Projector prices are low now, but it looks like some crazy people like to make their own from scrapped parts: modified 8" LCD screens from cheap DVD players, chunky power converters, circuitry salvaged from dead AV equipment and hundreds of LEDs put together to create powerful lamps. The result are high-definition ghetto machines capable of delivering good images out of, literally, trash. I discovered dozens of them thanks to the2jakes, the guy who made that amazing homemade head mounted display control for the PS2. Huge gallery and details after the jump:

Most of these projectors have two key components, LCD panels from portable DVD or media players and optics from such devices as old-style 3M overhead transparency projectors. It depends on the resolution of the salvaged LCD panels, but some of these machines are capable of displaying 720p content with no problems. Here's how an LCD taken from a dead portable looks after you take out the backlighting.

And this is how those panels look when placed into one of the most typical projector configurations:

For backlighting, these ghetto home cinemas mostly use a variety of incandescent lamps. Some, however, are in theory more efficient and powerful: this homemade board uses hundreds of soldered LEDs to obtain a powerful light source, one that consumes less power than comparable traditional bulbs.

The most shocking feature, however, is that some of the people in this group not only create regular projectors, but also actual 3D projectors that work similarly to the 3D movies you see in IMAX theaters. The machine projects two sightly different views of the same frame simultaneously using orthogonal polarized filters. Viewers get the illusion of three-dimensional images, but only if they're wearing the requisite polarized eyeglasses.

Granted, there are not a lot of commercially available 3D movies out there, so stereo projectors are limited to synthetic 3D images (like those of CAD software or games) or homemade 3D movies. You probably guessed how they make those, by combining a pair of cheap webcams to form a stereo digital camcorders.

Prototype stereo camera

As you will see in the 60-pic gallery, some of them look fugly, others look they were made in a real factory, and some of them have a simply stunning design, like this old retro model created from an old radio, my definitive favorite.

Honestly, I wish my own Marantz looked like that, instead of a laser turret from an Imperial Star Destroyer.
[Allinbox and Allinbox- In french]

10:30 AM on Wed Dec 19 2007
By Jesus Diaz
43,075 views
13 comments

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robbywil at 10:29 AM on 12/19/07
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I wonder if any of these manufacturers were faced with the option of a 'Brand New Senera Torpedo Entertainment Projector' or 'that pile of trash over there'... The obvious response being: I'll take my chances with that pile of trash.
TheCapt at 10:35 AM on 12/19/07
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My problem is a have the skill to do it, just not the patience. I'd just have a bunch of stuff in cardboard boxes that made a descent picture and call it good. I keep saying one of these days I'm going to make one, plus a wooden computer case, but in reality, I'm just too lazy I think.
strider_mt2k at 10:43 AM on 12/19/07
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That's some hackin' right there.

Well done!
shawn_dude at 10:43 AM on 12/19/07
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If you can potentially get 720p from a pile of trash, why do 720p projectors cost so darned much brand new?
loadedthorn at 10:44 AM on 12/19/07
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This is the result of a condition in which someone with some electrical knowledge thinks "$3000 for a projector? How about I spend a week making one for $800 that is seven times the size of that and twice as loud..." My uncle has such a condition.

Big props go to the guys who did it with some panache.
Tony C at 10:44 AM on 12/19/07
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It does take some effort to DIY a projector from a hodgepodge of parts. I started putting together the guts of my projector years ago using a $30 HID bulb. Had a functional prototype testbed even, but never built the cabinet out of anything more than temporary cardboard to seal the deal. I think I'll have to get back on the horse after seeing all the inspirations here! =)
EMoShunz at 10:49 AM on 12/19/07
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seriously impressive work. good job!
Tony C at 10:50 AM on 12/19/07
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@shawn_dude: Have you *seen* the size of these DIY projectors? You're easily talking the girth of carry-on luggage if anything. Granted, there are more space-efficient designs now, but finding a 720P panel small and inexpensive enough (in addition to light source, power, optics and mirrors) to build a box smaller than your typical PC is the biggest roadblock to a compact chassis.
Jesus Diaz at 11:13 AM on 12/19/07
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@Tony C: some of them are quite small. For sure, these can't match a good factory-made projector, but they are amazing.
Tony C at 11:25 AM on 12/19/07
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Ah, yes, but those smaller ones aren't 720p! ;o)
B1663R at 12:10 PM on 12/19/07
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[www.lumenlab.com] is a great site for help with DIY home projectors. also, check out [www.popsci.com] for a great step by step instructions.
Navin R Johnson at 01:46 PM on 12/19/07
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I want to see some pics of the end result. Show us the projected images.

I started working on one of these, but I decided to go with the $800 Sony VPL-AW10 Bravia.

I could make one cheaper, if my time was worth nothing.

I applaud the nice work I see here.
mechanisma22 at 03:04 PM on 12/19/07
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I would be very interested in that "ghetto" LED lamp. That must have still cost a lot and still be very powerful. I still think no matter what you use a traditional projector isn't going to give you a bright picture unless you are in the dark. I want someone to figure out how to make a DIY Plasma or a DLP style projection. What about projection screen cabinets, that would be a good idea for all those projection tubes that break.