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D20 Pro + Projector = Winning?! [Assistance Required]

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by gandolfifeesh, May 1, 2012.

  1. gandolfifeesh

    gandolfifeesh New Member

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    Why is a first surface mirror required when using a projector?
    I understand that ghosting effects occur with a regular mirror, my inquiry focuses on why the mirror itself is required in the first place.

    My friends and I play Pathfinder every Monday and we're looking to project the D20 Pro battle-map onto the tabletop. The ceiling is roughly 10-12' from the tabletop. Is a first surface mirror required, or can I simply tilt the projector 180 degrees and project the image straight onto the tabletop?

    We have approximately a £200 budget to work with. I'm no stranger to DIY, so I'm not fussed about putting in some groundwork for the best possible result. That being said, if the difference in quality will be minimal, I would rather mount it in the simplest fashion.

    Any help and tips are much appreciated.
    Thanks.
     
    #1 gandolfifeesh, May 1, 2012
  2. cyderak

    cyderak Member

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    Hey Gandolfifeesh,

    There are a couple reasons guys use mirrors.

    1. I used a mirror on my Computer Game Table because bouncing the image off of a mirror reversed the image so it appeared the right way to us.
    Heres a link to the table: http://browse.deviantart.com/?order=9&q ... 4#/d3l82e7
    Theres a small description about how thwe table works on that site.

    2. Bouncing the image off of a mirror helps keep the projector level. Some guys are real particular about tipping electronics on their side or back.

    3. Bouncing the image off of a mirror also helps gain larger projected images. Not sure how the exact science works but it does.


    Hope that helped.

    Later. :D
     
    #2 cyderak, May 1, 2012
  3. edwardcd

    edwardcd Administrator
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    I'll give some explanation on these last two points...

    Projectors are designed to dissipate heat this way (projector horizontal), if you change the ordination (projector vertical) the way the heat dissipates changes and may result in damage unless you introduce some cooling fans.

    The farther away the projector is from the surface, the larger the projected image. This may or may not be a concern based on the "Throw Distance" of your Projector.

    You can use this handy calculator to determine where to place your projector (based on manuf/model and screen size via throw distance): http://www.projectorcentral.com/projection-calculator.cfm
     
    #3 edwardcd, May 1, 2012
  4. gandolfifeesh

    gandolfifeesh New Member

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    Gentlemen, thank you.
    I've been trying to work this out all day.

    Thanks again
     
    #4 gandolfifeesh, May 1, 2012
  5. Mac

    Mac New Member

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    This is a nice set up and one I would like to use but how do you handle the fog of war. If you are using one computer aren't your players seeing what your seeing?
     
    #5 Mac, May 1, 2012
  6. edwardcd

    edwardcd Administrator
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    I'd use the projector as the second display (if only using one computer).

    Main display (laptop screen or GM's personal display) would have the Judge's screen (so you can see behind the FoW) and any creatures not yet in player's view.

    Second display (projector) would have a Player's instance of d20Pro (open a new d20Pro instance and select the server ip as 127.0.0.1 - don't even have to be on the internet for this to work). This is the projected image that is player friendly.
     
    #6 edwardcd, May 1, 2012
  7. AEIOU

    AEIOU Member

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    I use one laptop with a second monitor. I run my DM client on the laptop and a PC client on the second monitor. You should be able to do the same thing with a projection system?
     
    #7 AEIOU, May 2, 2012
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