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Thread: 100 inch projection TV for $9.99? Should I or Shouldn't I? |
    
Bronze Member Username: Motley
Post Number: 52
Registered: Dec-03
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| Posted on Friday, December 03, 2004 - 01:52 pm: |
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Jeez, Yidal. Chill out. I didn't scam ya, so don't get all pissy at ME. You may have a problem with my posts, but I'll wager that folks who come across this forum are glad to find out the real deal. In fact, you admit to being one of them - the only problem seems to be that you didn't find this forum soon enough to get the plans for free. So, just because you didn't don't crank and argue at somebody on the internet you don't even know and will never meet. Take a pill!
:-) |
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Relevant Product Info
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Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Saturday, December 04, 2004 - 02:19 am: |
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There is a good website for you if you want to order the lenses to try it out. Buy the cheap one and if you feel that it was worth your time there is a better thicker lense made out of optical acrylic that they recomend. the site is www.3Dlens.com
Check it out. As for the plans go to www.noah.org/acidwarp/warper.html
this guy gives you the basics of what you need to do to make one. As soon as I get the lenses in the mail I will let ya'll know with pictures how it all works out. |
Masterjaden Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Saturday, December 04, 2004 - 02:26 pm: |
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look if you guys want to know a good way to get a quality lcd projection system look at http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20041113/index.html they have detalied instructions to use ohp and a used 14 or 15 in. lcd monitor to give a qaulity projection screen. you can then use a computer at xga resolution to watch movies or tv with a tv tuner card for a total cost of 300 dollars and you can replace lenses for a hell of a lot less than an lcd projector. have fun. Jaden |
Longbow190 Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Monday, December 06, 2004 - 04:11 pm: |
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I'd like to post another website that has pretty good instructions for free. http://www.originalplots.com/100inch.htm |
Santa Claws Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Tuesday, December 07, 2004 - 03:08 am: |
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Hey guys. I bought the plans for the huge tv off a guy from down my street. I gave him $30 and in return he printed me off the plans on his computer. I could never get the box to work and the guy threatens me now everytime I ask him for help. I would say to stay away from any door to door salesmen selling this scam. maybe some off them work but I feel ripped off big style and $30 poorer as well |
lenny - the irish connection Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Tuesday, December 07, 2004 - 09:48 am: |
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Hey guys, wise and unwise. I've enjoyed reading all of the threads posted here. This was the 1st day of research into home theater projection, and it's been enlightening to have stumbled upon this forum. It seems to me Stephen has his head screwed on about these, as he rightly says "scams" which promise big results for little cash.
I have decided to buy a second hand pre-built lcd projector, probably from ebay. Importantly I will be checking the availability of bulbs and the price of replacements before I buy the projector, as one of the comments rightly pointed out.
I want the projector to be ceiling mounted, out of the way and permanent, so the diy option (even the superior project named by masterjaden, above) would be to bulky and inaccessable. I look forward to being able to network my dvd/tv/pc and enjoy large screen viewing every day.
Thanks again everybody for their input. It's been worth the read. |
Bronze Member Username: Motley
Post Number: 53
Registered: Dec-03
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| Posted on Tuesday, December 07, 2004 - 10:26 am: |
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Santa Claws - But, people like Yidal beg to differ with your opinion of feeling ripped off. The Yidals on this board claim "I COULDNT CARE LESS IF SOME DUDE IS LIVING THE LIFE OF LUXURY ON MY FEW POUNDS AS I DONT KNOW THEM AND COULNT GIVE A CRAP ABOUT 3 QUID". So, using Yidal's logic, what's your problem?? You shouldn't give a crap about your $30. In fact, you should feel good that some "dude" is getting over on you with this scam.
Further, Yidal writes: "THEN IMAGINE WHAT MOST THINK OF YOUR ONGOING BATTLE TO SAVE THE WORLD WITH URM....YOURSELF". Well, for every Yidal, BigBear and Chocolatebutterfly, there are a five Lennys on this board. Scroll back through this board and compare the posts for yourself. I welcome discussing the details in difference of opinion. But, I don't see the point in arguing just to argue. Especially about something as inane as television.
