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Curved screen with lens correction.

Discussion in 'DIY peripherals' started by metalnwood, Oct 29, 2009.

  1. metalnwood

    metalnwood New Member

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    Hi all, I currently use a TH2go with 3x24 monitors and I wouldn't go back because of the immersion with racing and flight sims..

    I also have a nice panasonic ae2000 1080p projector which I have had for over a year and I have only watched a few movies on it, what a waste!

    I am wondering about incorporating it in to my sim... My other hobby is building telescopes so I have started to chat with some opticians about a corrective lens to place in front of the projector , they are more then capable of designing the lens, then it's a matter of paying for the one off tooling and the manufacture of it. I am trying to get some idea of costs around this now.

    One interesting thing they noted is that something like an f2.8 wide angle camera lens placed in front of the projector can do the trick. The problem is vignetting, depending on the lens. As medium format film cameras are going out of fashion there are a lot of big lenses with large apertures appearing on the market. This could be interesting to look at.

    I have no experience trying to build a curved screen but I understand the issues, i.e. focus on the edges, warping etc. I don't know how bad the issues are from first hand experience So I may just spend $100nzd to build a curved screen about 2M wide from edge to edge with a radius of 1.3M This means the edges are forward of the center by 600mm.

    At least then I will have something to try out ideas on. I also put forward the idea of a half dome to see what sort or lens correction could be applied to that.

    The lens can correct for both the focus and the warping. When I see that the only software about to correct the warping costs ~400 then thats a chunk of change that can go towards a lens.

    Anyway, I will keep you informed.

    Jason
  2. mrpio

    mrpio New Member

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    Oh, to have a lens like that... I guess I'll have to ask around here in Poland.
    Am I right to believe that any such optical correction will tend to make the picture smaller, thus requiring greater distance from projector?
    EDIT: Now I remember - that was a thought I had relating to a mirror with corners bent in. Never mind.

    And, where did you hear about such software for $400? The only one I have heard about costs some insane thousands of dollars, certainly more than a decent projector.

    One thing is for sure: if you succeed and share your results, that will be a great step for simkind :) Good luck.
  3. metalnwood

    metalnwood New Member

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    Hello, That price was something I think I read on these forums somewhere. I think the company is australian. I went to their site and didn't see any pricing but the poster had the software so I assume thats what he paid for it.

    I was going to get someone here to roll my tube in to the right curves but decided that for the price I could make a tube roller myself that would handle thin walled aluminium so theres another project..

    I believe that my results should be shared. Like many people I would love to have a product that I can sell and make money off but the reality is that I won't earn a living like that so I reckon giving back to the community is the way to go. Besides it would be a bit on the nose to take other peoples time in designing components, I.e. the lenses and then sell the design I got for free..

    I hope something good will come..

    JAson
  4. metalnwood

    metalnwood New Member

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    Mrpio, the software was sol7 from immersaview. It seems that the $400 will get you a non commercial for home use license.

    If your projectors maintains good enough focus at the front and rear of the screen then this is all you need as it will take all the warping out of the picture when projected on the curved screen. If you want 3 projectors it will do the image blending for you as well..