boxpressed Posted March 30, 2019 Share Posted March 30, 2019 These days, an old CRT or an S-Video-to-HDMI adapter seem to be the popular choices for consoles whose best video output is S-Video. But there are lots of projectors from ten or twelve years ago that have an S-Video input. And the quality is pretty good, especially from the high-quality brands. Better yet, these older projectors with native resolutions of 800x600, 1024x768, and 1280x720 can be had for a song, usually under $50 and sometimes under $20. Here are some images from my Panasonic AE900U, a really nice model from 2007 with inputs from composite thru HDMI and a native resolution of 1280x720. All come from an S-Video-modded 7800. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NostAlgae37 Posted March 30, 2019 Share Posted March 30, 2019 These looks amazing, but I'm curious which S-video mod does your 7800 have? Longhorn, Magic Knight, UAV, or some other? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxpressed Posted March 30, 2019 Author Share Posted March 30, 2019 These looks amazing, but I'm curious which S-video mod does your 7800 have? Longhorn, Magic Knight, UAV, or some other? I'm pretty sure it is a Longhorn because Joe at Electronic Sentimentalities modded my 7800 for me. I'm really happy with the result. Looks great on a PVM or projector! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NostAlgae37 Posted March 30, 2019 Share Posted March 30, 2019 (edited) I'm pretty sure it is a Longhorn because Joe at Electronic Sentimentalities modded my 7800 for me. I'm really happy with the result. Looks great on a PVM or projector! That's nice to hear. The Longhorn mod seems to have fallen out of favor these days and gets a lot of negative press on this forum, but the proof is in the pudding. Edited March 30, 2019 by NostAlgae37 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted March 30, 2019 Share Posted March 30, 2019 Until the bulb burns out and a new one is hundreds of dollars ... but if you didn't pay much up front for the low-res projector, why not have fun with them now! I played most of Knights of the Old Republic from an Xbox hooked to a 720p projector made by BanQ. Very cinematic! What's your favorite place to buy old projectors? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxpressed Posted March 30, 2019 Author Share Posted March 30, 2019 (edited) Until the bulb burns out and a new one is hundreds of dollars ... but if you didn't pay much up front for the low-res projector, why not have fun with them now! I played most of Knights of the Old Republic from an Xbox hooked to a 720p projector made by BanQ. Very cinematic! What's your favorite place to buy old projectors? Yeah, the cost of bulbs/lamps is kind of a non-factor when the projector itself is so cheap. I buy mine from shopgoodwill.com. They show up regularly because I think that businesses are upgrading and getting rid of their old equipment. I often see them have no bids on them until the very end of the auction, and then they sell for very cheap. But buying from shopgoodwill is a risk. Most of their projectors aren't tested, and they're sold as-is. From time to time, a listing will have a photo of one that is powered on and running, but even then that's no guarantee that the video chip is still working right. If you can see a clear image of the output and there are no visible artifacts, you can feel a little more confident. Even so, you have to be ready to be out that $20-$50. I've been pretty lucky and have had only one dud out of about eleven that I bought (got a little obsessive). Stick with good brands from the era: Epson, Benq, Optoma, Infocus, Panasonic, Sony, etc. Vivitek can be okay, but that was the one I had problems with. I think that DLP projectors go bad more often than those with 3LCD tech (the two main technologies for modern projectors, not counting laser). Try to find one with a remote. Overall, I think buying a good-quality projector is one of the best ways to spend $30 of your retro gaming budget, especially if you have a large white wall in a room that doesn't get a lot of ambient light. Edited March 30, 2019 by boxpressed 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxpressed Posted March 30, 2019 Author Share Posted March 30, 2019 Oh, and be sure to check projectorcentral for the specs on specific models. Fantastic resource. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+GoldenWheels Posted March 30, 2019 Share Posted March 30, 2019 Getting a projector was the best decision I ever made. Movies are awesome and HD games...OMG. Have to admit tho, if my buddy hadn't done one first I might never have done it. I was intimidated by hanging it, getting the throw distance, keystoning, etc. Seeing him do it first helped me learn a lot, and places like projectorcentral's throw calculator was super useful. I bought the projector new, and use just a plain white wall coated with flat white paint. Frankly it looks amazing. I think I have it at about 140 inches or so. I run my Xbox with coinops into my receiver, which converts the component to HDMI for the projector. Looks great....but there is def a ms conversion delay. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxpressed Posted March 30, 2019 Author Share Posted March 30, 2019 Getting a projector was the best decision I ever made. Movies are awesome and HD games...OMG. Have to admit tho, if my buddy hadn't done one first I might never have done it. I was intimidated by hanging it, getting the throw distance, keystoning, etc. Seeing him do it first helped me learn a lot, and places like projectorcentral's throw calculator was super useful. I bought the projector new, and use just a plain white wall coated with flat white paint. Frankly it looks amazing. I think I have it at about 140 inches or so. I run my Xbox with coinops into my receiver, which converts the component to HDMI for the projector. Looks great....but there is def a ms conversion delay. I agree that it can be a little intimidating, which is why getting your feet wet with an inexpensive projector is a good first step. Once I saw what 720p projectors could do, I was on the lookout for a 1080p model at a good price. I lucked into an