Has Epson Revolutionized the Video Projection Business?
 

I've had the Epson MovieMate for about a year, and have used it at several wedding receptions for projecting photo montages. It serves the purpose for me. I've used it in a Grand Ballroom with a couple of hundred people. The sound from the speakers and subwoofer is certainly not comparable to the sound from the DJ's speakers, but it's adequate. I like not having to lug along a separate projector, DVD player and sound system (or worse, having to tie into the DJ's system), not to mention running cables everywhere.

The Epson is not the only unit of this type; Optima makes one and believe or not there is an HP unit as well.

I still can't figure out how the signal originates. Is there software for the PC and Mac that is installed that compresses the video signal and sends it to the projector? Is there an 80211 converter box with analog inputs that sends the video? I'm guessing there is no converter box since 4 PCs can be connected, but I don't see how the video from the video card gets into and through a wireless signal that can only accomodate about 5 megabytes per second.

I can't answer for certain, but, yes, there is software and it appears as if it is something like a frame by frame capture so there is a minor delay, but motions like the mouse cursor are flawless. I should back up a step, too. I didn't actually play a video while I was using it (I helped a church get it set up). We were just doing a powerpoint and things like that, so maybe it can't show video wirelessly? I just don't know. I will see if I can talk to them and find out if they have any luck with that. But I will say that with what we were doing with it that it looked just as good as it did connected with an RGB cable.

Thanks, Jeff. I'm sure wireless is the future and 80211 is the logical choice. I know lots of people around here would be interested in good and affordable wireless video capabilities. I look forward to hearing about video playback.

Optoma DV10 MovieTime
 

Im thinking of getting this one. Jim, how much do you charge your wedding clients for the projector service?

I see you use it for montages, how long does the average montage run - 3 to 5 mins? More? Thanks!

Jim, (or anyone else) how much do you charge your wedding clients for the projector service?


Thanks!

I've hired services to do video projection for photo montages that I have edited. One thing that really surprised me was the "shortcutting" in which the powerful speakers they brought are left on the ground! The speakers are supposed to be elevated about 3-6 above the floor so all the audio frequencies can travel throughout the room.

Yes, I'd rather groups cluster around the projector if possible than have the speakers left on the floor, assuming there is available space and people don't mind sitting on the floor or putting their chairs near each other. The deal breaker for using these speakers would be when everyone is seated around tables and they don't plan on moving from their seats and the amount of people attending is just too large.

Several years ago I plugged the headphone jack output of a JVC 365 S-VHS deck into the input of the DJ's mixing board and he claimed that two his channels blew out.

Kim, I am sorry for the late reply. I charge $499 for a 60 photo montage, which usually runs 3 to 5 minutes. More pictures and additional music adds to the cost.

Since submitting the post, I have added a 180 watt Logitech sound system - still not comparable to what the DJ or band uses, but it gets the job done. The speakers are fairly light and compact (except for the subwoofer!). I mount the speakers on lightstands. I take the headphone output from the Moviemate into the sound system. There's a wired remote that controls the volume and bass.