projector?

[drjenk]

Anyone ever try to mount a video projector in their unit? I have a thought of this option as a media system in the dinette area maybe, with one perhaps sitting inside the cabinet on the drivers side propped to cast down to a rollable screen of some sort hanging from the bottom of the opposite cabinet, for movies. There are some LED ones that consume as low as 25w. Seems plausible (?).

[fudge_brownie]

I have an inexpensive one, still working on its features and limitations. One concern would be distance from screen to projector. Mine is 50 watt and throw screen range: 50-130 inch, Throw Distance: 4.9~13.12 feet.

No interest in putting it in my trailer. They are all limited to dark environments, the darker the better.

[sclifrickson]

That is an intriguing idea! I can imagine a tiny LED projector sitting on the front shelf in our 19, hooked up to a laptop, and a pull down screen that attaches at ceiling height between fridge and stove walls at the edge of the bed, brilliant! Screen could also double as a privacy screen to make the bed area into a bedroom! Not that privacy in a 19 is really a real thing though.

Our young girls would love a big screen for Friday-Popcorn-Movie-Night, which is a regular thing, like every week, when we’re on the road.

[cpaharley2008]

Sort of like taking your Escape to a drive-in to watch a movie, hmmm, drive in camping, a new trend?

[fudge_brownie]

Well I have had some time to explore and use my inexpensive Amazon projector. It is sitting in a box next to me ready to go back to Amazon. It was an interesting experience evaluating and purchasing one of these sub $100 devices. Lots of good reviews, some criticisms as well. I did my due diligence and purchased a top rated projector based on the 300+ reviews.

As you already know, it did not turn out as expected. My bad.

The good was - my discovery of a site called www.fakespot.com, this website is devoted to rooting out the fake glowing reviews that are posted on Amazon and other sites that take reviews. My model of projector, after being run through fakespot, had a reliability of 10%. Meaning that only 10% of the reviews could be trusted.

The bad - I looked for other models that might improve my purchase experience, well, they also suffered from fake reviews. After trying out about 10 models of the sub $150 projectors I gave up. None passed the smell test of fakespot. If you looked at the $250 models from the likes of Viewsonic, Epson and other recognizable brands it was a different story. 90% reliability on their reviews.

I guess at this point I question if any of the Chinese imported projectors can be reliably purchased based on reviews. It appears on Amazon, that the purchasers who rated these projectors a one or a two score, were the real users.

Edit: By the way, ignore the Verified Purchaser on Amazon reviews. They may have received a free or discounted product to do the review.

[sclifrickson]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Sort of like taking your Escape to a drive-in to watch a movie, hmmm, drive in camping, a new trend?

Hmm, drive in... this could be a compelling reason to go graphics-free on an Escape: Instant outdoor movie screen!

[War Eagle]

Can Fakespot run a diagnostic test on itself to see how reliable Fakespot is? Just curious...

[fudge_brownie]

Originally Posted by War Eagle

Can Fakespot run a diagnostic test on itself to see how reliable Fakespot is? Just curious...

Good question. I guess the reply could be, what's in it for them for debunk the reviews? Selling advertising on their website is one possibility.

The site claims some methodology, they look at the credibility of the reviewers and if they have been identified on other questionable reviews, whether the reviewers user name seems to created by an automated method and the choice of words, particularity the similarity to other reviews.

It appears they are data mining, collecting this data base of reviews, then massaging the data to look for similarities. Some analysis will display as being outdated, you can click a button and re-run their score. On a sample I tried the grade on the projector went from a C to a B. Ahh . . here is where they support themselves, if you want the full report it will cost you $10.

Interesting concept, one more method to review a product.

[cvanzan]

If you're needing to upgrade your mobile phone, you might want to try the Motorola Z series Moto Insta-Share Projector add-on
https://www.amazon.com/Motorola-8986.../dp/B01J9SSS6Q

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by fudge_brownie

Well I have had some time to explore and use my inexpensive Amazon projector. It is sitting in a box next to me ready to go back to Amazon. It was an interesting experience evaluating and purchasing one of these sub $100 devices. Lots of good reviews, some criticisms as well. I did my due diligence and purchased a top rated projector based on the 300+ reviews.

As you already know, it did not turn out as expected. My bad. ....

so, what was wrong with it? too dim, insufficient angle or throw distance, bad color, or what?

[Vermilye]

Most of the inexpensive projectors are rather dim. While LEDs are getting stronger & stronger (they are using them as replacements for 1000 watt theatrical lighting instruments), putting them into a small projector & keeping them cool enough to avoid frying is tough. Good color & adequate brightness needs more engineering than the inexpensive Chinese projectors.

