Highest quality short throw projector

[abirdie4me]

Let us now what you think. I am very happy with my PT-VZ 580. I run it on eco2 mode and plenty bright. I really recommend 16:10 if you can do it.

What is your image size and how far is it mounted from your screen?

[Snaphook]

Is it possible that 5000 Lumens is too bright, in some situations? I have 3200 Lumens and its bright with the lights off, but with any lights on its a bit washed.

Maybe in some situations? Don't know. I do watch movies with all lights off and it is really good. I came from 3000 lumens and the difference is night and day.
Might be too much with a real movie screen with gain. But with a sim screen there is a good amount of bleed through.
The normal setting was not too much either but the difference was so small so i decided on lamp life saving :-)

[Snaphook]

What is your image size and how far is it mounted from your screen?

My image is about 160" 16:10 11 x7 ft .
PJ mounted 12.5-13 ft from screen . Stand 9-10 ft from screen when playing

[abirdie4me]

Are you using the zoom at that distance? I’m hoping to get 14’ wide x 8ish in height, hope I don’t have to move the projector so far back that I get shadows.

[StanMI]

Love the numbers on this projector! Interested I the above question also. My screen size is similar.

I can also add, I really like the 16:10 image. Really fills the screen !

[Snaphook]

I think i have about 60-70 % zoom.
You probably have seen this before but i'll post anyway.
Use this projector calculator to get an idea. You can even play with the zoom to see what happens. http://www.projectorcentral.com/Pana...ulator-pro.htm

[abirdie4me]

I used that site a lot, but never knew you can adjust zoom! Thanks for that tip, looks like I can get my image size at around 15.5 feet. Hitting from 10 or 11 feet should be ok without shadows. Scheduled delivery tomorrow, so I guess we'll know by this weekend! Appreciate the help.

[CBearsSB]

Is it possible that 5000 Lumens is too bright, in some situations? I have 3200 Lumens and its bright with the lights off, but with any lights on its a bit washed.

Never too bright in sim situation. Want high lumens and lower contrast ratio where as in theater want the opposite. Need high lumens to project a quality image on big screen in ambient lights. Actually the Panasonic projectors we are talking about are marketed for “business” environment where presentations are projected on large screens and need ambient light for note taking, etc. However they work great for for simulators and get quality picture for TV viewing, movies etc.

[Libbing]

Curious - the business projectors always seem to have better lumens but when I had looked into them they didn't seem to be rated very well for movies / game playing. If they are good for that, seems to be a great choice from what I remember

[CBearsSB]

Agreed not meant for movies/gaming, but this particular projector has an amazing image well suited for large screens. Not many projectors can project a 16 x 10 image from 14 foot throw distance and excellent definition and brightness in ambient light. This projectors contrast ratio is 10,000:1. Whereas a theater projector contrast ratio is at least 100,000:1 and 2000 lumens. Also need appropriate theater screen.

[Snaphook]

The pt-vz 570 is 10000:1 and the 580 is 16000:1 Don't know if that makes any difference at all?

[abirdie4me]

Got the pt-vz 580 last night and tested it out this morning. Compared to my benq 1085st:

• 16 x 10 aspect ratio is amazing! I don't think I can ever go back to 16 x 9
• Crispness of text caught me by surprise, I didn't realize just how fuzzy the benq was even after many adjustments
• Brightness is a massive help for my room, since there is ambient light most of the time
• Surprised at how much better the overall image quality is, not sure if this is simply the brightness; I haven't even messed with any settings yet, this is just the out of the box image
• I will have to mount it about 5 feet farther back than my benq to get the roughly 14' x 9' image I want. there are some initial shadow issues, but this will go away once it is ceiling mounted. I also have the option of moving my hitting area back a few feet if necessary since I haven't done my subfloor yet

[wbond]

That’s a great looking picture

[BogesMalone]

That looks amazing, jelly. What screen are you using there?

Edit: Do you have a link to that screen?

[abirdie4me]

Can’t wait to get it installed. Out of town for a couple days, but hope to get it up on Wednesday.

