Some projects can be finished in a weekend or less. Others pose much greater resistance, and then there are those titans that demand the best from us, in every sense. The new 4K projector built by Matt from DIY Perks fits perfectly into that last category, but the end result is astonishing. By combining lenses, objectives, an aluminum structure, a smartphone with its 4K screen, and a powerful LED light, this DIY projector delivers image quality on par with many commercial solutions... at a fraction of the cost..
Personally, I must admit that I haven't had great experiences with projectors. Lack of brightness and loss of definition seem to be the order of the day in most models, and if we look for a robust and powerful projector, we discover that for its cost we could build an entire computer with an extraordinary screen. Of course, there are environments where the presence of a projector is non-negotiable, but when it comes to home consumption... maybe the DIY route is better..
And so we return to the DIY Perks channel under Matt's command, who left us amazed with his hacks derived from components available in discarded laptops. This time he decided to build a 4K projector from scratch, using a series of aluminum brackets and threaded rods for a vertical design, divided into several levels. The video also includes a quick introduction to the basic operation of projectors, and the importance of light control:
DIY 4K Projector
And regarding light, Matt adopted a 100W LED module, installed on a computer heatsink to ensure proper cooling. Why not a more powerful module? That would make the design more complicated, increasing the required capacity of the power supply, and the noise of the fans to eliminate the extra heat. When focusing light, Matt used two Fresnel lenses, sold in pairs on eBay at very reasonable prices.
But in addition to creating an excellent focusing system for the brackets, Matt hit the nail on the head by reusing a Sony Xperia Z5 Premium, an absolute beast of a smartphone that in 2015 already offered a 4K 5.5-inch screen. Logically, such resolution is wasted in such a small format, but once installed in the projector, the image quality is fabulous. The alternative is to acquire a mini LCD panel with its own controller.
https://old.neoteo.com/construye-un-proyector-de-bolsillo-con-raspberry-pi/The last phase is to install a "large format" lens, and create the housing, always closely monitoring any thermal problems that may arise (there is plenty of ventilation, even between the aluminum plates). The only inconvenience (if we can call it that) is that the projector's control still depends on the smartphone, but once you compare it with a $2,000 projector, I think that's a more than acceptable compromise. Matt confirmed that a PDF with all the instructions will be available in the coming weeks, and added links for the components in the video description.
