Recommendations

[ColoradoRob]

Bought a GC2, FSX software. 13x9 max screen area available (building myself).

.5-.8 throw on 13 ft should keep the projector safe, just in front of the hitting area. Ceiling is 10ft high, have no real limitation on depth..

Any recommendations/direction for projector? All new to me, learning as all did. Looking for best choices anywhere from 800-1300 range.

i have a month before need to purchase. Any tips or suggestions appreciated.

thanks

[Gambler]

I've been looking at the Optoma GT1080HDR. It appears to be the upgrade to the GT1080Darbee. Priced right, has all the 1080darbee specs plus HDR. New release though so not much in way of reviews yet but I think it will be a good one.

[Uk101jkt]

I have it and am not overly impressed with it, but in fairness this is my first projector. Definitely the HDR adds nothing and looks worse than when off. I have been trying a variety of settings in windows and on the projector (which is not exactly the best menu layout). One of my problems is that my ceiling height is pretty high at 12.5 feet and with the very low screen throw ratio of the unit at 0.5 im at around 7 feet from the screen for just under 200" diagonal.

The plus side is im unlikely to hit the unit with my hitting point at 9.5' from the screen (which if my ceiling is lower would be an issue) but the downside is that im forced to use a lot of keystone to correct the image. The sides and bottom of the screen definitely suffer and the image is too blurry for text on the sides (although movies look fine).

I havent tried moving it further back and using the zoom function. That may improve it a bit and im curious on those with the original darbee have it set up. Perhaps my expectations from the projector are just too high though as this is my first one.

[Gambler]

Maybe you did need a short throw for your room but given the height of the ceiling it sounds like you are working with more space and would have benefit more from a normal throw projector or at least a higher throw ratio than 0.5 which would be putting out a better image at 7 ft plus. IMO when you start getting into the upper range of the throw distance for projectors, in this case you're at 7' of 11' max, it's time to go up in throw ratios so the picture has lesser chance of washing out.

As for the keystone, the distance will play a role in that also. I believe this projector has 40% max correction and you are probably running 20-30% or so, big factor in image clarity.

[ColoradoRob]

Appreciate the comments.

Seems the lumens are lower than some others I have seen discussed on the forum. Could that be where the problem lies?

[Gambler]

It's actually rated @ 3800 lumens which is on the higher end for the price point so I don't think that s the issue. However, I don't own the unit so I can't tell you for sure.

As for expectations, if you're thinking oled quality @ 200 inches it won't happen but you should be able to get a clear bright and colorful picture in a relatively dark room from any $800 projector.

[frodaddy00]

You will want to start exploring projectors at https://www.projectorcentral.com

Measure your room so you know what screen size you want and what throw ratio you need. That website above has a calculator to help you figure out what you need.

My second piece of advice is to get a projector with a zoom lens feature (usually from 1.0-1.2x). This will let you fine tune the screen size (bigger/smaller) so that you do not have to mount your projector literally to the exact centimeter it needs to be.I bought a projector without zoom and it was such a pain to get it in the exact location I needed.

[ColoradoRob]

After having a long talk with techs at Optoma and tierney brothers and content from this website I went with an EH412st. Fingers crossed, really have no clue lol.

[Gambler]

There's a good following for the 412st, I don't think you will be disappointed. I didn't care for the response time personally but it won't matter solely for golf sim. Check the other thread about it if you haven't already.

[ColoradoRob]

Thanks. I read everything, everywhere.

Things could always change down the road but the purpose is solely to run the golf sim. It was close between the 1080HDR and the 412st.

[MattD]

I am in the same boat as you were. Choice has comedown to 1080HDR vs 412st. Leaning towards 1080HDR as the technician from Optoma mentioned that only advantage with 412est is that it has 3 year warranty. It seems 412st is a data projector and so he said if not for warranty I should go for 1080HDR. So I am thinking of ordering 1080HDR today but before that I wanted to check if you got your 412st and what has been your experience with it so far?

Anybody have any comments or suggestion on 1080HDR vs 412st?

Thanks in advance.

[ColoradoRob]

The 412 is still on backorder. They have another week or two and then I might have to switch to the 1080hdr for my timeline. I can’t put up until early December so no major rush at this point.

When I spoke to Optoma they were clear both would be fine. They said if I could use the latency advantages of the 1080 that is the main reason it is a better unit, Because latency isn’t a major issue for the golf sim (talking split second) I opted for more lumens in the 412st.

I’m sure either one will be very good. A little disappointed there isn’t a step up from these two projectors before spending crazy money.

[MattD]

Initially I went with Optoma GT1080HDR but had to return it because it did not have zoom and was very difficult to find the right spot especially with my enclosure which is 5 ft deep and for a 177" screen this optoma model needs to be at 6.5 ft from the screen so the top part was cutting off with the 5 ft deep enclosure being close. When I switched to BenQ the setup (It had a very user friendly wizard to setup) was a breeze. I loved the BenQ

TH671ST.

[Sevvy]

Foresight say that 4500 Lumens is recommended

[Wizard of Coz]

Benqth671st 3000 lumens works great for me. 4500 would be nice but i'm really happy right now with 3000

[Youngdazzle78]

I ordered a Uneekor system , screen is going to 16x9.5 premium , full professionally built enclosure around 17’ long . Installer said projector will be in the 14-16’ range away from screen . I have been going bonkers trying to determine what to get for projector . Willing to spend up to $2500 if it’s worth it . Any suggestions to really consider please ? Started with a $5k budget and am now going to be $20k in . Figured I may as well get a top notch(ish) projector . Any feedback to put on my list would be greatly appreciated . Thank you!

[gene438]

I'm either not understanding or I have some concerns about what your builder is doing. I am understanding the following:

1)your enclosure will be 17' long
2)The installer wants to put a projector 14-16' from screen.

OK, where will you hit from? How far from screen?

Assuming you will hit from 8 to 10 ft. I would be very concerned about shadows.... I'm assuming your ceiling height at around 10ft. (screen is 9.5') so, you would have a projector at 9-10 ft aimling 17 ft down to screen with you standing in the middle at about 10 ft. from screen...not to mention that you will have a Uneekor unit mounted at about 13.5 ft. from screen.(3.5 ft from hitting spot)

I would discuss with builder. I think you have about the same size screen I have (17 x 9.5). I would consider putting your hitting mat at 9 ft. (you want to be close enough so that your wedges will hit screen before ceiling). Based on that, the Uneekor will go at 12.5 ft. from sceen (3.5 behind hitting spot). I believe if you get a short throw projector like Optima 1080 you will mount it around 10ft. from screen or slightly behind the golfers head. You can check out the exact distances at projector central and use their calculotor, buy a short throw projector to fill up a 16 x 9 screen will need about 9-10 ft. which would be perfect.

Just my 2 cents.

[Solstice72]

You'll need lumens to throw with that much surface area. I used to think I knew how much, but it isn't clear to me anymore. Guys here do 3500? gene438 and seem happy. I have 5500 lumens with a slightly smaller screen, love it, but is it "needed" I don't know anymore. I'm sure you're aware of the other factors such as the ambient light you're going to play with blah blah blah to take in consideration. Lack of brightness and pop was a driving fear for me after all the effort.

BTW who's providing that screen?

[Solstice72]

Sorry this was reply for Youngdazzle