HD Projector

[ZMax]

That is a good question. Apparently you need to send in for a quote. So would this give the the same image size I'm looking for, but better resolution?

Yes, technically it should, but it's a big unknown. Did you find any reviews for it.

[stevnkrn]

Wow! You found an HD short throw. According to projector central's calculator, it will work. How much is that?

It looks to me to cost over $8k. A little rich for me.

http://www.theprojectorpros.com/thea...-expand-no.htm

[robstevens]

Oof not sure that is worth the price. For reference, if I go with the BENQ below, with my 9.5' wide by 8.5' high screen, do I have the calculation correct? I would fit to width, but only a little over 7' high? Wont that look awkward? My ceiling is probably a little over 9.5' high.

http://www.projectorcentral.com/BenQ...ulator-pro.htm

[coopnj]

I got the Epson Home Cinema 8350 and it's awesome....

[stevnkrn]

I got the Epson Home Cinema 8350 and it's awesome....

This is the projector I am looking at but I was afraid it might be too dark. How far away from your impact screen is your projector? Do you find it bright enough to use for your simulator?

[coopnj]

I'm still in the construction phase so screen isn't up yet. It's mounted about 21' from the back wall (will be 19' from screen when screen is installed) and it's plenty bright showing movies, etc. and the picture is spectacular. The horizontal lens shift is what put it over the top for me...It's mounted over to the right side of the room and you can swing 10' in front of the projector (it's only 7'6" from the floor) and never see your shadow on the screen. It's a great projector. FYI - Best Buy sells them (I bought it using a 10% off coupon for reward zone members in late march) and you can get extended warranty for 4 years and it DOES cover one bulb replacement. You might also use their return policy to "check it out" to see if it's bright enough.

[coopnj]

Oh yeah, my screen is about 11' wide by 7' 6' tall.

[70jr]

so does anyone know of a projector that can perform full hd with the screen i need or do you think i have to happy with the 720 that i showed?

[mhale]

Has anyone tried or seen the BenQ 811st in operation, I have searched pretty hard for a projector and this one seems to meet all my criteria. I have a 7.5' tall by 9.5' tall screen. I was looking at going with 1280 x 800 native using 10:6 or 4:3, this projector will let me install at less then 5' and the drop from the lens to the top of picture is about 4", I only have a 8' ceiling so I thought it would be pretty important not to have the picture start a lot lower than the lens.
Oh by the way Im only 5' tall so I can swing all my clubs under the 8' ceiling. So back to the original question is the Benq 811st a good projector for 850.00 including shipping to Alaska.

[mazda71]

I realized I did not give that much detail yesterday, I would like a diagonal size of about in the 190’s. I would like it 15' or closer. This projector is perfect but is not full HD http://www.projectorcentral.com/Optoma-TW610ST-projection-calculator-pro.htm. So something like this but full native hd?

Hey 70jr,

I assume that youre having the same dilemma I was having. I want an hd projector to work for my golf sim but also as a home theatre projector. However, getting the dimensions right (with the right distance from the screen/dimensions etc) can be very tough. So, I came up with a good solution: I wanted a rectangular image run for the golf sim, so I decided on a 16:10 native resolution projector (I know it's not full hd, but there really isn't a full hd projector that can do what you need and you don't want it that wide on a golf sim). Then, for movies and tv, you scale down to 16:9 (which is also true a true hd resolution) and you get the black bars at the top and bottom (which give the cinema effect). That way the 16:10 covers your full screen for the sim (if you get a custom screen in those dimensions) and then 720p 16:9 for movies and tv.

Btw there are about five good ones on the market under $1600 that do the job in less than 15 feet

[70jr]

i think you are right i think i am going to have to get a 720 but i still have not turned over every rock yet. the projector above is what i am looking for. i will just get a cheap 720 and see if the 1080 will ever come down in price.

[syhlif32]

I have the setup Mazda71 talks about 16:10 1280 X 800. A Viewsonic 6531W.
The projector is 15 feet from the screen the picture is 'only' 136" diagonal.

For golf it is a great picture but would liked to have had a full HD for movies.

Not sure how much larger you would want a 720 screen to get. We zoom ours to 112 diagonal for movies mainly because that is the size of the movie screen!

There is a trick where you project into a mirror that way you can make a longer distance.
I just held a mirror up in front of my projector and while I just trow the picture on the white wall behind the projector I was surprised how clear the picture was. Does not look like there are any lose in quality with a mirror.

Might be a solution for your setup?

[Par2Pro]

Yes, the mirror trick has been used in many sim installs where space is a concern. Especially with the older projectors that had really long throw distances and when short throw projectors were not available. Just make sure you have a projector with a ceiling reverse option.

[70jr]

how many feet does the mirror take off? also is there any loss in resolution? do i need to get more lumens to pull that off?