I'm not out trying to "save the world". I'm just exposing one of the biggest scams on the internet for what it is. Who could have a problem with that? I have no way of knowing who runs a scam site. My detractors SAY they don't, but I sorta kinda suspect they do. If you enjoy your fresnel lens TV, why would you care what anyone thinks - especially some yokel on the internet you don't even know and will never meet? Why are the Big Bears and Yidals so bombastic and hostile? The only way I can make sense of their approach is if you run a scam site, hell yes this board is a threat because blowing the lid off the scam keeps potential dollars out of your pocket. It's not enough to simply disagree - those who honestly expose their scam must be silenced. |
Santa Claws Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Wednesday, December 08, 2004 - 09:14 pm: |
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Hey guys, just an update on my previous experience with buying the plans from a guy down my street for $30. I finally convinced the guy to land round to my house and help me set the projector up properly. He was quite understanding after all this time and now thanks to him I have a 150" screen setup. He reccommended changing the frsnel lenses to a better quality lens called carbon-optic multi lateral lenses. Granted this cost a further $90 but I find they work far better and would advise anyone wishing to make this project to use carbon-optic multi lateral lenses instead of the supplied fresnel ones, thanks for you time guys |
Budget TV Hero Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Wednesday, December 08, 2004 - 09:57 pm: |
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I FEEL GREAT!!! OOOOOOHHHH! I just bought one of those seriously sweet TV things from ebay!! Jesus christ it rocks!! I dont know much about the technical side of things but he said he fitted mine with these special ATI Turbo Lenses that have a special imaging processing chip in them which is powerfull as a Sega Saturn!! I also got this bling sound system with mine to!!!! The guy said that the speakers he sold me were the very highest quality, the speakers were made in Turkey or some where like that and are something like 0.0067 watts all together. And these have triple sub woofers fitted inside the processor as well!!!!!! The guy said all this usually costs $15,000 but I got it all for $250!!!! HOW COOL IS THAT?!?!!! |
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| Posted on Thursday, December 09, 2004 - 03:06 am: |
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Santa claws... The lens you are refuring to is better knowen as a triplet lens, can you provied specs ie. focal lenght and dia. and maybe a link to where to get these lenses at this price as all triplet lenses over 120mm dia cost over $200usd and the lens needs to be more then 120mm dia to get a bright image |
Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Friday, December 10, 2004 - 04:03 am: |
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I was about to buy a max-theatre system, I was also going to get a package of 3 at the price of 2. I even thought about reselling it. But I decided to first try to find a forum about users of such systems and see what they think as I always do before buying anything whether from the internet or even from stores.
Thank god I came here and thank you all guys for doing this. God bless you Stephen Holmes.
I also have a question. In stores around me, magnifier lesnse, I think, are made of glass. And they are convex both directions(the ones with a handle, ands sometimes with a light).
Is this lens a suitable one, as I don't have frensel lenses here around.?
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Bronze Member Username: Motley
Post Number: 54
Registered: Dec-03
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| Posted on Friday, December 10, 2004 - 09:48 am: |
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Hypermatter - thank you for your kind words. Folks like Yidal and BigBear get on this board trying to put me down but don't realize that most people just want the truth. The scam sites sure aren't going to tell the truth and yet they don't seem to want the truth told on this board - a board set up to convey the truth. Your kind post totally offsets Yidal's when he (or she) writes: "IMAGINE WHAT MOST THINK OF YOUR ONGOING BATTLE TO SAVE THE WORLD". Well, your post just about says what most people think. Thanks again.
Also, just because you choose not to petition a scam site doesn't mean you shouldn't try out the fresnel lens system for free. Scroll up on this board and download the plans. Then if you don't like it, what have you lost but a couple of bucks - the price of a fresnel lens from the office supply store?
As for your other question about magnifieer lenses, Gadgit would be the one to answer that question. |
Bronze Member Username: Motley
Post Number: 55
Registered: Dec-03
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| Posted on Friday, December 10, 2004 - 10:01 am: |
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You can order a fresnel lens online from the Staples or Office Max outlets for about $7. Just get on their main sites and type "magnifier" in their search engine. The Office Max site even lists their item as "fresnel lens magnifier". |
Clarkey_4_Real Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Friday, December 10, 2004 - 02:24 pm: |
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Hey!
