Got Everything but Projector and I'm So Confused!

[Skyking]

Contractor finally finishing the shed interior this week.. I called Carl's for a screen today and the woman was very knowledgeable. She said with 11" interior width and 6.92' height I have to go with 4:3 NOT 16:9 like I wanted. Screen will actually be 106" wide but full height for the 4:3.

Questions...this short throw thing...if my math is correct it's .62 so does that mean I have to buy a projector with that specific "throw"? From my research...assuming I'm even looking correctly, you can't get 4:3 with HD quality...only XVGA or something??? That would really suck wouldn't it? Originally I was thinking of a floor mount but maybe a wall mount and I could put it back a little farther.

Man...any help is appreciated.

[Deuce]

Projectors are crazy specific because most of them have limited to no zoom capability. My recommendation... go to Projector Central and use their throw calculator to try out the leading short throw projectors and see which one will work with your space. Took me a while, but eventually found one that worked great. I would also definitely recommend the ceiling mount - out of sight and out of mind.

[Skyking]

Thanks Deuce. I continued researching after my OP and see there are some HD projectors at 16:9 that can be shrunk down to 4:3...if they have at least 1.3 zoom. I'll try PC website again and probably just call them. The ceiling is just high enough for the driver and a little concerned about someone hitting the projector. Plus their's a support beam about 4' from where the screen will be so... I'll go back in the shed tomorrow morning and take another look t ceiling mounting.

[3on3putt]

Practically all projectors can be run in 4:3. You will lose a little bit of resolution when going 4:3 but still HD. The tradeoff is having a taller mage.

You said your room is 11 feet wide but I'm a bit confused about the height of it. In the first post you said 6.92 in height??

How high is the ceiling (where the screen will go) and how deep is the room?

You don't need to worry about zoom as long as you mount the projector at the correct distance.

[Skyking]

Yeah I can see the confusion. At 83" the Dutch barn roof roof starts to narrow. I still have several feet of room for swinging but the screen height can't go up at the 11' width beyond 83"...or 85". The woman at Carl's said to deduct 2" for the screen height to make it 4:3 and for fasteners...so 83" best I remember. Actually have 133" in width but once again she told me it was too narrow for 16:9 so going with 4:3, I needed the green size to be 106".

By far the most complicated decision of the whole process. That includes building a gaming computer myself on Monday...thank you YouTube!

[3on3putt]

The exact screen size only matters if you care about matching the image size exactly to the screen. I actually find it beneficial to have the screen slightly larger than the image. That way you have some wiggle room to work with when it comes to mounting the projector at the right distance. But some people don't like to see empty space on their screen where the image doesn't reach. Personal preference thing. Also, I'm a fan of just having the tallest screen that you can fit inside. You won't fill it all with image, but you'll have plenty of target space for catching high lofted shots.

110 inches x 83 inches is 4:3. You could certainly run it in 16:9, but your image would then only be about 62 inches tall (just over 5 feet). The advantage of 4:3 is that it gives you a taller image. The disadvantage is that you lose a little bit of resolution.

As far as the throw ratio .... when you do a search for projectors on projector central (click "find a projector ") enter a range for the throw ratio like 0.5 to 0.8 or something. You can then alter the distance that you mount the projector in order to achieve the correct image size. So basically you just need to get the throw ratio within a ballpark and then you adjust from there.

You are right in that projectors are confusing as heck at first. But once you understand it all it's fairly straightforward.

[Skyking]

Thank you 3 on 3. Makes a lot of sense. I worked part time at Golfsmith for a few years and think the screen were 4:3, which was fine. Didn’t even know there was such a thing as 16:9 projector or 4:3 for that matter.

My biggest concern...and shock was you can’t get an HD projector in 4:3. I’ll ponder all that over the weekend and make my now more educated decision.

[3on3putt]

Thank you 3 on 3. Makes a lot of sense. I worked part time at Golfsmith for a few years and think the screen were 4:3, which was fine. Didn’t even know there was such a thing as 16:9 projector or 4:3 for that matter.

My biggest concern...and shock was you can’t get an HD projector in 4:3. I’ll ponder all that over the weekend and make my now more educated decision.

