I know many on this site have seen these devices (photo included). They are "fans" with LED lights on them that project images that you can load videos into. I believe that one or more of the mod guys on here intended to sell one with a lot of work done for you (product, videos, mounting, integration into pinball games etc). Personally I only want one on the wall of my gameroom so paying extra for all the pinball integration isn't a value to me. I also like the idea of making my own video clips for it as a project.

I've seen so many on eBay and aliexpress with an average US shipped price of $100 (it varies up or down depending on a few factors). I'm not sure the best "brand" one to get but for that price I'll just grab one and mess around with it. The biggest risk I see is that it takes forever to ship and if it doesn't work you can get your money back but you'd be out 1-2-3 months time because that's how long it takes to ship/receive. I've also had 2 different aliexpress purchases never arrive and while I always get my money back they force you to wait 60 days to make the claim. This is a side project so I'm happy to take the risk of time.

I've noticed that the software on most of these lets you either (a) use your phone to upload new images and play with the settings or (b) use software on your PC to change the SD card and move files that way. I'm only interested in (b) as doing stuff on a PC is way better than relying on a (potentially poorly coded) phone app and wifi connection to a cheap device.

I started this thread to ask the following:

1. What products have people bought from eBay/aliexpress? What has your experience been?

2. I noticed some are advertised as new and "brighter" with more LEDs. That seems like it could be a bad thing to me. I don't want it to be a giant beam of light in the middle of my gameroom. Anyone try the brighter one? Better? Worse?

3. Any thoughts on best way to mount these to a wall? Some appear to come with a bracket and some do not. I'm thinking of mounting it above "stuff" in my gameroom so I can hide the power cord better.

4. Experiences with the software/uploading?

5. What software are you using to cut short video clips?

DISCUSS!

projector (resized).jpg

RANDOM YOUTUBE VIDEO showing what the technology does:

That was my next question... how loud is loud? Given your answer to that question it sounds like maybe this isn't such a great idea after all! [ouch, no pun intended!]