I just wanted to say thanks as well. I too was all set to buy the Max-Theater scam, and get the buy 2 get 1 free deal! But I'm in Canada so I was talking about $30 each with shipping.
This forum totally saved me some cash! Now I know what I'm getting into. I may build the Frenzel Lens system but I hate the idea of taping it to my TV. What's that about? And the funny thing is the Max-Theater site says you can "Mount it on your Ceiling!" How do you mount your tv on your ceiling?
I'm glad I didn't fall for it. I think that I'm just going to bite the bullet, spend about $1000 to $1500 and get a SVGA Front Projector for my basement. Hell, I just want it for Xbox games and movies.
http://www.2001audiovideo.com/index2.html
BENQ RM26LZ50 |
Zman1111 Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Friday, December 10, 2004 - 05:17 pm: |
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Hi Guys, First off I would like to thank all you guys for taking the time to inform all of us about these sites. I am a college student and I was about to shell out 20 bucks when I stumbled across this post. The common consensus seems to be that the picture quality using a fresnel lense is pretty bad. I live in a dorm room and don't have the space for a 100" or 150" screen, but i was wondering what the picture quality would be like on a smaller screen say 30" - 40". I have a 14" toshiba tv that works great, but playing multiplayer xbox games on it is agonizing to say the least. Would it be worth spending my time over the weekend building one of these contraptions. Appreciate any comments/advise. Also for those of you who are plan on building the lcd projector thingie, heres a great deal for an lcd flat panel monitor http://www.ecost.com/ecost/ecplasma/shop/detail.asp?action=detail&dpno=476424#sc roll
Thank you guys.
Zman
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Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Friday, December 10, 2004 - 08:52 pm: |
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Hypermatter a magnifing glass wont do it has to be a minicus or plano convex lens over 100mm dia and with a focal lenght of greater then 300mm
http://www.surplusshed.com/ |
Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Saturday, December 11, 2004 - 07:48 pm: |
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Thnx Gadgit,
I found this link. I think it's beautiful.
http://www.audiovisualizers.com/madlab/lcd_proj.htm
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Bronze Member Username: Motley
Post Number: 56
Registered: Dec-03
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| Posted on Tuesday, December 14, 2004 - 04:47 pm: |
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Hypermatter - that's a good link you post. However, my opinion is when you explode the image on a tiny 5-12 inch LCD monitor, the resolution lines get exploded as well. My meager efforts at building one of these units produced a large image, all right - but one that appeared as if I was looking at it through the bars of a jail cell.
For an example of what I'm talking about, on your computer try zooming in on very tiny computer GIF or JPEG. It gets larger, but so do the pixels, making for a poor quality picture. You can imagine how resolution suffers when you blow a 5-12 inch image up to 12-1/2 feet.
If anyone who has built one of these units knows a way around this problem, I'd be interested knowing what it is. That's why I think the larger LCD monitor or overhead platen ideas are better. You start out with a high resolution video display to work with. Otherwise, the audiovisualizer site has some great tips. |
Yule tide wishes Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Wednesday, December 15, 2004 - 03:41 am: |
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I know whats going on here, Stephen is on a scam..
..he's the worlds largest manufacturer of Frensel lenses.. now it all makes sense, today the Ecoustics forum, tommorow THE WORLD!! *chuckle*
(Seriously though, listen to the guy.. he does make alot of sense. Thanks.) |
Bronze Member Username: Motley
Post Number: 57
Registered: Dec-03
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| Posted on Wednesday, December 15, 2004 - 07:49 am: |
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Curses! Foiled again!!!!