[pwade3]

Got the pt-vz 580 last night and tested it out this morning. Compared to my benq 1085st:

• 16 x 10 aspect ratio is amazing! I don't think I can ever go back to 16 x 9
• Crispness of text caught me by surprise, I didn't realize just how fuzzy the benq was even after many adjustments
• Brightness is a massive help for my room, since there is ambient light most of the time
• Surprised at how much better the overall image quality is, not sure if this is simply the brightness; I haven't even messed with any settings yet, this is just the out of the box image
• I will have to mount it about 5 feet farther back than my benq to get the roughly 14' x 9' image I want. there are some initial shadow issues, but this will go away once it is ceiling mounted. I also have the option of moving my hitting area back a few feet if necessary since I haven't done my subfloor yet

Well, looking at your picture, it sure has me thinking. Of course its hard to tell by a jpeg, but it sure looks very clear and bright. Your benq picture looks similar to my Optoma 760 which has 3200 lumens and 20000:1 contrast ratio. My Optoma seems to have the color lost a little like your Benq when you look off to the right into the trees and the tee box is a bit dark and lost. I don't think I can use the 580 as it will be to far back. I think 15'. I hit from about 10' It will cause shadows. Your screen size is close to mine (8.6 x13.6 ish). Can you let me know how far back your 580 ends up and if you have shadow issues. How high is your ceiling?. I will move my 760 back to that spot and see if I have shadows. It sits about 6 feet away as its short throw.

[pwade3]

My image is about 160" 16:10 11 x7 ft .
PJ mounted 12.5-13 ft from screen . Stand 9-10 ft from screen when playing

How high are you ceilings and how close to the ceiling did you mount the 580? Does swinging the club cause any shadow?

[Snaphook]

I have a vaulted ceiling (max height 11.5 ft) . The PJ is mounted at about 9.5-10ft height. There is a shadow from the club during the swing.

[abirdie4me]

Well, looking at your picture, it sure has me thinking. Of course its hard to tell by a jpeg, but it sure looks very clear and bright. Your benq picture looks similar to my Optoma 760 which has 3200 lumens and 20000:1 contrast ratio. My Optoma seems to have the color lost a little like your Benq when you look off to the right into the trees and the tee box is a bit dark and lost. I don't think I can use the 580 as it will be to far back. I think 15'. I hit from about 10' It will cause shadows. Your screen size is close to mine (8.6 x13.6 ish). Can you let me know how far back your 580 ends up and if you have shadow issues. How high is your ceiling?. I will move my 760 back to that spot and see if I have shadows. It sits about 6 feet away as its short throw.

The jpeg doesn't do it justice, it really looks fantastic in person. I'm using an HQ2 screen from Par2Pro with probably 10,000 hits on it. My ceilings are 10', I had the top of the projector about 8.5' from the floor for the test image I posted. At that height, I had minor shadows from my club with projector roughly 15' from screen and hitting 10' from screen. When I mount it, the projector will be about 6" higher, which will eliminate most of the shadows. If that doesn't do it, I"ll move my hitting area back to 11' or so, and I'm sure that will remove the shadows.

[Snaphook]

Glad you're happy with it. I know i am.
But watch out, now you will start watching more movies and thinking about home theater :-) (atleast that's what happened to me) Turned my simulator room into a family cinema.

[Mattrix09]

What mount did you get for the 580? In doing a quick google search, some of these mounts come up at $500+!! That's craziness! There must be something else out there that fits this model projector.

[abirdie4me]

Snaphook, I'm very lucky in that I already have a dedicated home cinema!

[abirdie4me]

Got it mounted tonight. It is 17' from my screen, farther than I wanted but I couldn't mount it closer due to a sprinkler head in the ceiling that can't be moved. I was getting some shadows at my normal hitting spot at around 10', so I moved it back to 11.5 - 12 feet and there are no more shadows. Here are pictures of the new setup with lights on behind the hitting area and with all the lights out.