Seriously, could this be the way to have entertainment on board?

Sheets on a boat - KTL on a sail

A bed sheet on a boat! Not on my boat

although it does seem like a great little device

at a trailer sailing convention in Arizona they showed some of my films projected onto a sail in an anchorage on Lake havasu

pretty weird stuff

Yanks quoffing wine while watching films of an ugly double chinned Brit sailing up muddy Suffolk Rivers

Dylan
 
With large white sails, you don't need a bedsheet. Mind you, anything shone onto Evadne's foresail would definitely look sepia toned....
 
That looks like suspiciously good value..
Is there a flaw in the idea..?

I looked them up on Ebay... SILLY MONEY :eek:

If you could plug in a USB stick with movies, now that would be different...
Still need a laptop running for this....

Graeme
 
I'd be a bit wary about the brightness. The specifications suggest an 8" diagonal image in daylight - the maximum of 50" is only achieved in near darkness (and, I suspect, with a rather more reflective screen than a bedsheet) - so unless you're only going to be using it after dark, or have very good curtains on board, you'd be better off crowding round the laptop itself!

Anyway, what's wrong with a book ;)

Cheers
Patrick
 
projectors

Ok - I'll admit it. I've tried it and it is the business for a night-out-in. I don't have the one featured but a slightly more expensive one by Philips that does have some gigs of storage and will take an S/D card (32 Gb in my case with 30 feature films on it). It will take USB stick too and has a good enough pair of speakers for a cabin so I haven't used additional speakers I got for it.

What's it like? Remarkable. The battery lasts for up to three hours so it's fine for a film. No leads unless you do connect to USB power or use a laptop. Apart from a tiny cooling fan - it does make some but negligable noise- there's no moving parts and the 'bulbs' are LEDs so fairly robust -and yes, I have dropped it.

The lumen brightness is a misleading factor to look for in comparisons -there's a lot of models. The scale is from 10 - 1,000s high end business projectors I think so not much difference between 10 and 20 lumens though mine is 30 I think. On a dark night outside, or in a darkened room inside, the brightness is absolutely acceptable. Almost rivetting in fact -taking my 'crew' of various ages back to the 'magic' of cinema (creaking boat, swaying, scary film -great).

It's actually viewable in a not-so-dark daytime room too but A2 sized paper or teatowel sized -still bigger than most laptops.

In an average room or cabin at night it really does throw as wide as you can get it. I have a shed with a proper (delicate and expensive) projector and the LED gadget throws an almost as good picture on a 4 metre screen so plenty big enough in a cabin. What to project on? Easy - a £5 cheapo white nylon shower curtain does the job nicely. You can then use dowels and a bit of tape - fix it to the dimensions you want and roll it away below a bunk or with the oars. Fancy bits? I'm going to try an audio fm transmitter to the boats FM stereo speakers for the next Steven King film. A gorrilla-pod tripod is the bees knees for mounting the thing where you want it. Mounting it is an issue as there's no 'keystone' correction so it needs to be positioned square on - say on galley table.

And if all this sounds technical, it's nothing like as techie as lap-tops, portable DVDs etc. It's truly pocketable, works in an instant and plays almost all video files. Note - if you use with a lap top, the signal is likely to be VGA - old VHS standard - but if you use an SD card or USB stick and invest some time to learn how to convert and use DivX film format, you can show from the stick in near HD. Similarily, if you have one of those portable DVD players with a 10" screen, they are likely to have video out -so again, DVD quality.

Other considerations? These are LED projectors - the real Wow factors are the laser projectors - they do the same thing but never need focusing, so not only can you project onto a sail, you can project onto a flapping sail. Personally though, I don't like the different quality of the image. Both LED and Laser systems have a sort of shimmering rainbow at the edge of peripheral vision. This is present in all digital systems I know of, a bit more in LEDs and even more in lasers. Personally I don't notice it at all but others do so it's an individual response. Nobody watching our films have remarked on it yet.