[syhlif32]

I have only tried with my setup and I was amassed by the effect. To me it did not look like any loss in lumens. Also it was very clear so no noticeable loss.
The mirror does not take any feet off.
Let us say your room is 15 feet you then mount the projector 5 feet from the back wall have it hit the mirror which the project the image to the other wall. So now you have a 20 feet trow.
You will have to see how big a mirror you will need at 5 feet.
Before you go that way please think about that for movies you really want to sit 1.5 times the picture width.
So for a 10 feet wide image you want to be 15 feet or more away from the screen.
With the Viewsonic PJD 6531W you would need a 23" X 37" mirror at the very minimum.
I could easy see it would just be a lot easier to find the right projector than fiddle around with mirrors.

[70jr]

How bad does max resolution look? I have found many wxga projectors that can do what I need and say that they have max resolution of 1200x1600 Optoma TW610ST and many others. I am wondering how bad that looks compared to native full HD? I only say this because I have found short throw wuxga 1920x1200 that can do what I want and it is $5000 Sanyo PLC-ZM5000L with the fixed lens. The Epson PowerLite Pro G5450WUNL is cheaper and with the zoom all the way up I can get it at 15 ft with a little smaller pic than I wanted. Just wanted to find out if I really would be giving up that much quality if I went with the first one or one like it? Let me know if you would go with the one on the top or would you go with the ones on the botton?

[70jr]

i will show pics of the room it will be going in once i get home.

[ZMax]

The Optoma has a native res of 1280X800. For best picture quality, you must use exactly that. No more, no less.

While the Epson is cheaper, the contrast rating is very low. Might be too low depend on the type of simulator you go with. The Sanyo is better if you want to spend that kind of money.

Is there no way to use a normal throw projector? What is on the other side of the wall opposite the screen?

[70jr]

room2.pdf
this is why i need a short throw becasue of the roof line and z i cannot go on the back side because it is the samething. The wall is 6 feet and then the roof line comes in at a 130 degree slope. There is 7 feet of rectangle before the roof line comes into play. The room to the sofa is 23 feet long and 14 feet wide. Let me know what you think can be done. thanks

[syhlif32]

If you find a projector with horizontal keystone or lens shift you can mount it low but of to the side.
I understand that lens shift works better.
That way you will have no problems finding full HD projectors that will do the job.

[fhann]

Have you checked that you can swing normally in the space without hitting anything?

I don't think that you have enough height and floor space to swing a driver in the area that has a flat ceiling. You need almost 5 feet behind you so you won't hit the wall or window. With that in mind, I think that you are going to hit the sloped ceiling on your follow through.

I also would have some concerns about lofted clubs due to the trajectory of the ball could hit the sloped ceiling section before arriving at the impact screen/netting.

[70jr]

i can swing a driver and i am 6'2 with out hitting anything. i am going to be putting a cage around everything so nothing is damaged. to the top of the ceiling it is 9 feet.

[ZMax]

OK, that picture definitely helps. 13.5 ft wide is really wide and is asking a lot out of any projector. Looking at the projector calculator for the Epson 8350 16:9 1080P projector, you could fit a 11.5-8 ft wide screen in there, but you would have to put the bottom of the image right at the bottom of the floor, which will look great for golf simulators anyway.

A 16:9 projector with lens shift is your best bet. You can forget 4:3 and even 16:10 projectors. Which projector did you try before.

I use a 9.5 ft wide screen and from my hitting area(12 ft away), the image is pretty big. Blue Rays are also big from 19ft away. 11.5-8ft wide screen 16:9 would be plenty big.

[ZMax]

Another thing, the projector might need to be mounted around 8 ft high.

[70jr]

that is the projector that i had the first time and it was on the side walls. i did not want that but as i think of it i was trying to make the picture size i wanted. 13.5x8.5.

[70jr]

i cannot find any information about this projector Epson PowerLite Home Cinema 21000 with 2.1 zoom this might be the one?

[ZMax]

I think you'll be happy with just less than 12ft.

[70jr]

it looks like i have to be happy with less than 12 feet. but epson is bringing that item out one site said in the first of may?

[70jr]

I need help, z i already bought the screen from par 2 pro and i bought 15 feet and i want to use as much as i can. I know i can get the 8350 under 12 feet. i am trying to find out were i can buy this product but i have not come up with anything yet Epson PowerLite Pro G5450WUNL

[ZMax]

I need help, z i already bought the screen from par 2 pro and i bought 15 feet and i want to use as much as i can. I know i can get the 8350 under 12 feet. i am trying to find out were i can buy this product but i have not come up with anything yet Epson PowerLite Pro G5450WUNL

70jr,

That Epson is a 16:10 projector, which means the height is a little higher than a 16:9 projector. Which will hurt your cause. Have you thought about how the whole image will look, especially with 16:9 movies, from the couch? While the image might fit in there when using a short throw projector, the slope ceiling might still block the top corners of the image when viewing from the couch. Or it might be OK. I'm just thinking out loud here.

Here is one place I found. I have no idea about there business.http://www.projectorscreenstore.com/....html?a=PSSFRG