Optoma 1080p short throw for about $60. Have you tried the Pound HDMI cable for original Xbox? I've had good results with it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+GoldenWheels Posted March 30, 2019 Share Posted March 30, 2019 I agree that it can be a little intimidating, which is why getting your feet wet with an inexpensive projector is a good first step. Once I saw what 720p projectors could do, I was on the lookout for a 1080p model at a good price. I lucked into an Optoma 1080p short throw for about $60. Have you tried the Pound HDMI cable for original Xbox? I've had good results with it. I haven't, I'd hate to spend the money just to find out it's no faster converting the signal than my Pioneer receiver is. I'm sure the Pound cable says how long the delay is but my receiver doesn't! So basically, I'd have to just buy it...guess I could always sell it if i was unhappy. I went with a 1080p Epson that was not highly regarded as a home theater projector because so far as new ones go, it was relatively cheap (bout 1100 with the mount) and it was not DLP (was afraid of the rainbow). I have been super happy with it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newsdee Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 Has anybody tried one of the smaller newer HDMI projectors? It's tempting to get one to project on the ceiling (lazy bedroom gaming! haha) but I am concerned about the lag it may have. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxpressed Posted March 31, 2019 Author Share Posted March 31, 2019 Has anybody tried one of the smaller newer HDMI projectors? It's tempting to get one to project on the ceiling (lazy bedroom gaming! haha) but I am concerned about the lag it may have. Do you have a model in mind? I bought one of these no-name brand projectors a couple of years ago when Newegg was blowing them out for $50: https://nerdtechy.com/irulu-bl20-projector-review It has HDMI, but its native resolution is only 800x480. Because I'd only had one other projector at the time (a Cinego DL-1000 with 854x480 native resolution), I was impressed by the value because the iRulu was brighter. But I wouldn't recommend one now. I see that Amazon is selling them for $150, which is way too much. You can get a used, name-brand 720P projector off eBay for about $100 (or $50 off shopgoodwill if you're willing to take risk). You would need a DVI-to-HDMI adapter, though, because any projector with an HDMI input goes for more. My Optoma GT1080 is what is called a "gaming" projector, and it boasts a lag of 14 ms. I'm not good enough to notice lag of even more than that, probably. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newsdee Posted April 1, 2019 Share Posted April 1, 2019 I see these which are on the 150 bucks range for 720p: Salange T23K Mini LED Projector 2400 Lumens 1280*720 Video Beamer HDMI VGA USB Home Theater Option Android 7.1 and T22 Proyector https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/b2jBbA6y There is no mention of lag whatsoever so hard to get an idea of performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mckafka99 Posted April 1, 2019 Share Posted April 1, 2019 (edited) Depending on your needs/want/room/available budget (and wife,s/o, etc willingness to go along), an ultra-short throw projector is a really easy, no-fuss way to get into using a projector. I started with a lower end model and it works really well, but after seeing how well it worked even with its' limited specs, I upgraded to one of these with a cheap screen (no longer available but similar can be found) and mounted with this and love it. Only real downside for these is that they work best in a fairly dark room and/or a room where you have good control of the ambient light. After a couple of years with these, I am sold on UST projectors and am just waiting for the right time/projector/budget to upgrade to a 4k model that offers a higher lumen count. I don't know if I could ever see my self going back to fussing with the inconvenience of wrestling with and mounting flat-screens. As boxpressed pointed out, Projector Central is a great resource. Edited April 1, 2019 by mckafka99 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxpressed Posted April 2, 2019 Author Share Posted April 2, 2019 I see these which are on the 150 bucks range for 720p: Salange T23K Mini LED Projector 2400 Lumens 1280*720 Video Beamer HDMI VGA USB Home Theater Option Android 7.1 and T22 Proyector https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/b2jBbA6y There is no mention of lag whatsoever so hard to get an idea of performance. Personally, I wouldn't buy a projector from AliExpress. If you want to test the waters on these cheaper Chinese projectors, buy one at a retail store here where you can return it if the lag is unacceptable. For $100, I'd still rather spend the $ on a used Epson that can do 720P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxpressed Posted April 2, 2019 Author Share Posted April 2, 2019 Depending on your needs/want/room/available budget (and wife,s/o, etc willingness to go along), an ultra-short throw projector is a really easy, no-fuss way to get into using a projector. I started with a lower end model and it works really well, but after seeing how well it worked even with its' limited specs, I upgraded to one of these with a cheap screen (no longer available but similar can be found) and mounted with this and love it. Only real downside for these is that they work best in a fairly dark room and/or a room where you have good control of the ambient light. After a couple of years with these, I am sold on UST projectors and am just waiting for the right time/projector/budget to upgrade to a 4k model that offers a higher lumen count. I don't know if I could ever see my self going back to fussing with the inconvenience of wrestling with and mounting flat-screens. As boxpressed pointed out, Projector Central is a great resource. Yes, I am eyeing an ultra short throw now too. It helps to know you have been using UST fora couple of years and still like them. That 1080P LG is only $1K now. I should start a new thread on projector use in general. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.