Starting out, projector alternative to matrix??

Hey guys, Just looking at some options in relation to signing faces/ matrix / mega tree elements that many of you have I'm not sure that I'm ready to get that far this year and maybe a Data projector is an easier solution to start with and look to bring in some of those elements next year??

I already have an Arlec Virtual santa projector that I've been using for a few years, now thinking of having something outside that i can use for video in my show?? For example Tom bet george Disney princess sequence..

I wouldnt go out and buy one just for that

People have used projectors in their display. I've seen FPP outputting to a projector.

Whether it's worth it might be another possibility......
Does too much resolution take away the effect...? Something someone said on Zoom when I mentioned about the cost of a used TV verses panels.
There is also the possibility that xLights rendering might not look good.
There is ways around this though.

By all means, you can go for it.
Just a decision on what you're shinning at, area to cover and securing the projector. You want a very high lumen projector.

Katekate said:

I wouldnt go out and buy one just for that

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I'm sorry.... this hobby is a waste of money anyway. Nothing wrong with more expensive toys .
- You might think it's a waste to have a small mega tree on an F16 with expansion boards, but it's the way the person wanted to set it up.
If the person's happy with their display then it's all good.

If you plan to use that Arlec projector outside amoungst other lights, I'd say forget it. If its the one from Bunnings it is not bright enough (low lumens) and will not cut through all the other lights in your display.

Yeah thats the one DJ. it was an impulse buy at Bunnings after Christmas.. I think I paid 22.50 for it so I'm not super attached to it.. I normally set it up in one of my front rooms and use it as a rear projection onto the included screen.. it works ok, but as that room doesn't have any doors to the main living areas, it gets pretty affected by the lights.. it does the job, but I'm looking at some 3k lumens projectors. they should be much better around ambient light. even in a rear projection situation.. Just thinking aloud and leaning on the experience in this group.. one of the considerations about using them in my display would be having a screen somewhere visible from the road that's not super effected by wind because let's face it a projector screen is a great big windsock..

I tried to use one of them as a tombstone projector for Halloween. It works - barely so didn't bother last year.
If the room or surroundings are dark enough then its a great little projector for fun. Like most things get what you pay for!

I have a short throw BenQ 3000 Lumen projector which I have used the last couple of years on my display in conjunction with just the simple plug and play setup. Now that I'm moving to pixels, I'd like to still incorporate it. Really interested in hearing how to utilise my RPi 4, FPP or xlights to keep this in my Halloween and Christmas shows.

I used FPP hdmi output from a pi3b+ last year to run videos to a reverse projection screen mounted inside the window last year, was quite successful. For some reason, x scheduler would only output a black window and not the video but FPP worked flawlessly at 1080p 60hz I used epson EB-955W projectors, might be adding a couple of Panasonic RZ-470 lasers this year

KiwiPhil said:

I used FPP hdmi output from a pi3b+ last year to run videos to a reverse projection screen mounted inside the window last year, was quite successful. For some reason, x scheduler would only output a black window and not the video but FPP worked flawlessly at 1080p 60hz I used epson EB-955W projectors, might be adding a couple of Panasonic RZ-470 lasers this year

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I am trying to use a projector this year as well with a similar setup as you. I use fpp to play my show and want to use the hdmi port to output to a virtual matrix projector that will play effects and also play videos. It’s an epson 1024x768. Should be plenty bright. And my window is perfectly square so I didn’t need anything widescreen. I want the videos to play in full res. i was told you can do this. I am cropping them in Adobe premiere so they are 4:3 and not widescreen. I know I can’t make the virtual matrix the full res of the projector because it’s too many channels. What is a good resolution to use?

Any help you have for the best settings for everything would be great!

thanks!

I believe the way to do this is have a seperate Pi (with FPP) for the projector. That Pi is set as remote and contains all the videos you want played (in full resolution).
Then there's a way to trigger the videos to play when you want them to. No virtual matrix involved.

Now how you do that exactly is one easy tutorial I've not seen.

This video shows syncing 2 Pi but not with xLights.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JhlU-KB6xw&t=2s&ab_channel=HolidayEffects

If someone want to make a video that's as easy to follow but shows how to do it with xLights that would be awesome.

I had a TV plugged into my setup. Cant remember how I did it though

I have heard of the method you are talking about. I want to use it to play videos as well as traditional xlights effects though (ie. singing faces and that sort of thing) so I think it has to be a virtual matrix. Maybe I am mistaken. I got the display working, but the video is running at a low resolution like what I have the matrix set at in xlights. I'm just wondering what the highest resolution I can set it to without having issues.