Hello Friends- I’m wanting to build a really stable ftir Mac table and I have a few questions (mainly about hardware but some software questions)

1) Should I go with a Laptop or what?  Recommend a mac please

2) Is the PS3 Eye working on anyone’s mac setup (touche) right now?  I saw someone mention it in alex’s ps3 eye thread

3) Do I need a special cable to connect a mac to a projector?  I know the ibooks had a minidvi out...is that still the case?

4) Would that BenQ projector that I’ve seen mentioned here work well for this?  I want a 1080p projector with a short throw distance for a 40” screen

5) Does Touche with OSC work well?  Will I be able to use the same Flash demos that I use on my pc setup now?

6) If I wanted to use Touchlib, could I just boot up windows and use that OS?

Any and All advice is welcome.  Please let me know of any issues that I might run into with this ^^^

6) If I wanted to use Touchlib, could I just boot up windows and use that OS?

yes you can ! sounds quite obvious ...

I would recommend that if you go with a laptop that it is definitely an Intel.  Plenty of RAM and processor would be great as well.  I have Touché running on one of the first Intel Mac Mini’s and while it works fine, there is a small amount of lag due to the image filters and processing.  The better the computer, the faster everything will be.  Eventually I will be using a Mac Pro but that will probably be overkill for you depending on what you purpose you are trying to make your table for.

If you are going for a ~ 40” screen with 1080p resolution I would personally recommend against using a projector.  The reason being that they get pretty expensive at that resolution, your throw distance will cause problems if you don’t have mirrors, most projectors aren’t made to be mounted at extreme angles, and the cost of the bulb replacements are very high with only 600 hours of life.  My personal recommendation would be to buy a Vizio LCD television, take it apart, and use it instead.  You’ll definitely spend less in the long run considering LCD’s get about 50,000 hours of life.  I bought a 1080p 42” for just over $1,000 refurbished which was much less than I could get a decent 1080p projector.  Vizio’s are great televisions and the LCD in them is actually made by LG Philips.

This is just my opinion of course.  Check out my blog in my signature as I’ve documented my progress thus far.  Since you are doing FTIR the same screen I have would be perfect for you.  It, however, is NOT good for DI-based setups (for anyone else reading this) because of how the LCD lets IR through.  FTIR or LLP or any other type of front illumination should work fine though.

jimihertz - 10 September 2008 04:24 PM

6) If I wanted to use Touchlib, could I just boot up windows and use that OS?

yes you can ! sounds quite obvious ...

I was talking about booting windows on an Intel mac.  I’ve never used an Intel mac, so that’s why I wasn’t sure if Touchlib worked well with it.

Ignigena - 10 September 2008 05:34 PM

I would recommend that if you go with a laptop that it is definitely an Intel.  Plenty of RAM and processor would be great as well.  I have Touché running on one of the first Intel Mac Mini’s and while it works fine, there is a small amount of lag due to the image filters and processing.  The better the computer, the faster everything will be.  Eventually I will be using a Mac Pro but that will probably be overkill for you depending on what you purpose you are trying to make your table for.

If you are going for a ~ 40” screen with 1080p resolution I would personally recommend against using a projector.  The reason being that they get pretty expensive at that resolution, your throw distance will cause problems if you don’t have mirrors, most projectors aren’t made to be mounted at extreme angles, and the cost of the bulb replacements are very high with only 600 hours of life.  My personal recommendation would be to buy a Vizio LCD television, take it apart, and use it instead.  You’ll definitely spend less in the long run considering LCD’s get about 50,000 hours of life.  I bought a 1080p 42” for just over $1,000 refurbished which was much less than I could get a decent 1080p projector.  Vizio’s are great televisions and the LCD in them is actually made by LG Philips.

This is just my opinion of course.  Check out my blog in my signature as I’ve documented my progress thus far.  Since you are doing FTIR the same screen I have would be perfect for you.  It, however, is NOT good for DI-based setups (for anyone else reading this) because of how the LCD lets IR through.  FTIR or LLP or any other type of front illumination should work fine though.

Wow thanks for that info Ignigena!!!  That Vizio tv looks like a very good option; I just hope it will not be too difficult to use.  I would hate to break it!  I’m about to go and check your blog now.  So on a fresh mac, I’ll just need to install Touche and use the same flash demos that I use on my windoze table?

Is anyone successfully running the ps3 eye camera with Touche?