[skiman]

Originally Posted by cvanzan

If you're needing to upgrade your mobile phone, you might want to try the Motorola Z series Moto Insta-Share Projector add-on
https://www.amazon.com/Motorola-8986.../dp/B01J9SSS6Q

I have the Insta--Share and purchased a portable screen. It seems to work well from one side of the dinette to the other. Viewing from the bed not so much. Used Bluetooth speaker. So far used a few minutes.
We will actually use it on an upcoming trip and report. Trailer does need to be dark and picture is surprisingly good.

[fudge_brownie]

The first issue with the projector was it would not recognize my notebook connected via a HDMI cable, trying a different cable did not help. To see what the quality of the projector was, I copied some photos to a USB drive and inserted that into the projector. Here I was able to read the drive and project the photos. Oh! What so terrible images. Washed out, not true color and very grainy. They were almost unrecognizable. I could only stand to watch a few before giving up. It was in the process of switching between photos that I discovered that the remote control would frequently take 2 or 3 clicks to move to the next photo.

When I went back to the Amazon reviews and read all the one and two ratings they described all the items I mentioned above. However, because there were so many phony reviews the overall score was quite high and the few criticisms were buried in all the glowing statements. Remember, this is the product that I ran through www.fakespot.com as described seven posts above. It had a reliability score of 10%, meaning only 10% of the reviews could be trusted. See that above post for more details.

Lesson learned about any new technology that is trying to cheapen established products. They may be a good alternative but run those reviews through fakespot to verify. And yes these are very weak in the brightness arena as Jon states. Across many of the models a frequent comment is made that the specifications promised 1300 lumens and the actual is no where near the promised. I believe these are all using LED bulbs to address the heat issue of the better projector, these will always suffer from a lack brightness with the LED technology they are using.

At this point I have resigned myself to having to pay $400+ to obtain a satisfactory result. I do not think that price is worth my plan for use. I think a key measure to look for is "does the projector state they will work with a Power Point presentation"? This opinion may change as new technology and quality products arrive.

[drjenk]

For our build I'm having an AC outlet installed on one of the rear upper cabinets, so I could try this. I think it could work.

This was interesting.
How to have a Projector in a Camper Van Conversion - Defying Normal

and this:
http://www.theroamansblog.com/our-bl...ges-everything

[Happycamper1]

Smartphones are coming soon with built in projectors. Check out the Voga V Smartphone. It shouldn't be too long before we see built in projectors in Apple iPhones.

[Greg A]

Interesting idea. I’m surprised touring the class A’s and big rigs at the shows this last year I never saw this in any of the rigs. Saw the TVs that rise up out of the cabinets, but no projector setups or options. Maybe we’ll see a mfgr offer one soon.

[drjenk]

This one is at the top of my list so far in a couple days of shopping:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073CN3NM4...ustomerReviews

It seems like I could set or velcro it to almost anything.

It does just seem so space efficient and versatile. I'll post back my findings, after I experiment. I'm thinking one of those spring loaded bars you can stick between vertical walls, with a white sheet rolled up on it. Just unroll and extend the bar between 2 supports almost anywhere for insta-screen. We shall see.

Looking at these I'm wondering why I have my 65" big screen hanging on the wall. I realize lighting is an issue but we don't watch tv/movies until it's dark out anyway usually.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by drjenk

This one is at the top of my list so far in a couple days of shopping:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073CN3NM4...ustomerReviews

....

http://www.fakespot.com/product/toum...e-cinema-movie

just saying, but that projector looks like typical asian junk, with buggy software, dim barely visible projection, etc. and the majority of those reviews read like paid fakes.

[drjenk]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

http://www.fakespot.com/product/toum...e-cinema-movie

just saying, but that projector looks like typical asian junk, with buggy software, dim barely visible projection, etc. and the majority of those reviews read like paid fakes.

Ya I guess it does look like fakespot makes it look suspicious. Has anyone ever evaluated fakespot? That is, for products in which fakespot says "this is full of false positive reviews", that the products it flags actually do instead suck, or are actually ok? Is there any checking mechanism for fakespot itself? I wonder.
I've wondered the same thing about snopes. But that's a whole other wormhole

[freetodream]

Not sure about Fakespot site. I entered a cell phone (MotoG5plus) we may purchase into the site. It gave it a D rating saying 50% of the reviews are of low quality. I can believe that 50% may be low quality reviews. But Fakespot says: Our engine has profiled the reviewer patterns and has determined that there is high deception involved- which seems suspect to me.

I spent several hours looking into the phone before learning about Fakesite and have concluded it is one of the better bargain priced cell phones for sale at this time. There is always a risk in buying products & trusting what we read on the internet. Buyer beware.