can use a stand or a coffee table as a stand. Speaking specifically about the model Epson EF-100, which I tested, then in these conditions it will provide an image diagonal of 120 - 130 inches (the image width is approximately equal to the distance from the lens to the ceiling).
Screen position
If you lie on a pillow, you may need to move the image slightly âdownâ (that is, in the direction of the legs) due to the tilt of the head. This is done by simply moving the projector around the floor. If it was a wall-mounted screen, you would have to put something under the projector, or put it on a higher table, or tilt it up using the keystone correction. In general, itâs easier with the ceiling - put it âon the endâ and forward.
Welcome to the ISS
When the ceiling becomes a screen, a new, unusual task suddenly appears: "to lie on your back and look in front of you . " This situation, especially at first, is very unusual. At least, I usually first tried to return to a vertical / semi-seated orientation as quickly as possible or turn to my side. However, "awake" in this position, you can completely new to feel yourself and the surrounding space.
After a few minutes, it seems as if the body is losing weight and the ceiling is turning into a âwall opposite.â As if soaring in zero gravity: the top and bottom are where you are currently comfortable. In fact, an amazing feeling.
I can advise a game in which you can visit a rocket flying to the moon, dock two spacecraft with your own hands and, most importantly, âfly in zero gravityâ with an excellent sense of âmass and inertiaâ of what is happening. At the same time, if you play in complete darkness, then when moving around the space station or looking into the window you will see shadows moving around the room from bright light bulbs or the Sun ! The word "immersion" does not describe even half of the sensations from such an experience.
Due to the fact that this is most clearly shown in the form of animation, after the end of the post I decided to still record in the video how the light from virtual light sources spreads throughout the room when the head is turned in the game. It doesnât matter here whether the screen is horizontally or vertically - the effect is similar. As a screen for a visual demonstration below - "home theater", the assembly of which I talked about earlier in the blog .
And if the room is light?
My experience: a widened window (it is cloudy but light outside), the chandelier is on:
Epson EF-100 successfully fights flare: 2000 lumens - quite an âadultâ supply of brightness
The main feature of the Epson EF-100 comes to the rescue: it boasts a very high level of brightness in comparison with its LED counterparts. As it turned out, this directly affects usability. I myself did not expect that the image quality will remain good despite such difficult lighting conditions. Even the desire to block the light did not arise and I continued to watch videos on YouTube.
What does a friend think?
It is always important to know how the representatives of the beautiful half of humanity react to âtechnical troublesâ. According to own observations, the reaction is positive. For example, my friend was initially very skeptical about the idea of ââwatching my favorite series on the ceiling, clearly assuming that this was inconvenient. But anger quickly gave way to mercy.
And it also has.
What does a friend think?
Playing races and arcades in a co-op on PS4 in the split-screen half-sitting-reclining mode on soft poufs is a very interesting and, I would even say, exotic experience. If you try to give an analog, itâs like looking at the clouds and dreaming, discussing, thinking, what the cloud looks like, and what it looks like. All in all, very cool and unusual. I recommend.
It is always important to know, âHow not to fall asleep?
My last fear was due to the fact that in the supine position a person is inclined to suddenly fall asleep while watching. In my case, this fear was not confirmed: as long as there is interest in what is happening on the screen, you will not want to sleep. Well, if a dream prevails, then this is probably a consequence of fatigue or boredom.
Starry sky!
Speaking of sleep. In the end, I cannot but mention the completely âsticky topicâ that I discovered for myself by accidentally finding a video about space on YouTube. For example, such . Or such .
Now imagine what it feels like to see something like that on a half-ceiling screen in complete darkness, with sound output to good acoustics (or headphones).
So yes, I almost immediately fell asleep under the second movie. It's amazing how much easier it is to relax without worrying about the need to turn off the projector to save the lamp life.
My verdict
- Watch TV shows and YouTube - super
- Watching movies is ok, but at first itâs unusual (plus a snack while lying down will be more difficult to watch, as well as moisten the throat with a cold drink)
- Play games - super
- Sticking into space is simply amazing