Projector selection and placement

[bdorn9]

I'm ordering a custom enclsoure from All Sports Systems 12' 8" W x 8' 6" H. It will have a screen size of 12' 4" W x 8' 3" H and a viewable image 12' W x 7' 6" H. From speaking with them this should achieve a 16:10 aspect ratio. I'm very open to projectors and budget is $1500ish

I've looked at the Panasonic PT-VZ580 a little bit but not many others. I want to ensure I'm not casting a shadow on my screen so looking for insight on projector and placement. I used projector central and based on my screen size it told me where to mount it just unsure if this will be an issue with shadow or not and unsure how to figure this out??? Mat/tee placement 9'-9'6" from screen is my plan. Any and all insight is appreciated!

[3on3putt]

The selection of 16:10 projectors is pretty slim pickings. If you go 16:9 you will have a ton of options. In 16:9 your image will still fill your screen horizontally but will leave 9 inches of unused space vertically. You could use a little zoom to get rid of most or all of that.

Is this the Panasonic you're talking about?

https://www.projectorcentral.com/Pan...ulator-pro.htm

If so, that will never work for multiple reasons. (That was the only one I found under that model name)

1. What is your ceiling height?

2. Are you confident hitting from 9 feet away with an enclosure that's only 8.5 feet tall?

[bdorn9]

I don't have enough width go go to 16:9.
Yes, that's the panasonic model. Ceiling height is 10'

[3on3putt]

bdorn9 -- You don't have enough width to fill the screen completely from top to bottom going 16:9. But you can still project in 16:9. You will have 9 inches of blank screen space to distribute on top or bottom (so you can do 4.5 inches on each to perfectly center it). And if filling the screen all the way is really important, you can still do that in 16:9 by backing up the projector a little bit and customizing a resolution with your graphics card.

[fortner28]

There are some factors to think about. Do you have room overhead to mount the unit? Are you planning on left and right handed players using this? I would go with 16:9. The performance to me is more important than the aspect ratio. I would think about something made for gaming with low lag. I use an Optoma short throw. I have it installed right over the hitting area.

[bdorn9]

with an 8' deep enclosure all the short throws I'm looking at seem like they would be mounted inside the enclosure per projector central. This seems problematic?

[3on3putt]

So your enclosure is only 8'6" high and extends out 8 feet? I would agree that mounting a projector inside of that is problematic. Aren't you worried about hitting the crossbeam with a driver follow through if you're only hitting from a foot or two behind that?

Your best bet is to find a projector that you can mount directly over the golf ball or just slightly behind on that line. Unfortunately, most higher resolution projectors in 16:10 have to go much further back than that. You can easily find a lower resolution projector to fit your needs, like this one =

https://www.projectorcentral.com/Optoma-GT750ST-projection-calculator-pro.htm

In my opinion, the higher resolution image is way more valuable than filling those extra few inches of screen space. That's why I think you're better off just projecting 16:9 and either living with the blank space or manipulating the graphics card.