:-) |
AtlantaLynne Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Wednesday, December 15, 2004 - 11:34 am: |
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I noticed that there are several posters on this thread that purchased these kits only to rethink the matter and feel 'scammed'. I think we only really feel scammed though when we find that it's not so easy to send the product back for a refund. Has anyone other than Stephen Holmes been successful in petitioning any of the 'scam' companies to get their money back? How did you manage to do that if those companies don't post their phone numbers and they don't return your email? Maybe you (Stephen?) can help some others on this board or future readers of this board if you can arm them with the info-ammo they need to get their money back too. Any information you discovered such as street addresses, phone numbers, copies of documents needed to send the product back, etc. would be helpful I'm sure, especially since it's information those companies don't seem to want to publish themselves. |
Bronze Member Username: Motley
Post Number: 58
Registered: Dec-03
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| Posted on Wednesday, December 15, 2004 - 06:07 pm: |
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Atlanta - it's not JUST about getting a refund (though that is an issue because many posters - including myself - have had problems getting their money back from these sellers that promise "a full refund if not satisfied"). It's that the product is not what the scam sites claim it is. You are, in effect, buying snake oil. Some of these sites charge up to $30 for a nothing but a couple of xeroxed pages of "plans" and a fresnel lens and the finished product produces a joke of a big screen image. The best ammo I can suggest is don't get involved with scam sites in the first place. If you want to build fresnel lens TV, just get the "secret" plans for free (in a second's download instead of waiting for them to be shipped), buy your own fresnel lens and leave it at that. You can get the plans free on this board or by surfing the internet for other variations of the plans. Then there won't be an issue about getting a refund. |
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| Posted on Thursday, December 16, 2004 - 03:38 pm: |
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Oh noooo!! Guys i am late.. i fell for max theater.. i have made the payment to them just yesterday .. and while surfing the net for reviews i found yr opinions.. i wish if i had seen that before ordering.. the worse is that i'll have to pay the same amount of $30 as custom duty in my country  |
woes-begone Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Thursday, December 16, 2004 - 05:55 pm: |
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For Maxtheater, try http://www.myimax.com/refund.html to get to the refund form. U will need ur order# & date of order. This is onlt to sendit back. |
Mad Ged Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Friday, December 17, 2004 - 08:32 am: |
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Stephen, I would also like to thank you and the others who have posted here. I am reasonably tech-savvy and wary of scammers, but I was just about to click the submit button on the max theater site (it is still open in another browser window!)
I thought I should do a google search for user opinions and found this forum just in the nick of time. I was aware that it would not be possible to get anything near a quality image but thought it might be a fun experiment and not too expensive.
What I did not realise was that all you get is crappy plastic magnifiers and instructions to assemble a cardboard box!
I am pissed off at nearly being ripped off but have enjoyed reading all the posts - I now know more about projection systems than I can use. Isn't the free exchange of information on the Internet a wonderful thing?
Stephen, your articulate, intelligent and witty posts were a pleasure to read, more power to you!
Keep sticking it up the scammers.
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Mad Ged Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Friday, December 17, 2004 - 09:23 am: |
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Hey everybody! Look what I just discovered on another website. Pasted below for your information.
Better Business Bureau Serving Eastern Washington,
North Idaho & Montana
508 W. Sixth Avenue; Suite 401
Spokane, WA 99204
BBB Reliability Report
Max Theater
P O Box 30381
Spokane, WA 99223
General Information
Original Business Start Date: January 2002
Principal : Mr. Tom Delanoy Owner
Phone Number: (509) 999-3968
Fax Number: (509) 448-0903
Membership Status: No
Type-of-Business Classification: Internet Shopping Services
The information in this report has either been provided by the company, or has been compiled by the Bureau from other sources.
BBB Membership
On January 27, 2004 this company's membership in the BBB was revoked by the BBB's Board of Directors due to failure to cooperate with the BBB on advertising matters.
Customer Experience
Based on BBB files, this company has an unsatisfactory record with the Bureau due to unanswered complaint(s). The company has resolved most complaint(s) presented by the Bureau; however, the Bureau did not receive a response to other complaint(s).
Complaints concern delay in the delivery of the ordered product. In addition, the company failed to respond to the Bureau concerning their website advertising by providing substantiation or making modifications. The company offers a product that magnifies the picture of your existing television.
