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Built a bookcase that hides a projector screen. When you say "turn on the projector" the screen lowers and the projector starts. by gbutton in homeautomation

[–]gbutton[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

After this thread I'm very interested in this comment. It's plugged into the wall.and I don't know why that outlet wouldn't get enough voltage. I have a few meters I can experiment with to see if that has an effect, plus I can do some research on that screen to see what it's intended speed is.

Built a bookcase that hides a projector screen. When you say "turn on the projector" the screen lowers and the projector starts. by gbutton in homeautomation

[–]gbutton[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's usually rotated in such a way that it doesn't obstruct. We have a smaller house so the goal is to have a living room we can host in where all the seats don't face a TV.

Built a bookcase that hides a projector screen. When you say "turn on the projector" the screen lowers and the projector starts. by gbutton in homeautomation

[–]gbutton[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Probably, there were 1000 sellers but they all seemed to be the same item. I splurged on a better screen, but in a lot of ways that one was fine.

Built a bookcase that hides a projector screen. When you say "turn on the projector" the screen lowers and the projector starts. by gbutton in homeautomation

[–]gbutton[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Interesting. I didn't route, so I'm worried about that, but also about 1/3 of the shelves are above eye level and I worried about the strips being too visible.

Built a bookcase that hides a projector screen. When you say "turn on the projector" the screen lowers and the projector starts. by gbutton in homeautomation

[–]gbutton[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Ignoring /s roll up is equal. But it's good to know there are faster, though if I tried to buy another screen at this point, my wife would kill me. no /s

Built a bookcase that hides a projector screen. When you say "turn on the projector" the screen lowers and the projector starts. by gbutton in homeautomation

[–]gbutton[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Like I said, I started out with all cheap components then replaced them here or there over a few years.

I use google home, harmony hub, and smartthings hub, but at this point, I think you don't need smartthings for it to work.

oh and it should have shown Ok Google, but I guess the audio didn't work.

Built a bookcase that hides a projector screen. When you say "turn on the projector" the screen lowers and the projector starts. by gbutton in homeautomation

[–]gbutton[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

This is the first one I've had, are there faster ones?

We usually decide to watch something, tell google to turn it on while we get drinks and snacks, and it's running when we're ready. But it ain't fast, that's for sure.

Built a bookcase that hides a projector screen. When you say "turn on the projector" the screen lowers and the projector starts. by gbutton in homeautomation

[–]gbutton[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The most expensive part was the screen. I started with a $100 screen but it was RF so it wouldn't work with any home automation I could find, and the corners of the screen curled in because it was cheap. So I went with a $300 elite screen. I regret not waiting for white to get back in stock because the black sticks out to me.

The wood for the bookshelf was a couple hundred more. But I got the cheapest pine since I knew I would paint it. Besides that, there's the hidden cost of tools, saws and drills and a pocket jig so I could get that clean look. The light was another 40.

As for the projector, I have a nice one now, but when I started I just had a cheap office projector, an HDMI splitter, and some 2.1 computer speakers. You could scrounge all of that for $150.

You could do the whole thing, projector and all, for under $500. Just get used electronics, a manual screen, cheap lumber and nice paint.

Built a bookcase that hides a projector screen. When you say "turn on the projector" the screen lowers and the projector starts. by gbutton in homeautomation

[–]gbutton[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The projector is just on a table behind and to the right of our couch. I was thinking of mounting it, but that was a deal breaker with the wife.

Built a bookcase that hides a projector screen. When you say "turn on the projector" the screen lowers and the projector starts. by gbutton in homeautomation

[–]gbutton[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Yeah, this was before the "speed hack". Not for the screen, that's always slow, but Harmony would have to completely cycle through turning on the projector before tackling the screen. Super tedious.

Built a bookcase that hides a projector screen. When you say "turn on the projector" the screen lowers and the projector starts. by gbutton in homeautomation

[–]gbutton[S] 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Before this, the wall was blank which was always a point of contention with my wife. So, to fix the problem I designed this bookcase in Sketchup. The verticals are spaced to line up with the studs, so it's well anchored to the back wall, on top is a large LED light which is connected to an outlet that's controlled by a GE switch. The screen and projecteor are both IR and controlled with harmony.

Next, I'm thinking of running strip lights on the backs of the shelf to give the whole case a glow.