Back when I had my Cessna Simulator I used a Matrox Triple Head to Go. When I started the 737 Sim, I moved away from that because I wanted a large screen, so I bought a projector and had a 5 foot screen on the wall.

But I never felt immersed in the sim, so using money I received over the holiday plus some extra I had for the sim, I bought 3 Samsung SyncMaster BX2431′s. These are 24″ 1080p LED flat screens. Super thin. I built a stand from 2×4′s for them to sit on and secured it to the FDS MIP monitor tray. Then I used 2″ industrial strength velcro to secure them to the backs of the upright 2×4′s.

These LED monitors have two HDMI connectors as well as a VGA. As my TH2G is the older “analog” one it’s only VGA. I only had 6 foot cables and some adapters so I tried using those. But after firing up the screens I had serious monitor ghosting. (Where you can see an “after image” of what is on the screen. I knew it was from interference from the adapters that were connecting the various VGA cables together. So back to the electronics store I went and got a good deal on a 50′ VGA cable. That did the trick, the screens are crisp and clear.

Yes I’m back to having the little bezels of the screens, but… the quality is far superior to what I had with the projector. Clouds look amazing! And I can again see the cars driving on the freeways. And finally… I do feel immersed in the sim in it’s current build. So much, that I did almost feel a little “air sick” haha. My end goal is to have 2 more screens that will cover the Captain and First Officer sides, at which point, I’ll start using WideView.

Another quick shot, progress has been made in the roof liners. Simple but effective. Am working on a few switches for lights now and will post pictures when all this is completed :)

The Nvidia GTX 285 Graphics Card, which is for the main visual / projector, came today! This replaces the old Nvidia 9800GT. (A side note, for Flight Sim, a GTX 295 is actually slower, because Flight Sim doesn’t recognize the 2nd processor in the 295) I was going to hold out for a new GTX 480, but I’ve heard some spotty results in conflicts in various Windows operating systems. So, I went with a tride and true solution that I know works very well!

Check out the Quarter I placed next to the card for size reference

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Ok, so Epson overnighted me a new projector. I immediately packed up the old one and shipped it back. They have a hold of over $600 on my card that does not come back until they receive the old (bad?) unit back. That should be Friday, or Monday.

Alright, so I get home, hook up the new projector and test for that pattern of lines. ITS THERE AS WELL!

No, this is not the same image from the other post. This is a picture taken of the new projector. First thing, I checked serial numbers. Did I send the new one back? Nope, different serial number, so this is the new (refurbished) one.

Alright, now, this happens even with nothing but power connected, so it’s not the computer, video card, cable, etc. I tried a different power cord, different extension cord, same problem.

So, I call my brother to run this past him. We go back and forth, and finally he goes “Could there be another light source reflecting off the lamp?” I said “No, there is nothing else lit in the room.”

But then, that got me thinking, wait a minute. 2 weeks ago, I put up two cardboard tops as templates to figure out how to cut the real ones out of wood.. Here’s what it looks like.

As you can see, there is some light that casts on the tip here. There is no way around that due to the size of the room the sim in in. However, you don’t see the shadow on the projector screen because it’s below your eye point.

BUT… could the projector be casting light off this cardboard, and that light be reflecting UP back onto the screen? You can’t see in this shot, but on the front / bottom of the cardboard that is on the FO’s side, along the edge is clear packaging tape! Which is REFLECTIVE… DOH!!!!!!!!!!! (Smack’s Forehead!)

I removed the tape and guess what… my mystery lines vanished…

You can see above, where I ripped off the clear packing tape. And the mystery lines are now gone. The oddball thing is, I left the projector ON for that one hour on the Vista login screen just before I put up these cardboard template tops.

To boot, the lines MATCHED the Vista login screen! So it seemed likely that this was burn in from that hour long view of the vista login screen… Sigh.

I’m glad it’s resolved. Many thanks to my brother who saved my ass and ended my day on a high note. (and to Karl and Ron on the FDS forums for their helpful insight and recommendations/suggestions)

Too bad I have a refurbished projector now and Epson has my brand new one.