Additional Information
Additional Doing-Business-As Names: maxtheater.com
MyImax.com
Additional Phone Numbers: 509-448-0903
Here is the link.
http://www.spokane.bbb.org/commonreport.html?compid=17000844&national=Y |
Bronze Member Username: Motley
Post Number: 59
Registered: Dec-03
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| Posted on Friday, December 17, 2004 - 12:44 pm: |
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Wow! Thanks to all who gave me the Big Ups! This is why I don't concern myself with posters like BigBear and Yidal. In my book, they aren't the ones that count because all they do is argue and call names. I hope Rufi gets the money back and it warms my heart to know that others here pulled up sending in their cash after reading this forum. I may not be able to "find the words to save my great nation" (to paraphrase Yidal, above). But, it's evident that I can at least save a few unwarry consumers some of their hard-earned cash and that depressed helpless feeling after getting taken. |
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| Posted on Friday, December 17, 2004 - 04:01 pm: |
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hey guys, i dunno if i'll get my money back or wont, but i am glad you guys are doing yr efforts to save other people fm making a mistake. 
and stephen, i'll let you know if i am able to get my refund fm those fakes ;) |
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| Posted on Saturday, December 25, 2004 - 06:52 am: |
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As for the problem of getting your screen to flip properly, GET A PROGRAM TO DO IT, FFS, are you guys dum, why the hell would you flip your computer over or get another lens when you can flip it using a program? |
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| Posted on Monday, December 27, 2004 - 09:08 am: |
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hey, can anyone tell me how to make a decent screen for my home theatre projector? |
Bronze Member Username: Motley
Post Number: 60
Registered: Dec-03
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| Posted on Monday, December 27, 2004 - 11:28 am: |
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Anon – I know some folks don't like my long posts, but I have to get kind of wordy to answer your question re: making a screen. If you're making your own screen, you have to be one hell of an inventor. I tried a bed sheet. It bleds light. Cardboard painted white is cumbersome and there’s no way to get an absolutely smooth surface. So, I use a HUGE sheet of white window shade fabric. Got it from a shade manufacturer for about $30 and actually had to cut it down to size to fit my living room. Then I went to the hardware store and bought a wooden railing pole about 15 feet long, which I had to saw down to size. I took some tacks and duct tape to secure the shade to the pole so I could roll and unroll it. For hanging this monster (which may be your major frustration, depending on your room layout) my living room has decorative ledges near the ceiling where the pole sits nicely, allowing me to roll it down by hand. Since the pole is so long, it sags in the middle – to solve this problem I got a paint brush telescope adjustable-type extension pole and attached a hardware store hook to the top of it. This hooks the pole in the middle and gives me a nice, level screen. Now, let me say that I also made a 10 foot wide screen the same way that is so light in comparison to the 12-1/2 foot wide screen that I do not need to use anything to brace it in the center. So, keep in mind that if you have a smaller big screen, it may not sag under its weight and you're home free. Just hang it, unroll it and you're ready.
I know my description probably makes no sense, but even if it did, my screen is manufactured to fit my house. Yours would be of an entirely different design to fit your entertainment room. In fact, I had a devil of a time finding an outlet stocking a big enough sheet of window shade fabric. The general stores don’t sell anything near the size that I needed. However, I don’t know what size room you are dealing with. The shade warehouse sold me a large sheet (that they were going to throw away, in fact) for a lot cheaper than I could get a shade in the store. And, figuring out how to hang it will be a major frustration. At one point, I even considered suspending the screen roll from plant hooks in the ceiling, but disgarded that idea in favor of first trying out just seating my screen on the cailing ledges I spoke of.
My design isn’t fancy and it has to be unrolled and rolled by hand, but as screens go, it’s dirt cheap (I didn't spend hundreds of dollars!) and when the lights go out the picture on it looks damn fine. Heck, you might not even have to do ANY work if you have a room with white walls in your house. Some friends of mine have white walls in their living room and when they want to use their LCD projector, they just move the furniture and there’s their big screen.
My advice is for you to haunt hardware stores until you are blue in the face or you can even surf the web for ideas. You have to be creative and resourceful because the screen you design will be specific for your environs only. But, if you can find a window shade fabric store that will sell you a white (NOT off-white, for obveous reasons) sheet for a reasonable price, go for it and figure out how to hang it later. The nice thing about shade fabric is that with gentle handling, it won't crease, it rolls up and stores neatly in your basement, and when it's in action it produces a great screen image besides. Good luck!