I too love books. A lot. But if your cruise is longer than a weekend or you're stuck gale-bound in some dreary port or anchorage, a good film can make all the difference -especially with kids or other crew finding the knot practice less than exciting.

This (below) is the one I bought having sent back a very similar but lower spec philips machine. I had the excuse of a big O birthday but I'm glad i did get it. Lots of other uses too -like lying in bed at home and watching a movie on the ceiling. Business and Trainer types note -this is no good for training purposes. It's not bright enough for class-rooms. No tax frelief there! - Some of the Amazon reviews are a bit picky -and some are about another machine. Overall I'd say it's much much more than a gadget. The Philips built in storage, battery length and input versatility makes it very worthwhile indeed.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-PPX...56AS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339683230&sr=8-1
 
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Searush said:
MF24, Don't you have any books on your boat? Or chat to your partner sometimes?

I don't see any need for films. :confused: but we do have a pack of cards for REALLY persistent bad weather.
Click to expand...

Not everyone has a partner and not everyone likes reading. Some of us actually like video as a format. Besides, if you plug in your iPhone you could use this to talk to your partner on Facetime while she sits at home reading ;)
 
Searush said:
MF24, Don't you have any books on your boat? Or chat to your partner sometimes?

I don't see any need for films. :confused: but we do have a pack of cards for REALLY persistent bad weather.
Click to expand...

Why is it that, as soon as we get on our boats, some people think we should leave some of our home comforts behind... Even though they are fairly easy to provide.

If you watch TV and films at home, but choose not to do so on your boat, thats your lifestyle choice. Mine, and many others, is that it is a fairly important part of the enjoyment.

Do you forego your laptop and Internet connection whilst on board? Do you wear a horsehair shirt? Where should the line be drawn? Where you decide, where I decide, or should it be left to the individual, provided it remains legal?

I jest to a degree, as I imagine do you... But it really gets up my nose when somebody suggests how I should enjoy my leisure time.
 
monkfish24 said:
That's a good point, I don't think this will come too far over budget though ;)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Adapter-S-Video-Converter-Cable-laptop/dp/B0064XJ5SA
Click to expand...

I hope so! Less than a quid! But it depends on your projector input too and they don't like to make it easy -thus:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=1TK6EQ772Y4X20VDA1JE
or this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=1TK6EQ772Y4X20VDA1JE :eek:

plus reviews of cable suggest problems. ...I don't know what the aptec projector's input is.
 
Richard10002 said:
Why is it that, as soon as we get on our boats, some people think we should leave some of our home comforts behind... Even though they are fairly easy to provide.

If you watch TV and films at home, but choose not to do so on your boat, thats your lifestyle choice. Mine, and many others, is that it is a fairly important part of the enjoyment.

Do you forego your laptop and Internet connection whilst on board? Do you wear a horsehair shirt? Where should the line be drawn? Where you decide, where I decide, or should it be left to the individual, provided it remains legal?

I jest to a degree, as I imagine do you... But it really gets up my nose when somebody suggests how I should enjoy my leisure time.
Click to expand...

I didn't tell you how to spend your time, I just expressed surprise that you would want to faff around with stuff like that. And no, I don't often watch films at home either, unless the grandchildren ask me to.

My lappy only works in a handful of anchorages when I am on the boat so it is often just left in the bag. I don't fret about it, cos my batteries last longer & it saves me using my engine.

Bit touchy & defensive aren't you? And why shouldn't I say how I enjoy my time too - or is it only your opinion that can be expressed. If so I apologise & withdraw my contribution to YOUR thread. :rolleyes: :D

Chill, if I can annoy you so easily without even trying you are a prime target for Trolls! :cool:
 
We have a TV on board and we have children so it comes in handy when it rains…

In the winter it is sometimes quite nice to watch an episode of Dads Army and eat a plate of curry whilst hanging off a buoy in the Beaulieu.
 
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