Here’s an excellent home DIY project; a widescreen projector for the ultimate home theatre system – on a budget.

The project plans are available free from Lumenlab.com.

The most expensive component of the DIY XGA projector is the LCD panel, which can be scavenged from a 15” LCD display. A metal halide lamp is used, costing around $50, which is a fifth of what you would pay for a commercial projector but probably uses a lot more power too.

The Fresnel lens is supplied by Lumenlab.

The most difficult part of the project is the stripping of the 15” LCD display, which isn’t easy because of the fragile edge connectors and flat cables. The modular design of the projector is such that you could start with a second hand SVGA LCD monitor though, and upgrade to a 1024 x 768 (XGA) later once you’ve had a practice run.

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