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Bronze Member Username: Motley
Post Number: 61
Registered: Dec-03
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| Posted on Monday, December 27, 2004 - 04:57 pm: |
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Another thing... While net surfing, I came across sites selling inflatable movie screens for setup in outdoor backyards. They are expensive (over $1,000) and too large for any indoor home theater. But, I notice that some of their designs make use of heavy duty white tarp. You can try ordering yourself a custom sheet of that material. I don't know if white heavy duty tarp will work as well as the window shade fabric I use and I have no idea how you would hang it. Just offering another idea for your consideration! |
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| Posted on Wednesday, December 29, 2004 - 07:03 am: |
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Thanks Stephen, actually I am a bit of an inventor, after some reaserch and some experimentation, I have come up with a screen that works quite well even with some ambient light. Here it is for anyone else who is intrested.
First I got a large peice of ply,about 2mm thick which I painted white with the flattest (non glossy) paint I could find. This gave fairly good results, the main problem being that the paint, alothough very flat, was still too reflective and glary. After some advice from a paint shop I discovered that undercoat is extremely non glossy. This was one hell of an improvement but I found that with a pure white screen the very light parts of the image especially white objects were too bright, washing out the finer details. More expirementing found that the addition of a very slight bit of black tint gives a very good screen. This might sound strange, but a slightly grey screen (it needs to be grey not off white) gives better pictures than a pure white, as the whites dont wash out. Ever heard of a silver screen? your eyes fool you the same as black looks black on a television screen, the closest a television can get to black is the grey colour you see when the television is turned off. Basicly what I am trying to say is that the contrast improves. Try this as it can be a very cheap expirement on a small screen, the white realy does look white!
After I got the screen to work I simply bought some 25mm x 40mm timber moulding to make a frame for the ply. I also put a couple of braces made of the same material across the middle of the screen to stop it from bowing after time, as thin ply in big sheets tends to do this. All that remained was to screw a couple of large hooks into the ceiling battens in my lounge, a couple of screw eyes into the top of the screen frame, and a couple of bits of decorative chain in between.
The overall size is 1.8m x 2.4m, with no joins in the middle, the undercoat was a sealer primer undercoat all in one, so it was pretty thick and filled the woodgrain in the ply. Presto, I have a screen which is lightweight, easy to put up and take down, looks fairly attractive, and shows a great picture. All for around $80, and without the experimentation, a days work.
I hope this is usefull to someone. Please let me know if anyone has any problems with this screen and I will try to help them with it. |
Bronze Member Username: Motley
Post Number: 62
Registered: Dec-03
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| Posted on Wednesday, December 29, 2004 - 10:24 am: |
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Anon - Glad things worked out! Like you, I'm all set with my screen, but - for those that need ideas - I wonder if there's a discussion board online where all the mad scientists can compare notes and help others struggling to come up with new designs? If not, there ought to be! |
bigtabs Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Thursday, December 30, 2004 - 02:20 am: |
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This thread has saved me 20 dollars plus shipping plus being really pissed off at someone I couldn't get my hands near the neck of. Thanks Stephen and co. |
Jack Houes Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Friday, January 07, 2005 - 08:52 pm: |
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Hey Stephen, I ordered the "kit" from max theater and after reading this page it kinda sucks that i spent my money on it. Is there anything i can do that wont cost me over $100 to make a good one, or turn this one into a good one? |
Bronze Member Username: Motley
Post Number: 63
Registered: Dec-03
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| Posted on Monday, January 10, 2005 - 10:56 am: |
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Jack - I'm the wrong person to ask that question. I shelled out for an LCD projector that cost close to a thousand bucks. I've made the point before on this board that if a good big screen image could be gotten for $100 or less, we would ALL be spending $100 or less and big screen home theater manufacturers would go out of business. However, I won't be a total naysayer. Gadgit has posted some ideas that might be of interest to you. Scroll back through this board and read about his triplet lens plans. Bottom line is you need a strong light source, a way to project an image and a process to focus it. Frankly, I don't think you can do all that for a mere $100 or less. Maybe someone else on this board has ideas. Also, fresnel lens TV does produce an image of sorts. However, what you get from max theater can't hold a ghost of a candle to a good home theater system....or IMAX, for that matter. So, I'm not the final word on this, but in my opinion home theater is like anything else - you get the quality you pay (or put the sweat equity in) for. |
Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Monday, January 10, 2005 - 05:13 pm: |
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HI!
