Projector Questions

[spiege2]

Been searching this form and reading everything I can. Thank you all.

I am looking to find a projector and have been on projector center for ever trying to figure this out. My budget is 2k for the projector.

My screen is 12 x9 4:3 ratio. I would like the projector at 10' on ceiling from screen. Looked at these 2 but it shows it wants it to be mounted at 8' feet. Optoma GT1090HDR

Optoma ZH406ST. Anyone have any suggestions?

[3on3putt]

At 10 feet distance for a 12 foot screen, you'll need a throw ratio of around 0.8. Use the search filter on projector central to run a search for projectors in a range of like 0.7 to 0.9 for throw ratio to get yourself in the right ballpark. Once you're close to the right throw ratio you can use zoom to get the image lined up with the edges of your screen.

[Jnc10]

i think the BenQ TH671ST would be close

[spiege2]

Thank you both for helping. Only one I really found that would work I think is Panasonic PT-EX520U . Anything cheaper out there. About $700 over budget. Also just to make sure this will work.

[3on3putt]

Does it have to be EXACTLY 10 feet? What sort of range would work?

[spiege2]

I would say 9' would work. I will check that out as well.

[spiege2]

So the BenQ HT2150ST and the
BenQ TH671ST came up. My question is there going to be a huge difference in picture quality vs the Panasonic PT-EX520U

[3on3putt]

Big difference in quality. That panasonic is an XGA, so the resolution is only going to be 1024x768. Those BenQ's you mentioned are both full HD, so those resolutions will be 1920x1080. If you're going to be spending more than a few hundred bucks, don't even bother with anything less than full HD.

[spiege2]

3 on 3 put thank you for your help. Sorry to keep asking but why is the full HD a lot less than the XGA. I am not sure what the difference is. The panasonic is 2700$ and the BenQs are less than 700$?

[3on3putt]

3 on 3 put thank you for your help. Sorry to keep asking but why is the full HD a lot less than the XGA. I am not sure what the difference is. The panasonic is 2700$ and the BenQs are less than 700$?

That's a great question. $2700 for an XGA seems insane to me. Maybe someone else can answer that. The ballpark of $1000 is what you should expect to spend on a good 1920x1080 projector.

[3on3putt]

Upon a second look, that looks like a projector meant for for presentations and what not, which may have something to do with the price. You'll want something designed more for gaming and home theater.

[spiege2]

also the aspect ratio is 16:10 on the BenQ? Will that work on a 4:3 screen? 12x9 is my screen

[3on3putt]

The native aspect ratio is 16:10 but can be changed to 4:3. Almost all projectors (in that price range at least) have the ability to toggle between a couple different aspect ratios. You should see the aspect ratio toggle on projector central right above the image size.

[Foreman33]

PSA in case you have an enclosure: I have the optoma 1090 and it needs to be mounted ~12 inches higher than the top of the image. The enclosure can get in the way of the image and block part of the picture.

[spiege2]

Thank you forman but I am not doing enclosure. I have to say I am more confused than ever. I used toggle for image size at 4:3 and that I want my screen 9' in height and projector 10' away. Nothing fits? I can't be the only one looking for this.

[3on3putt]

Thank you forman but I am not doing enclosure. I have to say I am more confused than ever. I used toggle for image size at 4:3 and that I want my screen 9' in height and projector 10' away. Nothing fits? I can't be the only one looking for this.

If you selected 4:3 in the search settings than it probably filtered for projectors that are 4:3 native, which won't be many. Most are 16:9 native but can be changed to 4:3. When you search, don't select anything for aspect ratio. When I said to toggle for 4:3, I meant when you're using the throw distance slider.

Also, if you don't have an enclosure, what are your restrictions for projector distance? Why is 10 feet so important? You will have so many more options if you have some more flexibility in your projector distance.

How high is your ceiling?

Also, keep in mind that you can adjust image size using zoom. So if for some reason you had to mount it at exactly 10 feet, you can then use zoom to resize the image to fit your screen.

[Godfather]

There are a few Benq projector options for that distance that would work well. Benq is highly regarded and many report it seems brighter than specs indicate.

[Will]

Please chime in if you disagree with this method.

If you are trying to project a narrow image (4:3) while using a 16:9 projector, and want to use the throw ratio to find mounting positions, then start with your screen height.

With your screen height, calculate the width if it were a 16:9 image (which is native to the projector). A 9' tall screen on a 16:9 projector will project an image 16' wide (think 1.777). 16' wide times the lens throw ratio will get you a mounting location. An 8' tall screen on a 16:9 projector would be 14.2' wide image. Take the calculated native width, and multiply the throw ratio.

If it's a 16:10 projector, work off the height again and multiply times 1.6 . 9' x 1.6 = 14.4'. 14.4' x throw ratio of the projector, let's say it's 0.80. That means that the projector would be 11.52' feet away from the screen and create an image 9' tall and 14.4' wide. That's at the full resolution of 1920x1200. If you want 12'x9', set your resolution to 1600x1200 and the projector is in the same location, although it has wasted some of it's available light to vertical black lines to the left and right of your impact screen.

Work backwards off the native resolution height to find mounting position. Let me know if that helps.

Lastly, a native 16' wide image needs 30% more lumens than a 14' wide image to achieve the same image brightness. It is a function of square footage. Therefore an 8' tall image is desired vs a 9' image if there is ambient light. 0.50-0.90 throw ratio works well to avoid screen shadows.

[spiege2]

I am still in search for the correct projector. To answer a couple of questions above

10' from screen is going to be over my hitting area. I am worried my kids or drunk friends will hit the projector if it is at 8' or less from the screen.

My back wall is about 5' at an angle from the tee position.

Can anyone suggest a projector and screen size for me?


Budget is 3k
biggest screen is 12'x9' i can fit
QED
TGC 
9'10" ceiling above finished floor
hitting 10'6" from screen