Tag: IKEA

Which projector fits in my flat?

My home cinema setup

I love home cinema and the idea of a projector is one of those things I always wanted but couldn’t afford. A while ago I (well my friends wife did and I helped) put up a white Tupplur blind from IKEA. Then I bought a really cheap XGA projector.

It kind of works but I have to put the projector on the coffee table and quite high. As its XGA (1024×768) and not even WXGA (1280×768), the picture is cut off when playing a film and of course its analog inputs only which is a real pain. So finally its time to get a new projector.

This should be easy but I realise I might be asking for the impossible?

  • Full HD 1080p projector
  • HDMI inputs
  • Less than £500
  • The ability to beam 4 meters and fill but not over shoot a screen of about 2.55m diagonal (2.1m width x 1.45m height)

The last part is the biggest issue, the current projector over shoots the screen massively and the only way I can make it fit is with a telephoto lens I bought recently.

The macrolen attached to my old projector
Telephoto lens attached to my current projector

So I’ve been looking up throw distances, and it seems to be roughly the meters I want the projector away (4 meters) divided by the second number in the projectors ratio (usually something like 1:62). The number resulting is the width of the image.
For example the perfect number is 4 meters divided by a nice projector throw ratio like 1:1.9 gets you 2.1 meters at 4 meters distance.

Theres lots of projector calculators online, I’ve been using this one. They are great but when looking up projector prices in the UK, its always difficult to get the throw ratio. This is important because even if projector central can filter by throw and other things, the prices are all over the place.

The telephoto lens in effect

After much looking, comparing and searching (I’m surprised theres no way to compare this type of data easily actually, the best site I found for this is Projector Central which allows you to search based on key features). I decided to order the Optoma HD143X HDMI 3000.  I’ve decided to give it a try and be prepared to use a telephoto lens again to get the picture down to a reasonable throw size. Searching and comparing was eating up my time, when I should have been doing other things. So I’m glad that all done now and just happened to nab one as the price went up again. One of the online retailers had not changed their price quick enough, luckily for me.

Worst comes to worst, I could always get a bigger blind, setup a white sheet or just send it back and go looking again.

Fingers crossed it will fit perfectly, otherwise another trip to IKEA is on the cards.

The dyslexic success which is IKEA

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It was Zoe who pointed me at the secret taxonomy behind IKEA’s product names. I always knew there was something behind the product names but had no idea it was all the idea of a dyslexic man thinking about the world and where things fit within it.

Bookcases are named after professional occupations (Expedit means shop keeper) or boys’ names (The bestselling Billy bookcase is named after IKEA employee Billy Likjedhal). Outdoor furniture is named after Scandinavian islands (Äpplarö an island in the Stockholm archipelago and Västerön is in Aaland). Rugs are named after cities and towns in Denmark or Sweden (Ådum, Stockholm, Silkeborg), while bed sheets, comforters and pillowcases are named after flowers and plants. (Häxört or circaea lutetian is an herb in the primrose family).

The rules for naming were devised by IKEA’s founder Ingvar Kamprad, who struggled with dyslexia and had trouble remembering the order of numbers in item codes.

This lead me to find out more about Ingvar who I knew had a checkered background, especially with the Nazis.

I didn’t know he was dyslexic but this strikes such a cord.

One day, it is reported that Ingvar Kamprad overheard one his draughtsman (a kind of designer or engineer) named Gillis Lundgren. The man had difficulties fitting a table into a transport. After many unsuccessful trials he shouted out loud: “Oh God! Let’s pull off the legs and put them underneath!” Ingvar Kamprad understood that his employee was correct in his assessment of the situation. Moreover Kamprad understood the potential of this remark.

Soon afterwards IKEA introduced new product lines of furniture which were designed to be sold unassembled. In this way the cost for manufacturing (no more assembly) and logistics (standard transport costs due to optimized measures) could be reduced significantly.

Great insight, which started a great business… Should have known

 

The screen is kinda up or rather down?

Cubicgarden's home cinema

Thanks to a friend’s wife, we were able to get the IKEA tupplur projector screen up today (its really a 2 person job). On the evening I set the little panasonic projector back up and tried out Inception (what better?)

It works just as Ikea hackers and AV forums suggested and after another trip to IKEA, they finally had a extendable rod (they never had one previously) to pull the whole thing down. Unfortunally due to the change in living room layout, I can’t really have the projector on the bottom of the coffee table anymore (there is only so far keystone will go). But once positioned on top of the table and after dropping the resolution down to XGA instead of 1080p (the projector doesn’t really support anything over 1024×768 and tends to cut off the rest, but at least my Kodi machine outputs the same image to both outputs, meaning I don’t need to unplug or blank one screen each time)

So with all that in mind, there is one problem. The screen doesn’t seem to pull back up. This looks to be a problem that might mean refitting the screen again.

In the meanwhile, I’ll be standing on a the step ladder pulling the screen back up!

Ian’s home cinema starts here…?

Ian's home projector test
Testing using Inception of course…

I have always been a fan of home cinema and had a pro-logic cinema setup way way back. Heck I even remember when I bought my first DVD player (Creative Encore 5X) and use to buy Region 1 DVDs for upwards of £30. It was great when I finally got a Dolby Digital cinema receiver. Must have warn out my first DVD from Amazon, Twister.

Anyway I just bought a second hand projector so I can finally have cinema nights at mine. I did consider getting a bigger TV but honestly I don’t see the point. Its not like I’m bothered about 4k and I already have a 3D smart TV and never used the 3D or Smart feature ever. I mean why bother when I got KODI (new name for XBMC) and a Chromecast just incase. I’m also not keen on getting a much bigger TV as it blocks the great view I have of Manchester. So a projector and screen made a lot of sense.

The projector I bought is a small Panasonic PT-AE100E and can support 720p and 1080i resolutions over VGA and Component connections (no digital connections at all). Its not bad, little noisy but compact.  I tested it on my black blinds but I’ve already got plans to get the IKEA Tupplur at 180cm wide. Looking at IKEA hackers I’m certainly not the only one.

  • Films – check
  • Kodi box – check
  • Home Cinema receiver – check
  • Projector – check
  • Pull down projector screen – need to order
  • New corner sofa – need to order
  • Popcorn maker – check
  • Friends to enjoy everything. – TBC 🙂

Look out for Ian’s home cinema nights soon… not quite a dinner party but its close enough.

Ikea hacker, turn your studio flat into a one bedroom apartment

The new look room

I saw this on Ikea Hacker the other day while reading my Kindle.

A guy converted his studio flat into a one bedroom flat using the PAX sliding cupboard. The exact same one I got at home in my new place.

I can’t imagine anyone wanting to have their bed in their living room, so we started to brainstorm. We discussed ever type of foldaway bed and room divider. Then we found IKEA’s PAX sliding cupboard doors.

I wish I was better at the DIY but I’m rubbish. I had to pay a guy to put up my shelves in the kitchen the other day. But hey we can’t be good at everything…

This is what £1800+ worth of IKEA shopping looks like

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The sad thing is although it was quite stressful getting the boxes neatly on to the 6 shopping carts (maximizes space otherwise I would need even more) I actually quite enjoyed it till I saw the bill at the end! By that point I was beyond caring…

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All that shopping was just the big stuff that I couldn’t carry home on my scooter. Tomorrow i’ll get the stuff which I can easily fit in a car, such as rugs, bins etc. I don’t expect it to be anywhere near the amount I spent today

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