GREAT FORUM!
I WHANT TO TRY TO BUILD THE FRESNEL PROJECTOR,FOR THE FIST TIME.I ALMOST FELT INTO ONE OF THOSE EBAY SCAMS,WHEN I GOT LINKED TO THIS FORUM.HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS:
1)I SAW THAT POSSIBLY THE IMAGE WILL FLIP,AND WILL BE NECESARY TO TURN THE TV SET UPSIDE DOWN,IS THIS SAFE????
2)IT IS REAL THAT I CAN GET FESNEL LENS FROM OFFICE DEPOT?
3)WHERE CAN I BUY GOOD BUT CHEAP FRESNEL LENS?
4)IN OPTIMAL CONDITIONS[PITCH DARK ROOM]WILL THE IMAGE PROJECTED BE GOOD?
5)CAN ANYBODY WITH THIS KIND OF PROJECTOR SEND ME PICTURES,SO TO SEE THE COLORS,BRIGHTNESS AND RESOLUTION?
6)WHATS THE BEST SIZE OF TV TO USE WITH THIS PROJECTORS?
7)FOR EXAMPLE,USING A 14" SCREEN:
-HOW FAR THOES IT HAS TO BE FROM THE WALL FOR OPTIMAL IMAGE?
-HOW WIDE WILL THE PROJECTED IMAGE BE?
8)IT IS HONESTLY WORTH TO BUILD THIS KIT?NOT IN ECONOMICAL SENCE,BUT IN THE RESULTS...?
TO HWOEVER ANSWERS ALLLLLLL THIS QUESTIONS,THANKYOU SO MUCH,AND SORY FOR SO MANY,BUT OF ALL THE FORUMS I KNOW,YOU GUYS ARE THE COOLEST AND ALL ANSWERS ARE CERTAIN AND INTELLIGENT,AS WELL AS THE LINKS USED.ETERNALLY GRATEFUL,THANKS FOR YOUR TIME!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
KUBRICK
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Stanley Kubrick Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Tuesday, January 11, 2005 - 08:33 am: |
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Kubrick,
1,NO!! Definatley not.
2,No.
3,Do an internet search.
4,If done right, possibly.
5,Depends on the resolution of the TV you are using.
6,TV.. bigger the better. LCD panels, get the higest resolution you can.
7,Pass!
8,Get the right tools, equipment and then take your time in building it.. |
Bronze Member Username: Motley
Post Number: 64
Registered: Dec-03
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| Posted on Tuesday, January 11, 2005 - 12:00 pm: |
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Kubrick (not Stanley) - You can go on the Office Depot, Office Max or Staples websites to order a Fresnel Lens. Or, just go around the corner to one of those office supply stores. I see them for sale all the time. Fresnel lenses are not hard to find. As for the rest of your questions, I would say experiment to get the best results as you would not be spending a mint to get materials. I guess some people can be satisfied with fresnel lens big screen, or that's all they can afford. Fine, but do not expect miracles. The fresnel lens picture is DEFINITELY inferior to LCD or plasma TV for reasons we discuss in length earlier on this board. As long as you don't get yor hopes up that your picture is going blow your socks off and as long as you spend a pitance in materials (including getting the plans for free), what the hell? Go for it. |
kubrick Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Tuesday, January 11, 2005 - 08:03 pm: |
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guys,thanks so much for your answers,i know feel most of my "problems"about the project are clear.i will let you know the results,as my plan is to build a very nice projector.so thanks again and keep on the good mood of helping people!!!!!!!!
again,very happy new year!
k. |
Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Wednesday, January 12, 2005 - 06:23 am: |
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Hi all -
While browsing the net, I accidentaly bumped across the maxtheater page. Great product , i thought. The site looked 'honest and clean' nuf, the photos great and refund guaranteed, so i was seriously considering ordering the thing. Having studied some optics at coll, i know that getting a sharp image outoff a $16 dollar kit is next to impossible, but hey, maybe someone had come up with some revolution design or something and besides, there's no mention of Fresnel lenses (or of having to turn yo tv upside down for that matter) on the site.
