Projector Confusion / Ceiling Fan in Way

[Maveri9720]

Hi All. I just put my golf sim room together this weekend and was disappointed in my projector that came with my sim room bundle, due to my lack of knowledge and research into the projector and whether it would be a good fit for my room. It is a Maxell MC-EX5001 and its resolution is only 1024x768 in 4:3 and my room is too small for its throw ratio, as it's placed against my back wall on a shelf and it still doesn't fill the screen in 4:3. I definitely want a 16x9 HD projector, but don't really need 4k though. I may use it for some sports or movies, but the priority is golfing and I'd like for it to be able to project nicely TGC or E6.

I've gone cross-eyed on ProjectorCentral and I believe I need a throw ratio of .9:1, but when I use the calculator there, none of the projectors show a TR of .9:1, as all are around .8:1, which will project a larger image than I have screen. I don't think I have a crazy build or anything, so I feel there should be decent options available to me, but I'm insanely confused right now and desperately don't want to purchase another ill-suited projector.

Here's my set-up: 10' W x 7.5' H screen with 150" diag and my hitting spot is 8' from the screen. I want to ceiling mount my projector, but I have a ceiling fan perfectly in the way of where I'd mount a nice ST projector from. So I'll need to mount it just behind the ceiling fan and the distance from the screen to where I'd like to mount the projector is 9'. I'd have the projector mounted roughly 8' from the ground and 2' from the ceiling, as I have a 10' high ceiling, which places it just behind and above me, but doesn't interfere with my swing and I don't think will throw a shadow on the screen either.

Any help would be most appreciated! Thank you!

[Maveri9720]

My apologies, but I have another follow-up to the follow-up. My tablet doesn't have 1440x1080 as a selectable resolution, but it does have 1600x1200. What would be the difference between these two resolutions? I know the projector can only display 1080 and not 1200, but what is the effect of this?

I also tried an all-in-one PC I have and it didn't have 1440x1080 as an option, nor did an apple laptop or my desktop PC. My desktop PC is a little older with Win7 and an onboard AMD HD 4200 graphics card. Is there something I can do to create or force this resolution, as I'd really love to install my ceiling mount and projector today or this weekend?

Thanks again for your time and help!

[3on3putt]

My apologies, but I have another follow-up to the follow-up. My tablet doesn't have 1440x1080 as a selectable resolution, but it does have 1600x1200. What would be the difference between these two resolutions? I know the projector can only display 1080 and not 1200, but what is the effect of this?

I also tried an all-in-one PC I have and it didn't have 1440x1080 as an option, nor did an apple laptop or my desktop PC. My desktop PC is a little older with Win7 and an onboard AMD HD 4200 graphics card. Is there something I can do to create or force this resolution, as I'd really love to install my ceiling mount and projector today or this weekend?

Thanks again for your time and help!

The projector is only capable of a max of 1440x1080 in 4:3. If you choose 1600x1200 you will still only get 1440x1080. Just choose 1600x1200. The projector knows what to do from there.

[Maveri9720]

Thank you so much! The projector is mounted and perfectly fills up my entire screen and looks amazing. And best of all, I get to keep my ceiling fan in front of it as well! Watched some basketball last night on it too and it was awesome, even though my living tv is already an 80". I'll get some pics up once I get everything wrapped up.

Thanks again for everyone's help, as it is much appreciated!

[Sixmudd]

Thank you so much! The projector is mounted and perfectly fills up my entire screen and looks amazing. And best of all, I get to keep my ceiling fan in front of it as well! Watched some basketball last night on it too and it was awesome, even though my living tv is already an 80". I'll get some pics up once I get everything wrapped up.

Thanks again for everyone's help, as it is much appreciated!

What brand screen do you have? I have the optoma 412st and for the life of me can’t get a crisp image no matter how much I dial it in. If I project to a blank wall though the image is much better. The place I bought it though assured me that it isn’t the screen but the projector. But then I told them I bought the projector from them too as they bundled them together. Then they said it’s probably the foresight software. I said no to that. I’m pretty sure it’s the screen - so now I’m looking for a new screen

[Maveri9720]

I ordered my enclosure from Shop Indoor Golf. It's their SIG10 enclosure and here is a link. They don't say what specific screen they use, but I think it looks really good. I've also projected presentations onto walls due to lack of screen and never really had any major issues, so I wouldn't think the screen would be your issue, but tough to say without being there. You might want to take a pic of your screen image vs the wall image, if you can tell a difference and send it to them and see what they say.

[Maveri9720]

Hey all! Just wanted to provide an update, as my sim room is now complete. I'm very happy that I went with this projector, as it allowed my to keep my ceiling fan, which makes a huge difference, as my room isn't very big and between the projector and the computer, it gets warm in there pretty quickly. I've been loving life practicing on ST and playing on TGC19. An added bonus I didn't expect or anticipate is how great watching sports in this setup is. It's now become my golf sim / man cave now. Not great for watching movies for me personally, as I have no sound system or sub in there, which is a necessity for me, but perfect for watching sports though. Couldn't be happier! Thanks to everyone for their patience and help, as it's much appreciated.