(Smack’s Forehead again)!!!!

UPDATE 11/10/09 9pm: New projector had SAME PROBLEM!

But, it’s been solved. It was light reflecting off the top of my cardboard template cutouts… off some left over packing tape that was reflective… and reflecting light back up to the screen.

More here. Short story, my brand new projector was fine… Epson now has it. I have a refurbed…. Lesson learned.

UPDATE 11/10/09 2pm: Epson overnighted me a new projector, it arrived today wow. I immediately removed it, put the bad one in and sent it back. Its going back ground ugh.. But Epson put a hold on my card for over $600 until the old one returns to them. So I wanted to send it back ASAP. It should get there Friday, or Monday. Anyhow, I’m going to setup an A/B box tonight. No way I want another projector ruined!!

Original Post: Well, my Epson EX70 projector is ruined. There are a lot of myths out there about LCD burn in, esp. when it comes to projectors. Some say it doesn’t happen, others say it does. There are pages of posts about image retention, or image persistence. (Where the LCD pixels don’t relax and remain in a certain state, like burn in but not really burn in) Ok, so, if you cast a shadow over the image, here is what you see:

As you can see, that’s not normal! NOW… I DID leave the Vista startup/login screen on for something like 45 minutes. And as it turns out, these lines match up with that login screen.

So, that being said, some thought this was “image persistence”, and that if I left the projector off for a few days this would go away. Well, 3 days  later, with it not plugged in, the image was still there. Another recommendation, to leave an entire white image on the screen for several hours, didn’t fix it. Nor did “jscreenfix” do anything to resolve the issue. Others have argued hey, projectors are used for presentations and static images are left on for long periods of time. This should not happen.

This morning, I called Epson. They are cross shipping me a new projector via 2 day FedEx, NICE! They did put a hold on my card for the cost of the new projector (over $600) incase I don’t return the old one. Ouch! But, the minute the new one arrives, I’ll be sending out the bad one right away to get that taken care of.  I’m setting up a A/B switch box today, A will be a cheap 19″ LCD screen, to get the sim started up and going. When I’m ready to fly… it’ll get switched to the overhead projector from now on.

So the point of this story? See here. DO NOT LEAVE A STATIC IMAGE ON YOUR PROJECTOR FOR A LONG TIME! If someone tells you LCD Projector burn in is hog wash, just look at my photos above.

My two month old LCD projector has something going on. Be it, image burn in, or “image persistence” I don’t know. I booted up the sim PC a while back to fly, and got distracted. It was on the Vista login screen for 45 minutes to maybe an hour.

Now, there is an area that displays some of that goofy pattern. If I have the projector on, but the pc off (Which displays solid blue) I can see the pattern (kinda whiteish) if I put an object nearby to cast a shadow in the area. (But not directly blocking the area) Its there, I can see it.

Some have said leave the projector off for 3 days, because its not burn in but “image persistence”. Others have said use jscreenfix. I’m going to leave it off for 3 days first and then go from there.

Came out looking great!

Picked up a projector yesterday and mounted it on the ceiling today. Only had to do minor adjustments, and then just minor keystoning correction. It pretty much fits the area perfectly! Image is still on the bare wall.

Tomorrow the screen I got (for one cent) goes in!

Just a couple of updates. The old ch rudder pedals and the saitek yoke “work” and I use that term lightly. I can’t “wait”!!! to replace those things… So while the FDS glare gets cut and coated, I’ve setup the projector. Tomorrow I’ll install the screen. Here’s a pict of the sim as it stands right now, need to now build the FO’s chair. (Office stand in as stand by) And below of it running with the just the Captain/FO PFD/ND and the EICAS with the projector.

A good “test” of the projector, with no screen! But the eye point is completely wrong.

When it’s ceiling mounted that will be corrected. (See image below)

Found this site http://www.projectorcentral.com/projection-calculator.cfm, which gives you information about the projector’s necessary throw distance, angle, etc all based on information you supply. Good information!