Anyway, before entering the ordering details, I did a google search for the product's name, as i have the habit of doing. Hey presto, this site came up. Reading the first few posts was enough to confirm my suspision that the whole affair is a scam. So i put my credit-card back in the wallet and carried on reading through your site....(very informative i must say)
The point for posting this ,,,are three actually :
1. I wish to thank every one of you who contributed to this thread for saving me the money which i would have undoubtly flushed down the drain by ordering this 'product', not to mention the frustration and anger you go through when you realize you've been consciously ripped off, something which you could have avoid just by being a tad wiser.
2. I urgue everyone who regularly shops on the net, to reaserch the product/company they're dealing with before parting with their money, especially if what's on offer
seems too good to be true, probably it's neither. All it takes is a few sec - just type in the product/company name + SCAM in any search engine and if anyone had anything to say in that regard it will certainly come up. Granted - some complaints may be unjustified, but at least you can to make an informed judgment rather than shooting in the dark.
3. Finally, I encourage all those who, at some time or another fell for any of these scammer's tricks to make it known in an appropriate forum. Not only will you be doing a good deed by helping others learn from your mistake, but you will also be contributing towards the extermination of these parasites. I recall ordering stuff from mag-ads in the pre-internet days, only to get zero value for money. Back then, there was no way of knowing whether an offer was genuine or just some as*hole's go at making a quick buck at the expense of hard-working honest citz. Today the means exist with which to fight these fu*kers. So use it.
Sorry for the longish post
Peace to all & Best Wishes
Jurgen - Malta
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Bronze Member Username: Motley
Post Number: 65
Registered: Dec-03
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| Posted on Wednesday, January 12, 2005 - 12:17 pm: |
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JurgenBorg – Well said! For years, scammers have been using every trick in the book to separate honest folk from their hard earned dollars. I remember as a kid reading a magazine ad for AMAZING X-RAY GLASSES THAT CAN SEE THROUGH ANYTHING! The titillation factor for the ad was a portrayal of a man with these glasses on looking through a solid wall at a scantily clad young woman in the next room. How many people sent in for those glasses and were too embarrassed to admit they got taken? How about all the other “get amazing results CHEAP” ads? “PLAY CONCERT PIANO IN ONLY SEVEN DAYS!” “LOSE WEIGHT WITH THESE PILLS WHILE BEING ABLE TO EAT AND DRINK ANYTHING YOU WANT!” The list goes on an on. That said, I admit to petitioning a scam site out of mere curiosity. But, I made a pledge that if what I got was crap, the whole world would know about it. Well, what I got WAS crap and I’m making good on my pledge by exposing this scam as well as posting the “secret plans” for all to see. If you scroll back early on in this board, there are no posts from those who have had honest experience with these kits. Just a lot of rambling generalities. That’s why I got on this thing and have been riding it hard. Now post after post comes in: “Thanks! This board saved me money!” “Whew! They almost got me until I read this board!” “That was close! I put my credit card back in my wallet!” You make a great point about doing your research before you buy. Back when the AMAZING X-RAY GLASSES were advertised in that magazine, there was no resources to do research and get the facts. Now, with the internet, there is. If you still want to build this kit for the hell of it, build it for free. But, these plans simply aren’t worth the money the scam sites charge for them, and the presentation on these sites is a pack of lies. They are making money off of uninformed consumers and that just stinks. |
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| Posted on Friday, January 14, 2005 - 01:52 am: |
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I wanna thank all the informed peeps on this site. I too was about to order the amazing maxtheater piece of crap but this site saved me the trouble |
aicjofs Unregistered guest |
| Posted on Friday, January 14, 2005 - 05:05 pm: |
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I have seen the Lumenlabs stuff, and it is very nice but had some weakness with needing a fairly dark room and requires some decent skill to make it work, so I knew this MaxTheater stuff HAD to be a joke when I saw it, thanks to every person above who has confirmed this and possibly saved people money. |
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