huge projection TV: Scam or Legit

F

Frank the Tank

25+ Posts
Ebay listing

I have seen this on ebay many times. Has anyone ever tried to build one of these? If it worked it would be a fun project but I just cant imagine that it is legit. What do ya'll think.
 
Sadly, I am really tempted to drop $10 on this just out of morbid curiosity. I'm guessing this is one of the deals you get when you purchase one of those "How to make money on ebay" packages.
 
I'm almost sure the huge plasma screen in the picture is actually an exact duplication of the image projected by a 13" Zenith onto some posterboard.
 
You can buy the lenses at Office Max for a buck or two. My son and I did the project and it was a fun project and it doesn't work worth a damn. You have to turn the TV upside down and even then all the writing will be backwards and frequently that will mess up the color and all of this is before you encounter the fact that your typical TV just doesn't put out enough lumens to project an image very far. Maybe if you were in a sensory deprivation tank. I even had a client switch (for free) the "rasters"? on the tv so it would project upside down and sideways.

I can't remember the name of the lense, but thay are practically free at Office Max and the plans to build the thing are free on the net at various places.
 
A similar listing elsewhere: "All you need are our Plans, Specifications and Hi-Intensity Lens, Tape and Cardboard..."

The Link
 
As much as it surely is a scam, how can anything for ten bucks really be that much of a scam? Probably worth it for the entertainment and curiosity value alone.
 
"Shipping is $8.99 CDN anywhere in Canada. For international rates please e-mail me for an estimate. "
 
If you really want to do it, this ebay seller is only asking $2.50 for the plans and $2.25 for shipping. They also include an actual picture of the projector:The Link
Edit:It's a "services" fee: they email you the plans.
 
It's not a scam. You can build your own projection television from an unused LCD screen.

However, they are charging you for plans, which, almost certainly have been collected from elsewhere on the internet and are freely available if you do a google search.

It won't look anywhere as good as a DLP, especially not with cheap parts. Without a very expensive bulb, you'll need total darkness in the room.
 
Good point about the plans most likely being free on the web. I think it sounds like a fun project though. Any suggestions for improving the picture Nick or Dustin?
 
The boy and I had a good time building it so it was worth the effort and the minimal expense. If you have ever done any research into projection TV's you know that the brightness of the projector (lumens) is VITAL. The lack of lumens projected from your standard TV is the reason why the project does not work very well. I don't think there is any way to change that. I used black foamboard for the projector box. Perhaps black absorbs light and adversely affects performance. Maybe lining it with foil?

The project is real simple. You build a box and contour it to fit flush against the TV so that no light enters or escapes. About 2 feet long. Then you build a slightly smaller box that can slide into the box that is extending out from the TV screen. You make a frame on the end of the inside box and mount the fresnel lens just like you would frame a picture. The smaller box inside the larger box can then be moved forward and back to "focus" the image. You must turn the TV upside down or your image will be upside down. That's about all there is to it. Even then your image will read "xirtaM ehT"
 
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