You can still have HD at 4:3. Full HD is 1080, which you won't get in 4:3. But if you get a projector with a native resolution of 1920x1080 and run it in 4:3, you will lose a little bit of resolution but it's still high definition. Not quite as crisp as the native resolution but it's still a high quality image and still technically HD. You're not going to be disappointed with it especially if you're playing TGC2019 which has pretty stunning graphics.

[Skyking]

I actually have a one year e6 Connect license. I only wanted courses that were professionally done. I know TGC2019 is good and may switch next year. Been using a 4K 55” TV, until the shed interior was done, which is pretty awesome. That’s what I wanna get...1920 x 1080 and zoom down to 4:3. Thanks for the confirmation.

[Skyking]

Okay...another question. I originally used a “Home” Net Return and loved it. Figure it is so well built it can be passed on to the grandkids! So...NR makes a valance that covers the net and call it a day. Does anyone know the quality or general thoughts. NR website says to use 4:3 aspect ratio. Of course they understandably give a CYA statement about contacting the projector manufacturer about sizing it on the screen.

[Brettster]

Skyking do some searching up here in the forums. I've read many threads on getting the projected image just right... you will probably find one specific to the NetReturn, but if it recommends 4:3 they must do that for a reason - so you're back to that question, do you want the image to fill the screen, or look slightly more detailed and have black bars top/bottom? You must have had that lovely experience with TV at least once, where you are watching a 4:3 show on a HD TV and you have to choose to 'zoom it' to see the whole screen, when you do that, you end up losing some of the sides of the image. Or, you are watching an 16:9 film (movie) with your new HD screen, and no matter what you do - you have black bars top/bottom... There's also an excellent website that lets you calculate your image size, find it here:

Finally, I found a thread that covers a lot of ground on choosing a projector here:

https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum/build-your-own/projectors/201548-infocus-in138hdst-vs-benq-th671st-part-1-of-3-how-i-picked-my-projector

HTH,
-Brett

[3on3putt]

Okay...another question. I originally used a “Home” Net Return and loved it. Figure it is so well built it can be passed on to the grandkids! So...NR makes a valance that covers the net and call it a day. Does anyone know the quality or general thoughts. NR website says to use 4:3 aspect ratio. Of course they understandably give a CYA statement about contacting the projector manufacturer about sizing it on the screen.

I'm guessing they recommend 4:3 for it because it's more square in shape. I'm not sure about the image quality of the NR screen versus other impact screens. All the pictures I've seen of it it's hanging loose with a lot of waves and doesn't look real bright. But I've never seen one in person so I'm just going off what I've seen online.

[Skyking]

I'm guessing they recommend 4:3 for it because it's more square in shape. I'm not sure about the image quality of the NR screen versus other impact screens. All the pictures I've seen of it it's hanging loose with a lot of waves and doesn't look real bright. But I've never seen one in person so I'm just going off what I've seen online.

Yeah...I saw the video of the screen kinda waving around after impact...not good. More confused now than when I started. I'm sure Carl's or Spectrum has high quality screens for the NR Home model that would be better and probably cheaper. NR does have a "valance" that prevents light from getting behind the screen...for about $250. Heck, late last night I saw a video with the owner of NR company demoing a setup with a tv behind the net...which late at night looks pretty cool and simple. Still mulling all this 3on3.

Thanks for the link Bret.

[Skyking]

Pulled the trigger on the 5' enclosure from Carl's Place. Agonized forever as to which way to go but the wife wanted it to look NICE, not some homemade, "that will do" setup so... I feel good about the decision. Joe today and Angela last week couldn't have been more helpful. Joe responded to my email after our initial phone conversation today in about 5 minutes. I have about 2" to spare on the ceiling because the Dutch barn shape has that unique 45 degree bend. The screen will be 81" H x 106" wide which should fill the screen perfectly for 4:3 ratio. As long as it's pretty close I'm good.

The order says delivery in 2 weeks (Friday next) but I don't know if that's just a generic expected date or what. Regardless, I've asked to pay for 2 day delivery after it's ready to ship because I'm hoping the contractor is still here to get the pipes and assemble. Otherwise, I'll have to call him back but it's not the end of the world.

No, STILL haven't got the projector but that narrows it down some. Leaning towards a floor mount because I'm left handed while of course everyone else I know is right and it would be dicey to install the projector over the hitting mat as many of you have done. I'll be the one using it 99% of the time but still...

Thanks to all of you so very much!