Virtual Santa HD

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logandc99

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I bought the new Virtual Santa HD from Holiday Projections and also purchased one of the led projectors they sell.
http://holidayprojection.com/led-projector-without-projection-effect-212-p.asp
I have tried loading the mp4 files onto SD card and onto USB stick but when ever, I try to play them, the audio sounds smooth but the playback is very choppy and unusable.
I downloaded a short home movie filmed on my iPhone in HD and it plays fine. Any ideas? Had anyone had success playing back the new Santa HD on one of these mini led projectors?


edit: by the way, the files play smoothly on my Mac but I can't see any settings I can change on the projector's menus to correct the problem. There must be something I'm doing wrong but can't figure it out, esp since my home shot clips from the phone play fine. ???
 
Fasteddy said:
It may be caused by using cheap slow SD memory card or USB stick
Click to expand...


I had thought of that too but the memory stick wasn't a cheapy and the SD cards aren't either (one is Scandisk and is rated at 45MB/s transfer speed). Also, the HD home video I put on both the USB stick and the SD cards played smoothly.
I have contacted holidayprojection and hope to get a reply soon.
 
scamper said:
You could try using a proper sd card formatter and trying again.
https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/
Click to expand...


Thanks, I'll have a look at that. I did reformat the cards using the reformatting software recommended by Falcon Christmas when setting up the FPP.
I just don't understand why other MP4 files play just fine whilst the Virtual Santa HD are all choppy. Really odd.
 
My Virt Santa was choppy as well last year via the Pi so I went back to using the laptop again. I dont recall actually trying any other video.

I havent tried it this year either and Im not even close yet unfort. Let me know how you go Logan.
 
ShellNZ said:
My Virt Santa was choppy as well last year via the Pi so I went back to using the laptop again. I dont recall actually trying any other video.

I havent tried it this year either and Im not even close yet unfort. Let me know how you go Logan.
Click to expand...


I was going to try the Pi via HDMI. I have contacted Jon Hayer and he wasn't sure why it was happening also.
 
It could be a codec problem. You could try re-encoding into another format and see if that helps.
I use Xilisoft video converter Ultimate to convert from one format to another.
It's a paid program but I am sure there are freebies out there that would do something similar.
On the LED projector is there any information on what codec is used for playback?
Here is a freebie I just found on google : http://www.nchsoftware.com/prism/index.html
Convert original to another format and save to freshly formatted card and give it a whirl, nothing to lose by trying.
 
I've been doing quite a bit of testing etc and have come to the conclusion that the led projector is just not suitable for this kind of thing. Although it is being marketed as such, my personal experience is that this is not up to scratch.
I can play the video files without stutter from a Pi via HDMI into the projectors HDMI input. The Projector just does not seem to be capable of playing the Santa HD files in the form they come in when purchased. I have also discovered that the image projected by the machine, whether it be the menu settings screen or a video file itself, comes out as a grid-like pattern which makes everything look extremely jagged when projected and totally destroys any virtual illusion.
I have sent three emails to Holidayprojections.com asking for info regarding whether or not this is typical of their projectors or are there any settings that can be adjusted but so far I have not received a reply ( responses to my emails prior to purchase were quick but since purchase, I have had no response).
I realise that this is a small and relatively cheap LED projector and as is often the case, cheap equals low quality (you get what you pay for). Yes this obvious is not going to produce a great movie quality picture to replace a TV but I hoped that it would be good enough to produce a good enough image on a simple relatively small window. Because of this concern, I did ask questions regarding the projectors ability to do the job prior to purchase.
My email:

"Thanks for the prompt reply.Can I ask a couple of questions.1) what is the resolution of the image (VGA, 720p etc)2) is the 400 lumens bright enough to project the image well. I am used to traditional projectors of 2000+ lumens and this is rated as 400 lumens."


Holidayprojections response:

On 15/09/2016, at 12:49 PM, IBSCORP SALES wrote:

"the resolution of the old virtual santa is 720 dpi and looks great, the new virtual santa is HD and looks super great with that little LED projector ... the virtual santa HD bundel is a hot ticket"

So, I am more than willing to eat humble pie and rescind my concerns/comments/review above if Holidaprojections will respond to my emails and show me how to make the videos look "super great", because even through HDMI, the image produced is not suitable for this use. For projecting things like Powerpoint presentations at impromptu meetings when you don't want to carry around a big projector and only need to project onto a small canvas and if your not fussed about how the picture looks... sure it would do the job - but for Virtual Santa.... no way. This is of course just my experience/review.

I should make it clear that holidayprojections is NOT Jon Hyers. They are merely one of the sellers of his Virtual Santa files.
 
Thats a shame logan we have just purchased the new hd virtual santa package without projector though have our own ! We have lg minibeams 2 of . Tested santa on them using usb no problem she is planning to have santa in 1 window and toy workshop in other . My crazylightlady has commented previously how come our projectors cost so much when you can get cheaper ones as such and unfortunately for your scenario yes maybe the old you get what you pay for or is it possible that its a faulty product hope it works out ok for you.
 
Will be interesting to see how it looks on mine when I put it out late Oct/Nov.

Thanks Logan, hopefully you get a reply soon :) Have you pm'd him within ACL?

Shell
 
the grinch said:
Thats a shame logan we have just purchased the new hd virtual santa package without projector though have our own ! We have lg minibeams 2 of . Tested santa on them using usb no problem she is planning to have santa in 1 window and toy workshop in other . My crazylightlady has commented previously how come our projectors cost so much when you can get cheaper ones as such and unfortunately for your scenario yes maybe the old you get what you pay for or is it possible that its a faulty product hope it works out ok for you.
Click to expand...


Thanks. Yes you win some you lose some I guess. I wasn't expecting to use it on a large window, just something small but I wont be using it at all. Unfortuantely due to the USD NZD exchange rate, it wasn't exactly a bargain basement option but I was hoping to use the USB/ SD card and small size convenience of the projector. Also, our older projector , while fine for the original Virtual Santa, only has the low quality video in and analogue computer type in connection and is only really DVD quality. I've yet to try the new Santa HD on the old one. [/size]Anyway, thought I would share my review and experience in case anyone else was planning to purchase the small led projector.
 
ShellNZ said:
Will be interesting to see how it looks on mine when I put it out late Oct/Nov.

Thanks Logan, hopefully you get a reply soon :) Have you pm'd him within ACL?

Shell
Click to expand...


No I haven't but if my emails aren't getting a response I'm not sure a PM is going to work any better. Emails worked great prior to purchase though ::)
 
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